biological sciences

A UCLA scientist was part of a team of that resolved an 80-year-old mystery about whether frogs in and around New York City were, in fact, their own unique species.

Utpal Banerjee, the Irving and Jean Stone Professor and chair of UCLA’s Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology in the UCLA College, will look at the important role of the fruit fly in helping scientists answer core questions about developmental biology.

Research by UCLA biochemists may lead to a new treatment — or even a cure — for a rare kidney disease that afflicts children, and may provide insights into treatments for Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and other degenerative diseases.

Thomas Smith of the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability says the next great extinction could be upon us, but humans can help threatened species survive.

UCLA professor Tom Smith says human-driven evolution is creating drug-resistant diseases, pesticide-proof bugs and mass extinctions due to climate change. "We can either choose to manage evolutionary processes or not, but evolutionary change will proceed regardless."

Drug-resistant diseases, pesticide-resistant bugs and animals threatened by climate change are signs of human-driven evolution getting out of control. A multi-university team calls for solutions.

Buffets of highly processed foods like sugar and flour are as tempting to rats as they are to humans and eating lots of this food weakens cues to stop eating when full.

Researchers identified a gene called AMPK that can slow the aging process throughout the entire body when switched on in key organ systems. Activating the gene in fruit flies extended the animals’ lifespans by about 30 percent.

UCLA Chancellor Gene Block writes about the new science behind the disruption wrought by jet lag, unusual hours and bright tablet screens.

Minorities had not been well represented in clinical trials of these devices, and the large-scale, two-year study sought to bridge this knowledge gap.

Black truffles are highly prized in haute cuisine. A study by an international team of scientists sheds new light on their unique pattern of DNA methylation, a biochemical process.

The findings open the door to future research on how to control the regeneration of heart tissue in order to repair damage caused by disease or heart attack.

The funding from the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine will support Dr. John Chute's research aimed at creating new stem cell therapies for use in medical practice.

Two experimental drugs were shown in clinical trials to increase survival times with fewer toxic side effects than standard treatments.

In clinical trials at UCLA, doctors are seeing major treatment successes with an experimental drug called MK-3475 in two types of cancer with historically low survival rates: metastatic melanoma and lung cancer.

The UCLA team's findings could lead to treatments for blood disorders associated with both iron deficiencies and overloads.

The public is invited to join world-renowned culinary visionaries at UCLA's popular "Scientific Bake-off," part of life scientist Amy Rowat's "Science and Food" course.

UCLA researchers have discovered that the parasite that causes trichomoniasis, a common sexual infection, may enhance prostate cells' progression from normal cells to tumor cells.

Those patients with additional major medical conditions are more likely to die from something other than cancer, so radiation or surgery represent "a poor gamble," UCLA researchers say.

"It's like your car's airbag, which won’t be deployed unless you really need it," UCLA's Alexander Hoffman said of the specialized immune cells, which use a built-in feedback system to determine which threats are real and which aren't.

Amy Rowat, an assistant professor in UCLA's Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, believes food can be a powerful way to communicate science to a broad audience.

Identifying enzyme catalysts that improve the speed and efficiency of the drug-production process can be a major boon. Figuring out exactly why a particular enzyme works so well, UCLA researchers say, is an altogether different quest.

Phony laughter, unlike the real thing, is unique to humans, says Greg Bryant, who is studying the acoustic properties that differentiate the two types of cachinnation.

UCLA scientists found that not only have male coquis become smaller, but their mating call has also become shorter and higher pitched; the researchers attribute the change to Puerto Rico's warmer temperatures.

UCLA life scientist Amy Rowat's tasty springtime demonstrations seek to advance the public's understanding of science through food, and food through science.