Salk Institute For Biological Studies

BASIC RESEARCH IN THE FOLLOWING: MOLECULAR BIOLOGY & GENETICS, NEUROSCIENCE, AND PLANT BIOLOGY.

RESEARCHERS IDENTIFY NEURONS INVOLVED IN OVERDOSE DEATHS - IT'S LONG BEEN KNOWN THAT OPIOID OVERDOSE DEATHS ARE CAUSED BY DISRUPTED BREATHING, BUT THE ACTUAL MECHANISM BY WHICH THESE DRUGS SUPPRESS RESPIRATION WAS NOT UNDERSTOOD. NOW, A NEW STUDY BY SALK SCIENTISTS HAS IDENTIFIED A GROUP OF NEURONS IN THE BRAINSTEM THAT PLAYS A KEY ROLE IN THIS PROCESS. THE FINDINGS SHOW HOW TRIGGERING SPECIFIC RECEPTORS IN THESE NEURONS CAUSES OPIOID-INDUCED RESPIRATORY DEPRESSION, OR OIRD, THE DISRUPTED BREATHING THAT CAUSES OVERDOSE DEATHS. IT ALSO SHOWS HOW BLOCKING THESE RECEPTORS CAN CAUSE OIRD TO BE REVERSED. THE STUDY WAS PUBLISHED JUNE 8 IN THE JOURNAL PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. [8/12/2021] BENEFITS OF TIME-RESTRICTED EATING DEPEND ON AGE AND SEX - TIME-RESTRICTED EATING (TRE), A DIETARY REGIMEN THAT RESTRICTS EATING TO SPECIFIC HOURS, HAS GARNERED INCREASED ATTENTION IN WEIGHT-LOSS CIRCLES. A NEW STUDY BY SALK SCIENTISTS FURTHER SHOWS THAT TRE CONFERS MULTIPLE HEALTH BENEFITS BESIDES WEIGHT LOSS. THE STUDY ALSO SHOWS THAT THESE BENEFITS MAY DEPEND ON SEX AND AGE. MOST TRE STUDIES FOCUS ON WEIGHT LOSS IN YOUNG MALE MICE, BUT SALK SCIENTISTS WANTED TO DETERMINE WHETHER TRE CONFERS ADDITIONAL BENEFITS ON OTHER POPULATIONS. THEIR FINDINGS SHOW THAT WHILE AGE AND SEX DO AFFECT THE OUTCOMES OF TRE, THE EATING STRATEGY DELIVERS MULTIPLE HEALTH BENEFITS FOR YOUNG AND OLD OF BOTH SEXES, AND INDICATES THAT TRE MAY BE A VALUABLE INTERVENTION FOR TYPE 2 DIABETES, FATTY LIVER DISEASE, AND LIVER CANCER, AND EVEN INFECTIOUS DISEASES SUCH AS COVID-19, IN HUMANS. THE WORK WAS PUBLISHED IN CELL REPORTS ON AUGUST 17. [8/17/2021] RESEARCH REVEALS HOW SUBTLE CHANGES IN A MICRORNA MAY LEAD TO ALS - WHEN PEOPLE THINK ABOUT THE CONNECTION BETWEEN GENES AND DISEASE, THEY OFTEN ENVISION SOMETHING THAT WORKS LIKE A LIGHT SWITCH: WHEN THE GENE IS NORMAL, THE PERSON CARRYING IT DOES NOT HAVE THE DISEASE. IF IT GETS MUTATED, A SWITCH IS FLIPPED, AND THEN THEY DO HAVE IT. BUT IT'S NOT ALWAYS THAT SIMPLE. DISEASE-RELATED GENES OFTEN HAVE DIFFERENT DEGREES TO WHICH THEY ARE TURNED ON OR OFF. IN THESE CASES, THERE IS A TIPPING POINT: WITH ONLY AN INCREMENTAL BIOLOGICAL CHANGE AROUND A CRITICAL THRESHOLD, A PERSON CAN GO FROM HAVING NO SYMPTOMS TO BEING VERY SICK. THE LATEST RESEARCH ON THIS TOPIC FROM THE SALK INSTITUTE HAS IMPLICATIONS FOR STUDYING AND TREATING THE UNDERLYING CAUSES OF AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS (ALS) AND OTHER NEUROLOGICAL AND PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS. THE WORK, WHICH WAS PUBLISHED IN NEURON ON AUGUST 26, COULD ALSO BE APPLICABLE TO A WIDE RANGE OF DISEASES INVOLVING CHANGES IN GENE EXPRESSION LEVELS, LIKE CANCER. [8/26/2021] SALK TEAMS ADVANCE EFFORTS TO TREAT, PREVENT, AND CURE BRAIN DISORDERS, VIA NIH BRAIN ATLAS - IT TAKES BILLIONS OF CELLS TO MAKE A HUMAN BRAIN, AND SCIENTISTS HAVE LONG STRUGGLED