Biology News - Division of Biological Sciences, UC San Diego

All News

The 3-D structure of the immunoglobulin locus in B cells is shown, with the relative positions of the different portions of the immunoglobulin genes. Grey objects indicate constant regions. Blue objects indicate proximal variable regions. Green objects indicate distal variable regions. Red line indicates the linker connecting the proximal variable and joining regions.

UC San Diego Scientists Show First 3-D Image of Antibody Gene

Using a multidisciplinary mix of geometry, biological research and techniques developed to solve problems on supercomputers, scientists at the University of California, San Diego have shown for the first time how a genome is organized in three-dimensional space.

Researchers led by Cornelis Murre, a professor of biology at UC San Diego, and Steve Cutchin, senior scientist for visualization services at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC), used the gene encoding the immunoglobulin heavy chain locus – responsible for generating diverse kinds of antibodies – to demonstrate the structure of the genome.

The observations, the researchers say, permit an insight into the structure of the human genome, which until now has remained elusive.

Mutant mice with an enhanced HIF-1 gene (at right) are smaller than normal mice and have reddish skin, due to increased blood flow through their skin.

Credit: UC San Diego

UC San Diego Study Finds Mice Can Sense Oxygen Through Skin

Biologists at the University of California, San Diego have discovered that the skin of mice can sense low levels of oxygen and regulate the production of erythropoietin, or EPO, the hormone that stimulates our bodies to produce red blood cells and allows us to adapt to high-altitude, low-oxygen environments.

If found to apply to humans, the discovery could radically change the way physicians treat anemia and other diseases that require boosting our bodies’ ability to produce red blood cells. It also could be used to improve the performance of endurance athletes competing in this summer’s Olympic Games.

Dr. Ajit Varki, a pioneer in the field of glycobiology, will deliver the fifth and final lecture of the Evolution Matters series, speaking on “The Genetics of Primate Evolution: A Rosetta Stone for Understanding Human Disease.”

Final “Evolution Matters” Lecture Finds Clues to Human Disease in Genetics of Primates

“Nothing in biology makes sense, except in the light of evolution,” said the famed geneticist Theodosius Dobzhansky in 1973, and biological research since has strongly affirmed that observation. Understanding our origins, then, especially our long genetic history, should prove useful in discovering the causes, mechanisms, and treatments of our diseases. That’s the premise of the fifth and final lecture of the “Evolution Matters” series.

Anthony Jackson ’74

Biology Senior and Biology Alumnus Win Top Awards from UC San Diego Alumni Association

Author Khaled Hosseini, biophysicist Gunars Valkirs, emergency room physician Anthony Jackson, professor emeritus David Jordan and students Sapna Iyer and Jeffrey Mounzer to be recognized at June 7 Awards for Excellence campus event.

Illustration of a yeast cell invaginating a peroxisome, which is then engulfed in a lysosome in a process requiring the protein Atg30. The peroxisome is then degraded in the lysosome.

Biologists at UC San Diego Identify Key Protein in Cell’s “Self-Eating” Function

Molecular biologists at the University of California, San Diego have found one piece of the complex puzzle of autophagy, the process of “self-eating” performed by all eukaryotic cells — cells with a nucleus — to keep themselves healthy.

Their finding, published in the March 11 issue of the journal Developmental Cell, is important because it allows scientists to control this one aspect of cellular autophagy, and may lead to the ability to control other selective “self-eating” processes. This, in turn, could help illuminate autophagy’s role in aging, immunity, neurodegeneration and cancer.

Spectral Tarsier in Sulawesi, one of the areas under threat.

Cagan Sekercioglu

Study Finds Future ‘Battlegrounds’ for Conservation Very Different to Those in Past

Biologists at the University of California, San Diego have developed a series of global maps that show where projected habitat loss and climate change are expected to drive the need for future reserves to prevent biodiversity loss.

Their study, published online today in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, provides a guide for conservationists of the areas of our planet where conservation investments would have the most impact in the future to limit extinctions and damage to ecosystems due to rapid human-driven climate and land-use change.

Colored guard cells surround a stomatal pore.

UCSD

Gene That Controls Ozone Resistance of Plants Could Lead to Drought-Resistant Crops

Biologists at the University of California, San Diego, working with collaborators at the University of Helsinki in Finland and two other European institutions, have elucidated the mechanism of a plant gene that controls the amount of atmospheric ozone entering a plant’s leaves.

