Regeneration

Chimeric tool advanced for wide range of regenerative medicine, biomedical research applications

LA JOLLA—The ability to grow the cells of one species within an organism of a different species offers scientists a powerful tool for research and medicine. It’s an approach that could advance our understanding of early human development, disease onset and progression and aging; provide innovative platforms for drug evaluation; and address the critical need for transplantable organs. Yet developing such capabilities has been a formidable challenge. Read more »

Turning back time: Salk scientists reverse signs of aging

Scientists at the Salk Institute have found that intermittent expression of genes normally associated with an embryonic state can reverse the hallmarks of old age.

This approach, which not only prompted human skin cells in a dish to look and behave young again, also resulted in the rejuvenation of mice with a premature aging disease, countering signs of aging and increasing the animals’ lifespan by 30 percent. The early-stage work provides insight both into the cellular drivers of aging and possible therapeutic approaches for improving human health and longevity. Read More »

New gene-editing technology partially restores vision in blind animals

Salk researchers have discovered, for the first time, how to place DNA in specific locations in non-dividing cells. Read More »