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March 02, 2010
Salk Institute cancer researcher Tony Hunter named to Frederick W. and Joanna J. Mitchell Chair
LA JOLLA, CA—The Salk Institute for Biological Studies today announced the appointment of Professor Tony Hunter, Ph.D., as the inaugural holder of the Frederick W. and Joanna J. Mitchell Chair, created in memory of their daughter Marian Mitchell through a $2 million gift by the estate of Frederick W. Mitchell.
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February 28, 2010
Root or Shoot: Power struggle between genetic master switches decides stem cell fate, growth orientation of plants
LA JOLLA, CA—The first order of business for any fledgling plant embryo is to determine which end grows the shoot and which end puts down roots. Now, researchers at the Salk Institute expose the turf wars between two groups of antagonistic genetic master switches that set up a plant's polar axis with a root on one end and a shoot on the other.
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February 22, 2010
The mouse with a human liver: a new model for the treatment of liver disease
LA JOLLA, CA—How do you study—and try to cure in the laboratory—an infection that only humans can get? A team led by Salk Institute researchers does it by generating a mouse with an almost completely human liver. This "humanized" mouse is susceptible to human liver infections and responds to human drug treatments, providing a new way to test novel therapies for debilitating human liver diseases and other diseases with liver involvement such as malaria.
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February 11, 2010
Golf Tournament highlights 50th anniversary celebration, inaugural fundraiser for Salk Institute
LA JOLLA, CA–As part of its 50th anniversary celebration, the Salk Institute for Biological Studies is inviting the public to celebrate five decades of groundbreaking scientific discoveries by participating in the 1st annual Salk Institute Golf Tournament, which takes place May 11, 2010 at the Del Mar Country Club. All proceeds from the event will directly benefit Salk's pre-eminent medical research.
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February 04, 2010
Nuclear pore complexes harbor new class of gene regulators, offer clues to gene expression and cancer
LA JOLLA, CA—Nuclear pore complexes are best known as the communication channels that regulate the passage of all molecules to and from a cell's nucleus. Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, however, have shown that some of the pores' constituent proteins, called nucleoporins, pull double duty as transcription factors regulating the activity of genes active during early development.
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January 21, 2010
Stress peptide and receptor may have role in diabetes
LA JOLLA, CA—The neuropeptide corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) makes cameo appearances throughout the body, but its leading role is as the opening act in the stress response, jump-starting the process along the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have found that CRF also plays a part in the pancreas, where it increases insulin secretion and promotes the division of the insulin-producing beta cells.
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January 20, 2010
Unwanted guests: How herpes simplex virus gets rid of the cell's security guards
LA JOLLA, CA—A viral infection is like an uninvited, tenacious houseguest in the cell, using a range of tricks to prevent its eviction. Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have identified one of the key proteins allowing herpes simplex virus (HSV) DNA to fly under the radar of their hosts' involuntary hospitality.
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January 13, 2010
Dual role for immune cells in the brain
LA JOLLA, CA—We all have at one time or another experienced the typical signs of an infection: the fever, the listlessness, the lack of appetite. They are orchestrated by the brain in response to circulating cytokines, the signaling molecules of the immune system. But just how cytokines' reach extends beyond the almost impenetrable blood-brain barrier has been the topic of much dispute.
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January 04, 2010
Seeing without looking
LA JOLLA, CA—Like a spotlight that illuminates an otherwise dark scene, attention brings to mind specific details of our environment while shutting others out. A new study by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies shows that the superior colliculus, a brain structure that primarily had been known for its role in the control of eye and head movements, is crucial for moving the mind's spotlight.
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December 24, 2009
Mobilizing the repair squad: Critical protein helps mend damaged DNA
LA JOLLA, CA—In order to preserve our DNA, cells have developed an intricate system for monitoring and repairing DNA damage. Yet precisely how the initial damage signal is converted into a repair response remains unclear. Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have now solved a crucial piece of the complex puzzle.
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