TO MAP THIS COMPLEX NETWORK OF NEURONS. NOW, DOZENS OF RESEARCH TEAMS AROUND THE COUNTRY, LED IN PART BY SALK SCIENTISTS, HAVE MADE INROADS INTO CREATING AN ATLAS OF THE MOUSE BRAIN AS A FIRST STEP TOWARD A HUMAN BRAIN ATLAS. THE RESEARCHERS, COLLABORATING AS PART OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF HEALTH'S BRAIN INITIATIVE CELL CENSUS NETWORK (BICCN), REPORT THE NEW DATA ON OCTOBER 6 IN A SPECIAL ISSUE OF THE JOURNAL NATURE. THE RESULTS DESCRIBE HOW DIFFERENT CELL TYPES ARE ORGANIZED AND CONNECTED THROUGHOUT THE MOUSE BRAIN. [10/6/2021] SALK SCIENTISTS REVEAL MOST COMMONLY MUTATED GENE IN ALL CANCERS - FOR THE PAST FIFTEEN YEARS, CANCER RESEARCHERS HAVE BEEN USING DNA SEQUENCING TECHNOLOGY TO IDENTIFY THE GENE MUTATIONS THAT CAUSE DIFFERENT FORMS OF CANCER. NOW, SALK ASSISTANT PROFESSOR EDWARD STITES AND HIS TEAM OF COMPUTATIONAL SCIENTISTS HAVE COMBINED GENE MUTATION INFORMATION WITH CANCER PREVALENCE DATA TO REVEAL THE GENETIC BASIS OF CANCER IN THE ENTIRE POPULATION OF CANCER PATIENTS IN THE UNITED STATES. THE STUDY REVEALS HOW COMMONLY EACH GENE IN THE GENOME IS MUTATED WITHIN THE CANCER PATIENT POPULATION. THE FINDINGS, PUBLISHED IN NATURE COMMUNICATIONS ON OCTOBER 13, COULD HELP GUIDE GENETIC RESEARCH TO DEVELOP MORE EFFECTIVE TREATMENTS THAN PRESENTLY AVAILABLE. [10/13/2021] HOW THE BRAIN IGNORES DISTRACTING INFORMATION TO COORDINATE MOVEMENTS - SALK RESEARCHERS DISCOVERED HOW NEURONS IN A SMALL AREA OF THE MAMMALIAN BRAIN HELP FILTER DISTRACTING OR DISRUPTIVE SIGNALS-SPECIFICALLY FROM THE HANDS-TO COORDINATE DEXTEROUS MOVEMENTS. THEIR RESULTS, PUBLISHED IN THE JOURNAL SCIENCE ON OCTOBER 14, 2021, MAY HOLD LESSONS IN HOW THE BRAIN FILTERS OTHER SENSORY INFORMATION AS WELL. [10/14/2021] CALL-AND-RESPONSE CIRCUIT TELLS NEURONS WHEN TO GROW SYNAPSES - BRAIN CELLS CALLED ASTROCYTES PLAY A KEY ROLE IN HELPING NEURONS DEVELOP AND FUNCTION PROPERLY, BUT THERE'S STILL A LOT SCIENTISTS DON'T UNDERSTAND ABOUT HOW ASTROCYTES PERFORM THESE IMPORTANT JOBS. NOW, A TEAM OF SCIENTISTS LED BY ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR NICOLA ALLEN HAS FOUND ONE WAY THAT NEURONS AND ASTROCYTES WORK TOGETHER TO FORM HEALTHY CONNECTIONS CALLED SYNAPSES. THIS INSIGHT INTO NORMAL ASTROCYTE FUNCTION COULD HELP SCIENTISTS BETTER UNDERSTAND DISORDERS LINKED TO PROBLEMS WITH NEURONAL DEVELOPMENT, INCLUDING AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS. THE STUDY WAS PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 8, 2021, IN THE JOURNAL ELIFE. [10/25/2021] LONG-LIVED PROTEINS IN MITOCHONDRIA OF THE BRAIN STABILIZE PROTEIN COMPLEXES - MITOCHONDRIA ARE KNOWN AS THE POWERHOUSES OF THE CELL, GENERATING THE ENERGY THAT'S NEEDED TO FUEL THE FUNCTIONS THAT OUR CELLS CARRY OUT. NOW, SCIENTISTS AT THE SALK INSTITUTE AND UC SAN DIEGO HAVE TAKEN A CLOSER LOOK AT HOW MITOCHONDRIA ARE MAINTAINED IN NONDIVIDING CELLS, SUCH AS NEURONS, WITH THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF DEVELOPING A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW TO PREVENT OR