News
August 20, 2026
A Practical Tool for Selecting Reliable PCR Primers
Bioengineers at UC San Diego have developed an online tool that helps biomedical researchers solve a well-known and persistent laboratory challenge: successfully measuring gene expression within a cell by way of reverse-transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction, or RT-qPCR. Full Story
August 17, 2026
Advanced Semiconductor Tech Enables UC San Diego Researchers to Probe Biological Systems in New Ways
A new generation of bioelectronic technologies that integrate biology with advanced semiconductor systems will be developed at UC San Diego through a research contract from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Full Story
August 7, 2026
Corn Stalks. It’s What’s for Dinner … If You’re a Microbe.
Engineers have developed a strain of a common bacterial species that can feed exclusively on the three major sugars present in corn stalks. While the new multiple-sugar-consuming strain of the bacteria Pseudomonas putida is interesting in its own right, a new paper published in Nature Communications on July 29, 2026 outlines the broader implications of this project for the future of biomanufacturing. Full Story
July 30, 2026
Colleagues, Family and Friends Celebrate 95th Birthdays of Professor Shu Chien and Dr. K.C. Chien
Approximately 130 guests gathered in San Diego to honor the pioneering bioengineer Shu Chien and pediatrician Dr. K.C. Chien, who have been married for nearly seven decades. Full Story
July 30, 2026
Flipping the Switch: Triton Racing Goes Electric
After nearly 30 years of designing and building a formula race car powered by an internal combustion engine for the annual Formula Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) collegiate competition, the Triton Racing student team at UC San Diego flipped a switch in 2023 and went electric. For the first time, the team was able to bring a functioning formula race car running on its own battery power that they designed and built, to the Formula SAE Electric competition this June, representing three years of intense learning and work. Full Story
July 27, 2026
Insect-inspired electronic nose: turning semiconductor chips into olfactory sensors
Bioengineers at UC San Diego integrated the olfactory receptor of an insect called a jumping bristletail into semiconductor chips made of graphene, creating an electronic nose capable of sniffing out a wide variety of small organic compounds. Full Story
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July 16, 2026
Bioengineering Alumnus Launches Venture Capital Fund Focused on San Diego MedTech Startups
Alumnus Garrett Smith is bringing his decades of experience across the innovation ecosystem back to San Diego, as founding managing partner of recently launched ReefHaven Ventures. The San Diego-focused venture capital fund is dedicated to early-stage medical technology startups, and, crucially, reinvesting back into the local innovation ecosystem. Full Story
July 15, 2026
Drug Candidate Could Help L-Dopa Work Better for Patients with Parkinson’s
For Parkinson's patients, the drug that restores movement can stop working reliably and cause involuntary movements of its own. A new candidate from UC San Diego-born biotech Sinopia Biosciences may fix both — boosting L-dopa's benefits while easing dyskinesia. Full Story
July 13, 2026
Open-Access Genetic Map Provides Reference for What Almost Every Stem Cell Gene Does
Bioengineers have developed a genome-scale reference map that details how individual genes control the functions and identities of human stem cells. This open-access resource could help researchers build virtual cell models for complex diseases, as well as design patient-specific treatments for these diseases. Full Story
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June 9, 2026
Outstanding engineering, computer science undergraduates honored with Awards of Excellence
These six students were selected from the more than 1,300 graduating undergraduates in the Jacobs School of Engineering class of 2026 to receive Awards of Excellence from their academic department. Full Story