La Jolla, CA – Humans and other animals may appear to be symmetrical on the outside, but symmetry is only skin deep. Many body organs, such as the stomach, the heart and the liver, are tipped to the right or left side. So how does the developing embryo distinguish left from right? Salk scientists have now discovered that the foundations for the basic left-right body plan are laid by a microscopic ‘pump’ on the outer surface of the embryo’s underside that wafts chemical messengers over to the left side of the body. This sets up a chemical concentration gradient that tells stem cells how and where to develop. The remarkable findings, including movie footage of the ‘pump,’ are published in the May 20th edition of the journal Zelle.
La Jolla, CA – When primitive nerve cells begin forming an eye in the mouse embryo, they are programmed to build a retina. But the ability to see depends upon connecting the retina to the brain via the optic nerve. Unless these embryonic cells are given the right cue at the right time, they mistakenly form a huge eye that consists entirely of retina and lacks the optic nerve.
La Jolla, CA – In this week’s journal Natur, scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies report that they have solved one of the ‘holy grail’ puzzles of developmental biology: the existence of a mechanism that insures that the exterior of our bodies is symmetrical while inner organs are arranged asymmetrically.
La Jolla, Kalifornien – Fred H. “Rusty” Gage, Ph.D., whose basic research at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies has advanced scientific understanding about the potential of the adult brain and nervous system to repair itself, has been elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a distinction awarded annually to top individuals in business, government, public affairs, the arts and popular culture as well as biomedical research.
La Jolla, CA – The ability of a pair of legs to walk in a stepwise fashion with each other appears to be set up during a brief period as an embryo’s spine develops, when a single neurotransmitter takes its turn to “talk” to nerve cells.
La Jolla, CA – During embryonic development, thousands of nerves must be connected to muscles as part of a communication network that allows the newborn to move, breathe and lead a normal life. The question is, how does this complicated ‘telephone system’ get wired up?
La Jolla, CA – On the morning of April 12, jhundreds of Salk scientists, graduate students and staff will begin their day at the Institute by celebrating the 50th anniversary of the vaccine that has saved them – and millions of others – from becoming crippled or dying from poliomyelitis or polio.
La Jolla, CA – Der Wissenschaftler des Salk Institute, der zuvor entdeckte, dass die Erhöhung der Funktion eines einzelnen Proteins eine Maus mit angeborener Resistenz gegen Gewichtszunahme und der Fähigkeit, eine Meile ohne Unterbrechung zu laufen, hervorbrachte, hat neue Beweise dafür gefunden, dass dieses Protein und ein verwandtes Protein eine zentrale Rolle im komplexen Weg des Körpers zur Adipositas spielen und einen neuen und spezifischen metabolischen Ansatz für die Behandlung von krankheitsbedingter Adipositas wie Syndrom X (Insulinresistenz, Hyperlipidämie und Atherosklerose) bieten.
La Jolla, Kalifornien – Wissenschaftler des Salk Instituts für Biologische Studien haben ein winziges, flexibles Tor identifiziert, das das blitzschnelle Öffnen und Schließen einer Familie von Ionenkanälen steuert, durch die Kaliumionen in und aus Körperzellen fließen.
La Jolla, Kalifornien – Sascha du Lac und Joseph P. Noel, both basic research scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, were selected for the prestigious position of Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator.
La Jolla, CA – The elusive world of membrane proteins – the crucial gatekeepers of a body cell’s outer wall that are popular targets for scientists trying to understand the molecular origins of health and disease – has been made more accessible through a discovery published in the February 25 issue of Science.
La Jolla, CA – A hallmark of brain organization is that nerve cells (neurons) with similar function are grouped together. But Salk Institute for Biological Studies research published in Nature on February 24 shows that neighboring neurons also keep secrets that they share only with trusted friends.
La Jolla, CA – Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have filled in two significant gaps in the molecular pathway that allow plant steroid hormones to stimulate plants to be larger and more fruitful. The findings may open up the prospect of larger vegetables or increased seed yield and could have a galvanizing effect on agricultural research.
La Jolla, CA – Scientists working for the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (GNF) and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have discovered the chemical basis of our sixth sense – the mysterious switch that resets our biological clocks as we cross time zones. The finding brings closer to reality medications to treat so-called circadian disorders such as severe jet lag and seasonal depression, as well as improve the lives of shift workers.
La Jolla, CA – Currently available lines of human embryonic stem cells have been contaminated with a non-human molecule that compromises their potential therapeutic use in human subjects, according to research by investigators at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine and the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California.
La Jolla, CA – Scientists at the Salk Institute have discovered a novel genetic pathway that ensures body organs develop correctly and in the right position during embryonic development. The discovery has important implications for stem cell medicine, which continues to face the challenge of inducing stem cells to form new organs.
La Jolla, CA – Salk Institute scientist Tony Hunter has been awarded the 2005 Wolf Prize in Medicine, Israel’s top recognition for achievements in the interest of mankind, for his key discoveries in cell regulation and cancer research.
La Jolla, CA – Scientists at the Salk Institute have provided a startling insight into how cells age that might lead to new approaches for treating cancer and even aging itself.
La Jolla, CA – Salk Institute scientist Tony Hunter has been awarded the 2004 Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize, a leading national award for scientific achievement, for his pivotal discoveries about the chemical ‘switch’ that turns healthy cells into cancer cells.
La Jolla, CA – A Salk Institute research team has discovered how nature controls the degree of binocular vision in mammals, work that could have crucial implications for human stem-cell medicine.
