The Salk Institute conducts its biological research under the guidance of 59 faculty investigators, employing a scientific staff of more than 850, including visiting scientists, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students. http://www.salk.edu http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Fri, 13 Feb 2009 11:17:51 -0800 thu, 30 Apr 2009 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA, CA—How do you study—and try to cure in the laboratory—an infection that only humans can get? A team led by Salk Institute researchers does it by generating a mouse with an almost completely human liver. This "humanized" mouse is susceptible to human liver infections and responds to human drug treatments, providing a new way to test novel therapies for debilitating human liver diseases and other diseases with liver involvement such as malaria. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=408 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA, CA—Nuclear pore complexes are best known as the communication channels that regulate the passage of all molecules to and from a cell's nucleus. Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, however, have shown that some of the pores' constituent proteins, called nucleoporins, pull double duty as transcription factors regulating the activity of genes active during early development. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=406 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Thu, 04 Feb 2010 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA, CA—The neuropeptide corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) makes cameo appearances throughout the body, but its leading role is as the opening act in the stress response, jump-starting the process along the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have found that CRF also plays a part in the pancreas, where it increases insulin secretion and promotes the division of the insulin-producing beta cells. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=405 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Thu, 21 Jan 2010 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA, CA—A viral infection is like an uninvited, tenacious houseguest in the cell, using a range of tricks to prevent its eviction. Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have identified one of the key proteins allowing herpes simplex virus (HSV) DNA to fly under the radar of their hosts' involuntary hospitality. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=404 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Wed, 20 Jan 2010 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA, CA—We all have at one time or another experienced the typical signs of an infection: the fever, the listlessness, the lack of appetite. They are orchestrated by the brain in response to circulating cytokines, the signaling molecules of the immune system. But just how cytokines' reach extends beyond the almost impenetrable blood-brain barrier has been the topic of much dispute. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=403 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Wed, 13 Jan 2010 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA, CA—Like a spotlight that illuminates an otherwise dark scene, attention brings to mind specific details of our environment while shutting others out. A new study by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies shows that the superior colliculus, a brain structure that primarily had been known for its role in the control of eye and head movements, is crucial for moving the mind's spotlight. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=402 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Mon, 04 Jan 2010 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA, CA—In order to preserve our DNA, cells have developed an intricate system for monitoring and repairing DNA damage. Yet precisely how the initial damage signal is converted into a repair response remains unclear. Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have now solved a crucial piece of the complex puzzle. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=401 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Thu, 24 Dec 2009 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA, CA—Aging is the single greatest risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. In their latest study, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies found that simply slowing the aging process in mice prone to develop Alzheimer's disease prevented their brains from turning into a neuronal wasteland. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=397 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Thu, 10 Dec 2009 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA, CA—The Salk Institute for Biological Studies has received a $4.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to build a state-of-the-art data center that will dramatically increase its research computing power for the next decade. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=396 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Tue, 01 Dec 2009 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA, CA—The Salk Institute has named two highly accomplished, world-renowned scientists from the stem cell and genomics research fields to join its faculty as Non-Resident Fellows. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=395 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Mon, 30 Nov 2009 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA, CA—When you eat may be just as vital to your health as what you eat, found researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Their experiments in mice revealed that the daily waxing and waning of thousands of genes in the liver—the body's metabolic clearinghouse—is mostly controlled by food intake and not by the body's circadian clock as conventional wisdom had it. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=394 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA, CA—The Board of Trustees of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies unanimously voted to elect three new members during its November 13 meeting in La Jolla. