UC San Diego spotlights AI gains in health, climate and art

UC San Diego researchers are using AI across health care, climate science and the arts, with projects aimed at accelerating diagnoses, improving treatments and expanding scientific discovery. In Alzheimer’s research, bioengineers used AI to model the 3D structures of proteins and found that the PHGDH gene has a hidden role that may help drive the disease.

Other medical efforts include MycoBCP, an AI-powered tool designed to speed the search for tuberculosis treatments as drug-resistant strains complicate care for a disease that infected more than 10 million people worldwide in 2022. Engineers also used AI to reconstruct internal heart cell activity from external signals, developed deep-learning techniques to improve breast cancer radiotherapy planning, built a wireless ultrasound patch that maps muscle signals to control a robotic arm, and collaborated with eye specialists on computer vision tools for faster diagnosis and treatment prediction.

Climate researchers are applying AI to long-term forecasting and emergency response. Spherical DYffusion projects 100 years of climate patterns in just 25 hours, while ALERTCalifornia and WIFIRE use feeds from more than 1,200 monitoring cameras, sensors and aerial imaging to detect wildfires, model their spread and support evacuations. In the arts, Memo Akten’s “Superradiance. Embodying Earth.” combines dance, poetry, neuroscience and generative AI to explore the relationship between people, technology and the planet.