News Archive

May 14, 2018 — UC San Diego scientists have unraveled a decades-long mystery on how genes are activated. Until activated, human genes are blocked by structures known as nucleosomes, components that serve to package DNA inside cells. Scientists have been trying to determine how these nucleosome roadblocks clear out to allow genes to be turned on. Now, a team of scientists has identified a key factor that partially unravels nucleosomes and clears the way for genes to activate. The identification of “NDF,” or nucleosome destabilizing factor, is described May 14 in the journal Genes & Development. The researchers say the finding provides a new perspective on how genes are turned on and off—knowledge useful in the study of human diseases such as cancer, which can be caused by improper gene activity.

May 10, 2018 — The congressman from Georgia’s high ethical standards and moral principles have won him the admiration of many of his colleagues on both sides of the aisle in the United States Congress. As a devoted advocate of nonviolent activism, he’s inspired millions of Americans. And as UC San Diego’s 2018 All Campus Commencement speaker, he will address thousands of graduating students and campus community members at 9 a.m. on June 16 at RIMAC in what will undoubtedly be a historical milestone for the campus.

May 10, 2018 — UC San Diego physicist Massimo Vergassola, physics graduate student Gautam Reddy and the lab group of Venkatesh Murthy at Harvard explain their research in a paper titled, "Antagonism in olfactory receptor neurons and its implications for the perception of odor mixtures,” published April 24 in “eLife.” The study bears implications for future olfactory research since it recognizes a new way to analyze olfaction, which also applies to other sensory processes in the brain.

May 10, 2018 — In December 2017, the U.S. Postal Service announced that Sally Ride would be commemorated on a Forever stamp in 2018 along with other icons including rock ‘n’ roll hero John Lennon; legendary singer and actress Lena Horne; and beloved children’s television host Fred Rogers.

May 10, 2018 — That’s the goal of the All of Us Research Program, which officially opened for public enrollment this week. Led by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), All of Us is an unprecedented effort to gather genetic, biological, environmental, health and lifestyle data from 1 million or more volunteer participants living in the United States. A major component of the federal Precision Medicine Initiative, the program’s ultimate goal is to accelerate research and improve health.

May 9, 2018 — The Preuss School UCSD has been named the top high school in San Diego County by U.S. News and World Report, which just released its annual list of “Best High Schools.” The school also received a Gold Award designation and was ranked the #6 school in the State of California based on performance on state assessments, graduation rates and college preparation.

May 9, 2018 — In a new paper, an international team led by scientists at University of California San Diego School of Medicine describe successfully grafting induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived neural precursor cells back into the spinal cords of genetically identical adult pigs with no immunosuppression efforts. The grafted cells survived long-term, displayed differentiated functionality and caused no tumors.

May 9, 2018 — University of California San Diego’s Wei Xiong studies the science of “in between.” Specifically, the physical chemist studies mixed states of light and matter in order to better understand how the two forms of energy interact and communicate. Xiong does this by mixing light and matter to create hybrid quantum combinations whose properties he and his team measure and analyze. Recent research by Xiong; Bo Xiang, a Ph.D. candidate in his group; and postdoctoral scholar Raphael Ribeiro, from the Joel Yuen-Zhou Group, was published by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) in an article titled, “Two-dimensional infrared (2D IR) spectroscopy of vibrational polaritons.”

May 7, 2018 — Exploring space beyond our solar system, UC San Diego Professor of Physics Adam Burgasser collaborated with an international team of astronomers, led by Nikolay Nikolov from the University of Exeter, to discover that the atmosphere of an exoplanet named WASP-96b, a so-called “hot Saturn,” is cloud-free. Their research is now published in the scientific journal Nature in an article titled, “An absolute sodium abundance for a cloud-free ‘hot Saturn’ exoplanet.”

May 3, 2018 — On April 18, UC San Diego community members were recognized at the 8th Annual Integrity Awards Ceremony for their contributions to academic, research and professional integrity on campus. The awards honor our university’s commitment to uphold the six pillars of integrity—responsibility, honesty, fairness, respect, trustworthiness and courage.