Michael Crichton, RIP Nov 6, 2008
In Travels, a 1988 memoir, he wrote about his first midlife crisis: "I had gradated from Harvard, taught at Cambridge University, climbed the Great Pyramid, earned a medical degree, married and divorced, been a postdoctoral fellow at the Salk Institute, published two bestselling novels, and now made a movie. And I had abruptly run out of goals for myself." Crichton was 30 years old. He eventually gave up movies and solidified his niche as a thriller writer whose books often crept onto the top-10... (Slate)
The seer of science Nov 6, 2008
Crichton came by his scientific acumen naturally, graduating from Harvard Medical School and studying for a post-doctorate at the Jonas Salk Institute in La Jolla, Calif. All the while, he was writing novels under pseudonyms, including John Lange, Jeffery Hudson and, ironically, Michael Douglas (the actor of the same name who would later star in two movies based on his books). (Winnipeg Sun)
Streamlining brain signals for speed and efficacy Oct 23, 2008
In their latest study, published in the current issue of the journal Neuron, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies explain how the vestibular-ocular reflex, which keeps us and the world around us stable, achieves the accuracy it is famous for ... The Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to fundamental discoveries in the life sciences, the improvement of human health, and the training of future... (EurekAlert!)
Salk expansion approved Oct 22, 2008
City approves Salk Institute expansion plan ... A glass atrium at the center of the Torrey East Building to preserve the view of the Salk Institute's iconic courtyard from North Torrey Pines road ... SAN DIEGO The Salk Institute for Biological Studies housed in a modernist architectural icon by the late Louis Kahn secured approval Tuesday from the San Diego City Council for its long-term expansion plan. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Salk team finds hair may hold cell clue Oct 19, 2008
LA JOLLA Scientists from the Salk Institute for Biological Research pulled their hair out, literally, to improve the method for reprogramming human cells to act like embryonic stem cells. In an article published online yesterday in the journal Nature Biotechnology, the Salk scientists showed they learned how to improve the process used to coax cells from an adult human backward down the development pathway so they become just like embryonic stem cells. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Fine Balance: Class Of Spinal Cord Neurons Makes Sure That Sides Of Body Don't Get Ahead Of One Other Oct 19, 2008
Now researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have shown how a class of spinal cord neurons, known as V3 neurons, makes sure that one side of the body doesn't get ahead of the other ... (Credit: Courtesy of Dr.Ying Zhang, Salk Institute for Biological Studies). (Science Daily)
Mass Production Of Stem Cells From A Hair Oct 18, 2008
Now, a team of researchers led by Juan Carlos Izpis;a Belmonte at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, succeeded in boosting the reprogramming efficiency more than 100-fold, while cutting the time it takes in half. In fact, they repeatedly generated iPS cells from the tiny number of keratinocytes attached to a single hair plucked from a human scalp. (Science Daily)
Salk researchers successfully reprogram keratinocytes attached to a single hair Oct 18, 2008
Now, a team of researchers led by Juan Carlos Izpisa Belmonte at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, succeeded in boosting the reprogramming efficiency more than 100fold, while cutting the time it takes in half ... The Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to fundamental discoveries in the life sciences, the improvement of human health and the training of future generations of researchers. (EurekAlert!)
Hopkins president Brody to head Salk Institute Oct 14, 2008
Brody, who is stepping down after 12 years at the helm of Hopkins on Dec. 31, will take over the president s seat at the Salk Institute March 1 ... The nonprofit Salk Institute was founded in 1960 by Dr. Jonas Salk, developer of the polio vaccine ... But I feel I still have contributions to make and the Salk Institute is an ideal place for me to make them. (Baltimore Business Journal, MD)
Salk's new leader ready to speak out Oct 14, 2008
William R. Brody, named the new president of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies yesterday, expects lots of frequent-flier miles in his future. EDUARDO CONTRERAS / Union-Tribune William R. Brody spoke at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla yesterday. (San Diego Union-Tribune -- Business)
Retiring president of Johns Hopkins to take over Salk Oct 13, 2008
William R. Brody, a renowned physician-scientist and retiring president of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, will be named today president of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla ... Brody has all the skills and experience the Salk Institute was hoping to find in its new leader, Jacobs said ... But when the Salk Institute came calling, Brody saw an opportunity to help a cadre of talented researchers, including several Nobel laureates and members of the National Academy of... (San Diego Union-Tribune -- Business)
Food for thought -- regulating energy supply to the brain during fasting Oct 6, 2008
New research by scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies reveals just how this process is implemented ... D., at the Salk Institute and Danica Chen, Ph ... The Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to fundamental discoveries in the life sciences, the improvement of human health, and the training of future generations of researchers. (EurekAlert!)
