August 22, 2016
Microsporidia cause diarrhea, an illness called microsporidiosis and even death in immune-compromised individuals.In spite of those widespread medical problems, scientists were uncertain about how these single-celled fungi reproduced in human or animal cells. But in a study that employed transparent roundworms, biologists at the University of California San Diego succeeded…
August 18, 2016
Concerns over the Zika virus have focused on pregnant women due to mounting evidence that it causes brain abnormalities in developing fetuses. However, new research in mice suggests that certain adult brain cells may be vulnerable to infection as well. Among these are populations of cells that serve to replace…
August 31, 2016
Roger Tsien, PhD, co-winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in chemistry and professor of pharmacology, chemistry and biochemistry at University of California San Diego School of Medicine for 27 years, died August 24 in Eugene, Ore. He was 64.
October 17, 2016
Whether you see the gossamer wings of a butterfly or the delicate opened petals of a flower, there is beauty in the eye of the beholder — a mouse retina described and visually captured by scientists at the National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR) at University of California…
January 12, 2017
Biologists at UC San Diego have documented for the first time how very large viruses reprogram the cellular machinery of bacteria during infection to more closely resemble an animal or human cell—a process that allows these alien invaders to trick cells into producing hundreds of new viruses, which eventually explode…
February 8, 2017
Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a desktop diagnosis tool that detects the presence of harmful bacteria in a blood sample in a matter of hours instead of days. The breakthrough was made possible by a combination of proprietary chemistry, innovative electrical engineering and high-end imaging…
May 4, 2017
Scientists have successfully completed the first outdoor field trial sanctioned by the EPA for genetically engineered algae. Algae tested under real-world conditions in outdoor ponds demonstrated that genetically engineered strains can be successfully cultivated outdoors without adversely impacting native algae populations.
July 17, 2017
Scientists have linked specific wiring in the brain to distinct behavioral symptoms of depression. In a study published in Cell, researchers at UC San Diego found brain circuits tied to feelings of despair and helplessness and were able to alleviate and even reverse such symptoms in mice studies.
August 7, 2017
Scientists at UC San Diego have provided the first evidence that lysosomes, specialized structures found in nearly every cell in your body, can travel to distant parts of neurons to branch-like areas known as dendrites. Lysosomes help keep balance in the brain by removing material that is no longer needed,…
August 28, 2017
More than one-and-a-half years after implantation, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and the San Diego Veterans Administration Medical Center report that human neural stem cells (NSCs) grafted into spinal cord injuries in laboratory rats displayed continued growth and maturity, with functional recovery beginning one year…
