Salk Institute

Are genes our destiny? 'Hidden' code in DNA evolves more rapidly than genetic code, scientists discover

A "hidden" code linked to the DNA of plants allows them to develop and pass down new biological traits far more rapidly than previously thought, according to the findings of a groundbreaking study by researchers ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Sep 16, 2011 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (27) | comments 26 | with audio podcast

Researchers discover that stem cell marker regulates synapse formation

Among stem cell biologists there are few better-known proteins than nestin, whose very presence in an immature cell identifies it as a "stem cell," such as a neural stem cell. As helpful as this is to researchers, ...

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Jan 30, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (11) | comments 5 | with audio podcast

How cells running on empty trigger fuel recycling

Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have discovered how AMPK, a metabolic master switch that springs into gear when cells run low on energy, revs up a cellular recycling program to free ...

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created Dec 23, 2010 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

From eye to brain: Researchers map functional connections between retinal neurons at single-cell resolution

By comparing a clearly defined visual input with the electrical output of the retina, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies were able to trace for the first time the neuronal circuitry that ...

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created Oct 06, 2010 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (12) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Use the common cold virus to target and disrupt cancer cells?

A novel mechanism used by adenovirus to sidestep the cell's suicide program, could go a long way to explain how tumor suppressor genes are silenced in tumor cells and pave the way for a new type of targeted ...

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Aug 25, 2010 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Origins of multicellularity: All in the family

One of the most pivotal steps in evolution-the transition from unicellular to multicellular organisms-may not have required as much retooling as commonly believed, found a globe-spanning collaboration of scientists ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Jul 08, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Lessons from the pond: Clues from green algae on the origin of males and females

A multicellular green alga, Volvox carteri, may have finally unlocked the secrets behind the evolution of different sexes. A team led by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies has shown ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Apr 15, 2010 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (9) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

The pre-history of life: Elegantly simple organizing principles seen in ribosomes

With few exceptions, all known forms of life on our planet rely on the same genetic code to specify the amino acid composition of proteins. Although different hypotheses abound, just how individual amino acids ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Apr 12, 2010 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (17) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Seeing without looking

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 ...

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Dec 28, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (14) | comments 2

Unraveling the mechanisms behind organ regeneration in zebrafish

The search for the holy grail of regenerative medicine -- the ability to "grow back" a perfect body part when one is lost to injury or disease -- has been under way for years, yet the steps involved in this ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Nov 02, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 1

What drives our genes? Researchers map the first complete human epigenome

Although the human genome sequence faithfully lists (almost) every single DNA base of the roughly 3 billion bases that make up a human genome, it doesn't tell biologists much about how its function is regulated. Now, researchers ...

Medicine & Health / Genetics

created Oct 14, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (14) | comments 0

On the move: 'Jumping genes' create diversity in human brain cells

Rather than sticking to a single DNA script, human brain cells harbor astonishing genomic variability, according to scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. The findings, to be published in ...

Medicine & Health / Genetics

created Aug 05, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (15) | comments 3

How the retina works: Like a multi-layered jigsaw puzzle of receptive fields

About 1.25 million neurons in the retina -- each of which views the world only through a small jagged window called a receptive field -- collectively form the seamless picture we rely on to navigate our environment. ...

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created Apr 07, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 1

Involuntary maybe, but certainly not random

Our eyes are in constant motion. Even when we attempt to stare straight at a stationary target, our eyes jump and jiggle imperceptibly. Although these unconscious flicks, also known as microsaccades, had long ...

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created Feb 12, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (6) | comments 0

Researchers develop novel glioblastoma mouse model

Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have developed a versatile mouse model of glioblastoma—the most common and deadly brain cancer in humans—that closely resembles the development and progression of human ...

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created Jan 04, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1