Chihuly at the Salk

April 22 - 28, 2010

Following the lead of its founder, Jonas Salk, who believed art and science go hand in hand, the Salk Institute is celebrating its 50th anniversary with Chihuly at the Salk, an outdoor installation of more than a dozen hand-blown glass sculptures by renowned artist Dale Chihuly. …

La Jolla, CA—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 that the genetic region that determines sex in Volvox has changed dramatically relative to that of the closely related unicellular alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

Their findings, which will be published in the April 16th issue of the journal…

Mice with a disabled gene stay slim on a high-fat chow. Photo: Na Zhang

Mice that are missing a protein involved in the response to low oxygen stay lean and healthy, even on a high-fat diet, a new study has found.

“They process fat differently,” said Randall Johnson, professor of…

Former UC President Bob Dynes (far left) looks on as Calit2's UCSD division director Ramesh Rao signs the tripartite agreement with KACST's Prince Turki Bin Saud Bin Mohammed Al Saud and STC Chief Executive Officer Saud Bin Majed Al-Daweesh (far right)

The University of California, San Diego has signed…

Hurtling through the dark matter of space at the dawn of time, we travel at light speed through glowing galaxies and nebulas, past exploding supernovas billowing mushroom clouds of gas. Above our heads computerized portals sense the atmospheric conditions within our chamber and adjust accordingly to maintain optimal conditions to support life. We are not in some futuristic space station, we are in San Francisco.

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More+than+one+behavior+can+spread+simultaneously++across+a+social+network.

Recent++studies+have+shown+that+behaviors+such+as+happiness,++obesity,+smoking+and++altruism+are+“contagious”+within+adult+social++networks.+In+other+words,+your++behavior+not+only+influences+your++friends,+but+also+their+friends+and+so+on.++Researchers+at+the++University+of+California,+San+Diego+and+Harvard+University++have+taken++this+a+step+farther+and+found+that+the+spread+of+one+be…

Cutting-edge computer modeling reveals neurons coordinating their messaging, yielding clues to how the brain works

There is strength in numbers if you want to get your voice heard. But how to do you get your say if you are in the minority? That's a dilemma faced not only by the citizens of a democracy but also by some neurons in the brain.

Although they only account for a fraction of the synapses in the visual cortex, neurons in the thalamus get their message across loud and…