New anti-inflammatory strategy for cancer therapy identified by UCSD researchers
A new strategy for cancer therapy, which converts the tumor-promoting effect of the immune system's inflammatory response into a cancer-killing outcome, is suggested in research findings by investigators at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine.... ...The findings provide new insight into the immune system's response to inflammation, the connection between inflammation...UCSD biologists develop 'super-endurance' strain of mice
Biologists at the University of California, San Diego have transformed ordinary laboratory mice into the rodent equivalent of Olympic endurance athletes by deleting a gene that allows mammalian muscles to switch from aerobic to anaerobic metabolism when oxygen levels in the muscle run low....... , the scientists say the inability of these genetically modified mice to generate energy through anaer...UCSD researchers are first to demonstrate molecular link between inflammation and cancer
First evidence of the molecular link between inflammation and cancer has been shown by researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine. Featured as the cover article in the August 6, 2004 issue of the journal , the study also demonstrated that inactivation of a gene involved in the inflammatory process can dramatically reduce tumor development in mice with a gas...Transcriptional gene silencing in nucleus shown by UCSD/VA medical researchers
A new gene-silencing technique that takes place in the nucleus of human cells, has been demonstrated by researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine and the VA San Diego Healthcare System. The technique, called transcriptional gene silencing (TGS), provides a new research tool to study gene function and, if continuing studies prove the concept, it could potent...LICR/UCSD team solves mystery of centromeres
Researchers at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have solved one of genetics' mysteries how a segment of protein on each of the body's DNA-carrying chromosomes is able to form a rigid structure called a centromere, leading to proper cell division and the faithful inheritance of genes. ... ...Published in the July 29...Espionage may have driven the evolution of bee language according to UCSD-led study in Brazil
A discovery by a University of California, San Diego biologist that some species of bees exploit chemical clues left by other bee species to guide their kin to food provides evidence that eavesdropping may be an evolutionary driving force behind some bees' ability to conceal communication inside the hive, using a form of animal language to encode food location....... Bees can use two main forms o...UCSD biologists discover cell's defense mechanism against class of disease-causing bacterial toxins
Biologists at the University of California, San Diego have discovered a new mechanism that allows cells to fight a class of toxins made by a wide variety of disease-causing bacteria....... Their discovery, detailed in this week's early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could eventually pave the way for the development of new, more effective treatments for bact...UCSD undergraduates participate in collaborative studies abroad on cyberinfrastructure
Nine undergraduate students from the University of California, San Diego have arrived in Asia and Australia to conduct collaborative research on a wide variety of topics related to cyberinfrastructure. They were selected to participate in the first of a three-year program funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and other organizations, to help prepare more U.S. engineers and scientists to...Mitochondria in spinal cords is ALS target according to UCSD medical researchers
The selective killing of spinal cord neurons in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, occurs when tiny cellular components called mitochondria actively recruit a mutant disease-causing protein into specific neuron cells, according to new research by University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine investigators....... Published in the July 8, 2004 i...UCSD team determines cellular stress within body is critical
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have determined that a particular type of cellular stress called osmotic stress is of critical importance to cell growth and the body's immune response against infection. The findings may have implications for autoimmune disorders, transplant rejections, and potential cancer therapies....... (PNAS) the week of July...Protein believed to control formation of memory identified by Scripps & UCSD scientists
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute and the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have demonstrated that the action of a protein called CBP is essential for the stabilization of long-term memory, a discovery that may help children with a rare but debilitating developmental disorder. ... ...They found that when the functions of normal CBP is suppressed in adult ro...UCSD study shows how we perceive world depends on precise division of labor among cells in brain
University of California, San Diego neurobiologists have uncovered evidence that sheds light on the long-standing mystery of how the brain makes sense of the information contained in electrical impulses sent to it by millions of neurons from the body.... ...In a paper published this week in the early on-line version of the journal ....... Light, sound and odors, for e...UCSD bioengineers develop first genome-scale computational model of gene regulation
It has taken more than 50 years to accumulate the current body of knowledge on Escherichia coli, a bacterium which is one of the best studied organisms in biology. Now, bioengineers at the University of California San Diego have integrated this knowledge into the first genome-scale model of the gene regulatory system in E.coli. The computational model helps to define the rules governing cell fu...UCSD finds genetic time bomb in heart that leads to heart failure in some patients
