"Can a superplant save the planet?" – Salk's plant biology team profiled by
Financial Times
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© Harry Haysom; Source: The Salk Institute
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A reporter from London's
Financial Times newspaper visited the Institute in late 2018 to interview Salk's plant biologists about the
Harnessing Plants Initiative, an effort to address the urgent need to fight climate change. Professors Joanne Chory and Joseph Noel, along with Associate Professors Julie Law and Wolfgang Busch, described the initiative’s effort to develop plants that can store more carbon in their roots within a long-lasting molecule called suberin (a major component of cork).
The article appeared in the glossy, weekend European edition on February 2, 2019 as well as online.
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CRISPR/Cas9 therapy suppresses accelerated aging
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Professor
Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte’s
lab developed a new gene therapy to help decelerate the aging process. The findings, published in the journal
Nature Medicine
, highlight a novel CRISPR/Cas9 genome-editing therapy that can suppress the accelerated aging observed in mice with Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that also afflicts humans. This treatment provides insight into the molecular pathways involved in accelerated aging, as well as how to reduce toxic proteins via gene therapy.
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In unexpected finding, a cellular process can stop cancer before it starts
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Cells regularly break down and recycle their components in a process called autophagy. The lab of Professor
Jan Karlseder
made a surprising discovery: autophagy—generally thought of as a survival mechanism for cancer and normal cells—can actually promote the death of cells, thereby preventing cancer initiation. The work, published in
Nature
, reveals autophagy to be a novel tumor-suppressing pathway.
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Gage lab publishes pair of neurobiology studies
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Researchers in the lab of President and Professor
Rusty Gage
recently published two neuroscience papers. One, appearing in
Molecular Psychiatry
, provides a better understanding of drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which lift the fog of depression for many people. But for around a third of people with major depressive disorder, SSRIs don’t make much of a difference. The Salk team pinned down a possible reason why: the neurons in some of these patients’ brains may become hyperactive in the presence of the drugs.
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Additionally, the lab published work in
eLife
examining what makes us human, and where this mysterious property of “humanness” comes from, by developing a strategy to more easily study the early development of human neurons compared with the neurons of nonhuman primates. The work offers scientists a novel tool to construct an evolutionary tree of multiple primate species to better understand the evolution of the human brain.
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California Native medicinal plant may hold promise for treating Alzheimer’s
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Credit: Sundry Photography/Shutterstock
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The medicinal powers of aspirin, digitalis and the anti-malarial artemisin all come from plants. A discovery by the lab of
Dave Schubert
of a potent neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory chemical in a native California shrub may lead to a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease based on a compound found in nature. The research appeared in the journal
Redox Biology
.
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Nicola Allen and Julie Law promoted to associate professor
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Congratulations to
Nicola Allen and
Julie Law
who have both been promoted to associate professor for their notable contributions to neurobiology and plant biology, respectively. The promotions were based on recommendations made by Salk faculty and nonresident fellows, and approved by President
Rusty Gage
along with the Institute’s Board of Trustees.
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Postdoctoral Fellow Thomas Mann named Damon Runyon Fellow
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Thomas Mann, sponsored by Professor
Susan Kaech
, was named a Damon Runyon Fellow by the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation. The award includes $231,000 for his research into why the killer T cells of our immune system gradually lose the ability to recognize and kill cancer cells, knowledge that may lead to improved immunotherapy treatments for cancer and other illnesses.
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Professor
Jan Karlseder
talks about his lab's latest research with
La Jolla Light
:
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Professor
Geoffrey Wahl
and breast cancer survivor and patient advocate Bianca Lundien Kennedy discuss the latest research on "The Last Battle" podcast
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Padres ‘Pedal the Cause’ donates nearly $3 million to Salk Institute and other local cancer efforts
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The January/February 2019 print issue of
Discover
magazine lists two Salk breakthroughs as top discoveries for 2018 in neuroscience and genetics, respectively: the advancement of brain organoids (
Rusty Gage’s
lab) and the creation of the CasRx RNA-editing tool (
Patrick Hsu’s lab).
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Season 2 of KPBS' "Rad Scientist" podcast has launched. The series is hosted by UC San Diego graduate student Margot Wohl, a researcher in Assistant Professor
Kenta Asahina’s
lab
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Salk Science & Music Series Plays On
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The Salk Institute invites you to attend the sixth season of the Salk Science & Music Series.Each concert features stunning performances by some of the finest instrumentalists in the world of classical music in addition to riveting talks about the latest discoveries by the Institute’s world-renowned scientists. You will be amazed and inspired.
- February 24, 2019 (SOLD OUT) - Amit Peled and Karen Joy Davis & Jan Karlseder
- April 28, 2019 - Brubeck Brothers Quartet & Sung Han
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Salk Women & Science awards on March 13
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Wednesday, March 13, 2019
4:30-7:00 p.m.
Conrad T. Prebys Auditorium
Salk’s Women & Science program will present its annual awards on March 13. Featuring remarks from Professor
Vicki Lundblad
and Salk President
Rusty Gage
as well as Associate Professor
Tatyana Sharpee
and Postdoctoral Fellow Isabella Farhy-Tselnicker, the awards range from supporting innovative research to conference travel expenses and childcare, all to advance the work of women scientists at the Institute. The event also honors Dana Maciunas Mockus, MD, who—along with her husband, Vytautas Mockus, DDS—was a longtime supporter of Salk Women & Science.
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Geoffrey Wahl, Dannielle Engle get Back to Basics
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Wednesday, March 27, 2019
3:00-5:00 p.m.
Conrad T. Prebys Auditorium
On March 27 Professor
Geoffrey Wahl
and Salk’s newest faculty member Assistant Professor
Dannielle Engle
will give the next Back to Basics lecture. Wahl and Engle will describe their journeys to become scientists and their approach to tackling one of the most difficult public health problems we face today: cancer.
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Celebrating 10 years of partnership with NOMIS
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SAVE THE DATE
Wednesday, April 10, 2019
8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Save the date of April 10, when Salk honors a decade of partnership with the NOMIS Foundation through the NOMIS Center at Salk 10th Anniversary Symposium:
The Power Within – Harnessing Our Immune System for Better Health
. Faculty of the NOMIS Center will give scientific presentations in addition to the inaugural Mel Cohn Lectures. Author Sonia Shah (
Pandemic: Tracking Contagions, from Cholera to Ebola and Beyond
) will give a keynote address at the end of the day followed by a book signing.
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Salk wallpaper images
Looking for a unique background image for your computer, iPad or phone?
This month's image is a beautifully photographed courtyard taken by Professor
Geoffrey Wahl
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