August 10, 2017
August 10, 2017 —
Until recently, CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing could only be used to manipulate DNA. In 2016, University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers repurposed the technique to track RNA in live cells in a method called RNA-targeting Cas9. In a study published August 10 in Cell, the team took RCas9 a step further: they corrected molecular mistakes that lead to microsatellite repeat expansion diseases, which include a type of ALS and Huntington's disease.
August 9, 2017
August 9, 2017 —
Microbiome researchers Rob Knight, PhD, University of California San Diego, Jeffrey Gordon, MD, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and Norman Pace, PhD, University of Colorado Boulder, will share this year’s Massry Prize, splitting the $200,000 honorarium. These researchers lead a field that works to produce a detailed understanding of microbiomes and methods for manipulating them for the benefit of human and environmental health.
August 8, 2017
August 8, 2017 —
UC San Diego Health and its medical and surgical specialties have been recognized as among the best in the nation by U.S. News & World Report for 2017-18. The annual “Best Hospitals” rankings distinguish hospitals that excel in treating the most challenging health conditions.
August 7, 2017
August 7, 2017 —
Group A Streptococcus bacteria — the cause of strep throat and flesh-eating infections — have been well studied for nearly a century. But researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences recently made a surprising discovery: strep’s M protein alone wipes out macrophages, but not other types of immune cells. The macrophages’ self-sacrifice serves as an early warning of infection to the rest of the immune system.
May 3, 2017
May 3, 2017 —
Researchers at Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at University of California San Diego mined the FDA Adverse Effect Reporting System (FAERS) database for depression symptoms in patients taking ketamine for pain. They found that depression was reported half as often among the more than 41,000 patients who took ketamine, as compared to patients who took any other drug or drug combination for pain.
May 2, 2017
May 2, 2017 —
The U.S. National Academy of Sciences announced today the membership election of Christopher K. Glass, MD, PhD, professor in the Departments of Medicine and Cellular and Molecular Medicine at University of California San Diego School of Medicine.
May 2, 2017
May 2, 2017 —
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) — a condition that can lead to liver cirrhosis and cancer — isn’t typically detected until well advanced. Even then, diagnosis requires a biopsy. To more easily detect NAFLD, UC San Diego School of Medicine researchers and their collaborators report that the microbial makeup of a patient’s stool — gut microbiome — can be used to predict advanced NAFLD with 88 to 94 percent accuracy. The study is published May 2 in Cell Metabolism.
April 25, 2017
April 25, 2017 —
Scientists and physicians at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, working with colleagues at the U.S. Navy Medical Research Center – Biological Defense Research Directorate (NMRC-BDRD), Texas A&M University, a San Diego-based biotech and elsewhere, have successfully used an experimental therapy involving bacteriophages — viruses that target and consume specific strains of bacteria — to treat a patient near death from a multidrug-resistant bacterium.
April 25, 2017
April 25, 2017 —
Scientists and physicians at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, working with colleagues at the U.S. Navy Medical Research Center – Biological Defense Research Directorate (NMRC-BDRD), Texas A&M University, a San Diego-based biotech and elsewhere, have successfully used an experimental therapy involving bacteriophages — viruses that target and consume specific strains of bacteria — to treat a patient near death from a multidrug-resistant bacterium.
April 19, 2017
April 19, 2017 —
Rock star drummer Rikki Rockett feels very lucky to be on tour with his band, Poison. A year ago, he didn’t know if he would survive tongue cancer but after participating in an immunotherapy clinical trial at Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health, he was declared cancer-free in July 2016. To give back, Rockett is now asking concert-goers to join him in supporting immunotherapy at Moores Cancer Center.