Edward Klima, 77; linguist and sign language specialist Oct 5, 2008
He was also an adjunct professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego and the associate director of the institute's laboratory for cognitive neuroscience. Much of Dr. Klima's work was done in collaboration with his wife, Ursula Bellugi, a professor at Salk and the laboratory's longtime director. (Boston Globe)
What HIV Needs: Identification Of Human Factors May Yield Novel Therapeutic Targets For HIV Oct 4, 2008
3, 2008) The Salk Institute for Biological Studies and Burnham Institute for Medical Research today announced 295 host cell factors that are involved in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection ... Daniel Elleder of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Yingyao Zhou of the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation, Tracy Diamond and Frederic Bushman of University of Pennsylvania, and Trey Ideker of the University of California, San Diego ... (Credit: Dr. John Young, Salk... (Science Daily)
When Cells Go Bad: Cells That Avoid Suicide May Become Cancerous Oct 3, 2008
24, 2005) Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies discovered that cells co-opted the machinery that usually repairs broken strands of DNA to protect the integrity of chromosomes. This finding. (Science Daily)
Sliding to the finish line Sep 25, 2008
Since Peters and Rubinstein had both attended the school, they shared a sensibility with MacKay-Lyons: a mix of Moore's humanism and Salk Institute architect Louis Kahn's approach to architecture. "Kahn thought that no building should have more than two materials, and one being glass," MacKay-Lyons said. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Second Career For Growth Factor Receptor: Keeping Nerve Axons On Target Sep 24, 2008
Using the mouse visual system, a team of Salk Institute for Biological Studies investigators led by Dennis O'Leary, Ph ... (Credit: Courtesy of Dr. Yoo-Shick Lim, Salk Institute for Biological Studies). (Science Daily)
Looking Vs. Seeing Sep 24, 2008
Now a team of scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies has shown that the superior colliculus does more than send out motor control commands to eye and neck muscles ... D., an associate professor in the Systems Neurobiology Laboratory at the Salk Institute, have revealed that the superior colliculus performs supervisory functions in addition to the motor control it has long been known for ... (Credit: Image courtesy of Salk Institute). (Science Daily)
Interest rates rise on short-term T-bills Sep 23, 2008
Salk Institute researcher Lei Wang will receive a $1. 5 million, 5-year grant as a recipient of the National Institutes of Health Director's New Innovator Award for 2008. (San Diego Union-Tribune -- Business)
Biologists Identify Genes Controlling Rhythmic Plant Growth Sep 20, 2008
19, 2008) A team of biologists from UC San Diego, the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and Oregon State University has identified the genes that enable plants to undergo bursts of rhythmic growth at night and allow them to compete when their leaves are shaded by other plants ... "This paper builds on our previous findings that almost all plant genes are expressed only at a particular time of the day," said Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Joanne Chory, a professor in the Salk... (Science Daily)
S.D. Banker Supports Stem Cell Research Sep 18, 2008
The San Diego consortium includes the Burnham Institute for Medical Research, the University of California-San Diego, the Salk Institute and the Scripps Research Institute. It will be renamed the Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine. (CBS News)
Stem-cell grant celebrated Sep 17, 2008
Now the consortium of four institutes UCSD, the Burnham Institute, the Scripps Research Institute and the Salk Institute has a major chunk of the funding it needs to start construction of a four story collaboratory ... Fred Gage, from the Salk Institute, said the consortium aims to target the growth and development of young scientists from the beginning, so that a next generation is being fostered to build upon what has already been started. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Philanthropist Gives $30M To Local Stem Cell Researchers Sep 17, 2008
The Burnham Institute for Medical Research, the Salk Institute, the Scripps Research Institute and UCSD will share resources to help patients suffering from chronic illnesses. "Prior to this, scientists have all been able to work together, but institutions have not necessarily collaborated, so this is an absolutely wonderful opportunity," Sanford said. (NBCSandiego.com, CA)
Local stem cell consortium gets $30 million gift Sep 16, 2008
The other members are the University of California San Diego, the Salk Institute and the Scripps Research Institute. Overview. (San Diego Union-Tribune -- Business)
LETTERS: NCT, Sept. 13, 2008 Sep 14, 2008
professor, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies. San Diego. (North County Times)
RIM to introduce new flip phone Sep 10, 2008
Ligand Pharmaceuticals will pay $13 million to the Salk Institute for Biological Studies as part of an arbitration settlement. Ligand will pay $9. (San Diego Union-Tribune -- Business)
The Oldest Profession Sep 10, 2008
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was 62 when he started designing the Lake Shore Drive apartments, which became the model for all subsequent steel-and-glass towers; Le Corbusier was 63 when he built the marvelous chapel at Ronchamp, setting the architectural world on its ear; Louis Kahn was 64 when the Salk Institute was built; and Frank Gehry was 68 when he produced the Bilbao Guggenheim. So once you finally get really good at it, why stop. (Slate)
How plants fine tune their natural chemical defenses Sep 8, 2008
Comparing anti-fungals produced by tobacco and henbane, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies discovered that only a few mutations in a key enzyme are enough to shift the whole output to an entirely new product mixture ... D., director of the Razavi Newman Center for Bioinformatics at the Salk Institute ... The Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to fundamental discoveries in the life sciences, the... (EurekAlert!)
