At the University of California San Diego, we constantly push boundaries and challenge expectations. Established in 1960, UC San Diego has been shaped by exceptional scholars who aren’t afraid to take risks and redefine conventional wisdom. Today, as one of the top 15 research universities in the world, we are driving innovation and change to advance society, propel economic growth and make our world a better place. Learn more at www.ucsd.edu.
Though examining poop samples scientists working on the American Gut Project are getting a new perspective on the microbes in our guts.
By Christos Georghiou/Shutterstock.com
In the largest citizen science experiment to date, 11,336 people sent poop samples to this San Diego lab so that microbiologists could figure out how the microbes in our guts make us healthy or sick.
Watching bacteria and viruses duke it out, evolving to outwit each other.
UC San Diego
A core idea in molecular biology is that one gene codes for one protein. Now biologists have found an example of a gene that yields two forms of a protein – enabling it to evolve new functionality.
We are told driverless cars will be much safer, because human error causes more than 90% of crashes.
shutterstock
One of the most effective ways to reduce health inequalities across Australia is to design neighbourhoods that free residents from having to rely on cars for transport.
A man taking stairs at Washington-Dulles International Airport in 2013.
Wikimedia Commons
Dropping old, bad habits is hard, but starting new, good ones may not be so difficult. Or so a recent study suggests. Read how a simple sign at an airport made a difference.
Computer training can decrease children’s biases.
Jeff Inglis
Racial bias is associated with dehumanizing social groups different from your own. Psychologists trained kids to differentiate individuals of another race – with lasting effects on their biases.
Staying physically active can play a big part in ageing well – and a well-designed neighbourhood helps with that.
Maylat/shutterstock
The wealthy evade taxes and are less likely to donate to charity, but does this mean they’re more selfish than everyone else? New research suggests not.
How you package the information matters.
Frame image via www.shutterstock.com.
Are we in a race against climate change? Or is it a war? How does thinking of the past or the future affect your support for the science? Researchers are learning how metaphors and context matter.
This isn’t the first time the US has banned people based on nationality. History shows these exclusions have put our national security at risk and caused rifts with foreign allies.
Yeah, I’m not hearing that.
Woman picture via www.shutterstock.com.
Quirks of human psychology can pose problems for science communicators trying to cover controversial topics. Recognizing what cognitive science knows about how we deal with new information could help.
A Miami police officer looks at a driver’s license he requested from a motorist at a DUI checkpoint.
AP Photo/Lynne Sladky
We have a reliable and easy-to-use test to measure blood alcohol concentration. But right now we don’t have a fast, reliable test to gauge whether someone is too doped up to drive.
A dead vaquita entangled in a gillnet.
NOAA Fisheries West Coast
As the vaquita porpoise heads towards extinction, new management measures in Mexico still may have missed the point – affecting not one but two critically endangered marine species.
Aging and cancer appear to be closely linked, as over time, cells accumulate hits in their DNA code. But now research has turned to the role of RNA. Is RNA the key to a longer life?
Fluorescent image of the coral Pocillopora damicornis. The field of view is approximately 4.1 x 3.4 mm.
Andrew D. Mullen/UCSD