News Archive - School of Medicine

Loss of Smell Associated with Milder Clinical Course in COVID-19

Researchers at UC San Diego Health report in newly published findings that olfactory impairment suggests the resulting COVID-19 disease is more likely to be mild to moderate, a potential early indicator that could help health care providers determine which patients may require hospitalization.

Gut Microbes Influence How Rat Brains React to Opioids

Antibiotic treatment — which depletes gut microbes — drastically changes the parts of a rat’s brain that are activated during opioid addiction and withdrawal.

For ME/CFS Patients, Viral Immunities Come at a Devastating, Lifelong Cost

Researchers at UC San Diego School of Medicine and three German universities describe an underlying biological basis for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, illustrating how efforts by the body to boost immune system protections can come at physiological cost elsewhere.

Finding Leukemia’s Weakness Using Genome-Wide CRISPR Technology

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center used CRISPR technology to identify key regulators of aggressive chronic myeloid leukemia.

UC San Diego Researchers Optimize Microbiome Tool for Computer GPUs

UC San Diego researchers have ported the popular UniFrac microbiome tool to graphic processing units (GPUs) to increase the acceleration and accuracy of scientific discovery including urgently needed COVID-19 research.

UC San Diego Health Launches Novel Coronavirus Blood Testing to Identify Past Exposure

Physicians and scientists at UC San Diego Health have launched a pair of serological tests that will look for novel coronavirus antibodies—evidence in persons tested that they have previously been infected by the viral cause of COVID-19, even if they never experienced tell-tale symptoms.

Landmark ABCD Study of Adolescent Brain Renewed for Seven Years

The National Institutes of Health has renewed its commitment to the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, the largest long-term study of brain development and child health ever conducted in the United States. The awards to UC San Diego total just over $60 million.

SDSC Researchers Develop Potential COVID-19 Protease Inhibitors

UC San Diego researchers recently created a pharmacophore model and conducted data mining of the conformational database of FDA-approved drugs that identifies 64 compounds as potential inhibitors of the COVID-19 protease.

When Damaged, the Adult Brain Repairs Itself by Going Back to the Beginning

When adult brain cells are injured, they revert to an embryonic state, say researchers at UC San Diego School of Medicine. In their newly adopted immature state, the cells become capable of re-growing new connections that, under the right conditions, can help to restore lost function.

In Wake of COVID-19 Pandemic, a Crashing Wave of Neuropsychiatric Problems?

Researchers suggest that in the aftermath of the novel coronavirus pandemic, a host of neuropsychiatric challenges may remain — or emerge — for those recovering from COVID-19 infections.