Their finding helps explain why rising concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere may not necessarily lead to greater photosynthetic activity and carbon sequestration by plants as atmospheric ozone pollutants increase. And it provides a new tool for geneticists to design plants with an ability to resist droughts by regulating the opening and closing of their stomata–the tiny breathing pores in leaves through which gases and water vapor flow during photosynthesis and respiration.

In Arabidopsis and other flowering plants, ovules (false-colored blue in this scanning electron micrograph) are normally enclosed by tissues of the carpels (green). In this mutant, however, carpel growth is defective, leading to the exposure of the ovules.

Jose Dinneny and Martin Yanofsky

Fourth “Evolution Matters” Lecture Unravels the “Abominable Mystery” of Flowers

The magical and mysterious world of flowers is the topic for the fourth lecture in the popular “Evolution Matters” lectures presented by the Division of Biological Sciences at UC San Diego.

For thousands of years, people have pondered the mysteries of flower development and how these flowers ultimately give rise to fruit. Recent studies have begun to unravel these long-standing mysteries, leading to a detailed understanding of how a handful of genes interact to direct the formation of flowers and fruit. This new-found knowledge offers remarkable opportunities for increasing the yield of agriculturally important crop plants.

Martin Yanofsky, professor of biology at UC San Diego, will discuss those recent studies and more in “Unraveling the Mysteries of Flower Formation,” at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 6, in the San Diego Natural History Museum in Balboa Park. Free registration begins at 6 p.m. at the museum, and the public is invited to attend.

The color and complexity of biological systems, “From the Human Brain to the Rainforest,” is the topic of the third “Evolution Matters” lecture slated for Feb. 28.

Third “Evolution Matters” Lecture Explores Nature’s Complexities — from Human Brain to Rainforest

The astounding human brain, with its millions of connections, is humbled by even more astonishing systems such as tropical reefs and rainforests, made up of millions of interacting species. How have these amazing complexities evolved?

Learn that and more at the third of the popular “Evolution Matters” lectures — “The Evolution of Complexity: From the Human Brain to the Rainforest” — which will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 28, in the San Diego Natural History Museum in Balboa Park. Free registration begins at 6 p.m. at the museum, and the public is invited to attend.

The lecture will be delivered by Christopher Wills, professor of ecology, behavior and evolution biology, and a member of the Center for Molecular Genetics in the Division of Biological Sciences at UC San Diego.

Steve Kay, Dean of the Division of Biological Sciences at UCSD, opened the three-day “Biology and Business of Biofuels” symposium. “We all want to be part of the solution,” he said.

Part of the Solution: UCSD Organizes Conference to Discuss Developing Biofuels to Replace Dependence on Oil

More than 300 scientists and business leaders from around the country met last week to discuss ways of developing new biofuels to help replace our dwindling oil reserves and mitigate some of the impacts of climate change.

“Biologists can save the world,” said Steve Kay, dean of the UCSD Division of Biological Sciences, in his introduction to the symposium on "The Biology and Business of Biofuels". But he acknowledged that investment in biofuels research will need a dramatic boost before plants and algae can contribute significantly to the world’s demand for energy.

The discovery was made in the mustard plant Arabidopsis

Biologists Find Unusual Plant Gene: Abstinence by Mutual Consent

Biologists at the University of California, San Diego have discovered a gene in plants that disrupts fertilization only when mutations in the gene are present in both the female and male reproductive cells.

Their discovery, detailed in a paper that appears online today in the journal Current Biology, has been named the “abstinence by mutual consent” mutation because of its unusual properties.

“Embryos and Evolution” is the second lecture in the Evolution Matters series, and explores “the deep and profound kinship among species.” The free public lecture is set for 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 24 in the San Diego Natural History Museum.

Second “Evolution Matters” Lecture Focuses on Genetic Patterns of Embryos, Kinship among Species

How does variation in genes generate the beautiful and astounding diversity of animal body shapes on Planet Earth?

That biological puzzle, among others, will be explained in the second of the “Evolution Matters: The Diversity of Development” lectures, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 24, at the San Diego Natural History Museum in Balboa Park.

Presented by the Division of Biological Sciences at UC San Diego, “Embryos and Evolution” will feature William J. McGinnis, professor of cell and developmental biology and the Herbert Stern Endowed Chair in biology.

The lectures are free and open to the public. Registration begins at 6 p.m. in the museum.

In the upcoming lecture, “Embryos and Evolution,” McGinnis discusses the genetic patterns that bind all living creatures in a “deep and profound kinship” just now being understood.

