UC San Diego

A study reveals measuring the speed of pupil dilation while undertaking a cognitive test could help identify early, pre-symptomatic stages of Alzheimer’s.

The most advanced mini-brains yet created have begun producing brain waves resembling those of preterm babies.

Researchers have developed a new way to weld ceramics together at room temperature, using ultrafast laser pulses.

Cardiovascular diseases are the number one killer in the world – and we might have a two million year old ancestor to blame. A team pinpointed a single gene that ancient ancestors lost, which appears to have predisposed us as a species towards higher rates of atherosclerosis than other apes.

Engineers from the University of California San Diego have developed a proof-of-concept armband that can keep the wearer's skin at a constant temperature, even when the ambient temperature is raised or lowered. And the technology is being scaled up to vest size.​

​For decades, when people have wanted to stick two things together but later pull them back apart, Velcro has been the answer. In the future, however, the material may get some competition from bird feather-inspired technology.

Researchers from the University of California San Diego have created robotic gliders that literally fly like an eagle. They use reinforcement learning to determine how to exploit updrafts of warm air, soaring to altitudes of up to 2,300 ft.

​"Smart" internet-connected devices could indeed make life easier for us, but the things DO typically have to be equipped with battery-powered electronics. That may not necessarily be the case for much longer, however, if the Wi-Fi-based LiveTag system reaches fruition.

​​One particularly active area of robotics research involves the exploration of soft parts, which are opening up new possibilities and making machines safer for humans to work around. Now they are gaining a helping hand from the amazing adhesive properties of the gecko.

New research suggests the Sun might be headed towards a “grand minimum” of a centuries-long cycle, during which the Earth would receive much less ultraviolet radiation. If so, it may even help slow – but not stop – the progression of the climate’s general warming trend.

An organism that is pretty good at generating biocompatible power (for itself, at least) is the electric eel, and scientists have now used the high-voltage species as a blueprint for a promising new self-charging device that could one day power things like pacemakers and prosthetics.

Engineers have developed a new "4D" single-lens, light field camera that greatly enhances robotic vision. The new system uses a spherical lens and algorithms to capture information across a 138-degree field of view to allow robots to not only navigate, but also better understand their environment.