Health
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Trove of Mexican genomes could help guide prescribing decisions
Risk of an adverse drug reaction may be influenced by specific Indigenous ancestry groups. Genetic studies using a broad population category such as “Latino” or even “Mexican” wouldn’t pick up these elevated risks, the researchers say. Yet that’s the level of detail usually available in large population-based gene banks, says Max Haeussler, head of the…
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The Top 6 Biomedical Stories of 2025
IEEE Spectrum’s most popular biomedical stories of the past year centered both on incorporating new technologies and revamping old ones, featuring work from Professor of Computer Science and Engineering Katia Obraczka’s lab on using Wi-Fi to detect heartbeat.
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A ‘Third State’ Exists Between Life and Death—And That Suggests Your Cells Are Conscious, Some Scientists Say
“This is nothing new,” University of California, Santa Cruz plant biologist Lincoln Taiz, PhD and co-author of the letter, said in an email.
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Residents near Moss Landing fire provide samples to measure health impact
UC Santa Cruz toxicology professor Donald Smith says hair samples submitted by the Moss Landing community will contribute to a growing body of toxicology research. Smith’s lab will analyze the hair samples for manganese concentrations, but cannot yet interpret those results to connect exposure to symptoms without more long-term data.
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Our Brains May Have Pre-Configured Instructions to Understand the World When We’re Born
Using lab-grown brain organoids, scientists from the University of California, Santa Cruz led by Assistant Professor of Biomolecular Engineering Tal Sharf found that neurons begin firing in recognizable, information-like patterns long before any sensory system is active. Additional coverage in StudyFinds and The Debrief.
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NIH shake-up to grant decision-making sparks concern over political meddling
“My colleagues are asking who would agree to volunteer their time on an NIH study section if their ranking of grants will not be what drives awarding,” Carol Greider, a Nobel Prize winner and molecular biologist at the University of California, Santa Cruz, tells ScienceInsider.
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Smart Bandage Uses Electricity and Drugs to Heal Wounds
A multidisciplinary research team led by Marco Rolandi, professor of electrical and computer engineering, developed a smart bandage that could speed up wound healing by actively tracking and responding to the healing process.
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An Ocean View, Pollution Included: Scientists at Rio Theatre Warn of Microplastics
UCSC adjunct and environmental toxicologist Dr. Myra Finkelstein spoke of her research on Midway Atoll in the South Pacific, which revealed dangerous amounts of plastic in the eggs and digestive tracts of seabirds such as albatross. “There is also a lot of evidence that humans are also ingesting microplastics,” she said.
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How a Stomach Flu-Causing Virus Sneaks into Human Cells
The Scientist featured work led by Professor of Biomolecular Engineering Rebecca DuBois to study how human astroviruses bind to human cells at a molecular level, which could inform new preventive and therapeutic strategies.
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AI Model Digs Up Rare Somatic Variants for Precision Oncology Pipelines
Professor of Biomolecular Engineering Benedict Paten spoke about new methods developed to find elusive DNA mutations that occur only in tumor cells.
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UC Santa Cruz engineers unveil AI wearable to speed wound healing
KSBW features a-Heal, a wound-healing device developed by Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Marco Rolandi, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Mircea Teodorescu, Associate Professor of Applied Mathematics Marcella Gomez and collaborators at UC Davis.
