Making a memory positive or negative |
Professor Kay Tye and team have discovered a molecule in the brain responsible for associating good or bad feelings with a memory. Their discovery paves the way for a better understanding of why some people are more likely to retain negative emotions than positive ones—as can occur with anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
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The best offense is a great defense for some carnivorous plants |
Insect-eating plants have fascinated biologists for more than a century, but how plants evolved the ability to capture and consume live prey has largely remained a mystery. Now, Professor Joanne Chory, Staff Scientist Carl Procko and colleagues have found evidence that plant carnivory evolved from mechanisms plants use to defend themselves.
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How RNA processing goes awry in rare immune disease |
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Credit: Xuan Zhou of KAUST |
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Professor Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte and colleagues have discovered a new underlying cause of Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, a rare genetic disease that leads to bleeding and immune deficiencies in babies. Their findings involve the way cells cut and paste strands of RNA in a process called RNA splicing. The genetic mutations associated with Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, they found, disrupt this process, ultimately preventing numerous immune and anti-inflammatory proteins from being made correctly. Read more »
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Imaging solves mystery of how large HIV protein functions to form infectious virus |
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Credit: Francesc Xavier Ruiz of Rutgers |
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Assistant Professor Dmitry Lyumkis and colleagues have for the first time determined the molecular structure of HIV Pol, a protein that plays a key role in the late stages of HIV replication—the process by which the virus propagates itself and spreads through the body. The molecule’s structure helps answer longstanding questions about how the protein breaks itself apart to advance the replication process. The discovery reveals a new vulnerability in the virus that could be targeted with drugs. Read more »
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National Geographic
Can we hack DNA in plants to help fight climate change?
Using CRISPR genome editing on a few common crops, a team of plant and soil scientists seeks to vastly increase and speed up carbon storage to help fight climate change.
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Del Mar Times
Curebound announces $3.2 million raised at Padres Pedal the Cause
Curebound, a San Diego-based nonprofit organization that raises and invests strategic funding in translational cancer research projects, held a “World Without Cancer Impact Celebration.”
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Discover Magazine
Study suggests brain processes information like ocean waves
A new model of how the brain processes information describes neuronal activity as waves.
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Research Professor Todd Michael receives $2 million to build a genome repository for the cassava plant |
Michael will receive nearly $2 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to sequence the genomes of multiple lineages of the cassava plant, a large starchy root vegetable also known as yuca root consumed in more than 80 countries around the world. A better understanding of cassava genetics will help researchers and plant breeders develop more productive disease- and drought-resistant plants for the future. |
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Professor Gerald Joyce and Bryan Robinson join Salk Institute’s leadership team |
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Joyce, a member of the Jack H. Skirball Center for Chemical Biology and Proteomics, was named senior vice president and chief science officer of the Salk Institute. Joyce will provide leadership in developing and implementing the Institute’s scientific strategy, as well as oversee research operations. Robinson, who was appointed to the role of vice president of External Relations, will oversee the Institute’s philanthropic efforts, communications, public programs and events.
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Renowned plant molecular geneticist Mary Lou Guerinot joins Salk as Nonresident Fellow |
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Credit: Eli Burakian of Dartmouth College |
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As a Nonresident Fellow, Guerinot joins a group of eminent scientific advisors that guide the Institute’s leadership. Guerinot holds the Ronald and Deborah Harris Professorship in the Sciences and is a professor of biological sciences at Dartmouth College, where she was the first woman to chair a science department. Read more »
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Postdoctoral Fellow Austin Coley awarded Transition to Independence Fellowship |
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Coley, a member of Professor Kay Tye’s lab, will receive $495,000 over three years from the Simons Collaboration on the Global Brain to help him become an independent investigator. The fellowship facilitates the transition to research independence of outstanding neuroscientists from historically underrepresented backgrounds. Read more »
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Postdoctoral Fellow Sara Sameni receives 2022 Berman-Topper Family HD Career Development Fellowship |
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Sameni, a member of Professor Terrence Sejnowski’s lab, will receive up to $80,000 of funding per year for three years from the Huntington’s Disease Society of America. This prestigious fellowship, made possible in part by the Berman and Topper families, supports young scientists and clinicians who desire to make Huntington’s disease part of their long-term career plan. Read more »
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Salk Women & Science: Leading Through the Pandemic and Beyond |
In case you missed it, a recording of our July 14 Salk Women & Science event—Leading Through the Pandemic and Beyond—is now available. View video of the entire event »
The event was dedicated to the late Professor Emerita Ursula Bellugi, and an award named in her honor, the Ursula Bellugi Trailblazer Award, was given to Salk’s recently retired vice president of External Relations, Rebecca Newman.
A panel of speakers discussed the unique challenges faced by women leaders in science and industry during the COVID pandemic, new research opportunities and lessons learned, the importance of supporting women leaders, and the future of the Salk Institute. Senior Vice President and Chief Science Officer Gerald Joyce moderated the panel, which featured Board Chair Marna Whittington, Trustee Carol Gallagher and Professor Kay Tye.
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Symphony at Salk Featuring Ben Platt |
Sponsorships are now available for the 26th annual Symphony at Salk. This acclaimed annual concert and fundraiser held in the Salk Institute’s iconic Courtyard will feature a breathtaking performance by Tony, Grammy and Emmy Award-winning singer Ben Platt and the San Diego Symphony. In supporting the Institute’s major fundraising event, your sponsorship is a critical driver for Salk’s leading-edge research in the fields of aging, cancer, neuroscience, immunology, climate change and more.
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How would you change the world for the better? |
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To advance life-changing discoveries for decades to come, in 2021 Salk launched the Campaign for the Future: Building a More Resilient World—a bold, five-year, $500 million effort to attract the people and acquire the technology and space necessary to accelerate the Institute’s critical research. At the center of this audacious goal is the plan to build the 100,000-square-foot Joan and Irwin Jacobs Science and Technology Center. Between now and September 30, the Jacobs will contribute $1 for every $2 donated and every gift counts! Join in to help create a brighter future for us all. Salk scientists are bold, visionary and committed to making the world a better place. Salk supporters are, too. Together, we can meet any challenge.
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Which of the following is NOT a place to view carnivorous plants in San Diego?
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San Diego State University Greenhouse
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A small bog at Walter Andersen Nursery in Poway
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Enjoy Salk science on your devices |
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Looking for a unique background image for your computer, Zoom meeting, iPad or phone?
This month’s image comes from a recent press release from the lab of Professor Kay Tye. The image shows the expression of various genes and proteins (white, red, and green) in neurons among mouse brain cells (blue).
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