Monday, May 4


Researchers develop more accurate method of determining age of death

UCLA researchers have developed a new tool to predict when someone will die, but don’t start planning your funeral yet. In a study published last month in the journal Aging, researchers in the lab of Steve Horvath, a professor of human genetics and biostatistics, developed a new method of predicting the population lifespans that is 14 percent more accurate than previous methods. Read more...

Photo: (Jennie Wang/Daily Bruin)


Westwood Neighborhood Council opposes The Agora plans amid building controversy

The Westwood Neighborhood Council voted to maintain its opposition to a high-rise housing project in Westwood. The WWNC reviewed its initial vote in January to oppose The Agora, a 16-story housing project on Hilgard Avenue, on Wednesday. Read more...

Photo: The Agora is a proposed 16-story housing project on Hilgard Avenue. The Westwood Neighborhood Council voted to maintain its opposition to the project Feb. 13. (Courtesy of Aaron Green)


UCLA medical center nurse receives national award for exceptional patient care

Melissa Reider-Demer would frequently check on her patients even when she was not on shift. Heidi Eddy-Dorn, the mother of one of Reider-Demer’s patients, said she was impressed by Reider-Demer’s ability to be so empathetic while also being clinical and professional. Read more...

Photo: Melissa Reider-Demer, a nurse in the neurology department of the UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center, received the national Nurse of the Year award in November from Press Ganey. (Courtesy of Press Ganey)


UCLA researchers develop smartphone-based microscope to detect lethal bee parasites

UCLA researchers helped develop a smartphone-based microscope to detect parasites in bees. Aydogan Ozcan, the associate director of the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA, developed a 3D-printed microscope to help beekeepers quickly determine if one of their bee colonies is infected with Nosema apis or Nosema ceranae, unicellular parasites that infect honeybees. Read more...

Photo: Beekeepers will be able to attach a 3D-printed microscope to a smartphone device to view samples of a dead bee’s gut tissue. (Amy Dixon/Photo editor)



Cochlear Americas awards UCLA graduate student annual Graeme Clark Scholarship

At 18 months old, Derek Lee was diagnosed with cancer. Six months of chemotherapy and radiation treatments saved his life, but left him with profound hearing loss that led him to get a cochlear implant. Read more...

Photo: Derek Lee, a UCLA graduate student, had to take a leap of faith when he decided to get a cochlear implant due to profound hearing loss caused by his childhood cancer. Lee will be awarded the Cochlear Americas Graeme Clark Scholarship this week. (Liz Ketcham/Assistant Photo editor)