Science & Environment

Research

The Latest

Spinal Cord Axon Injury Location Determines Neuron’s Regenerative Fate

Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report a previously unappreciated phenomenon in which the location of injury to a neuron’s communication wire in the spinal cord — the axon — determines whether the neuron simply stabilizes or attempts to regenerate. The study, published April 30 by Neuron, demonstrates how advances in live-imaging techniques are revealing new insights into the body’s ability to respond to spinal cord injuries.

Lighting a Spark for Computer Programming

They gladly stay up in the evening to do their homework. And they don’t mind working for extra credit on the weekend either. If they have some down time in class, they work some more.

Pancreatic Cancer Risk Linked to Weak Sunlight

Writing in the April 30 online issue of the Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine report pancreatic cancer rates are highest in countries with the least amount of sunlight. Low sunlight levels were due to a combination of heavy cloud cover and high latitude.

Novel Approach Blocks Amyloid Production in Alzheimer’s Mouse Model

Offering a potential early intervention for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Cenna Biosciences, Inc. have identified compounds that block the production of beta amyloid peptides in mice. The study is reported April 29 in PLOS ONE. 

UC San Diego Professors Elected to National Academy of Sciences

The National Academy of Sciences today elected five professors at the University of California, San Diego, to membership in the prestigious National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors bestowed on U.S. scientists and engineers.

Combined Chemotherapy and Immunotherapy Shows Promise for Advanced Prostate Cancers

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report that blocking or removing immune-suppressing cells allows a special type of chemotherapy — and the immune cells it activates — to destroy prostate tumors. This novel combination therapy, termed chemoimmunotherapy, achieved near complete remission in mouse models of advanced prostate cancer. The study is published April 29 in Nature.