Native California Medicinal Plant May Hold Promise for Treating Alzheimer’s
The medicinal powers of aspirin, digitalis, and the anti-malarial artemisinin all come from plants. A Salk Institute discovery of a potent neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory chemical in a native California shrub may lead to a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease based on a compound found in nature. The research appears in the February 2019 issue of the…
Decoding the Structure of an RNA-Based CRISPR System
Novel Method of Pinpointing Cancer Mutations Could Lead to More Targeted Treatments
Single Injection Treats Hemophilia B for Life, in Proof-of-Concept Study
For most people with hemophilia B, whose bodies can’t properly form blood clots, constant injections to replenish their clotting factors are a way of life. But now, Salk researchers have demonstrated in mice that hemophilia B can be treated for life with one single injection, containing disease-free liver cells that can produce their missing clotting…
CRISPR Genetic Editing Takes Another Big Step Forward, Targeting RNA
Molecule That Gives Energy-Burning Brown Fat its Identity Could Lead to Drugs for Obesity
While most fat cells in the human body store energy, everyone has a small subset of brown fat cells that do the opposite–burn energy and generate heat. Now, Salk researchers have discovered how the molecule ERRγ gives this “healthier” brown fat its energy-expending identity, making those cells ready to warm you up when you step…
Alzheimer’s Drug Turns Back Clock in Powerhouse of Cell
New Method Predicts Who Will Respond to Lithium Therapy
For roughly one-third of people diagnosed with bipolar disorder, lithium is a miracle drug, effectively treating both their mania and depression. But once someone is diagnosed, it can take up to a year to learn whether that person will be among the 30 percent who respond to lithium or the 70 percent who do not.…