The future is shaped by those who push beyond what is known. At UC San Diego, we don’t just navigate change—we create it. Every breakthrough, every discovery starts with the courage to explore, to challenge, to redefine what’s possible. But even the boldest ideas need a foundation. Research requires resources, collaboration, and investment to turn possibility into reality. Without it, the unknown stays unknown. With it, we change the world.
Researchers from UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography and UCLA announced the creation of an engineered bacterium that has the ability to convert the toxic form of mercury present in seafood — methylmercury — into less toxic forms that are more easily removed from the human body.
Three faculty in the School of Arts and Humanities were recently selected by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to receive $60,000 fellowships for their research project. Annually, the NEH chooses a small number of projects to support, each going through a rigorous peer-review process.
Researchers from several University of California campuses have collaborated to create a report on dust in California, which comes at a time of great need for the public to understand the issue. "We want to get our legislators to take the increase in dust pollution more seriously," said one.
Researchers from UC San Diego found that Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) can help rewire the brain’s response to natural healthy pleasure, leading to reduced opioid cravings. The findings suggest that MORE could be a promising tool in the fight against opioid use disorder.
The Muscle Physiology lab at UC San Diego is transforming our understanding of musculoskeletal health, one of the most important determinants of healthy longevity. However, this research could be under threat if proposed cuts to the National Institutes of Health are implemented.
Scientific research may seem abstract, but when supported by federal funding, it profoundly impacts every American — from quiet rural fields buzzing with pollinators to hospitals pioneering lifesaving cancer therapies.
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