Waging war against the superbug

UCLA Today profiles Jeffrey H. Miller, Professor of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, cutting-edge scientist and educator, who has been working on what has become a major public health crisis in the United States– the steep rise in drug-resistant infections.

Life scientists use novel technique to produce genetic map for African Americans

John Novembre, UCLA assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and a member of UCLA’s Interdepartmental Program in Bioinformatics, is senior author of a recent paper that published one of the first genetic maps pinpointing where DNA is likely to be reshuffled in the genomes of African Americans — a tool that could help scientists find genes that cause disease.

Life scientists use novel technique to produce genetic map for African Americans

John Novembre, UCLA assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and a member of UCLA’s Interdepartmental Program in Bioinformatics, is senior author of a recent paper that published one of the first genetic maps pinpointing where DNA is likely to be reshuffled in the genomes of African Americans — a tool that could help scientists find genes that cause disease.

Brain’s ‘clock’ less accurate with aging

Research by Gene Block, UCLA chancellor and professor of psychiatry, biobehavioral sciences and physiology, and Christopher Colwell, UCLA professor-in-residence of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences, shows that mice, that the pattern of activity in the brain region that regulates circadian rhythms begins to decay when the animals hit middle age. This research could provide clues as to why sleep patterns change as people grow older.

Leaf sizes tied to water availability

Using three-dimensional computer models, Lawren Sack, UCLA professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and collaborators, including Ph.D. candidate and lead author, Christine Scoffoni, simulated the impacts of embolisms on water transport for leaves of different sizes and vein architectures. They found that the distinct vein systems of smaller leaves are structurally and physiologically better adapted for plants to live in dry soil, contributing to survival during periods of drought.

Smaller leaves: adapting to drier conditions

Lawren Sack, UCLA professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and collaborators, including Ph.D. candidate and lead author Christine Scoffoni, used three-dimensional computer models to simulate water transport within the veins of different sized leaves. They found that the distinct vein systems of smaller leaves are structurally and physiologically better adapted for plants to live in dry soil, contributing to survival during periods of drought.