Argentine Ants Fighting

Marc Dantzker

Study Links Success of Invasive Argentine Ants to Diet Shifts

The ability of Argentine ants to change from carnivorous insect eaters to plant sap-loving creatures has helped these invasive social insects rapidly spread throughout coastal California, according to a new study, displacing many native insects and creating ant infestations familiar to most coastal residents.

Biologists at the University of California, San Diego and the University of Illinois at Urbana discovered the opportunistic, changing dietary preferences of California’s Argentine ants–the first time researchers have documented what these invasive ants actually eat–by studying a population of ants for eight years in the foothills southeast of San Diego. An advance copy of their paper is being published online this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Credit: UCSD

UC San Diego Selected for Nationwide Science Education Program

The University of California, San Diego has been selected by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute as one of 12 inaugural institutions to participate in a new educational initiative, the Science Education Alliance, a national network of scientists and educators working collaboratively to develop and disseminate new materials and methods for science education.

As part of this innovative network, UC San Diego’s Division of Biological Sciences will participate in the first nationwide genomics course, which will allow freshman at UCSD and 11 other institutions to engage in actual research.

The Pinyon Jay is an important seed disperser of North American pinyon pines, but globally threatened with extinction. According to the study, 52 percent of its range is overestimated.

Photo Credit: Cagan Sekercioglu

Threatened Birds May Be Rarer than Geographic Range Maps Suggest

Geographic range maps that allow conservationists to estimate the distribution of birds may vastly overestimate the actual population size of threatened species and those with specific habitats, according to a study published online this week in the journal Conservation Biology.

“Our study found that species ranges in general tend to get overestimated, but that this trend is particularly pronounced for birds that are threatened, rely on specialized diets or have small habitats,” said Walter Jetz, an assistant professor of biological sciences at UC San Diego and the lead author of the study, which will appear in the February issue of the printed journal. “This suggests that many threatened species of birds may be even rarer than we believe and are in greater danger of going extinct.”

Fruit Fly

Discovery of Fruit Fly Model Could Help Stroke and Transplant Patients

Biologists have discovered that the common fruit fly is an ideal laboratory model for reperfusion injury-a physiological condition that occurs when an organ is starved of oxygen, then exposed to oxygen again, and which can lead to death among stroke victims and during organ transplants. Researchers at UC San Diego and the University of Nevada at Las Vegas said that because reperfusion injury can be induced in fruit flies, scientists will now have a convenient, inexpensive and well-characterized animal model for this physiological condition.

Dean Steve Kay among "Metro Movers to Watch in 2008"

From The San Diego Metropolitan Magazine:

As we do each fall, we ask readers, associates and friends to give us their best predictions on who will be making news in the new year and why. This year brought a record number of suggestions, which made the picks that much more difficult. This year's movers include Tony Haymet, director of UCSD's Scripps Institution of Oceanography, JoAnne Starr, a founding member of the Rady School of Management at UCSD, and Steve Kay, the new dean of UCSD's Division of Biological Sciences."

Division’s Evolution Matters Public Lecture Series to Explain Biological Links among All Living Creatures

Embryo growth, circadian rhythms, biological complexity, the mysteries of flower formation and primate evolution are among the topics to be explored in a new series of free public lectures presented by the Division of Biological Sciences.

In each of the five lectures for “Evolution Matters: The Diversity of Development,” leading scientists will focus on common evolutionary themes that underlie different biological systems and illustrate how these themes affect the health and development of plants, animals, and human beings.

Professor Stephen Briggs Named to AAAS

Division of Biological Studies professor Steven P. Briggs is one of four faculty members from the University of California, San Diego awarded the distinction of "fellow" by the prestigious American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world's largest general scientific society, and publisher of the journal, Science.

Dr. John Eng, who found a treatment for diabetes in the saliva of Gila monsters, has given $50K for wilderness studies in biology at UC San Diego, which he calls "an ideal place for the endowment."

Eng Endowment of $50K Supports Wilderness Studies at UC San Diego

The veterans' doctor who discovered a treatment for diabetes in the saliva of Gila monsters has given $50,000 to endow wilderness research in biology at the University of California, San Diego.

Dr. John Eng, for more than 25 years a physician and researcher at the Bronx Veterans Administration Medical Center, has established the John Eng Endowment for Wilderness Studies in the Division of Biological Sciences as a perpetual source of funding for naturalist fieldwork.