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Why Is Discovering Exoplanets Important?

UC San Diego postdoc Aidan Gibbs explains why finding exoplanets, which orbit around stars other than our sun, can help us better understand our own solar system and home planet.

Rebecsinib Clinical Trial Means New Options for Blood Cancer

A clinical trial of rebecsinib — an investigational drug that inhibits the ADAR1 gene involved in the growth of more than 20 cancers — is underway at UC San Diego.

A Small Optical Component Could Change How Telescopes View the Sun

A new telescope technology could improve how future space missions study and monitor the Sun while simplifying onboard hardware and reducing costs. The technology is built from a metasurface, which is a device engineered with nanoscale structures that manipulate light in unusual ways.

Plants Could Be Used to Grow Medicines in Space, Study Shows

A new pharmaceutical production method could allow astronauts on long space missions to "grow" fresh medicines on demand using plants. The work could also bring low-cost pharmaceutical production to resource-limited areas on Earth.

6 Unexpected Ways UC San Diego Researchers are Studying Space

In addition to UC San Diego’s well-known ties to space — producing astronauts such as Jessica Meir and Kate Rubins, offering K-12 offerings from Sally Ride Science, and sending health research to space, to name but a few — researchers are conducting space-related research in unexpected ways.

Why Is Space So Fascinating?

We all tuned in when the Artemis II crew splashed down off the San Diego coast. Planetary scientist and academic leader Meenakshi Wadhwa shares her thoughts on why space captures our imaginations so well.