Salk Institute scientists mapped a rapid immune switch in plants that flips on minutes after rewatering; the discovery could guide new drought‑resilient crops.

Illumina has completed its acquisition of SomaLogic, folding the SomaScan proteomics platform and a Boulder lab into its multiomics push.

Veerabhadran Ramanathan was awarded the 2026 Crafoord Prize for his climate change research, highlighting particulate and gas impacts on the atmosphere.

Bora Biologics opened a $30M expansion in Sorrento Valley, adding 2,000L bioreactors and upgraded GMP processing to boost local biologics capacity.

NIH announced it will no longer fund research using fetal tissue from elective abortions, citing alternatives; scientists warn it could slow vital studies on disease and development.

The U.S. and Taiwan struck a $250B trade-and-investment framework that cuts reciprocal tariffs to 15% and ties relief to major Taiwanese investment in U.S. chipmaking. The deal names TSMC as a lead investor and promises new industrial parks and tariff exemptions for certain imports.

The SpaceX Crew-11 mission ended with a splashdown after over five months on the ISS due to a medical issue. The crew underwent postflight reconditioning. They celebrated 25 years of continuous human presence on the ISS.

Illumina unveiled a Billion Cell Atlas mapping how 1 billion single cells respond to gene edits, aiming to train AI and speed drug discovery.

CIRM awarded $7.4M to a UC San Diego team to complete preclinical safety, off‑target testing and manufacturing scale‑up for a CRISPR‑edited stem‑cell therapy for Friedreich’s ataxia.

Qualcomm integrates Snapdragon technology in Toyota RAV4, enhancing the SUV's connectivity and safety features.

Birch Aquarium staff are caring for more than 3,000 red octopus hatchlings behind the scenes, a rare husbandry milestone for the La Jolla facility.

A Deep Origin‑led consortium won up to $31.7M from ARPA‑H; La Jolla’s Sanford Burnham Prebys will help build AI and tissue models to predict toxicity and speed drug development.

UC San Diego is expanding access to chip design with OpenROAD, a new NSF-backed Chipshub and DARPA funding that together aim to speed student work to real silicon.