LA JOLLA, CA – December 27, 2011 – Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have discovered that DNA stays too tightly wound in certain brain cells of schizophrenic subjects. The findings suggest that drugs already in development for other diseases might eventually offer hope as a treatment for schizophrenia and related conditions in the elderly.

The research, now available online in the new Nature journal, Translational Psychiatry, shows the deficit is especially…

LA JOLLA, CA – February 7, 2012 – Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute in California and the Technion–Israel Institute of Technology have developed a “biological computer” made entirely from biomolecules that is capable of deciphering images encrypted on DNA chips. Although DNA has been used for encryption in the past, this is the first experimental demonstration of a molecular cryptosystem of images based on DNA computing.

The study was published in a recent…

LA JOLLA, CA – February 3, 2012 – Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute, Scripps Health, and collaborating cancer physicians have successfully demonstrated the effectiveness of an advanced blood test for detecting and analyzing circulating tumor cells (CTCs)—breakaway cells from patients’ solid tumors—from cancer patients. The findings, reported in five new papers, show that the highly sensitive blood analysis provides information that may soon be comparable to that from some types…

LA JOLLA, CA – February 2, 2012 – A powerful 3D animation tool created by Graham Johnson at The Scripps Research Institute has been selected as the winning video in the ninth annual International Science & Engineering Visualization Challenge.

The competition, co-sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the journal Science, is designed to celebrate and encourage the visual communication of science for education and journalistic purposes. This year, 212 entries…

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have created a new generation of fast-acting fluorescent dyes that optically highlight electrical activity in neuronal membranes. The work is published in this week’s online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The ability to visualize these small, fast-changing…

By combining a nanoparticle that is readily visible in X-ray computed tomography (CT) scans with a molecule that targets tumor lymph vessels and other tumor tissues, a research team from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute has developed a new imaging agent that provides high-fidelity CT images of tumors and their edges. This work, led by Michael Sailor of UCSD and Erkki…

A new study building on previous findings by scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, highlights 14 key air pollution control measures that if implemented could slow the pace of global warming, save millions of lives and boost agricultural production. 

The research, led by Drew Shindell of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York City, finds that focusing on these measures could slow global mean warming…

Scientists from the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) and other areas of the University of California, San Diego, conducting research in physics, computer science, earth science, and engineering, together were awarded an all-time high of more than a quarter billion hours in supercomputing processor time by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) as part of the agency’s 2012 Innovative and Novel Computational Impact on Theory and Experiment (INCITE) program.

SDSC and UC San Diego…

LA JOLLA, CA—Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have identified a gene that tells cells to develop multiple cilia, tiny hair-like structures that move fluids through the lungs and brain. The finding may help scientists generate new therapies that use stem cells to replace damaged tissues in the lung and other organs.

"Cells with multiple cilia play a number of important roles, including moving fluids through the respiratory tract, brain and spinal cord," says …

LA JOLLA, CA—Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have identified a gene that tells cells to develop multiple cilia, tiny hair-like structures that move fluids through the lungs and brain. The finding may help scientists generate new therapies that use stem cells to replace damaged tissues in the lung and other organs.

"Cells with multiple cilia play a number of important roles, including moving fluids through the respiratory tract, brain and spinal cord," says …

Cell phones aren’t just for talking any more.  Surfing the web, storing music and posting to Facebook have all contributed to the near-mandatory use of a cell phone.  How about using that cell phone to lose weight?  Researchers with Calit2’s Center for Wireless and Population Health Systems (CWPHS) and the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, at University of California, San Diego are expanding a previous study aimed at finding out if cell phone technology can help with weight…

LA JOLLA, CA ­– January 2, 2012 – Renowned biochemist Michael A. Marletta, PhD, assumed the post of president and CEO of The Scripps Research Institute January 1, succeeding Richard A. Lerner, MD, who led the institution for more than two decades.

“I’m excited by the opportunity to advance the institute’s mission, creating knowledge in the biosciences and applying that knowledge to understanding and curing human disease,” said Marletta. “I also look forward to working with all the…

LA JOLLA, CA – December 9, 2011 – New research by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute has underlined the power of an endogenous anti-stress peptide in the brain to prevent and even reverse some of the cellular effects of acute alcohol and alcohol dependence in animal models. The work could lead to the development of novel drugs to treat alcoholism.

The new study, led by Scripps Research Associate Professor Marisa Roberto and now published online ahead of print by the…