First-of-its-kind Cleanroom Turns Inventions into Devices Ready for FDA Approval

January 26, 2026

The first good manufacturing practices facility located on a university campus in the United States opened this fall at the University of California San Diego. The space is dedicated to building devices that can be implanted in the human body – especially for neurological applications. Full Story

From Chatbots to Dice Rolls: Researchers Use D&D to Test AI’s Long-term Decision-making Abilities

January 20, 2026

Large Language Models, like ChatGPT, are learning to play Dungeons & Dragons. The reason? Simulating and playing the popular tabletop role-playing game provides a good testing ground for AI agents that need to function independently for long stretches of time. Full Story

The Sky is Full of Secrets: Glaring Vulnerabilities Discovered in Satellite Communications

January 20, 2026

With $800 of off-the-shelf equipment and months worth of patience, a team of U.S. computer scientists set out to find out how well geostationary satellite communications are encrypted. And what they found was shocking. Close to half of the communications beamed from satellites to the ground that the researchers were able to listen in on were not encrypted.  Full Story

By Building Virtual Cells, Researchers Aim to Design Better Microbes and Drugs

January 15, 2026

Bioengineers are creating comprehensive digital twins of bacterial cells to better understand how to engineer microbes that can sustainably produce valuable chemicals, as well as understand the effects of antibiotics to combat drug-resistant bacteria. The project is part of a new $4.1 million DARPA-funded project. Full Story

ARPA-H Project Awarded at UC San Diego Aims to End Liver Transplant Shortage with 3D Bioprinting

January 14, 2026

An up to $25.8 million research project at UC San Diego, funded by ARPA-H and led by chemical and nano engineering professor Shaochen Chen, aims to tackle the critical shortage of donor organs by developing fully functional, patient-specific livers using 3D bioprinting.  Full Story

Compressed Data Technique Enables Pangenomics at Scale

January 12, 2026

Engineers at the University of California have developed a new data structure and compression technique that enables the field of pangenomics to handle unprecedented scales of genetic information.  Full Story