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Brain Science Breakthrough
Every so often, new scientific discoveries can challenge established principles and change the way we think about the world.
Solving the Mystery of Genomic 'Dark Matter'
In human cells, three billion base pairs arrange themselves into sequences of As, Ts, Gs, and Cs to form genes...
End of Zika in Sight?
With the successful creation of DNA vaccines that elicited immune protection from Zika infection, hope is on the rise in...
Would You Rather?
“Would you rather live forever or die in the next five seconds?” This question was posed to me recently and...
God’s Imperfect Red Pencil
From the perspective of noise, CRISPR systems are modern biology’s closest approximation to Beyonce’s Lemonade or Game of Thrones: buzz-worthy...
The Machines Amidst the Minestrone
When I lie on San Francisco’s Ocean Beach and focus my vision softly on the undulating water, I imagine the...
Zika Outbreak Prompts Emergency Research at UCSF
The recent outbreak of Zika virus in Central and South America correlates with a spike in birth defects, the first...
The Militarization of Cells
Once every academic quarter, the UCSF Mission Bay campus takes on a new character. Normally unlocked buildings are barricaded and...
Cellular Corporations and the Importance of Cooperation
Cells are more like corporations than they are like people. Uncountable tasks need be accomplished, and each protein is specialized...
The Chess Game of Chemotherapy Resistance
The fight against cancer is a fight against a living thing, with its own intelligence. Our bodies are smarter than...