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Salk Institute announces historic $100M challenge gift from Irwin and Joan Jacobs
Irwin and Joan Jacobs, longtime supporters of the Institute, have pledged $100M to launch Salk’s five-year, $500M philanthropic and scientific Campaign for the Future. The gift is structured as a challenge match, adding $1 to every $2 pledged by June 30, 2022, as a donor naming or endowment gift. The Campaign for the Future will provide funds to construct the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Science and Technology Center on Salk’s iconic campus in La Jolla, support key scientific programs, and increase Salk’s endowment.
SCIENTIFIC UPDATES
Salk scientists use machine learning to predict smells based on brain activity in worms
It sounds like a party trick: scientists can now look at the brain activity of a tiny worm and tell you which chemical the animal smelled a few seconds before. But the findings of a new study, led by Associate Professor Sreekanth Chalasani, are more than just a novelty; they help scientists better understand how the brain functions and integrates information.
Secrets of quillwort photosynthesis could boost crop efficiency
Credit: Yao-Moan Huang

The humble quillworts are an ancient group of about 250 small, aquatic plants that have largely been ignored by modern botanists. Now, Research Professor Todd Michael, along with researchers from the Boyce Thompson Institute, has sequenced the first quillwort genome and uncovered some secrets of the plant’s unique method of photosynthesis—secrets that could eventually lead to the engineering of crops with more efficient water use and carbon capture to address climate change.
Study shines a light into “black holes” in the Arabidopsis genome
Research Professor Todd Michael, collaborating with researchers from the University of Cambridge and Johns Hopkins University, has sequenced the genome of the world’s most widely used model plant species, Arabidopsis thaliana, at a level of detail never previously achieved. The study reveals the secrets of Arabidopsis chromosome regions called centromeres. The findings shed light on centromere evolution and provide insights into the genomic equivalent of black holes.
IN THE NEWS
Salk Institute announces historic $100M challenge gift from Irwin and Joan Jacobs to build Science and Technology Center
We've been here before: How polio vaccine rollout saved millions of young lives
Salk scientists find a way that neurons and astrocytes work together to form healthy synapses
Salk Institute harnessing power of plants to fight climate change
Joanne Chory and HPI are featured in PBS’ documentary The Age of Nature, episode 3 (“Changing”)
Salk's Greg Lemke speaks on vaccines for kids
Long-lived proteins in mitochondria of the brain stabilize protein complexes
Satchin Panda speaks on the negative health impact of the time change
Intermittent fasting can help manage metabolic disease
Salk scientist on personal mission to fight pancreatic cancer
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FACULTY FOCUS
Six Salk professors named among most highly cited researchers in the world
Professors Joanne Chory, Joseph Ecker, Rusty Gage, Satchin Panda, Reuben Shaw and Kay Tye have been 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.”
SPOTLIGHT
Salk Institute awards Medal for Research Excellence to neurobiologist and geneticist Cori Bargmann
Salk awarded neurobiologist and geneticist Cori Bargmann its prestigious Medal for Research Excellence, which recognizes a scientist who has made significant contributions in the area of basic scientific research. Bargmann, who leads the science program at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and is the Torsten N. Wiesel Professor at The Rockefeller University, received her award on November 11, 2021.
Get your copy of Satchin Panda’s new book
In Professor Satchin Panda’s new book, The Circadian Diabetes Code, he shares how a simple approach that aligns your daily lifestyle—when you eat, sleep, and exercise—with your body’s inherent circadian rhythm, and how it can be effective in boosting health. The book covers how to adopt time-restricted fasting, the worldwide phenomenon started in Panda’s lab, which has been used as a weight loss strategy for almost a decade.
QUIZ
The Irwin and Joan Jacobs Science and Technology Center will be home to which Science Centers?
Center for Plant Biology
Center for Healthy Aging
Crick Jacobs Center for Theoretical and Computational Biology
Salk Cancer Center
All of the above
Last Month's Results
Which one of these weighs the equivalent of a human brain?
Answer: A small bag of potatoes (~3lbs)
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