Salk Institute for Biological Studies
NOVEMBER 2022 NEWS
Salk scientists discover anti-inflammatory molecules that decline in the aging brain
Professor Alan Saghatelian and team discovered that a class of fats called SGDGs decline in the brain with age and may have anti-inflammatory effects. The finding reveals new mechanisms underlying age-related neurological diseases and offers future opportunities for therapeutic intervention.
Growing motor neurons guided by “love-hate relationship” with blood vessels
Professor Samuel Pfaff and team discovered that neurons navigate the body in a way that is influenced by genes controlling blood vessel cells—which both are needed by the neurons and get in their way. The discovery has implications for understanding diseases in which motor neuron connections are destroyed, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Read more »
IN THE NEWS
NPR

How do our brains decide to remember something positively or negatively?


See also: WIRED »

Features Professor Kay Tye
U.S. News & World Report

Targeting key cells in spinal cord got paralyzed patients walking again


Features Associate Professor Eiman Azim
KPBS

Salk Institute scientists want to know what makes a good art exhibit 


Features Professor Thomas Albright
San Diego Union-Tribune

11 San Diego scientists named among the 1,000 best female researchers in the world


Features Professor Joanne Chory and Professor Emerita Catherine Rivier
CBS 8

Symbiotic relationship between San Diego breast cancer survivor and Salk researchers 


Features Professor Geoffrey Wahl and patient advocate Bianca Kennedy
Spectrum News

Time-restricted eating improves health of firefighters


Features Staff Scientist Emily Manoogian
SPOTLIGHT
Nine Salk professors named among best and most highly cited researchers in the world
Professors Joseph Ecker, Ronald Evans, Rusty Gage, Christian Metallo, Satchidananda Panda, Reuben Shaw, and Kay Tye were named to the Highly Cited Researchers list by Clarivate. The list identifies researchers who demonstrate “significant influence in their chosen field or fields through the publication of multiple highly cited papers.” Additionally, Professor Joanne Chory and Professor Emerita Catherine Rivier were named among the 1,000 Best Female Scientists in the World, an inaugural ranking by Research.com that celebrates the contributions of women in science. Evans and Gage were ranked in the top 100 Best Scientists in the World, an inaugural ranking also by Research.com that identifies leading experts in specific fields of research.
Salk President Rusty Gage named one of San Diego’s “Most Influential Business Leaders”
Gage was featured in the 2022 edition of the SD 500, the San Diego Business Journal’s annual list of San Diego County’s most influential business leaders. A leading neuroscientist, Gage has directed the Salk Institute for five years.
Trailblazing immunologist joins Salk faculty to study mother-baby immunity during pregnancy and breastfeeding
The Salk Institute welcomes Assistant Professor Deepshika Ramanan, an innovative researcher studying how the maternal immune system changes during pregnancy and breastfeeding and affects immunity and inflammation in babies across multiple generations. She will join Salk’s NOMIS Center for Immunobiology and Microbial Pathogenesis. Read more »
Salk Institute mourns the loss of Distinguished Professor Emeritus Charles F. “Chuck” Stevens
A pioneer in neuroscience, Stevens served on Salk’s faculty from 1990 to 2018. He died peacefully on October 21 at his home in San Diego. He was 88. Read more »
Science is a collaborative pursuit, and we invite you to join us in accelerating life-changing discoveries.
SCIENCE QUIZ
If you laid out all the blood vessels in the human body end to end, how far would they stretch?
600 miles
6,000 miles
60,000 miles
600,000 miles
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The image below shows motor neurons (green) clearing a path through blood vessels (red) as they grow toward muscles in developing healthy mice.
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