News

Injectable Gel Could Repair Tissue Damaged by Heart Attack

University of California, San Diego researchers have developed a new injectable hydrogel that could be an effective and safe treatment for tissue damage caused by heart attacks.

February 21, 2012General, Health, Science and Engineering

UCSD Uses Heat Energy to Fix Odd Heart Beat

UC San Diego Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center is now offering patients with atrial fibrillation the breakthrough benefits of heat energy, or radio frequency waves, to irreversibly alter heart tissue that triggers an abnormal heart rhythm or arrhythmia.

February 16, 2012General, Health, Science and Engineering

The Splice of Life: Proteins Cooperate to Regulate Gene Splicing

In a step toward deciphering the “splicing code” of the human genome, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have comprehensively analyzed six of the more highly expressed RNA binding proteins collectively known as heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoparticle (hnRNP) proteins.

February 16, 2012General, Health, Science and Engineering

Express Yourself: How Zygotes Sort Out Imprinted Genes

Researchers at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the Toronto Western Research Institute peel away some of the enduring mystery of how zygotes or fertilized eggs determine which copies of parental genes will be used or ignored.

February 16, 2012General, Health, Science and Engineering

Will Anti-Arrhythmic Drug Beat Sudden Cardiac Arrest?

Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is the leading cause of death in the United States.  This form of heart attack kills 325,000 people every year, representing one death every two minutes. Almost all SCA victims die before they even reach a hospital.

February 14, 2012General, Health, Science and Engineering

Could “Love Hormone” Help Treat Depression?

Gazing into your lover’s eyes isn’t only romantic; it also releases a brain chemical called oxytocin that strengthens social bonds in a variety of species.  For some people who suffer from depression, the so-called “hormone of love” might hold out hope. Researchers at the UC San Diego School of Medicine are conducting a clinical trial to study whether oxytocin – the brain hormone released with touches, hugs, or when a mother and her newborn baby bond – might help patients with depression.

February 13, 2012General, Health, Science and Engineering

Clinical Trial Teaches Binge Eaters to Toss Away Cravings

Of 190 million obese Americans, approximately 10-15 percent engage in harmful binge eating. During single sittings, these over-eaters consume large servings of high-caloric foods. Sufferers contend with weight gain and depression including heart disease and diabetes.

February 09, 2012General, Health, Science and Engineering

New Method Makes Culture of Complex Tissue Possible in any Lab

Scientists at the University of California, San Diego have developed a new method for making scaffolds for culturing tissue in three-dimensional arrangements that mimic those in the body. This advance, published online in the journal Advanced Materials, allows the production of tissue culture scaffolds containing multiple structurally and chemically distinct layers using common laboratory reagents and materials.

February 09, 2012General, Health, Science and Engineering

15th Annual Heart of San Diego Gala to Be ‘An Affair to Remember’ with Sanjay Gupta

In its 15th year of benefiting the University of California, San Diego’s Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center, the 2012 Heart of San Diego Gala on Saturday, Feb. 25 will be “An Affair to Remember,” honoring Emmy-winning producer of “Larry King Live,” Wendy Walker and founder and managing director of Eden Woods Investments, Randall Woods.

February 08, 2012Events, General, Health, On Campus

UC San Diego Professor Kim Barrett Selected President-Elect of the American Physiological Society

Kim E. Barrett, PhD, professor of medicine and dean of graduate studies at the University of California, San Diego, will become president-elect of the American Physiological Society (APS).

February 07, 2012Awards, Health, On Campus, Science and Engineering

UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center Offers New Hope for Deadly Brain Tumor

Jim Black is fighting the meanest, most aggressive, most common kind of brain tumor in the United States: recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).  In the United States, each year, approximately 10,000 patients are affected by GBM.  Now, a novel investigational device – available only at clinical trial sites – is offering new hope to these patients.

February 03, 2012General, Health, Science and Engineering

Sandra Daley Receives Grant to Increase Diversity in Health Professions

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently awarded $742,222 to UC San Diego’s Dr. Sandra Daley, professor of pediatrics and director of the Comprehensive Research Center in Health Disparities, to fund the Health Careers Opportunity Program/San Diego Regional Consortium (HCOP/SDRC).

January 31, 2012Health

Grant to UC San Diego Shiley Eye Center Supports Research in Blinding Eye Diseases

Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB) has awarded a grant of $100,000 to the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine to support research into the causes, treatment, and prevention of blinding eye diseases.

January 27, 2012Giving, Health, Science and Engineering

Scientists Link Evolved, Mutated Gene Module to Syndromic Autism

A team led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine reports that newly discovered mutations in an evolved assembly of genes cause Joubert syndrome, a form of syndromic autism.

January 26, 2012General, Health, Science and Engineering

Four Breast Cancer-Related Studies Seeking Participants

An active lifestyle and a healthy diet can help you feel more energetic, control your weight, help you sleep better, and reduce your risk of many diseases.

January 25, 2012General, Health, Science and Engineering

Dawn of Social Networks

Ancient humans may not have had the luxury of updating their Facebook status, but social networks were nevertheless an essential component of their lives, a new study suggests.

January 25, 2012General, Health, Social Sciences

Researchers Induce Alzheimer’s Neurons From Pluripotent Stem Cells

Led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, scientists have, for the first time, created stem cell-derived, in vitro models of sporadic and hereditary Alzheimer’s disease (AD), using induced pluripotent stem cells from patients with the much-dreaded neurodegenerative disorder.

January 25, 2012General, Health, Science and Engineering

New Fluorescent Dyes Highlight Neuronal Activity

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have created a new generation of fast-acting fluorescent dyes that optically highlight electrical activity in neuronal membranes. The work is published in this week’s online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

January 25, 2012General, Health, Science and Engineering

UC San Diego Health System Expands, Acquires Nevada Cancer Institute

UC San Diego Health System has received approval to acquire the Nevada Cancer Institute (NVCI), the official cancer institute of the state of Nevada, as an affiliate health care provider. The expansion represents a partnership between California and Nevada in offering lifesaving cancer care to patients through expert diagnosis, novel treatments and clinical trials.

January 23, 2012General, Health, Science and Engineering

Author of Buddha’s Brain to Give Lecture at UC San Diego Medical Center

Rick Hanson, PhD, author of the book Buddha’s Brain and founder of the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom, will present his lecture “Taking in the Good: Helping Children Build Inner Strength and Happiness”  at the UC San Diego Medical Center Auditorium on Friday, February 3.

January 20, 2012Events, General, Health

Older stories (prior to October 2011)