TREAT AGE-RELATED DISEASES. THE RESEARCHERS FOUND THAT MANY OF THE PROTEINS IN MITOCHONDRIA LAST MUCH LONGER THAN EXPECTED, AND THAT THIS STABILITY LIKELY PROTECTS THEM FROM DAMAGE. THE FINDINGS WERE PUBLISHED OCTOBER 28, 2021, IN DEVELOPMENTAL CELL. [10/28/2021] UNCOVERING HOW INJURY TO THE PANCREAS IMPACTS CANCER FORMATION - SCIENTISTS AT THE SALK INSTITUTE AND VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE BASIC SCIENCES HAVE FOUND THAT CELLS IN THE PANCREAS FORM NEW CELL TYPES TO MITIGATE INJURY, BUT ARE THEN SUSCEPTIBLE TO CANCEROUS MUTATIONS. THE RESEARCH, LED BY SALK PROFESSOR GEOFFREY WAHL AND VANDERBILT ASSISTANT PROFESSOR KATHY DELGIORNO, FORMER STAFF SCIENTIST IN THE WAHL LAB, WAS PUBLISHED ON OCTOBER 22, 2021 IN THE JOURNAL GASTROENTEROLOGY. [10/29/2021] SECRETS OF QUILLWORT PHOTOSYNTHESIS COULD BOOST CROP EFFICIENCY - THE HUMBLE QUILLWORTS ARE AN ANCIENT GROUP OF ABOUT 250 SMALL, AQUATIC PLANTS THAT HAVE LARGELY BEEN IGNORED BY MODERN BOTANISTS. NOW, SALK SCIENTISTS, ALONG WITH RESEARCHERS FROM THE BOYCE THOMPSON INSTITUTE, HAVE 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. THE FINDINGS WERE PUBLISHED ON NOVEMBER 3, 2021 IN NATURE COMMUNICATIONS. [11/3/2021] STUDY SHINES A LIGHT INTO "BLACK HOLES" IN THE ARABIDOPSIS GENOME - SALK SCIENTISTS, COLLABORATING WITH RESEARCHERS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE AND JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY, HAVE 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, PUBLISHED IN SCIENCE ON NOVEMBER 12, 2021, REVEALS THE SECRETS OF ARABIDOPSIS CHROMOSOME REGIONS CALLED CENTROMERES. THE FINDINGS SHED LIGHT ON CENTROMERE EVOLUTION AND PROVIDES INSIGHTS INTO THE GENOMIC EQUIVALENT OF BLACK HOLES. [11/11/2021] READING THE MIND OF A WORM - 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 SALK ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR SREEKANTH CHALASANI, ARE MORE THAN JUST A NOVELTY; THEY HELP THE SCIENTISTS BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW THE BRAIN FUNCTIONS AND INTEGRATES INFORMATION. THE WORK WAS PUBLISHED ON NOVEMBER 9, 2021, IN THE JOURNAL PLOS COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY. [11/19/2021] WHICH SIDE IS WHICH?: HOW THE BRAIN PERCEIVES BORDERS - SALK RESEARCHERS HAVE MADE HEADWAY INTO UNDERSTANDING HOW THE BRAIN DECIDES WHICH SIDE OF A VISUAL BORDER IS A FOREGROUND OBJECT AND WHICH IS BACKGROUND. THE RESEARCH, PUBLISHED ON NOVEMBER 30, 2021, IN THE JOURNAL ELIFE, SHEDS LIGHT ON HOW AREAS OF THE BRAIN COMMUNICATE TO INTERPRET SENSORY INFORMATION AND BUILD A PICTURE OF THE WORLD AROUND US. [11/30/2021] IMPROVING DRUG OPTIONS FOR COLORECTAL CANCER PATIENTS - PATIENTS WITH COLORECTAL CANCER WERE AMONG THE FIRST TO RECEIVE TARGETED THERAPIES. THESE DRUGS AIM TO BLOCK THE CANCER-CAUSING PROTEINS THAT TRIGGER OUT-OF-CONTROL CELL GROWTH WHILE SPARING HEALTHY TISSUES. BUT SOME PATIENTS ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR THESE TREATMENTS BECAUSE THEY HAVE CANCER-PROMOTING MUTATIONS THAT ARE BELIEVED TO CAUSE RESISTA