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=393 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA, CA—The Salk Institute for Biological Studies has recruited three assistant professors who exemplify the next generation of leading international scientists hired to forge new research territory and to build on existing investigative areas at the Institute. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=392 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA—Using a gene therapy delivery system developed in the laboratory of Inder Verma at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, an international team of researchers successfully treated two children with adrenoleukodystrophy or ALD, in which the fatty insulation of nerve cells degenerates. The genetic disorder leads to progressive brain damage and results in death within two to five years after diagnosis. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=391 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA, CA—The search for the holy grail of regenerative medicine—the ability to "grow back" a perfect body part when one is lost to injury or disease—has been under way for years, yet the steps involved in this seemingly magic process are still poorly understood. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=390 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA—The Salk Institute has been awarded a $10.8 million grant by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) for translational research focusing on developing a novel stem-cell based therapy for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) – or Lou Gehrig's Disease. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=389 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA, CA—Dr. Clodagh O'Shea, an assistant professor in the Molecular Cell and Biology Laboratory, has been selected by The Sontag Foundation to receive the 2009 Distinguished Scientist Award. She will receive $600,000 over a four-year period to develop new viral therapies to treat invariably fatal glioblastomas and other brain tumors. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=387 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA, CA—Dr. Fred H. Gage, a professor in the Laboratory for Genetics at the Salk Institute and the Vi and John Adler Chair for Research on Age-Related Neurodegenerative Diseases, is one of only three Americans elected an Associate Member to the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) in 2009. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=388 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA, CA—Our body's activity levels fall and rise to the beat of our internal drums-the 24-hour cycles that govern fundamental physiological functions, from sleeping and feeding patterns to the energy available to our cells. Whereas the master clock in the brain is set by light, the pacemakers in peripheral organs are set by food availability. The underlying molecular mechanism was unknown. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=386 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA, CA—Although the human genome sequence faithfully lists (almost) every single DNA base of the roughly 3 billion bases that make up a human genome, it doesn't tell biologists much about how its function is regulated. Now, researchers at the Salk Institute provide the first detailed map of the human epigenome, the layer of genetic control beyond the regulation inherent in the sequence of the genes themselves. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=383 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA, CA—The cerebral cortex, the largest and most complex component of the brain, is unique to mammals and alone has evolved human specializations. Although at first all stem cells in charge of building the cerebral cortex—the outermost layer of neurons commonly referred to as gray matter—are created equal, soon they irrevocably commit to forming specific cortical regions. But how the stem cells' destiny is determined has remained an open question. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=384 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA, CA—Dr. Martin Hetzer, Hearst Endowment associate professor in the Salk Institute's Molecular and Cell Biology Laboratory, has received a 2009 Senior Scholar Award in Aging from the Ellison Medical Foundation. He will receive $150,000 a year for four years to study the mechanisms at work in nuclear pore complexes, channels that mediate molecular traffic between the nucleus and cytoplasm of cells. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=382 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA, CA—Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Ph.D., a professor at the University of California in San Francisco and a Non-Resident Fellow at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies since 2001, will receive this year's Nobel Prize in Medicine/Physiology for "the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase," the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm, Sweden announced today. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=381 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA, CA—Umbilical cord blood cells can successfully be reprogrammed to function like embryonic stem cells, setting the basis for the creation of a comprehensive bank of tissue-matched, cord blood-derived induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells for off-the-shelf applications, report researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the Center for Regenerative Medicine in Barcelona, Spain. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=380 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Thu, 01 Oct 2009 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA, CA-The brain never sits idle. Whether we are awake or asleep, watch TV or close our eyes, waves of spontaneous nerve signals wash through our brains. Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies studying visual attention have discovered a novel mechanism that explains how incoming sensory signals make themselves heard amidst the constant background rumblings so they can be reliably processed and passed on. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=378 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Wed, 23 Sep 2009 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA, CA—The Salk Institute for Biological Studies today officially launched PolioToday.org — a resource for polio survivors intended to raise awareness of the crippling post-polio syndrome (PPS), a serious neuromuscular condition that can strike an estimated 40-50 percent of people decades after they were first infected with the poliovirus. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=379 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Wed, 23 Aug 2009 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA, CA-Cell cycle checkpoints act like molecular tripwires for damaged cells, forcing them to pause and take stock. Leave the tripwire in place for too long, though, and cancer cells will press on regardless, making them resistant to the lethal effects of certain types of chemotherapy, according to researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=377 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Tue, 1 Sep 2009 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA, CA-Cell cycle checkpoints act like molecular tripwires for damaged cells, forcing them to pause and take stock. Leave the tripwire in place for too long, though, and cancer cells will press on regardless, making them resistant to the lethal effects of certain types of chemotherapy, according to researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=376 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA, CA—For close to a decade, pharmaceutical researchers have been in hot pursuit of compounds to activate a key nicotine receptor that plays a role in cognitive processes. Triggering it, they hope, might prevent or even reverse the devastation wrought by Alzheimer's disease. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=374 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Thu, 13 Aug 2009 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA, CA—A collaborative study by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies uncovered that the tumor suppressor p53, which made its name as "guardian of the genome," not only stops cells that could become cancerous in their tracks but also controls somatic cell reprogramming. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=373 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Sun, 09 Aug 2009 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA, CA—Rather than sticking to a single DNA script, human brain cells harbor astonishing genomic variability, according to scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. The findings, to be published in the Aug. 5, 2009, advance online edition of Nature, could help explain brain development and individuality, as well as lead to a better understanding of neurological disease. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=372 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Wed, 05 Aug 2009 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA, CA—Of all the qualities that distinguish humans from other species, how we learn is one of the most significant. In the July 17, 2009 issue of the journal Science, researchers who are at the forefront of neuroscience, psychology, education, and machine learning have synthesized a new science of learning that is already reshaping how we think about learning and creating opportunities to re-imagine the classroom for the 21st century. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=370 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Fri, 17 Jul 2009 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA, CA—Just like a conductor cueing musicians in an orchestra, Fgf10, a member of the fibroblast growth factor (Ffg) family of morphogens, lets brain stem cells know that the moment to get to work has arrived, ensuring that they hit their first developmental milestone on time, report scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in the July 16, 2009, edition of the journal Neuron. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=371 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Fri, 17 Jul 2009 10:55:52 -0800 SAN DIEGO, CA—The Salk Institute for Biological Studies today announced the establishment of the Irwin M. Jacobs Presidential Chair based on an endowment from Qualcomm and Qualcomm's employees. The Presidential Chair commemorates Qualcomm founder Dr. Irwin Jacobs' recent decision to step down as chairman of Qualcomm's Board of Directors and recognizes his ongoing dedicated leadership of the Salk Institute's Board of Trustees. Dr. Jacobs continues to serve as a member of Qualcomm's Board of Directors and in that capacity continues to provide his vision and guidance. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=369 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA, CA—A $3.8 million grant from the National Eye Institute (NEI) of the National Institutes of Health places the Salk Institute among one of seven NEI-designated centers focused exclusively on the basic research of vision, and is the first basic science facility created by the NEI in nearly a decade. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=368 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Mon, 13 Jul 2009 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA, CA—Although the fact that we generate new brain cells throughout life is no longer disputed, their purpose has been the topic of much debate. Now, an international collaboration of researchers made a big leap forward in understanding what all these newborn neurons might actually do. Their study, published in the July 10, 2009, issue of the journal Science, illustrates how these young cells improve our ability to navigate our environment. