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.”
UC San Diego School of Medicine researchers discovered that the enzyme RNA polymerase II recognizes and transcribes artificially added base pairs in genetic code, a new insight that could help advance the development of new vaccines and medicines.
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.
What on Earth is an astrophysicist doing in the field of planetary conservation? At first glance, UC San Diego Physics Professor Tom Murphy seems like he is far afield when it comes to discussions of sustainability and conserving the planet’s resources.
UC San Diego physicists have created new artificial devices that mimic basic learning functions carried out by neurons in the human brain. They demonstrated how quantum materials could be used to develop new devices that can “learn” to switch between functional states.
UC San Diego researchers have generated a new map of brain connectivity from a part of the brain called the basal ganglia, a hub for regulating motor and behavior functions. The breadth of connections revealed could potentially open avenues for intervention of Parkinson’s disease and other disorders
Neural network training could one day require less computing power and hardware, thanks to a new nanodevice that can run neural network computations using 100 to 1000 times less energy and area than existing CMOS-based hardware.
UC San Diego scientists have created new brain maps with unprecedented detail. The insights provided by the new maps are helping answer questions about blood supply and how more active parts of the brain are kept nourished versus less demanding areas.
UC San Diego physicists are discovering details about the fundamental properties of exotic particles known as excitons. Their findings include pinpointing a visual phenomenon tied to a new state of matter as well as the first confirmation of exciton superfluidity.