Recent News
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HHMI Gilliam Fellowship to Andrea Sama and Jazz Dickinson Supports New EDI Initiative
Fellowship funding paves the way for a May 10 keynote address on issues of health equity in the Latinx community
Graduate Student Andrea Sama and Assistant Professor Jazz Dickinson have been awarded a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Gilliam Fellowship, which is awarded to graduate student-advisor pairs in recognition of outstanding research and a commitment to build a more inclusive scientific ecosystem.
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UC San Diego Receives $7.35 Million for Scripps Center for Oceans and Human Health
Center will focus on advancing science of marine contaminants, nutrients and seafood security in a changing climate
UC San Diego was awarded $7.35 million in funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health for a multidisciplinary program that includes BioSci Professor Eric Allen to advance understanding of marine contaminants and nutrients.
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Cell Division Quality Control ‘Stopwatch’ Uncovered
Mechanism keeps track of the time cells take to split, sounding the alarm on cells that may turn cancerous
UC San Diego biologists have uncovered a quality control timing mechanism tied to cell division. The “stopwatch” function keeps track of mitosis and acts as a protective measure when the process takes too long, preventing the formation of cancerous cells.
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New Genetic Analysis Tool Tracks Risks Tied to CRISPR Edits
Classification system uses genetic fingerprints to identify unintentional ‘bystander’ edits linked with new disease therapies
While CRISPR has shown immense promise as a next-generation therapeutic tool, the gene editing technology’s edits are still imperfect. Researchers have developed a new system to test and analyze CRISPR-based DNA repair and related risks from unintended but harmful “bystander” edits.
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Say Hello to Biodegradable Microplastics
Research shows plant-based polymers can disappear within seven months
Finding viable alternatives to traditional petroleum-based plastics and microplastics has never been more important. New research from scientists at UC San Diego and Algenesis shows that their plant-based polymers biodegrade — even at the microplastic level — in under seven months.
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Study Illuminates the Protective Role of Fluorescence in Neon-Colored Sea Anemones
Fluorescent proteins shown to protect sea anemone cells from stress
For the first time, a team of researchers at UC San Diego’s School of Biological Sciences and Scripps Institution of Oceanography has uncovered a direct genetic link between fluorescence and color in sea anemones — those soft and tentacled tide pool creatures often encountered by beachgoers.
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How Fear Unfolds inside Our Brains
Neurobiologists uncover how stress turns into fear in the brain — in conditions such as PTSD — and a method to block it
The stress-induced mechanisms that cause our brain to produce feelings of fear in the absence of threats — such as in PTSD — mostly have been a mystery. Now, neurobiologists have identified the changes in brain biochemistry and mapped the neural circuitry that cause generalized fear experiences.
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Biological Sciences Professor Terrence Sejnowski Wins Brain Prize
World’s largest neuroscience prize recognizes trio who pioneered the field of computational and theoretical neuroscience and paved the way for brain-inspired artificial intelligence
Terrence Sejnowski has been selected to receive the 2024 Brain Prize, the world’s largest neuroscience prize, for his pioneering work in computational and theoretical neuroscience, contributions to our understanding of the brain and paving the way for the development of brain-inspired AI.
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Sanford Institute Awards Endowed Professorships in Empathy and Compassion Research
Monique Smith and Fadel Zeidan have been named as the recipients of the Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion’s Endowed Professorships in Empathy and Compassion Research. These are the first two of four endowed professorships the Sanford Institute will award in 2024.
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Researchers Uncover Mechanisms behind Enigmatic Shapes of Nuclei
Scientists may be able to direct immune cells toward diseased areas
White blood cells known as neutrophils feature a nucleus that is structured strikingly different than most nuclei. These unique shapes permit neutrophils to travel all over the body to combat invading pathogens. Scientists have now deciphered the shapeshifting puzzle of the neutrophil nucleus.
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