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=367 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA, CA—A tightly controlled system of checks and balances ensures that a powerful tumor suppressor called p53 keeps a tight lid on unchecked cell growth but doesn't wreak havoc in healthy cells. In their latest study, scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies suggest just how finely tuned the system is and how little it takes to tip the balance. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=366 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Tue, 06 Jul 2009 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA—The Salk Institute for Biological Studies garnered the top discovery spot in the latest international ranking in the category "Neuroscience and Behavior" by Science Watch, a scientific organization that measures the citation impact of research published worldwide. Citations are an important measure of the value and influence of scientists' work and reflect the impact made by that work on scientific understanding. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=365 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA, CA—Alcohol's inebriating effects are familiar to everyone. But the molecular details of alcohol's impact on brain activity remain a mystery. A new study by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies brings us closer to understanding how alcohol alters the way brain cells work. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=364 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Sun, 28 Jun 2009 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA, CA-Experiment after experiment confirms that a diet on the brink of starvation expands lifespan in mice and many other species. But the molecular mechanism that links nutrition and survival is still poorly understood. Now, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have identified a pivotal role for two enzymes that work together to determine the health benefits of diet restriction. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=363 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:55:52 -0800 La Jolla, CA—Obesity is probably the most important factor in the development of insulin resistance, but science's understanding of the chain of events is still spotty. Now, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have filled in the gap and identified the missing link between the two. Their findings, to be published in the June 21, 2009 advance online edition of the journal Nature, explain how obesity sets the stage for diabetes and why thin people can become insulin-resistant. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=362 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Sun, 21 Jun 2009 10:55:52 -0800 LA JOLLA, CA-People who suffer from Peutz-Jeghers syndrome, a rare inherited cancer syndrome, develop gastrointestinal polyps and are predisposed to colon cancer and other tumor types. Carefully tracing the cellular chain-of-command that links nutrient intake to cell growth (and which is interrupted in Peutz-Jeghers syndrome), allowed researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies to exploit the tumors' weak spot. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=361 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:55:52 -0800 La Jolla, CA --A study led by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, has catapulted the field of regenerative medicine significantly forward, proving in principle that a human genetic disease can be cured using a combination of gene therapy and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell technology. The study, published in the May 31, 2009 early online edition of Nature, is a major milestone on the path from the laboratory to the clinic. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=360 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Sun, 01 Jun 2009 9:55:52 -0800 La Jolla, CA --Salk Professor Inder M. Verma, Ph.D., one of the world's leading authorities on the development and use of engineered viruses for gene therapy, has been named the 2009 recipient of the American Society of Gene Therapy's Outstanding Achievement Award. The award recognizes an ASGT member who has conducted groundbreaking research or achieved a lifetime of significant scientific contributions to the field of gene therapy. Verma is only the second scientist honored with the society's Outstanding Achievement Award, which debuted in 2008. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=359 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Fri, 29 May 2009 9:55:52 -0800 La Jolla, CA --More than three years ago, while serving as president-elect and then president of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), Salk scientist Geoff Wahl had an epiphany: cancer research needed a grassroots American fundraising movement reminiscent of the polio-inspired March of Dimes. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=358 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Wed, 27 May 2009 9:55:52 -0800 La Jolla, CA -- Dr. Tatyana Sharpee, an assistant professor in the Laboratory for Computational Biology, has been named a 2009 McKnight Scholar. She will receive a grant of $225,000 over a three-year period to study "Discrete representation of visual shapes in the brain." http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=357 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Fri, 15 May 2009 9:55:52 -0800 La Jolla, CA -- Our genome is a patchwork of neighborhoods that couldn't be more different: Some areas are hustling and bustling with gene activity, while others are sparsely populated and in perpetual lock-down. Breaking down just a few of the molecular fences that separate them blurs the lines and leads to the inactivation of at least two tumor suppressor genes, according to researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=356 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Thu, 14 May 2009 9:55:52 -0800 La Jolla, CA -- The Salk Institute for Biological Studies has been awarded a $6.6 million grant – the largest single award in the latest competition -- by the California Institute Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) for research aimed at translating basic science into clinical cures. The funds are part of $67.7 million Early Translational Grants CIRM provided to 15 research organizations on Wednesday. