January 10, 2020
January 10, 2020 —
UC San Diego School of Medicine researchers have discovered how a new immune system works to protect bacteria from phages, viruses that infect bacteria — new information that could be leveraged to improve treatment of multidrug-resistant bacterial infections by refining phage therapy.
December 10, 2019
December 10, 2019 —
People with cystic fibrosis who carry genetic variants that lower RNF5 gene expression have more mutant CFTR protein on cell surfaces. Even if the CFTR protein isn’t fully functional, it’s better than none, and may explain why some with cystic fibrosis are less prone to infection than others.
November 21, 2019
November 21, 2019 —
According to a new Cell study, extra DNA scooped up and copied alongside cancer-causing genes helps keep tumors going — elements that could represent new drug targets for brain tumors and other cancers notoriously difficult to treat.
November 13, 2019
November 13, 2019 —
UC San Diego researchers linked a gut bacteria toxin to worse clinical outcomes in patients with alcoholic liver disease, and discovered that treatment with bacteriophages clears the bacteria and eliminates the disease in mice.
October 8, 2019
October 8, 2019 —
In the largest and most diverse genetic study of PTSD to date, scientists from UC San Diego School of Medicine and more than 130 institutions in the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium found that genetics accounts for five to 20 percent of the variability in PTSD risk following a traumatic event.
October 3, 2019
October 3, 2019 —
UC San Diego researchers investigated how a type of immune cell called a macrophage becomes specialized to the liver. Their study, published October 3, 2019 in Immunity, sets the stage for understanding how macrophage specialization gets disrupted by — or contributes to — liver disease.
September 30, 2019
September 30, 2019 —
A small genetic study, published September 30, 2019 in Nature Genetics, identified a protein linked to many genetic variants that affect heart function. Researchers are expanding the model to other organ systems and at larger scales to create a broader understanding of genes and proteins involved.
September 23, 2019
September 23, 2019 —
When we eat red meat, the animal carbohydrate Neu5Gc is incorporated in our tissues, where it generates inflammation. UC San Diego researchers discovered how gut bacteria enzymes strip our cells of Neu5Gc, introducing the possibility of using the enzymes to reduce the risk of inflammatory diseases.
August 29, 2019
August 29, 2019 —
Nine-month-old brains-in-a-dish and the brains of premature newborn babies generate similar electrical patterns, as captured by electroencephalogram (EEG) — the first time such brain activity has been achieved in a cell-based laboratory model.
August 28, 2019
August 28, 2019 —
As the opioid tramadol has grown in popularity so too have documented cases of adverse effects. In a new study, researchers at Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at UC San Diego show that patients who take tramadol are at greater risk for hypoglycemia, abnormally low blood sugar.