
Health
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Protein designer awarded $2.5M to develop bioluminescent protein for deep tissue imaging
Assistant Professor of Biomolecular Engineering Andy Yeh was awarded a nearly $2.5 million grant from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to develop completely artificial enzymes that can produce bioluminescence in the body for deep tissue imaging.
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Bioelectronics enable precise control of organoids for better understanding of neuro diseases, neuron circuits
UC Santa Cruz researchers have developed a new plug-and-play bioelectronics system that enables researchers to precisely control neuronal activity in cortical organoids, which will help unlock new discoveries on how brains form neural circuits and the underpinnings of neurodevelopmental and degenerative diseases.
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Innovative PET technology will enable precise multitracer imaging of the brain
UC Santa Cruz Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Shiva Abbaszadeh is developing technology that will enable precise multitracer positron emission tomography imaging of the human body’s most complex organ with the support of a $4 million NIH grant.
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Insights from UCSC-made COVID-19 tracking tool will guide the future of studying pathogens in real time
A new paper by a team of UCSC pathogen genomicists offers guidance for the future of web tools for tracking pathogen evolution.
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Scientists release the first complete sequence of a human Y chromosome
Scientists have completed the first full sequence of a human Y chromosome, completing the set of end-to-end human chromosomes and helping researchers to better understand human reproduction, evolution, and population change.
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St. Baldrick’s Foundation grant will expand pediatric cancer research at UCSC
A new $100,000 grant from the St. Baldrick’s Foundation will provide UC Santa Cruz’s Treehouse Childhood Cancer Initiative funding to expand efforts to study rare pediatric cancers.
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Human pangenome reference will enable more complete and equitable understanding of genomic diversity
UC Santa Cruz scientists, along with a consortium of researchers, have released a draft of the first human pangenome—a new, usable reference for genomics that combines the genetic information of 47 individuals from different ancestral backgrounds to allow for a deeper, more accurate understanding of worldwide genomic diversity.
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UC Santa Cruz to lead data collection center for major federal project on genetic underpinnings of neurological conditions
The UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute will run the Data Coordination Center for the Scalable and Systematic Neurobiology of Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Disorder Risk Genes (SSPsyGene) Consortium.
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Electrical engineer will develop next-generation x-ray technology for accessible preventative healthcare
Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Shiva Abbaszadeh will develop advanced x-ray technology for coronary artery calcification.
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Hallmark cancer gene regulates RNA ‘dark matter’
A new study finds that a key genetic mutation that occurs early on in cancer alters RNA “dark matter” and causes the release of previously unknown RNA biomarkers for cancer early detection.
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First complete, gapless sequence of a human genome reveals hidden regions
Parts of the human genome now available to study for the first time are important for understanding genetic diseases, human diversity, and evolution.