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The Latest

Biologists Discover Bacteria Communicate Like Neurons in the Brain

Biologists at UC San Diego have discovered that bacteria—often viewed as lowly, solitary creatures—are actually quite sophisticated in their social interactions and communicate with one another through similar electrical signaling mechanisms as neurons in the human brain. In a study published in this week’s advance online publication of Nature, the scientists detail the manner by which bacteria living in communities communicate with one another electrically through proteins called “ion channels.”

Study Finds More Tunnels in Ant Nests Means More Food for Colony

A UC San Diego study of the underground “architecture” of harvester ant nests has found that the more connected the chambers an ant colony builds near the surface entrance, the faster the ants are able to collect nearby sources of food. The reason is simple: Increased connectivity among chambers leads to more social interactions among the ants within the nest. So when one group of ants within a colony—comprised of individuals working toward a common goal—finds a particularly good source of food, it’s able to more quickly communicate that finding to the rest of the colony.

UC San Diego/SDSC Study Uncovers Mechanism to Block a Cancer Pathway

Cisplatin is part of the chemotherapy treatment programs for many of the most common types of cancer. This important drug has now been shown to play an unexpected role in blocking one of the pathways most commonly involved in driving the growth of cancers, according to a recent study by researchers at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) as well as the university’s Moores Cancer Center and Department of Neurosciences.

A tensegrity robot to clean and explore ducts

Researchers in the UCSD Robotics lab have developed a duct-exploring robot based on the principles of tensegrity, a structural design paradigm which combines components under pure tension and pure compression to make mass efficient, accurately controllable structures. Ioana Patringenaru

Two Lefts Make It Right: Cardiac Experts Find Novel Approach to Treat Heart Failure

A teenage girl faced with sudden rapid heart deterioration, a man in the prime years of his life suffering from debilitating heart failure and a former NFL athlete crippled by end-stage heart failure were all successfully treated with a surgical approach pioneered by cardiac experts at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.

New SDSC Award Provides Easy Path to Supercomputing for Neuroscientists

The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the United Kingdom’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) have awarded funding for the Neuroscience Gateways project led by the San Diego Supercomputer Center at the University of California, San Diego. The project will contribute to the national BRAIN initiative announced by the Obama administration in 2013 to advance researchers’ understanding of the human brain.