Science & Environment

Research

The Latest

How Infectious Disease May Have Shaped Human Origins

An international team of researchers, led by scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, suggest that inactivation of two specific genes related to the immune system may have conferred selected ancestors of modern humans with improved protection from some pathogenic bacterial strains, such as Escherichia coli K1 and Group B Streptococci, the leading causes of sepsis and meningitis in human fetuses, newborns and infants.

Two UC San Diego Students Receive Prestigious Goldwater Scholarships

Selena Kuo and Elham Rahimy, undergraduates at the University of California, San Diego, have both received the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, the most prestigious award in the country conferred upon undergraduates studying the sciences. The scholarship awards $7,500 per year to support outstanding students who plan to pursue careers in science, engineering and math.

UC San Diego Researchers Receive New CIRM Funding

Five scientists from the University of California, San Diego and its School of Medicine have been awarded almost $12 million in new grants from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to conduct stem cell-based research into regenerating spinal cord injuries, repairing gene mutations that cause amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and finding new drugs to treat heart failure and Alzheimer’s disease.

Hormone Plays Surprise Role in Fighting Skin Infections

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are molecules produced in the skin to fend off infection-causing microbes. Vitamin D has been credited with a role in their production and in the body’s overall immune response, but scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine say a hormone previously associated only with maintaining calcium homeostasis and bone health is also critical, boosting AMP expression when dietary vitamin D levels are inadequate.

SDSC to Host Summer Institute for Geosciences August 6-10

The San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at the University of California, San Diego, will host its ninth annual Cyberinfrastructure Summer Institute for Geoscientists (CSIG’12) August 6-10. Since 2004, CSIG has been funded each year by a grant from the Earth Science Division (EAR) of the National Science Foundation (NSF).

SDSC to Host “Summer Institute” Supercomputer Workshop August 6-10

The San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at the University of California, San Diego, is expanding upon its successful Gordon Summer Institute program to include both its Gordon and Trestles supercomputers, with participants invited to focus on specific challenges in their areas of data-intensive research.