Institute adopts precautionary restrictions on travel and cancels March events
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Due to the unfolding novel coronavirus (COVID-19) spread, all public events scheduled to be held on the Salk campus through the end of March have been canceled or postponed
to protect the health of Salk employees, visitors and the community
.
The Institute campus has also closed to the public and
canceled
tours. The Institute is continuing to monitor advice by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as local public health organizations.
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If you want to reduce inflammation, delay the onset of age-related diseases and live longer—eat less food. So concludes a new study in
Cell
by Professor
Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte
and collaborators that provides the most detailed report to date of the cellular effects of a calorie-restricted diet in rats. While the benefits of caloric restriction have long been known, the new results show how this restriction can protect against aging in cellular pathways.
The researchers compared rats on normal diets with rats who ate 30 percent fewer calories from age 18 to 27 months. (In humans, this is roughly equivalent to age 50 to 70.) Many of the changes that occurred as rats on the normal diet grew older didn’t occur in rats on a restricted diet; even in old age, many of the tissues and cells of animals on the diet closely resembled those of young rats.
The work could inform strategies for increasing life and health span.
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Immunofluorescence analysis of classic markers for ovarian cells
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In additional work, the lab of
Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte
has discovered, in unprecedented detail, how ovaries age in non-human primates. The findings, published in
Cell
, revealed several genes that could be used as biomarkers and point to therapeutic targets for diagnosing and treating female infertility and age-associated ovarian diseases, such as ovarian cancer, in humans.
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A joint with grade 2 untreated osteoarthritis
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In a second paper, published in
Protein & Cell
, the team discovered that a powerful combination of two experimental drugs reversed the cellular and molecular signs of osteoarthritis in rats as well as in isolated human cartilage cells.
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New Discoveries Around Brain Health
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Neurons in bipolar patients
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In two papers published in the journal
Biological Psychiatry
in
February 2020 and October 2019, the lab of Salk Professor and President Rusty Gage revealed previously unknown details explaining why some neurons in bipolar patients swing between being over- or underexcited. In a third publication in
Cell Stem Cell
, his team also discovered a unique pattern of DNA damage that arises in brain cells derived from individuals with autism spectrum disorder. The observation helps explain what might go awry in the brain during cell division and development to cause the disorder.
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Imaging study of key viral structure shows how HIV drugs work at atomic level
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From left: Dario Oliveira Passos,
Dmitry Lyumkis and Ilona K. Jóźwik
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The lab of Assistant Professor
Dmitry Lyumkis
has discovered how a powerful class of HIV drugs binds to a key piece of HIV machinery. By solving, for the first time, three-dimensional structures of this complex while different drugs were attached, the researchers showed what makes the therapy so potent. The work, which appeared in
Science
, provides insights that could help design or improve new treatments for HIV.
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Hess Corporation gifts $12.5 million to accelerate development of plant-based carbon capture and storage
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Salk’s Harnessing Plants Initiative
(HPI) will receive a $12.5 million gift from the Hess Corporation to advance two projects to enhance plants’ natural ability to store carbon and mitigate the effects of climate change. These projects build on the Salk discovery of a
crucial gene
that will help the team develop plants with larger root systems capable of absorbing and storing potentially billions of tons of carbon per year from the atmosphere.
The CRoPS program
aims to create Salk Ideal Plants™
, which will have robust root systems rich in a naturally occurring plant molecule called suberin (e.g., cork), making them a scalable and affordable way to store carbon in the soil. These crop plants can then be integrated into global agriculture to decrease atmospheric carbon as well as make the soil richer in organic matter, resulting in better crop yields.
The CPR program
focuses on protecting and restoring wetland ecosystems. Coastal plants have the natural ability to draw down even more carbon dioxide per year than land plants and can store the carbon for centuries in their roots. Salk scientists will conduct genetically informed restoration and preservation of these wetlands by selecting the best-performing plants suitable for specific geographies, water and sediment chemistries, and climates.
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Neuroscientist Kay Tye on what investigating neural pathways can reveal about mental health
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Professor
Kay Tye
’s TED talk, “What investigating neural pathways can reveal about mental health,” has exceeded half a million views. Tye, who investigates how our brains give rise to complex emotional states like depression, anxiety or loneliness, shares her latest findings—including the development of a tool that uses light to activate specific neurons and create dramatic behavioral changes in mice.
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Salk Institute welcomes new trustees, Larry Jennings, Jr., and Timothy Schoen
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The Salk Institute Board of Trustees welcomed its newest members, Larry Jennings, Jr., and Timothy Schoen. Chaired by Daniel Lewis, the Salk Board helps drive the direction of the Institute.
Jennings brings his wealth of experience in the private equity industry to Salk’s Board and Schoen joins with significant experience in commercial real estate and corporate finance.
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The Scientist
profiled Professor Joanne Chory:
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Professor Sreekanth “Shrek” Chalasani shared with
Popular Science
how even plants pick up on good vibes:
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Postdoctoral researcher Paloma Martinez-Redondo and Isabel Guillen-Guillen discussed with KPBS the Izpisua Belmonte lab’s discovery of a therapy that could reverse osteoarthritis:
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National Academy of Science member and Salk Professor Thomas Albright reflected on the impact of his landmark report five years ago on using science to improve eyewitness testimony:
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President and Professor Rusty Gage and graduate student Meiyan Wang shared with
La Jolla Light
how rapid brain growth in autism is linked to DNA damage:
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IFLScience reported how a team led by Assistant Professor Dmitry Lyumkis discovered how a powerful class of HIV drugs bind with the virus at an atomic level:
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Salk architecture is beautiful
This month’s image shows a beautiful sunset at Salk.
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