March 5, 2018
March 5, 2018 —
A team of researchers has developed a light-activated switch that can turn genes on and off in mammalian cells. This is the most efficient so-called “optogenetic switch” activated by red and far-red light that has been successfully designed and tested in animal cells—and it doesn’t require the addition of sensing molecules from outside the cells.
February 20, 2018
February 20, 2018 —
The next computer-generated animals in King Kong or The Lion King could look a lot more realistic thanks to a breakthrough by computer scientists at the University of California. The researchers from UC San Diego and UC Berkeley developed a method that dramatically improves the way computers simulate fur, and more specifically, the way light bounces within an animal’s pelt.
February 16, 2018
February 16, 2018 —
A team of scientists has developed an algorithm that can accurately pinpoint, in large regions of the human genome, mutations favored by natural selection. The finding provides deeper insight into how evolution works, and ultimately could lead to better treatments for genetic disorders. For example, adaptation to chronic hypoxia at high altitude can suggest targets for cardiovascular and other ischemic diseases.
January 22, 2018
January 22, 2018 —
In a paper published in Nature Microbiology on Jan. 22, a team of American and Russian computer scientists described a new algorithm that identified an order of magnitude, or roughly 10 times more, naturally occurring antibiotics all previous studies.
December 12, 2017
December 12, 2017 —
Computer scientists have built and successfully tested a tool designed to detect when websites are hacked by monitoring the activity of email accounts associated with them. The researchers were surprised to find that almost 1 percent of the websites they tested had suffered a data breach during their 18-month study period, regardless of how big the companies' reach and audience are.
November 21, 2017
November 21, 2017 —
A team of bioengineers and bioinformaticians at the University of California San Diego have discovered how the environment surrounding a tumor can trigger metastatic behavior in cancer cells. Specifically, when tumor cells are confined in a dense environment, the researchers found that they turn on a specific set of genes and begin to form structures that resemble blood vessels.
October 30, 2017
October 30, 2017 —
The University of California San Diego will turn its campus into a test bed for self-driving vehicles starting in January 2018. The project will be implemented in stages. The first will be to put self-driving mail delivery carts on the road. The carts will run on algorithms developed by UC San Diego researchers who are part of the Contextual Robotics Institute. Back-up drivers will initially ride in the carts as a safety measure.
October 30, 2017
October 30, 2017 —
Henrik Christensen, an internationally renowned expert in robotics, has been appointed as the inaugural holder of the Qualcomm Chancellor’s Endowed Chair in Robotic Systems at the University of California San Diego. The chair was made possible by a generous $1 million gift from Qualcomm Incorporated and a $500,000 match from the campus Chancellor’s Chair Challenge, a program created to support the recruitment and retention of quality tenured faculty.
October 11, 2017
October 11, 2017 —
Stefan Savage, a renowned cybersecurity expert and professor of computer science at the University of California San Diego, has been awarded a fellowship by the MacArthur Foundation. Perhaps better known as the MacArthur “genius” award, the prestigious no-strings attached five-year fellowship awards a total of $625,000 to each recipient.
October 5, 2017
October 5, 2017 —
Emma Farley, an assistant professor at UC San Diego’s Division of Biological Sciences and School of Medicine, has been awarded the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award. Melissa Gymrek, an assistant professor in the School of Medicine and Department of Computer Science and Engineering, will receive the NIH Director’s Early Independence Award.