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=355 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Thu, 30 Apr 2009 9:55:52 -0800 La Jolla, CA -- Salk researcher Marc R. Montminy, M.D., Ph.D., a professor in the Clayton Foundation Laboratories for Peptide Biology, has been elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the nation's most prestigious honorary society for scientists. The Academy made the announcement today during its 146th annual meeting in Washington, DC. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=354 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Tue, 28 Apr 2009 9:55:52 -0800 La Jolla, CA -- The Salk Institute has received a $5.5 million grant from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to launch the Salk Center for Nutritional Genomics. The new Center will employ a molecular approach to nutrition and its impact on the role of metabolism on the immune system, cancer, diabetes and lifespan, thereby increasing the understanding of how nutrients affect health. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=353 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Wed, 22 Apr 2009 9:55:52 -0800 La Jolla, CA—New research at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies casts the role of a neuronal growth factor receptor—long suspected to facilitate the toxic effects of beta amyloid in Alzheimer's disease—in a new light, suggesting the molecule actually protects the neuron in the periphery from beta amyloid-induced damage. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=352 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Tue, 21 Apr 2009 9:55:52 -0800 La Jolla, CA—About 1.25 million neurons in the retina -- each of which views the world only through a small jagged window called a receptive field -- collectively form the seamless picture we rely on to navigate our environment. Receptive fields fit together like pieces of a puzzle, preventing "blind spots" and excessive overlap that could blur our perception of the world, according to researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=351 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Tue, 07 Apr 2009 9:55:52 -0800 La Jolla, CA—The Salk Institute today announced that it has signed a strategic alliance agreement with sanofi-aventis, establishing a joint program that supports cutting-edge research and promotes an exchange of discoveries focused on scientific advances and therapeutic applications. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=350 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Thu, 26 Mar 2009 9:55:52 -0800 La Jolla, CA—Salk Institute scientist Reuben J. Shaw, Ph.D., has been selected a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Early Career Scientist, the HHMI announced today. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=349 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Thu, 26 Mar 2009 9:55:52 -0800 The visual system has limited capacity and cannot process everything that falls onto the retina. Instead, the brain relies on attention to bring salient details into focus and filter out background clutter. Two recent studies by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, one study employing computational modeling techniques and the other experimental techniques, have helped to unravel the mechanisms underlying attention. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=348 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Wed, 25 Mar 2009 11:55:52 -0800 A receptor for glutamate, the most prominent neurotransmitter in the brain, plays a key role in the process of "unlearning," report researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Their findings, published in the current issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, could eventually help scientists develop new drug therapies to treat a variety of disorders, including phobias and anxiety disorders, particularly post-traumatic stress disorder. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=347 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Tue, 24 Mar 2009 11:55:52 -0800 A newly identified molecular pathway that directs stem cells to produce glial cells yields insights into the neurobiology of Down's syndrome and a number of central nervous system disorders characterized by too many glial cells, according to a recent study by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=346 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Fri, 13 Mar 2009 11:55:52 -0800 A molecular switch found in the fat tissue of obese mice is a critical factor in the development of insulin resistance, report scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Previously found to increase glucose production by the liver during fasting, the culprit—a protein known as CREB—is also activated in fat tissue of obese mice where it promotes insulin resistance. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=345 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Tue, 03 Mar 2009 9:55:52 -0800 Ever since insects developed a taste for vegetation, plants have faced the same dilemma: use limited resources to out-compete their neighbors for light to grow, or, invest directly in defense against hungry insects. Now, an international team of scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the Institute of Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agronomía (IFEVA) has discovered how plants weigh the tradeoffs and redirect their energies accordingly. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=344 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Thu, 27 Feb 2009 10:55:52 -0800 The Salk Institute today named principal investigator Inder M. Verma the first incumbent of the Irwin Mark Jacobs Chair in Exemplary Life Sciences. Established to honor its namesake's exceptional leadership in business and philanthropy, the honor is given to an internationally renowned senior Salk scientist who has made extraordinary discoveries in basic biomedical research and has contributed to the direction and vitality of the Institute. