Too good to be true
04/15/22 — A study has found that the use of online databases could introduce bias into AI algorithms developed for medical imaging.
Health
Seeing red
04/15/22 — A study has found a strong association between present-day air pollution levels and historical patterns of redlining.
Q+A on wastewater testing
04/15/22 — Using a novel method to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus, researchers worked with public agencies to monitor infection levels in local wastewater samples.
Examining the effects of chlorinated drinking water on the gut microbiome
04/14/22 — New research shows no negative impact on children's digestive bacteria from chlorinated drinking water
Bay Area wastewater data suggests COVID hasn’t peaked everywhere
01/27/22 — SFGate: While indicators suggest COVID-19 cases are on the decline across the Bay Area, wastewater analyzed for SARS-CoV-2 at Berkeley Engineering professor Kara Nelson's lab suggests that three areas of the region may have yet to peak.
UC Berkeley partners with new Arc Institute to tackle complex diseases
12/21/21 — Patrick Hsu, Berkeley assistant professor of bioengineering, and Silvana Konermann, Stanford assistant professor of biochemistry, are founding researchers of a new institute that aims to accelerate breakthroughs in complex diseases.
Berkeley team detects omicron in Bay Area wastewater
12/09/21 — ABC7 News: A team led by Kara Nelson, professor of civil and environmental engineering, has identified the COVID-19 variant in samples of sewage from two California sites, one of them in the Bay Area.
Dean’s note: Engineering better health
11/15/21 — We’ve launched the Health Technologies Collaborative Lab to develop devices and systems that transform the way healthcare is managed and delivered.
Put to the test
11/15/21 — A method that uses a common machine learning algorithm can help detect cancer from a simple blood test, well before the first symptoms are present.
Dream on
11/15/21 — Researchers have developed a low-cost, non-electric, reusable warming device that can reduce infant mortality rates.
Super cool
11/15/21 — Using a method called isochoric supercooling, researchers revived human heart tissue after it had been preserved in a subfreezing state for days.
Where there’s smoke
11/15/21 — On wildfire days, taking steps like closing up houses and using indoor filtration can cut the infiltration of PM2.5 particulate matter into homes by half.
Block by block
11/15/21 — Research shows that levels of air pollution vary not only by region, such as between urban and rural areas, but by city block.
Could liposomes be the unsung heroes of the pandemic?
11/12/21 — Berkeley engineers attached SARS-CoV-2 “spike” proteins to the surface of liposomes, creating lab-made mimics of the deadly virus as part of a process to enable efficient testing of antibody therapies.
Cold-hearted science: Supercooling technique advances preservation of human tissue
09/22/21 — Berkeley researchers revive human heart tissue that had been supercooled at subfreezing temperatures for days, showing promise of technique that could be a game-changer for organ transplants and medical research.
New study shows how air pollution varies block by block
09/07/21 — Researchers used Google Street View cars to show that levels of air pollution vary not only by region, such as between urban and rural areas, but also by city street
How much wildfire smoke is infiltrating our homes?
09/01/21 — Environmental engineers used crowdsourced data to measure indoor air quality during California’s wildfires.
Earbuds that read your mind
08/18/21 — Bakar Fellows: EECS assistant professor Rikky Muller has developed comfortable earbuds that detect and record brain activity, a platform technology that could support consumer and health monitoring apps
Using machine learning to detect early-stage cancers
08/16/21 — Berkeley researchers develop algorithm for method that identifies cancer from blood tests, well before first symptoms are present.
From brain waves to words
07/19/21 UCSF — Neuroprosthesis breakthrough from joint Berkeley-UCSF bioengineering program restores words to man with paralysis