Neuron-to-neuron transmission of a-synuclein may cause ?-synuclein aggregates to propagate

-- Accumulation of the synaptic protein ?-synuclein, resulting in the formation of aggregates called Lewy bodies in the brain, is a hallmark of Parkinson’s and other related neurodegenerative diseases.  This pathology appears to spread throughout the brain as the disease progresses.  Now, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Konkuk University in…

The University of California, San Diego has begun producing electricity with newly installed solar panels made by Concentrix Solar that automatically track the sun as it crosses the daytime sky and concentrate sunlight onto hundreds of electricity-producing solar cells, each smaller than a shirt button.  

Workers install Concentrix Solar’s…

LA JOLLA, CA—Of all the qualities that distinguish humans from other species, how we learn is one of the most significant. In the July 17, 2009 issue of the journal Science, researchers who are at the forefront of neuroscience, psychology, education, and machine learning have synthesized a new science of learning that is already reshaping how we think about learning and creating opportunities to re-imagine the classroom for the 21st century.

"To understand how children learn…

A hyper-realistic Einstein robot at the University of California, San Diego has learned to smile and make facial expressions through a process of self-guided learning. The UC San Diego researchers used machine learning to “empower” their robot to learn to make realistic facial expressions.

The Einstein robot head at UC San Diego performs…

 Researchers have invented computational tools to decode and rapidly determine whether natural compounds collected in oceans and forests are new—or if these pharmaceutically promising compounds have already been described and are therefore not patentable.

Nuno Bandeira (left) and Julio Ng (right) are UC San Diego researchers and co-lead…

I've owned Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything (Broadway Books, 2003) for a few years now, having bought it after hearing its high praise from scientists and non-scientists alike. But instead of sitting down with it immediately, I lent it out to a few folks before it found a permanent home among a stack of books I’d meant to read but hadn’t gotten around to. After finishing a lovely work of fiction, I decided it was time for me to finally crack open Bryson’s award…

The link between high cholesterol and increased risk of cardiovascular disease is one of the indisputable facts of modern medicine. Tremendous progress has been made through active research and public education, leading to cholesterol-lowering medications and a widespread promotion of healthier lifestyles. But achieving the recommended levels of cholesterol is often harder sought than done, and research to find new strategies to fight LDL-cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol) has not slowed…