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=343 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Thu, 25 Feb 2009 10:55:52 -0800 Our eyes are in constant motion. Even when we attempt to stare straight at a stationary target, our eyes jump and jiggle imperceptibly. Although these unconscious flicks, also known as microsaccades, had long been considered mere "motor noise," researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies found that they are instead actively controlled by the same brain region that instructs our eyes to scan the lines in a newspaper or follow a moving object. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=341 54D5408C-44BB-468C-89DB-C24F461BC1A9 Fri, 13 Feb 2009 10:55:52 -0800 Fruit flies and humans share most of their genes, including 70 percent of all known human disease genes. Taking advantage of this remarkable evolutionary conservation, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies transformed the fruit fly into a laboratory model for an innovative study of gliomas, the most common malignant brain tumors. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=342 49738F7B-4A75-41CE-891D-FAF6E97232E3 Fri, 13 Feb 2009 10:55:04 -0800 Best known for its effects on fruit ripening and flower fading, the gaseous plant hormone ethylene shortens the shelf life of many fruits and plants by putting their physiology on fast-forward. In recent years, scientists learned a lot about the different components that transmit ethylene signals inside cells. But a central regulator of ethylene responses, a protein known as EIN2, resisted all their efforts. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=340 0119B929-10D7-4DF1-B2F2-51E5EAE57DB8 Tue, 10 Feb 2009 15:44:50 -0800 La Jolla, CA–Unraveling the genetics of social behavior and cognitive abilities, researchers at the University of Utah and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have traced the role of two genes,GTF2I and GTF2IRD, in a rare genetic disorder known as Williams Syndrome. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=339 79B2B720-2C2D-48E2-9E00-DC9E0D6EB525 Mon, 9 Feb 2009 17:42:50 -0800 How are neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's initiated, and why is age the major risk factor? A recent study of a protein called MOCA (Modifier of Cell Adhesion), carried out at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, provides new clues to the answers of these fundamental questions. http://sitetest.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=337 77C05D2E-EAC6-420D-BC7C-5178189FA38F Mon, 2 Feb 2009 16:02:14 -0800 "Remember when...?" is how many a wistful trip down memory lane begins. But just how the brain keeps tabs on what happened and when is still a matter of speculation. A computational model developed by scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies now suggests that newborn brain cells—generated by the thousands each day—add a time-related code, which is unique to memories formed around the same time. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=336 9E1344F1-F74E-41E5-87F3-B9F5C227F2CE Wed, 28 Jan 2009 09:42:40 -0800 Like guards controlling access to a gated community, nuclear pore complexes are communication channels that regulate the passage of proteins and RNA to and from a cells nucleus. Recent studies by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies offer new insights about the pores' lifespan and how their longevity affects their function. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=335 4CC4A558-5FE1-4AE0-B88B-A60F114FF13A Thu, 22 Jan 2009 09:41:17 -0800 The Salk Institute today received a $5 million gift from the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research, becoming the third institution (with Harvard University and MIT) to receive major Glenn funding for studying the molecular basis of aging. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=334 81594680-EC9B-428C-9522-EF57AC7758A5 Thu, 8 Jan 2009 11:18:58 -0800 La Jolla, CA - Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have developed a versatile mouse model of glioblastoma—the most common and deadly brain cancer in humans—that closely resembles the development and progression of human brain tumors that arise naturally. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=332 14C887E0-6BEB-4092-AB80-18D4BC520BFD Mon, 5 Jan 2009 11:19:24 -0800 Salk researcher Geoffrey M. Wahl, a professor in the Gene Expression Laboratory, has been awarded the distinction of AAAS Fellow, an honor bestowed upon members of the American Association for the Advancement of Science by their peers. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=331 1DD8726D-3E66-4B58-B05B-AC80DCF5B74F Thu, 18 Dec 2008 11:19:39 -0800 La Jolla, CA - Long thought of as mere bystanders, astrocytes are crucial for the survival and well-being of motor neurons, which control voluntary muscle movements. In fact, defective astrocytes can lay waste to motor neurons and are the main suspects in the muscle-wasting disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=330 E31D08F0-F336-40DE-8239-41FC35BC2CEE Wed, 3 Dec 2008 11:20:00 -0800 La Jolla, CA - New work at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies reveals how a genetic switch, known as FoxJ1, helps developing embryos tell their left from their right. While at first glance the right and left sides of our bodies are identical to each other, this symmetry is only skin-deep. Below the surface, some of our internal organs are shifted sideways—heart and stomach to the left, liver and appendix to the right. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=329 C17EDFBA-A3B4-48DB-A7EB-96977D3BED64 Sun, 16 Nov 2008 10:35:27 -0800 La Jolla, CA - A previously unknown regulatory step during human immunodeficiency (HIV) replication provides a potentially valuable new target for HIV/AIDS therapy, report researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the University of Wisconsin, Madison. http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=328 0ADDA975-0C26-45E4-9212-2207A5699EDD Thu, 13 Nov 2008 10:35:28 -0800