Behind Every Breakthrough

The future is shaped by those who push beyond what is known. At UC San Diego, we don’t just navigate change—we create it. Every breakthrough, every discovery starts with the courage to explore, to challenge, to redefine what’s possible. But even the boldest ideas need a foundation. Research requires resources, collaboration, and investment to turn possibility into reality. Without it, the unknown stays unknown. With it, we change the world.

The Latest

A Battery Breakthrough Inspired by a Can of Compressed Air

A UC San Diego engineering alumnus reflects on how a chance curiosity about a can of compressed air, along with support across campus, fueled an innovation in battery technology.

researchers in lab coats work at different stations in a laboratory

It’s Hard to Get Meds to the Lungs: Breathable Algae Offer a New Path

Algae are the new delivery drivers: they are tiny enough to float in inhalable liquid particles and travel deep inside the lungs of mice where they drop off drugs to fight pneumonia.

illustrated algae-based microrobots dotted with drug-loaded nanoparticles on their way into the lungs

Engineered Bacterium Could Shield People from Mercury Toxicity

Researchers from UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography and UCLA announced the creation of an engineered bacterium that has the ability to convert the toxic form of mercury present in seafood — methylmercury — into less toxic forms that are more easily removed from the human body.

Pacific bluefin tuna sashimi. Photo: iStockPhoto/karinsasaki

UC San Diego Humanities Scholars Make Sense of Complicated Histories

Three faculty in the School of Arts and Humanities were recently selected by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to receive $60,000 fellowships for their research project. Annually, the NEH chooses a small number of projects to support, each going through a rigorous peer-review process.

Report Details the Widespread Impacts of Dust on California

Researchers from several University of California campuses have collaborated to create a report on dust in California, which comes at a time of great need for the public to understand the issue. "We want to get our legislators to take the increase in dust pollution more seriously," said one.

Dust rises from Owens dry Lake, Calif. Photo: Brian Russell and the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District

Mindfulness Therapy Reduces Opioid Craving and Addiction, Study Finds

Researchers from UC San Diego found that Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) can help rewire the brain’s response to natural healthy pleasure, leading to reduced opioid cravings. The findings suggest that MORE could be a promising tool in the fight against opioid use disorder.