Category: News
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Study of mountain lion energetics shows the power of the pounce
In the background of this illustration are typical SMART collar accelerometer traces for walking and then running, while the foreground shows a collared puma chasing a black-tailed deer. (Image by Corlis Schneider) Captive mountain lions were trained to walk and run on a treadmill so researchers could measure oxygen consumption at different activity levels. (Photo…
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Ebola genome browser now online to aid researchers’ response to crisis Primary tabs
By Guy Lasnier, UCSC Public Information Office The UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute late Tuesday (September 30) released a new Ebola genome browser to assist global efforts to develop a vaccine and antiserum to help stop the spread of the Ebola virus. The team led by University of California, Santa Cruz researcher Jim Kent worked…
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Human genome was shaped by an evolutionary arms race with itself
By Tim Stephens, UCSC Public Information Office New findings by scientists at UC Santa Cruz suggest that an evolutionary arms race between rival elements within the genomes of primates drove the evolution of complex regulatory networks that orchestrate the activity of genes in every cell of our bodies. The arms race is between mobile DNA…
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UC Santa Cruz among top five institutions seeing growth in NIH funding
By Guy Lasnier, UCSC Public Information Office UC Santa Cruz is in the top five of institutions that have seen significant increases in funding from the National Institutes of Health over the past decade. At the same time a number of other institutions have suffered sizeable drops. According to “Science Squeezed,” a series of reports…
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Radical New DNA Sequencer Finally Gets into Researchers’ Hands
By Antonio Regalado, MIT Technology Review One day in 1989, biophysicist David Deamer pulled his car off California’s Interstate 5 to hurriedly scribble down an idea. In a mental flash, he had pictured a strand of DNA threading its way through a microscopic pore. Grabbing a pen and a yellow pad, he sketched out a…
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Undergraduates present work at Summer Research Symposium
By Tim Stevens, UCSC Public Information A diverse crowd of undergraduate researchers gathered in the Engineering Courtyard on Friday, August 15, to present the results of their summer research projects. They included UC Santa Cruz students doing research in a broad range of disciplines, from bioengineering and physics to linguistics and psychology. The event also…
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Cancer study reveals powerful new system for classifying tumors
By Tim Stevens, UCSC Public Information Cancers are classified primarily on the basis of where in the body the disease originates, as in lung cancer or breast cancer. According to a new study, however, one in ten cancer patients would be classified differently using a new classification system based on molecular subtypes instead of the…
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NIH awards $2 million to UCSC group for DNA sequencing research
By Tim Stevens, UCSC Public Information A group led by Mark Akeson, professor of biomolecular engineering at UC Santa Cruz, will receive $2.29 million over three years from the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) to support the team’s work on novel DNA sequencing technology. Akeson leads the UC Santa Cruz nanopore group, which has…
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Edward Schulak Fellowship in Genomics goes to resolving ambiguities in human genomes
A gift to support research in biomolecular engineer David Haussler’s laboratory at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has made possible the Edward Schulak Fellowship in Genomics. The fellowship is to support groundbreaking research in genomics. Schulak, an international business leader, architect, entrepreneur, real estate developer, and inventor said, “Genomics is answering the questions that…
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New application programming interface facilitates global genomic data sharing
The Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH) today announced a new application programming interface (API) that enables DNA data providers and consumers to better share information and work together on a global scale, advancing genome research and its clinical application. The new open-source tool, GA4GH Genomics API Version 0.5, allows interoperable exchange of information…
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Energy demands of raising a pup push sea otter moms to the limit
By Tim Stephens, UCSC Public Information OfficeParents often complain that child-rearing is exhausting, but consider the poor sea otter mom. By the time a sea otter pup is weaned, its mother may be so depleted physiologically that she is unable to survive the stress of a minor wound or infection. Sea otter researchers have a…
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Leadership change in Baskin Engineering
To: UCSC Community From: Campus Provost/Executive Vice Chancellor Alison Galloway I am pleased to announce the appointment of Joe Konopelski, professor of chemistry, as interim dean of the Jack Baskin School of Engineering. The appointment is effective July 1 and will continue through June 30, 2015, or until we fill the position on a permanent…