Each year, thousands of children undergo corrective surgery for congenital heart malformations that improve the immediate function of the heart. However, surgical correction of certain forms of congenital heart disease may not fix the underlying molecular trigger that drives progressive heart failure and sudden death later in life, according to new research from the University of California, San...National Foundation For Cancer Research names UCSD's Webster Cavenee NFCR Fellow
(March 23, 2004) The National Foundation For Cancer Research, based in Bethesda, MD, has awarded a $250,000 grant to Webster Cavenee, Ph.D., Director of the San Diego Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, and named him NFCR Fellow. The distinguished honor allows Cavenee unique and creative flexibility to conduct scientific research over the next five years that may lead to more effe...Founder of UCSD bioengineering program honored with lifetime achievement award
San Diego, CA, Monday, March 1, 2004 -- A Chinese engineer who came to the United States right after World War II and went on to do pioneering research in aeronautics and bioengineering has been honored by his fellow Asian American engineers. On Feb. 28, Yuan-Cheng Fung received the Distinguished Life Time Achievement Award at the 2004 CIE EWEEK Asian American Engineer of the Year Award Banquet i...Study by UCSD gives new insight into how anthrax bacteria can evade a host's immune response
Biologists at the University of California, San Diego have determined how toxin produced by anthrax bacteria blocks a person's normal immune response, a discovery that could lead to new treatments for anthrax infection. ... ...In a paper to be published in the January 15th issue of The Journal of Immunology the UCSD scientists show why, in the presence of anthrax toxin, human immune cells fail t...UCSD, VA and Cal-(IT) wireless technology to enhance mass casualty treatment in disasters
SAN DIEGO, CA -- The use of sophisticated wireless technology to coordinate and enhance care of mass casualties in a terrorist attack or natural disaster is the focus of a new federally funded research project at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). The project brings together broad-based participation from academia, industry, the military, and emergency responders from the City and C...From genome comparisons, UCSD researchers learn lessons about evolution and cancer
San Diego, Oct. 10, 2003 -- In 1905, American astronomer Percival Lowell predicted the existence of a new planet he called Planet X. Lowell proved that this new planet existed even though no one had been able to see it in the sky. Twenty-five years later, astronomer Clyde Tombaugh stumbled on images of X photographed from the Flagstaff Observatory in Arizona. Today, that planet is known as Pluto....UCSD researchers find promising new avenues for treating infections
A study by University of California, San Diego biochemists explains why infections of Pseudomonas bacteria, which affect 200,000 hospitalized patients each year in the United States, can be so dangerous to cells within the body, and points to new ways to treat those infections.... ...Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a common bacterium, can infect nearly every part of the body and produces toxins that dam...UCSD researchers discover gene able to suppress retrovirus insertion mutations
A naturally occurring variation in an essential gene can suppress genetic mutations caused by retroviruses in mice, according to a new discovery by researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine.... ...Published in the September 28 online edition of Nature Genetics, and in the journal's October issue, the study identified a novel change in mice in a gene called m...High-tech institute to hold Cal-(IT)Day@UCSD
San Diego, Aug. 25, 2003 -- The University of California, San Diego (UCSD) division of the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology [Cal-(IT) graduate Fellow...UCSD scientists develop novel way to screen molecules
Chemists at the University of California, San Diego have developed a novel method of detecting molecules with a conventional compact disk player that provides scientists with an inexpensive way to screen for molecular interactions and a potentially cheaper alternative to medical diagnostic tests....... ) and in the printed journal's September 21st issue....... "Our immed...UCSD biologists discover key step for 'designer plants' that could clean up heavy metals
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego have demonstrated that a chemical that permits plants to detoxify heavy metals can be transported from the roots to stems and leaves, a finding that brings the possibility of using plants to clean up soil contaminated with toxic metals such as lead, arsenic and cadmium one step closer to reality....... A paper detailing the discovery appears...Von Liebig Center awards funding to six projects to commercialize UCSD faculty research
San Diego, July 18, 2003 -- The William J. von Liebig Center for Entrepreneurism and Technology Advancement has awarded $300,000 in "gap" funding to six projects led by faculty at the UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering. This third round of funding brings the total to 19 projects financed since the Center was set up in 2001 to provide funding to internal technology projects that have strong commerc...Researchers in Japan and UCSD discover novel role for pseudogenes
The mantra of molecular biology DNA makes RNA, which makes protein* has pretty much ignored pseudogenes. Considered defective copies of DNA segments, the 20,000 pseudogenes in the human genome are thought to be non-participants in the protein-production assembly line.... ...Now, scientists in Japan and at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have discovered a nov...UCSD biologists discover key to blocking inflammation
Biologists at the University of California, San Diego have discovered that eliminating the ability of white blood cells to respond to low oxygen levels effectively blocks the development of inflammation in mice, an advance that could have widespread implications for the prevention of inflammation in humans.... ...Their discovery, detailed in the March 7 issue of the journal Cell, could lead to t...UCSD brings powerful visualization to high school classroom
