News Archive - Biological Sciences

Neurobiologists Identify Widely Used Assembling and Stabilizing Forces behind Brain Synapses

UC San Diego scientists have provided promising new evidence that the “planar cell polarity,” a powerful signaling pathway, is a widely used mechanism for the formation and maintenance of a large number of synapses.

Mapping the Mouse Brain, and by Extension, the Human Brain Too

In a special issue of Nature, UC San Diego researchers further refine the organization of cells within key regions of the mouse brain and the organization of transcriptomic, epigenomic and regulatory factors that provide these brain cells with function and purpose.

Students, Faculty and Staff Assemble Do-It-Yourself Air Filtration Boxes that Fight COVID-19 Spread

Last week, as students returned to in-person classes, dozens of UC San Diego students, faculty and staff gathered on campus in one of the outdoor classrooms to build 250 do-it-yourself air filters to support our Return to Learn program.

Elizabeth Villa Selected as 2021 HHMI Investigator

Biological Sciences Associate Professor Elizabeth Villa has been selected as a 2021 Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator. As one of 33 scientists chosen out of pool of more than 800, Villa will receive $9 million over a seven-year HHMI Investigator term.

New Technology Designed to Genetically Control Disease-spreading Mosquitoes

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.

Growth-promoting, Anti-aging Retinal at the Root of Plant Growth Too

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.

How Adolescents Used Drugs During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Among adolescents ages 10 to 14 in the U.S, the overall rate of drug use remained relatively stable in the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, one change was a decreased use of alcohol, but an increased use of nicotine and misuse of prescription drugs.

UC San Diego Researchers Discover Key Mechanisms behind Synapse Degeneration in Alzheimer’s Brain

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.

Reconnecting the People, Plants and Animals of the Kendall-Frost Marsh

UC San Diego’s Kendall-Frost Marsh has received an $85,000 grant from Honda to create an integrated research and public engagement program centered on bringing Native American perspectives and cutting-edge science into the management and access decisions needed to ensure the marsh’s survival.

‘Feel Good’ Brain Messenger Can Be Willfully Controlled, New Study Reveals

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.