Scientists have created the precision-guided sterile insect technique, a new CRISPR-based technology to control Aedes aegypti, the mosquito species responsible for spreading wide-ranging diseases including dengue fever, chikungunya and Zika.
As bandwidth demands on today’s computers reach their limit, scientists are developing systems with new materials that can match the speed and precision of animal nervous systems. UC San Diego physicists have now simulated the foundation of new types of computing devices that mimic brain functions.
Publishing in the journal Science, a research team led by new UC San Diego biologist Alexandra Dickinson has identified a compound that plays a key role in triggering the development of plants’ lateral roots. Retinoids, known for medical uses, were found to be vital in plant growth.
New visualizations of SARS-CoV-2 have allowed researchers to discover how the virus enters and infects healthy human cells. They found that glycan sugar molecules act as infection “gates” to our cell’s receptors.
Neurobiologists have uncovered the mechanisms behind the maintenance and decline of key synapses implicated in Alzheimer’s disease. The findings suggest an alternative approach to addressing such brain disorders.
UC San Diego researchers and their colleagues have discovered that spontaneous impulses of dopamine, the neurological messenger known as the brain’s “feel good” chemical, occur in the brain of mice. The study found that mice can willfully manipulate these random dopamine pulses for reward.
The American Physical Society has designated UC San Diego’s Mayer Hall as a historic site in recognition of the groundbreaking accomplishments of UC San Diego physicists Walter Kohn and Lu Sham and their development of the “Kohn-Sham equation.”
Physics condensed matter experimentalist Chunhui Rita Du leverages imperfections in diamonds to investigate materials needed for a new era of computing and storage. New quantum materials are exotic substances that are allowing scientists to create novel technologies at previously unseen scales.
Research reveals that phage viruses that undergo special evolutionary training increase their capacity to subdue bacteria. The results provide hope for the antibiotic resistance crisis, a rising threat as deadly bacteria continue to evolve to render many modern drugs ineffective.