School Dangers and Cyber-bullying

A column in today’s Los Angeles Times about the dangers kids face at school cites a study led by UCLA psychology professor Jaana Juvonen that found that nearly three in four teenagers had been bullied online during a 12-month period.

Recent NIH grant funds UCLA HIV research

Jerome Zack, director of the UCLA Center for Aids Research and UCLA professor in the department microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics, and his research team were recently awarded an NIH grant to develop medication that, in a limited number of treatments, could completely rid infected individuals of HIV.

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.