Salk Institute for Biological Studies

Potential Link Found Between Breast Cancer Drug and Cardiac Failure
30 Apr 02 | A team led by Salk scientists has identified the probable link between the breast cancer drug Herceptin and cardiac failure, one of its common side effects. The results may also explain why a common combination drug regimen is particularly toxic.

Salk Scientists Demonstrate For The First Time That Newly Born Brain Cells Are Functional In The Adult Brain
27 Feb 02 | Salk Institute scientists have observed for the first time that new cells in the adult brain grow and mature over time, functioning just like any of their neighboring neurons. Such cells might then replace older neurons.

New View of Brain's Inner Workings Opens Research Into Autism, Other Disorders
24 Jan 02 | According to accepted dogma, the brain responds to sensory experiences somewhat like an electronic bucket brigade, with incoming signals passed from one region to the next in a somewhat linear fashion.

Global Plant Study by Salk Scientists Identifies Light-Adjusting Gene
16 Nov 01 | Scientists at The Salk Institute have isolated a genetic switch that controls how plants growing at different latitudes respond to light. The variation ensures that plants in northern climes near the poles, for example, are more sensitive to light.

Salk Scientists Find New Potential Target For Diabetes Treatment
13 Sep 01 | Salk scientists have identified a new potential drug target for type II diabetes that may offer a specific treatment to complement existing therapies. The new target acts in a pathway independent of that targeted by the thiazolidinediones.

The Romeros To Perform at "Symphony At Salk"
24 Jul 01 | The classical guitar family, the Romeros, will perform with the San Diego Symphony, under the direction of Jung-Ho Pak, in a concert under the stars Saturday, August 25 at this year's "Symphony at Salk."

Salk Scientists Provide New Mouse Model For Autoimmunity
12 Jul 01 | Salk scientists have created an animal model for autoimmune diseases that closely mirrors the perplexing patterns of symptoms observed in human autoimmunity, including an increased susceptibility of females over males.

Study Led By Salk Scientists Answers Long-Sought Question: Where Do Flowers Come From?
14 Jun 01 | Though a rose, carnation or tulip each has its own distinguishing feel, look and smell, they all share one common trait: the flower's petals adorn its perimeter while the reproductive organs sit in the flower's center.

Neural Progenitor Cells Recovered From Postmortem And Adult Tissue
02 May 01 | Salk Institute scientists have isolated cells from the brains of human cadavers that can grow, divide and form specialized classes of brain cells. Their findings indicate that postmortem tissue may be a potential source of multipotent stem cells.

Synapse Formation Triggered By Muscle, Salk Scientists Show
25 Apr 01 | Sometimes nerve is all you need. But nerves have needs, too, including the use of synapses — tiny junctions that coordinate communication between nerves and the muscles they control.

New Potential Drug Target In HIV Enzyme
01 Apr 01 | A Salk Institute-led team of scientists has identified a new site on HIV enzyme integrase for potential drug therapy. Integrase is the only HIV enzyme not targeted by current drugs; reverse transcriptase and protease are blocked by drugs like AZT.

Salk Scientists Find Genes That Control Limb Formation In Vertebrates
22 Mar 01 | Whether they're wings, fins or legs, those appendages generally known as limbs play a critical role for lifting, grasping, moving and other activities needed to sustain life. Until recently, little was known about limb formation in vertebrates.

Running Boosts Brain Cell Numbers in Neurodegenerative Disease Model
01 Mar 01 | "The results suggest that exercise might delay the onset and progression of some neurodegenerative diseases," said Carrolee Barlow, a Salk assistant professor and lead author of the study, published in the current issue of Genes and Development.

First Plant Genome Sequenced: Salk Scientists Part Of International Effort
13 Dec 00 | The first complete genome sequence of a plant appears in the current issue of Nature. Salk Professor Joseph R. Ecker expects the sequence to greatly accelerate efforts to improve the yield and hardiness of crop plants.

Vitamin A Deficiency Impairs Learning Functions In Reversible Manner
07 Nov 00 | Removing Vitamin A from the diets of mice diminishes chemical changes in the brain considered the hallmarks of learning and memory. When vitamin A is added back to their diets, the impairment is reversed.

"Gene Chips" Offer First Look at Genetic Behavior In Brain
25 Sep 00 | Salk scientists have obtained the first snapshot of how gene behavior varies among mammalian brains. The study employed "gene chip" technology to simultaneously compare the activities of approximately 13,000 genes in two inbred strains of mice.

Richard A. Murphy Appointed President and CEO of The Salk Institute
08 Sep 00 | Richard A. Murphy, director of the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI), has been named president and chief executive officer of The Salk Institute, effective October 1, 2000.

Humanized Mouse To Become Basic Tool To Test Drug-Drug Interactions
27 Jul 00 | The transgenic or so-called "humanized" mouse should become a fundamental tool used by the pharmaceutical industry to test for potential drug-drug interaction and tolerance in a human-like system that's built into an animal.

Cancer "Survival" Structure Deciphered By Salk Scientists
29 Jun 00 | Now, scientists at The Salk Institute have deciphered the three-dimensional structure of this molecule, appropriately named "survivin." Their work suggests how drugs might block its activity and lead cells to commit "suicide."

Chromosome Copying: Salk Scientists Identify Unique Mechanism
26 Jun 00 | Before the moment of conception, living organisms experience another distinct birth — the creation of healthy eggs and sperm. Salk scientists recently obtained a peek at how genetic material is copied during the process, called meiosis.