Gene identified that will help develop plants to fight climate change
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Hidden underground networks of plant roots snake through the earth foraging for nutrients and water, similar to a worm searching for food. Yet, the genetic and molecular mechanisms that govern which parts of the soil roots explore remain largely unknown. Now, Associate Professor
Wolfgang Busch and his lab have discovered a gene that determines whether roots grow deep or shallow in the soil. The findings, published in
Cell, will allow Salk researchers to develop plants that can help combat climate change as part of Salk’s
Harnessing Plants Initiative.
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TICKETS ARE GOING FAST!
Saturday, August 24, 2019
Join us for a spectacular evening of music featuring the sensational San Diego Symphony and special guest artist, Tony Award-winner Laura Benanti. Experience warm camaraderie, gourmet food and drink, a breathtaking sunset and refreshing ocean breezes, all against the backdrop of one of the world’s most striking architectural masterpieces.
Symphony at Salk
is
the
cultural event of the summer and a chance to share an extraordinary experience with friends and colleagues.
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Unlocking therapies for hard-to-treat lung cancers
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From left: Marc Montminy, Laura Rodón and Reuben Shaw.
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A Salk study found that diabetes drug candidates may work against types of non-small-cell lung cancers. The discovery shows that researchers could target these hard-to-treat cancers by pursuing drugs that keep a cellular “switch,” called CREB, from triggering tumor growth. The work, published in the journal
Science Advances, was led by Salk Professor
Marc Montminy, in close collaboration with Professor
Reuben Shaw, and colleagues.
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New computational tool lets researchers identify cells based on their chromosome shape
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Human chromosomes imaged during the metaphase stage of cell division. Image courtesy of Dixon Lab.
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In the nucleus of every living cell, long strands of DNA are tightly folded into compact chromosomes. Now, thanks to a new computational approach developed by Professor
Joseph Ecker
, researchers can use the architecture of these chromosome folds to differentiate between types of cells. The development, published in the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
, will give scientists a better understanding of how interactions between different regions of DNA play a role in health and disease.
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Deciphering how the brain encodes color and shape
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From left: Peichao Li, Edward Callaway and Anupam Garg.
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There are hundreds of thousands of distinct colors and shapes that a person can distinguish visually, but how does the brain process all of this information? Scientists previously believed that the visual system initially encodes shape and color with different sets of neurons and then combines the information much later. But a new study led by Professor
Edward Callaway, published in
Science, shows that there are neurons that respond selectively to particular combinations of color and shape.
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How mammals’ brains evolved to distinguish odors is nothing to sniff at
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From left: Charles Stevens
and Shyam Srinivasan.
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The world is filled with millions upon millions of distinct smells, but how mammals’ brains evolved to tell them apart is something of a mystery. Now,
Charles Stevens
, Salk distinguished professor emeritus, in collaboration with UC San Diego, has discovered that at least six types of mammals—from mice to cats—distinguish odors in roughly the same way, using circuitry in the brain that’s evolutionarily preserved across species. The work is published in
Current Biology
.
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Assistant Professor
Dannielle Engle
is awarded a 2019 Pancreatic Cancer Action Network Grant
PANCAN funding is awarded to scientists performing innovative research across the United States and helps early-career researchers secure funding from other sources in the future.
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Postdoctoral Fellow
Kay Chung named Damon Runyon
Fellow
Chung’s fellowship, from the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, includes $231,000 to support her research into
creating
T cells with durable anti-tumor activity.
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Assistant Professor
Eiman Azim
receives Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers
The PECASE award is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers.
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Freakonomics interviews Professor
Ronald Evans
about exercise solutions grounded in science
:
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Professor
Joanne Chory
speaks to
Foreign Policy
magazine about using plants to fight climate change:
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Vice President, Chief Science Officer and Professor
Martin Hetzer
appears on KUSI to talk about measuring aging in organs:
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Salk wallpaper images
This month's image shows the canyon in bloom with the Institute in the background.
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