Monday, April 4, 2011

PNAS Paper / Gene Correcting does not Substantially Increase Stem Cell Mutations


The new paper published in PNAS includes four authors from the UC San Diego Department of Bioengineering: Athurva Gore, Zhe Li, Ho-Lim Fung and bioengineering professor Kun Zhang, who leads the Laboratory of Integrative Genomics at the Jacobs School of Engineering.

The press release from the University of Wisconsin-Madison: Study shows patient's own cells may hold therapeutic promise after reprogramming, gene correction

In the study, the researchers used a technique called episomal reprogramming to generate the induced pluripotent stem cells. In contrast to techniques that use retroviruses, episomal reprogramming doesn't involve inserting DNA into the genome. This technique allowed them to produce cells that were free of potentially harmful transgene sequences.

The scientists then corrected the actual retinal disease-causing gene defect using a technique called homologous recombination. The stem cells were extensively "characterized" or studied before and after the process to assess whether they developed significant additional mutations or variations. The results showed that the culture conditions required to correct a genetic defect did not substantially increase the number of mutations.

Brad Fikes from the North County Times covered the story:  Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Pass Gene Therapy Test



Friday, April 1, 2011

Coffee Grounds to BioDiesel

Jacobs School undergrads involved in the student group Engineers for a Sustainable World showed off their experimental coffee-grounds-to-biodiesel system on NBC San Diego (TV) this week.

Watch the two minute video on the NBC San Diego site.

Below is info about Engineers for a Sustainable World from their first ESW newsletter (PDF).

Engineers for a Sustainable World (ESW) is a student organization at UC San Diego devoted to promoting sustainability both at on campus and around the world through projects and community education. We are always looking for new and exciting ways to promote sustainability on the UC San Diego campus as well as in the broader community. Members of ESW are currently working on a number of projects promoting sustainability at UCSD and various locations around the globe.

As a student run organization, we appreciate investments that will help facilitate the development of future sustainable technologies. Engineers for a Sustainable World at UC San Diego welcomes new opportunities to work with professional companies to further our education and innovation. Any further questions or inquiries of investment can be sent to the ESW UC San Diego e-mail at esw.ucsd@gmail.com, or go to our website at http://esw.ucsd.edu.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

QuEST is brand new organization for Queer Engineers, Scientists and Technical Professionals

All are welcome!

QuEST is brand new organization for Queer Engineers, Scientists and Technical Professionals from UCSD, the Scripps Research Institute, Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), Burnham, Salk and local biotech companies. Come meet members of your community over free food and drinks in a beach-side atmosphere (catered by Eden in Hillcrest).

WHEN: Thursday, March 31, 5:30-9:00pm
WHERE: Surfside at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UCSD
           8622 Kennel Way, San Diego, CA 92037
COST: Free*

QuEST supports the careers of LGBTQ individuals in science, technology,
engineering, mathematics, and medical fields. Professionals of all career
levels are highly encouraged to attend. Find us at
http://www.sdquest.us/home or email at info@sdquest.us

*Sponsored by the Society of Fellows (TSRI) and the Graduate Student
Association (UCSD)

Nuclear Power / Global Energy Demand / Opinion Piece in UT

A pair of Jacobs School of Engineering professors wrote an opinion piece in Sunday's San Diego Union Tribune entitled "Nuclear Power: Our planet is starving for energy".

The authors:
George Tynan, Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and Professor of Engineering Sciences

Farrokh Najmabadi, professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) and Director, Center for Energy Research.

The title and first paragraph are below. Read the entire article here.

Nuclear power: Our planet is starving for energy
Sunday, March 27, 2011

Access to adequate quantities of low-cost energy is strongly linked with increased human life span, reduced child mortality rates, smaller population growth rates, higher literacy rates and other quality-of-life measu
Publish Post
res.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Hack U is Coming to campus



The Hack is back! Yahoo is coming to UCSD for a week of tech talks and the famous 24 hour hack contest! All events in CSE 1202. (Read about Hack U 2010 on the Jacobs School news site.)

Tuesday, April 5
Hack U Kickoff / BBQ @ 6:00 pm

Wednesday, April 6
API Brain Jam + Lunch @ 12:00 pm
Douglas Crockford: Javascript - The Good Parts @ 6:00 pm

Thursday, April 7
Office Hours + Informal Talks @ 12:00 pm
24-hour Hack Kickoff @ 2:00 pm

Friday, April 8
Hack Demos @ 2 pm

UCSD Entrepreneur Challenge Spring Kickoff is Tomorrow, March 30



UC San Diego Entrepreneur Challenge
Wednesday March 30th, 6-8pm
UCSD Price Center - Ballroom A (map)
$17,500 in cash and prizes will be awarded
Presenting:
Jordan Greenhall, Founder of DivX, Inc. (bio)
Jason Pang, Founder and CEO of PRIMA Cinema (bio)
 

Thursday, March 24, 2011

San Diego Science Festival Expo Day / Saturday March 26

This Saturday, March 26, is the San Diego Science Festival EXPO DAY at PETCO Park.


A special feature of the EXPO is the “Ask me, I’m a Scientist or Engineer” Booth where Scientists and engineers are needed to sit and talk with the kids, answering their questions and engaging them in the possibilities of science.  For a complete listing of events, visit www.sdsciencefestival.com/festival-programs.html.

The Jacobs School of Engineering will have a big presence at the San Diego Science Festival Expo Day. Jacobs School contributors include:


We plan to display a number of different body systems (i.e the lungs, heart, brain, etc) made by elementary school students. We intend to inform others of the complexity of the human body; it is the piecing of small individual parts that create a functioning whole which is analogous to and symbolically represents many aspects in life that require that type of cooperation.

We will be doing a cryptography demonstration in which students can solve a substitution cipher (every letter is replaced with some other letter). We will have one version that's done on a large whiteboard. We also have made a computerized version that attendees can visit afterwards if they enjoyed solving it. This is a really interactive activity.

IEEE UCSD
A group of UCSD students will have multiple demos on how an analog circuit works and we'll take our theremin (an early electronic musical instrument controlled without contact from the player.). We'll also take some of the projects that UCSD IEEE students work on, such our robots and remote control cars.

UCSD Department of Bioengineering
Our exhibit, titled Defying Gravity: Blood Flow from Head to Toe, explores the human circulatory system from both a physiological and engineering perspective with activities for all ages. Kids can complete a paper craft to make their very own heart valve which only allows air to pass in one direction, demonstrating how valves in our heart and veins control unidirectional blood flow.

The UCSD Jacobs Graduate Student Council is a graduate student organization comprised of: electrical engineering, bioengineering, mechanical, structural and computer science. We will be presenting a series of exciting science experiments including: strawberry DNA extraction, snap circuits, hair gel polymer demonstrations, gummy structures and more!

The UCSD Near Space Balloon team is active in the San Diego community to inspire high school kids to get interested in math science and engineering. UCSD undergrad and grad students work with local high school teachers and students to launch their science payloads on balloons to near space (85,000 feet) and then recover them.