09/30/24Salk Institute New brain-mapping tool may be the “START” of next-generation therapeutics LA JOLLA—Scientists at the Salk Institute are unveiling a new brain-mapping neurotechnology called Single Transcriptome Assisted Rabies Tracing (START). The cutting-edge tool combines two advanced technologies—monosynaptic rabies virus tracing and single-cell transcriptomics—to map the brain’s intricate neuronal connections with unparalleled precision. Read more

08/01/24Salk Institute Salk awarded $3.6 million by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to advance research on brain aging LA JOLLA—The Salk Institute was awarded $3.6 million by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), one of the world’s largest institutions dedicated to regenerative medicine. Salk Professor Rusty Gage will lead the new CIRM-funded Shared Resources Laboratory focused on stem cell-based models of aging and neurodegeneration. Read more

06/18/24Salk Institute Unveiling Telo-seq: A breakthrough in telomere research on aging and cancer LA JOLLA—Within each of our cells, long strands of DNA are folded into chromosomes and capped with protective structures called telomeres. But telomeres shorten as we age, eventually getting so whittled down that our chromosomes become exposed, and our cells die. However, the specifics of when and how this shortening occurs and whether certain chromosomes are more affected than others have been unclear—until now. Read more