68 Molecules: Key To Understanding Disease? Sep 4, 2008
12, 2004) Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies are reporting a possible answer to a longstanding question in research on the origins of life on Earth--how. (Sep. (Science Daily)
New Master Switch Found In Brain Regulates Appetite And Reproduction Sep 3, 2008
Now, a master switch has been found in the brain of mice that controls both, and researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies say it may work the same way in humans ... D., both in the Laboratory of Neuronal Structure and Function at the Salk Institute. (Science Daily)
Gene 'links food and fertility' Sep 1, 2008
Both underweight and severely overweight women may have fertility problems, and the research at Salk Institute in California is suggesting that TORC1 may play a role in both ... Professor Marc MontminySalk Institute. (BBC News)
BIOTECH: Master switch for hunger, reproduction, identified Sep 1, 2008
The switch for these primordial animal instincts likely also is present in humans, said Mark Montminy, a professor at the Salk Institute, in a telephone interview last week. Further research could lead to new obesity and infertility treatments, said Montminy, who took part in a study identifying the molecular switch. (North County Times)
New master switch found in the brain that regulates appetite and reproduction Sep 1, 2008
Now, a master switch has been found in the brain of mice that controls both, and researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies say it may work the same way in humans ... D., both in the Laboratory of Neuronal Structure and Function at the Salk Institute ... The Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to fundamental discoveries in the life sciences, the improvement of human health and the training of future... (EurekAlert!)
Nature conferences Aug 29, 2008
Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, California ... Yves Christen (Fondation IPSEN, France), Fred Gage (Salk Institute, USA), Sue Deeley (Nature Publishing Group, USA), Inder Verma (Salk Institute, USA) ... The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, California. (Nature News Service)
Keeping Cells Youthful: How Telomere-building Proteins Get Drawn Into The Fold Aug 27, 2008
Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies led by Vicki Lundblad, Ph ... (Credit: Courtesy of Edward Mandell, Salk Institute for Biological Studies). (Science Daily)
Cultivating the next Big Idea company Aug 24, 2008
The team submitted some patent applications late last year, and also brought in a Northwestern University researcher, Richard Morimoto, to join Kelley and Andrew Dillin of the Salk Institute as the company's founding scientific trio. Their big round of funding was finalized on Aug. 15. (Boston Globe)
REGION: Young scientists spend a summer in the lab Aug 17, 2008
The boot camp was cosponsored by the Salk Institute, Burnham Institute and life science trade association Biocom. With an average GPA of 4. (North County Times)
Exercise matters Aug 16, 2008
The Salk Institute did not test the prevention of increased risk of chronic disease produced by lifelong physical inactivity and did not test 26 commonly known benefits of exercise. The test studied only one gene; research shows that many genes affect the results of exercise. (Fresno Bee -- Opinion)
John Tierney: Would legal doping level playing field? Aug 13, 2008
Some athletes are already considering new drugs like Aicar and GW1516, which made news recently when researchers at the Salk Institute used them to quickly turn couch-potato mice into treadmill champions with new, strong muscles. "There's a possibility that athletes in this Olympics will be using these drugs," said Ronald Evans, the leader of the team at Salk, who has been fending off inquiries from athletes about these drugs. (International Herald Tribune -- Health)
