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UCSD DISCOVERIES, CREATIONS &
APPLICATIONS
Winter 1999
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Printing your own tickets over the Internet
may soon become a reality thanks to a UCSD computer scientist, who
is developing a system that will allow users to purchase tickets for
travel, sports, and entertainment, over the Internet and then print
their tickets at their desktop. The key technology involves applying
a cryptographic bar code to the tickets to prove that the tickets
were bought and paid for.
Principal Researcher: Bennett Yee, Computer Science
& Engineering
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The ability to appreciate art may be in the brain
of the beholder, according to recent research aimed at codifying
how the brain appreciates art. The psychologist leading the study
has found that despite differences of culture, time, and artistic
style, there are constant, underlying pathways of perception in the
brain that make certain works of art universally appealing. These
artistic universals, which involve color, form, line, and texture,
are rooted not exclusively in culture, but in the brain as well.
Principal Researcher: Dr. V. S. Ramachandran, Psychology
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State-of-the-art earthquake safety. As Turkey
reeled under the devastation of a 7.4 earthquake recently, UCSD structural
engineers were subjecting a 40-foot tall, five –story building to
a series of simulated earthquakes. The culmination of a 10-year, multi-university
research program, the test validated new precast concrete constructing
systems for earthquake-prone regions. The test building, the largest
structural model ever tested in the U.S., weighed in at 500 tons,
contained 91 precast components, and was 900 square-feet per floor.
Principal Researcher: Freider Seible, Structural Engineering
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Cognitive dysfunction resulting from brain damage
suffered early in life is often restored by adulthood, according
to research conducted by UCSD cognitive scientists. In the study,
children who had suffered strokes or other injuries to the brain were
monitored over a ten-year period or more to determine levels of brain
function. The study found that children who had suffered certain types
of brain injury either in utero or as infants were likely to develop
as fully functioning adults, due to the brain’s often miraculous ability
to regenerate and heal itself, especially in the early development
stages.
Principal Researcher: Joan Stiles, Cognitive Science
UCSD DISCOVERIES, CREATIONS & APPLICATIONS
Winter 1999
Page 2
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UCSD biologists have discovered a gene that gives
plants the ability to detoxify heavy metals that are hazardous
to human health and the environment. Scientists have long sought the
identity of the gene responsible for producing "phytochelatins"
so that they could duplicate its naturally cleansing mechanisms. The
researchers succeeded in uncovering this genetic resource, which represents
a dramatic step forward for environmental clean up efforts.
Principal Researcher: Julian Schroeder, Biology
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A potential cure for one of the most deadly forms
of leukemia. UCSD oncologists have disarmed human leukemia cells
and genetically modified them in a way that induces a powerful, killing
response from the immune system. In the laboratory, researchers have
shown that the immune response prompted by the modified cells destroys
not only the harmless modified cells, but also the active leukemia
cells lurking nearby. In the first FDA-approved gene therapy trial
for cancer in San Diego, 11 patients with chronic lymphotic leukemia
were each injected with their own
modified leukemia cells and all but one had a significant
drop in the number of
leukemia cells found in their blood.
Principal Researcher: Dr. Thomas Kipps, Cancer Center
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Diagnosing and treating hypertension long before
it begins to damage the body. UCSD bioengineers have developed
a simple blood test to identify people at risk for hypertension long
before the blood pressure rises and the disease begins to cause pervasive
problems. A local biotechnology company is pursuing clinical applications
for the test, which could lead to entirely new approaches for treating
high blood pressure. UCSD researchers are using the technology to
understand the role of oxygen-free radicals in hypertension and resultant
cardiovascular diseases.
Principal Researcher: Geert Schmid-Schoenbein,
Bioengineering
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On the cutting edge of multithreading, a new kind
of processing that could double the speed of today’s computers. UCSD
computer scientists are on the cutting edge of multithreading, a new
technology that could double the speed of computers. Compaq has already
announced plans to introduce multithreaded processors in future products
as has IBM and other computer manufacturers. Much of the research
behind these new processors was developed by UCSD computer scientist
Dean Tullsen, a pioneer in multithreading. UCSD has also acquired
the world’s first commercially produced multithreaded computer, built
by the Seattle-based Tera Computer Company.
Principal Researcher: Dean Tullsen, Computer Science & Engineering
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