Susanne Bard

San Diego

Science Writer and Multimedia Producer at Freelance

Science/Research Writer, Media Relations Officer at San Diego State University Magazine

Science writer & multimedia producer. #scicomm @SDSU. #evolution #birds #conservation #history #neuroscience #engineering. Views my own.

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Articles

No Sex Differences in Autistic Toddlers at Time of First Diagnosis, Study Finds

2 weeks ago | today.ucsd.edu | Susanne Bard

Published Date May 26, 2025 Article Content Males are more than four times more likely to receive an autism diagnosis than females. But a new study by researchers at UC San Diego School of Medicine has found no clinical differences in autistic traits between the sexes in toddlers when they are first diagnosed with autism. The study was published in Nature Human Behavior on May 26, 2025. The findings have potential implications for early diagnosis and intervention for autistic children....
Bat Virus Evolution Suggests Wildlife Trade Sparked COVID-19 Virus Emergence in Humans

1 month ago | today.ucsd.edu | Susanne Bard

In fact, previous studies have suggested that SARS-CoV-1 was likely carried from Yunnan Province in Western China to Guangdong Province by infected palm civets or raccoon dogs — animals commonly traded for their fur and meat. However, the current study provides the strongest evidence to date that SARS-CoV-2 made it to humans in a similar manner.
Key enzyme in lipid metabolism linked to immune system aging

1 month ago | medicalxpress.com | Susanne Bard

Our immune systems weaken as we get older, making fewer cells that fight infection and help us recover from illness and injury. Scientists aren't completely sure why. They may have a better idea now, however, thanks to a study in GeroScience.
Key Enzyme in Lipid Metabolism Linked to Immune System Aging

1 month ago | today.ucsd.edu | Susanne Bard

Published Date April 17, 2025 Article Content Our immune systems weaken as we get older, making fewer cells that fight infection and help us recover from illness and injury. Scientists aren’t completely sure why. They may have a better idea now, however, thanks to a new study in GeroScience. “Immune cell changes occur during aging for a number of reasons, but we still don’t completely understand why we have fewer antibody-producing cells with age,” said Leslie Crews, Ph.D., assistant...
Human and HPV Genes Combine to Form Extrachromosomal DNA That Promotes Oropharyngeal Tumor Growth

2 months ago | today.ucsd.edu | Susanne Bard

Article Content The incidence of Human Papillomavirus (HPV)-associated oropharyngeal cancers — tumors of the back of the mouth and throat — is rising. If caught early, most of these cancers have a high survival rate, but about 20% of patients have a poor prognosis.
No Shortage of Solutions

Feb 7, 2025 | today.ucsd.edu | Susanne Bard

Published Date February 07, 2025 Article Content This story is from the 2025 issue of Discoveries, a UC San Diego Health Sciences magazine. Imagine a patient rushed to the hospital during a heart attack. While performing CPR, the emergency medical team reaches for a ready-to-use epinephrine pen to restart the heart. But due to a shortage of the lifesaving pens, the provider has to grab a vial of epinephrine instead, remove the cap, swab it with alcohol and draw the medication out with a...
How healthy stem cells turn into oral cancer

Feb 4, 2025 | medicalxpress.com | Susanne Bard

Nearly 60,000 people are diagnosed with oral cancer in the U.S. every year, according to the American Cancer Society, and the rate of new cases continues to rise. Now, researchers at University of California San Diego have discovered how healthy stem cells are transformed into cancer stem cells in the earliest stages of the disease. Oral cancer—also known as head and neck squamous cell carcinoma—affects the mouth, throat, nose, sinuses and voice box.
Changes in blood cell production over the lifetime could impact leukemia outcomes

Dec 6, 2024 | medicalxpress.com | Susanne Bard

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and their colleagues have developed the first comprehensive map of the dramatic changes that take place in the blood system over the course of the human lifetime. The study was published on December 5 in Nature Methods. The team quantified the gene expression of more than 58,000 individual hematopoietic (blood) stem cells at seven stages, from early fetal development to old age.
Clinical trial: Monoclonal antibody may be an effective alternative to cisplatin in treatment of head and neck cancers

Nov 22, 2024 | medicalxpress.com | Susanne Bard

Head and neck cancers are the seventh most common type of cancer worldwide, according to the 2020 World Cancer Report. Smokers and drinkers, as well as those with HPV infections, are disproportionately affected. The chemotherapy drug cisplatin, when administered alongside radiation therapy, is the gold standard for treating these malignancies.
Cetuximab Outperforms Durvalumab in Treatment of Head and Neck Cancers

Nov 18, 2024 | today.ucsd.edu | Susanne Bard

“We found that the probability of being alive and free of disease at two years was approximately 64% for cetuximab versus 51% for durvalumab, indicating no evidence of a benefit of durvalumab over cetuximab,” said Mell. “We had a lot of reasons to be optimistic about durvalumab, but it turned out to be potentially worse than the standard.”Monoclonal antibodies like cetuximab bind to proteins on the surface of cancer cells, halting their growth and proliferation.