A new small-molecule drug can restore brain function and memory in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease. The molecule, called anle138b, works by stopping toxic ion flow in the brain that is known to trigger nerve cell death. Scientists envision that this drug could be used to treat Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and ALS.
Two full-time University of California San Diego faculty members — Don Cleveland, who studies fundamental cellular mechanisms in the search for new treatments for diseases like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and James McKernan, a mathematician who investigates algebraic geometry and multivariate polynomials — are recipients of the 2018 Breakthrough Prize, along with Joanne Chory, a plant biologist at Salk Institute for Biological Studies and adjunct professor in the Division of Biological Sciences at UC San Diego.
The Independent Citizens Oversight Committee of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) unanimously approved yesterday two grants worth a total of almost $8 million to University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers investigating novel stem cell-based treatments for acute myeloid leukemia or AML.
Glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive form of brain cancer, typically fails to respond to treatment or rapidly becomes drug resistant. In a paper published online in the journal Cancer Cell on November 30, University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers identified a strategy that pinpoints a genetically distinct subpopulation of patients with glioblastoma that is particularly sensitive to drugs like cilengitide that target a cell adhesion receptor known as integrin αvβ3.
Countries grappled with uncertainty on how best to proceed in the global fight to reduce greenhouse gas emissions this month at the international climate negotiation known as COP23.
UC San Diego alumnus and Qualcomm co-founder Franklin Antonio is donating $30 million to the university in support of programmatic expansion of the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering. In recognition of the generous gift, UC San Diego will name a planned building for engineering research and education Franklin Antonio Hall.
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