San Diego, Feb. 5, 2003 -- The University of California, San Diego (UCSD) today dedicated the Visualization Center at the Preuss School UCSD, a local middle/high school, to give teachers and students a dynamic and engaging tool for teaching and learning in Earth sciences, biology and other classes. The center will be hooked up to a high-performance network that will permit students to interact wi...UCSD research findings for human vs. mouse genome rearrangements
San Diego, CA, Dec.4, 2002 -- A leading expert in computational biology at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) estimates that it took many more evolutionary genome rearrangements than previously thought--both large and small--to account for differences in the human and mouse genomes. The findings of Jacobs School of Engineering computer science and engineering professor Pavel Pevzner a...UCSD bioengineers use computer model to predict evolution of bacteria
In a study published in the November 14 issue of Nature, Bioengineers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Jacobs School of Engineering used their computer model of E-coli (patent pending) to accurately predict how the bacteria would evolve under specific conditions. The results may have applications for designing tailor-made biological materials for commercial uses or for predictin...UCSD bioengineers develop first computer model that predicts disease variant based on genetic defect
University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Bioengineers have for the first time used a computer model to relate specific genetic mutations to exact variations of a disease. This is the first model-based system for predicting phenotype (function of the cell or organism) based on genotype (an individual's DNA)....... In the study, published in Genome Research (Vol. 12, Issue 11, 1687-1692, Novembe...New study ranks UCSD research 4th in nation
The University of California, San Diego was ranked 4th in the nation in a recent report examining the impact of research at the country's top research universities. The report, conducted by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), examined the citation impact of research papers produced at the top 100 federally funded U.S. universities from 1997-2001....... ...The rankings were reported in...$10 Million center for theoretical biological physics created at UCSD by NSF
A consortium of research institutions in La Jolla, Calif., has been awarded $10.5-million over the next five years from the National Science Foundation to establish the world's leading center in the emerging field of theoretical biological physics. ...The new Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, or CTBP, will combine the intellectual resources of the University of California, San Diego's Di...UCSD researchers fabricate tiny 'smart dust' particles
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego have developed dust-sized chips of silicon that allow them to rapidly and remotely detect a variety of biological and chemical agents, including substances that a terrorist might dissolve in drinking water or spray into the atmosphere. ...The development, detailed in an advance online publication today of the October 1 issue of the journal N...UCSD researchers identify eye-formation strategy in mice
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have discovered a linkage between proteins that is an essential part of the complex series of molecular events leading to normal eye development in mice. The investigators also suggest that the combination of specific proteins in eye formation may be similar to yet unidentified genes that act together to allow devel...UCSD gene therapy to prevent restenosis following balloon angioplasty receives US patent
Bioengineers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Jacobs School of Engineering have developed a gene therapy to prevent restenosis following angioplasty, and the University has recently been issued U.S. Patent # 6,335,010 for the invention. The experimental gene therapy reduced the formation of clogged arteries by more than one-half in large animal models....... "In some sense, the......Biologists at the University of California, San Diego have discovered that the embryonic development of the first axis of an animal-which defines its inner and outer layers and is initiated by the entry of sperm into an egg-is intimately linked to a protein complex long known to be instrumental in cell division.... ... Their finding, detailed in a paper featured on the cover of the February i...Biologists at the University of California, San Diego have observed, for the first time, a protein gradient in developing fruit fly embryos believed to trigger the division of the embryo into nervous system and different types of epidermis within complex organisms like humans....... In a paper featured on the cover of this months issue of the journal Developmental Cell, the scientists demonstr...Dupont donates patents to UCSD
San DiegoDuPont (NYSE:DD) is donating key intellectual property, including patents, trademarks, and technical information to the University of California, San Diego. The universitys engineering faculty will continue to develop the intellectual property for applications ranging from flat-panel displays to pollution abatement....... The donation includes 11 patents granted or filed pertaining to t...Prominent UCSD, Salk reseachers to discuss politics and science of embryonic stem cell research
The volatile debate over research with human embryonic stem cells and the politics and science that surrounds it will be discussed by UCSD and Salk Institute researchers at a free lecture for the public Oct. 19 on the UCSD campus in La Jolla. ...... Titled Stem Cell Research: Where Science Meets Politics and Ethics, the lecture is scheduled for 7-9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 19 in the UCSD Price Center T...