The National Science Foundation (NSF) announcement in early 2016 that scientists for the first time detected gravitational waves in the universe as hypothesized by Albert Einstein in 1915 has led to additional landmark discoveries with the assistance of advanced supercomputers, including Comet at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at UC San Diego.
The University of California San Diego’s history of outstanding chemists dates back to Nobel Prize winner Harold Urey, who joined the university in 1958. That tradition of excellence continues today, as exemplified by The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry’s J. Andrew McCammon. The distinguished professor, who also holds the Joseph E. Mayer Chair of Theoretical Chemistry, will deliver the Russ Pitzer Lecture Nov. 13 at Ohio State University, which named McCammon the winner of the 2017 Russell M. Pitzer Award. McCammon’s talk will address “Thermodynamics of Molecular Recognition.”
Two recent studies led by UC San Diego biologists have set the research groundwork for new avenues to treat influenza and anthrax poisoning. Published in PLOS Pathogens, the studies from Professor Ethan Bier’s laboratory used a series of experiments to identify key pathways and mechanisms previously unknown or overlooked in the body’s defenses, and possible treatments already developed.
A web-based tool recently developed by UC San Diego researchers to perform data-driven predictive modeling and real-time tracking of fires has already been viewed about one million times and generated more than 115,000 unique visitors since the outbreak of numerous wildfires across Northern California late last weekend.
Biologists have developed a solution for controlling the invasive Asian hornet Vespa velutina based on the insect’s natural chemical mating instincts. They deciphered the Asian hornet’s sex pheromone and devised a method of luring males into traps baited with synthesized versions of the pheromones. Vespa velutina has recently spread its presence with invasions in Europe and Korea, posing risks to honey bees, humans and related economics.
Researchers at UC San Diego have developed a genome-scale model that can accurately predict how E. coli bacteria respond to temperature changes and genetic mutations. The work sheds light on how cells adapt under environmental stress and has applications in precision medicine, where adaptive cell modeling could provide patient-specific treatments for bacterial infections.
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