The downside of a miracle pill Aug 12, 2008
The pill, recently developed by the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, may become the couch potato's dream by providing the benefits of exercise in a once-a-day pill. Ron Evans, one of the study's authors, told MSNBC.com, "We have exercise in a pill. With no exercise, you can take a drug and chemically mimic it.". (The Daily Texan, TX)
Why Gene Therapy Caused Leukemia In Some 'Boy In The Bubble Syndrome' Patients Aug 11, 2008
(May 1, 2006) New animal studies conducted at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies show that the only human gene therapy treatment to date considered to be largely successful, is, in fact, riskier than. (May 1, 2000) French researchers have developed a method of gene therapy to treat human severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) X1, a life-threatening disease inherited on the X chromosome. (Science Daily)
Multi-tasking Molecule Holds Key To Allergic Reactions Aug 9, 2008
Now, scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have uncovered the molecular mechanisms behind such allergies, insight they hope will lead to new therapies, both to stop the summer sneezing and treat more severe allergic responses. "These results may allow us to develop acute inhibitors of allergic reactions that do not have the side-effects of current treatments such as drowsiness," says Inder Verma, Ph. (Science Daily)
Distinguishing between 2 birds of a feather Aug 9, 2008
Now, collaboration between researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and Weill Cornell Medical College has revealed that brain cells processing visual information adjust their filtering properties to make the most sense of incoming information ... The Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to fundamental discoveries in the life sciences, the improvement of human health and the training of future generations... (EurekAlert!)
Olympics 'farce' Aug 8, 2008
com: Letters To The Editor: Olympics 'farce. Call: (800) 877-3400. (Fresno Bee -- Opinion)
'Exercise Pill' Is No Replacement For Real Exercise, Expert Cautions Aug 7, 2008
6, 2008) Recently, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, a research organization focused on biology and its relation to health, published a study in the journal Cell on the results of a substance that increased exercise endurance without daily exertion when tested in mice. Media reports have described this substance as an exercise pill, potentially eliminating the need for exercise. (Science Daily)
Going Going Games Aug 6, 2008
A team of scientists at the Salk Institute in San Diego, USA, had come up with a couple of drugs that transformed ordinary laboratory mice into long-distance runners while simultaneously conferring on them many of exercise's other benefits. When orally administered to untrained mice for a period of only four weeks in an experiment aptly called "couch potato", the animals were able to run an amazing 44 per cent longer than an equal number of untreated, control mice. (India Times, India)
World's Smallest Snake Found In Barbados Aug 5, 2008
(2:19)It may sound far-fetched, but scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies say they've devised a drug that provides all the benefits of exercise. Maggie Rodriguez reports. (CBS News)
Cold Spring Harbor Protocols highlights gene silencing, cancer cell biology methods Aug 5, 2008
This month's issue of Cold Spring Harbor Protocols () features a pair of protocols from Inder Verma () and colleagues at the Salk Institute describing this method for achieving long-term down-regulation of specific target genes in a wide range of cell types. "Design and Cloning of an shRNA into a Lentiviral Vector" is freely accessible on the website for Cold Spring Harbor Protocols (). (EurekAlert!)
