University of California Audio Podcasts (Audio)

Topology offers a way to organize complex data by looking for shape, structure, and relationships. Yusu Wang, Ph.D., UC San Diego, and Gunnar E. Carlsson, Ph.D., Stanford University, discuss how ideas from algebraic topology move from pure mathematics into data science, machine learning, and AI. Carlsson explains why topological data analysis helps identify meaningful groups in ...

Alzheimer’s disease can begin developing years before memory and thinking problems become noticeable. Iris Broce-Diaz, Ph.D., of UC San Diego is developing accessible, noninvasive, and cost-effective tools to help primary care physicians and neurologists identify people at higher risk earlier. Her models combine information from cognitive assessments, brain imaging, genetics, an...

Men with non-obstructive azoospermia may undergo microscopic testicular sperm extraction, or mTESE, without knowing whether sperm will be found. Kun Tan, Ph.D., of UC San Diego explains how molecular semen analysis could provide a noninvasive way to predict the procedure’s outcome. The assay uses stage-specific germ cell markers identified through single-cell RNA sequencing, the...

Archaeology can help communities understand environmental change, protect cultural heritage, and prepare for an uncertain climate future. Isabel C. Rivera-Collazo, Ph.D., of UC San Diego studies relationships among people, oceans, coastal ecosystems, and climate in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. She explains how Hurricane Maria shifted her research from identifying theoretical v...

Chronic pain in older adults can affect mobility, mood, sleep, social connection, and independence. Una Makris, M.D., M.Sc., UC San Diego and VA San Diego Healthcare System, explains why musculoskeletal pain is common later in life and why medications or procedures alone may not meet the needs of many patients. Drawing on her work in rheumatology and geriatrics, Makris describes...