UCLA researchers developed a gel-forming sprayable solution that can prevent cancer cells from regrowing after surgical removal. Zhen Gu, a bioengineering professor, and other senior researchers at universities in the U.S. and China published their results earlier this month in Nature Nanotechnology, a scientific journal. The researchers tested the solution on mice with cancer and […]
Category Archives: Science & Health
Potential treatments for brain diseases may arise from studying neurons in space
This post was updated Jan. 11 at 4:21 p.m. UCLA researchers launched brain cells into space last month in an attempt to understand a neurological condition that commonly affects astronauts. The samples will spend five weeks in the International Space Station, where they will be maintained by automated hardware. Once the samples return to Earth, […]
Depression Grand Challenge researchers speak at TEDxUCLA event about motivations
Researchers studying depression spoke about the reasons they study the condition and described the purpose and work of the UCLA Depression Grand Challenge at an event on campus Tuesday. Speakers at the TEDxUCLA Salon talked about the DGC’s new research techniques, their efforts to help those with depression and personal stories about the effects of […]
UC in negotiations with publisher Elsevier for open access to journal articles
The University of California is negotiating a new contract with an academic publisher due to unsustainable and increasing subscription costs. The UC’s contract with Elsevier, the owner of over 2,500 journals including Cell and The Lancet, ended on Dec. 31. The UC aims to lower subscription costs and make all of its research available for […]
UCLA researchers suggest water crisis prevention techniques in paper
UCLA researchers suggested ways to prevent water crises in Los Angeles in a paper based on 10 years of research. The paper, published in the Journal of Environmental Management, suggests that eliminating outdoor landscaping and lawns could reduce water waste by 30 percent. Landscaping strategically, by placing plants under tree canopy shade, could help improve […]
UCLA researchers attempt to understand tusklessness among Mozambique elephants
A civil war has left a disproportionate number of elephants in Mozambique without tusks. UCLA researchers are trying to figure out why. Shane Campbell-Staton, an ecology and evolutionary biology assistant professor, studies female elephants in Gorongosa National Park, an area ravaged by the country’s nearly 16-year civil war. Fighters in the war killed African elephants for […]
UCLA study connects types of cancer treatment to reduced cognitive functioning
UCLA researchers found chemotherapy and other radiation cancer treatments may be linked to worsened cognitive performance. The study, published this week, showed DNA damage from radiation therapies was associated with worsened cognitive performance in patients. Patricia Ganz, a health policy and management professor, said chemotherapy and radiation treatments kill cancer cells, as well as normal […]