Games cheats pin hopes on tattoo drugs Aug 4, 2008
Professor Ronald Evans, of the Salk Institute in California, said: "We were blown away. This is a drug that is like pharmacological exercise. After four weeks of receiving the drug, the mice were behaving as if they'd been exercised.". Other substances not yet on the banned list but popular among athletes are breast milk and cobalt. (Sydney Morning Herald -- World)
In brief ... Aug 3, 2008
But now researchers at the Salk Institute in La Jolla have discovered a drug that appears to provide in real life many of the benefits of exercise but without the need to exercise. The scientists found that the drug Alcar all by itself significantly boosted the muscle endurance of mice, without the mice ever working out. (San Diego Union-Tribune -- Opinion)
Mighty Mouse in a test tube Aug 3, 2008
Researchers at the Salk Institute in San Diego have found two drugs that greatly increased the athletic endurance of laboratory mice, converting lazy mice and their more athletic brethren into marathon runners. One drug, fed to relatively sedentary mice, increased their endurance on a treadmill by 44 percent after just four weeks of treatment. (International Herald Tribune -- Ed/Op)
Exercise pill Aug 3, 2008
Dr Vihang Narkar and colleagues from the Salk Institute and other research institutes in the US and South Korea carried out the research. The study was funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Hilblom Foundation, and National Institutes of Health. (NHS Choices)
First performance-enhancing drugs for exercise endurance? Aug 3, 2008
"When we gave the mice a small amount of daily exercise in the presence or not of the drug, all showed an increased ability to run. But those on the drug gained an additional hour," said Ronald Evans of the Salk Institute. Moreover, they found, treatment with another compound endowed mice with greater endurance, even without the exercise. (Hindu)
Biotech: Salk team finds possible 'exercise pill' Aug 2, 2008
Discovery at Salk Institute makes ordinary mice run like marathoners ... Couch potatoes, take heart: A team of scientists at the Salk Institute in La Jolla has made a discovery that might just make your dreams come true. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Drug builds mighty mouse Aug 2, 2008
But lead researcher Ronald Evans, a molecular physiologist at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in the San Diego community of La Jolla, said he has already been contacted by dozens of athletes and overweight people who have heard about his research from several lectures he has given. Evans said he has notified world anti-doping officials, who are now scrambling to implement a test for it before the Beijing Olympics start next week. (Albany Times Union)
Pill Could Boost Sports Performance Aug 2, 2008
In 2004, these researchers, from the Salk Institute and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in La Jolla, Calif. altered the PPAR-delta gene to produce mice with altered muscle composition and increased endurance. (MEDLINEplus)
Exercise in a pill? Researchers find two Aug 2, 2008
The drugs reproduce many of the biological benefits of exercise, helping cells burn fat better and boosting endurance, said Ronald Evans, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute researcher at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California ... In this photo provided by the Salk Institute, Ron Evans is seen holding a vial ... Salk Institute for Biological Studies. (Yahoo News -- Top Stories)
Pop in a Pill Instead of a Work Out? Aug 2, 2008
Salk Institute researchers seem to have made a breakthrough of sorts of narrowing down on two drugs which could actually lull the muscles into feeling the experience of a work out, without actually working out. During their experiments on couch potato mice using the drug named Aicar, researchers found that the endurance of the mice on the treadmill shot up by 44% after subjecting the mice with this drug for one month. (MedIndia)
Drugs mimic exercise benefits in mice Aug 1, 2008
Now, Evans and his colleagues at the Salk Institute in California think they have found the key ... "Thanks to the much appreciated cooperation of Ron Evans and his team at the Salk Institute, WADA received key information in advance in order to develop and implement ways to detect these molecules," the statement said. (Boston Globe)
'Fitness pill' being developed Aug 1, 2008
With this in mind, lead researcher Professor Ronald Evans, from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the Salk Institute in California, has produced a test which will allow the drugs to be detected in the urine and blood of competitors. He says the drugs could eventually help tackle muscle wasting diseases, or help improve the health benefits of exercise in people at risk of conditions such as diabetes. (BBC News)
Exercise In A Pill? Aug 1, 2008
Back in 2004, the researchers -- who included professor Ronald M. Evans, PhD, of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in La Jolla, Calif. -- reported that they boosted endurance in mice by tweaking a mouse gene to boost the activity of a protein called PPAR-delta. (CBS News)
Couch potatoes: A fitness pill for you? Aug 1, 2008
AP / Salk Institute Ron Evans holds a vial of GW1516 at his lab in the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla. Scientists at the Salk Institute in La Jolla have chemically switched on a gene in mice and triggered a process that increased their endurance levels without requiring exercise, according to an article published Thursday in the online edition of the journal Cell. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Rejoice, couch potatoes! It's exercise in a pill Aug 1, 2008
Lead researcher Ronald Evans, a molecular physiologist at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in the San Diego community of La Jolla, said he has already been contacted by dozens of athletes and overweight people who have heard about his research from several lectures he has given on the subject. Evans said he has notified world anti-doping officials, who are now scrambling to implement a test for it before the Beijing Olympics start next week. (News & Observer)
'Exercise pill' burns fat -- if you're a mouse Aug 1, 2008
Ron Evans, of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, displays a drug that helps mice burn fat ... Evans, of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, reports the work with colleagues in a paper published online Thursday by the journal Cell. (CNN)
Drugs offer promise of fitness without effort Aug 1, 2008
Researchers at the Salk Institute report they have found two drugs that do wonders for the athletic endurance of couch potato mice. One drug, known as Aicar, increased the mice's endurance on a treadmill by 44 percent after just four weeks of treatment. (International Herald Tribune)
