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Scientists Introduce New Way to Mimic ‘Machine of Machines’

Like small-scale Legos clicking into place, nature autonomously puts together microscopic building blocks. Living systems are biochemical machines that excel at building and moving their parts. Just as machines need energy in some form to operate, living systems are energized by consuming “fuel”—substances or food—reliably. The human body, for example, contracts muscles by the motion of tiny nanomotors—molecular devices that convert energy at the nanoscale scale to generate movement at the macroscale. The ability to mimic nature’s self-assembly would revolutionize science’s approach to synthesizing materials that could heal, contract or reconfigure.

Nanocrystals Emit Light by Efficiently ‘Tunneling’ Electrons

Using advanced fabrication techniques, engineers at the University of California San Diego have built a nanosized device out of silver crystals that can generate light by efficiently “tunneling” electrons through a tiny barrier. The work brings plasmonics research a step closer to realizing ultra-compact light sources for high-speed, optical data processing and other on-chip applications.

UC San Diego Researchers Receive Funding to Pursue Novel Stem Cell-based Treatments

The governing board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) unanimously approved this week two grants worth more than $2.2 million to University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers investigating stem cell-based therapies for a rare genetic disorder that affects the heart and a chronic, progressive affliction of the lungs.

Charles Lee Powell Foundation: Three Decades of Giving to UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering

“It may not be easy to run an engineering school, but it’s impossible without your friends,” said Jacobs School of Engineering Dean Albert P. Pisano at the annual Charles Lee Powell Foundation graduate fellowship luncheon. “To the ladies and gentlemen of the Powell Board—I am grateful for that friendship which was paid forward through other deans and other times. I, too, am standing on the shoulders of all the previous investment, and I do really appreciate all of that.”

Materials Processing Tricks Enable Engineers to Create New Laser Material

By doping alumina crystals with neodymium ions, engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a new laser material that is capable of emitting ultra-short, high-power pulses—a combination that could potentially yield smaller, more powerful lasers with superior thermal shock resistance, broad tunability and high-duty cycles.

High Vinculin Levels Help Keep Aging Fruit Fly Hearts Young

A new discovery in how heart muscles maintain their shape in fruit flies sheds light on the crucial relationship between cardiac function, metabolism, and longevity. Researchers from the University of California San Diego discovered that maintaining high levels of the protein vinculin—which sticks heart muscle cells to one another—confers health benefits to fruit flies. Their work shows that fruit flies bred to produce 50 percent more vinculin enjoyed better cardiovascular health and lived a third of their average life span longer.