MicroRNA helps cancer evade immune system
A study by Salk Professor Juan Carlos Izpiusa Belmonte, former Salk Research Associate Min-Zu (Michael) Wu and collaborators shows one method by which fast-growing tumors evade anti-tumor immunity. The team uncovered two gene-regulating molecules that alter cell-signaling within tumor cells to survive and subvert the body’s normal immune response, according to a September 18, 2017 paper in Nature Cell Biology. These molecules, termed “microRNAs,” regulate genes by silencing RNA and have increasingly been implicated in tumor survival and progression. The discovery could one day point to a new target for treatment in various types of cancer.
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- To inspire and educate: Salk’s Education Outreach is on a missionMotivated by Jonas Salk’s admonition to “be good ancestors,” Education Outreach strives to inspire the next generation of scientists. By running programs like the Mobile Science Lab or High School Science Day among others, Education Outreach encourages scientific literacy, enthusiasm in science as a career, and awareness of the value of basic research.
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- Trinka Adamson–Supporting Salk science through animal careAdamson, senior director of Salk’s Animal Resources Department, works to provide the highest quality veterinary medical care, husbandry, enrichment, and professional technical support to enable our scientists to conduct their animal research and make their bold discoveries.
- Melissa Hernandez–Horses, hot sauce, and human brain researchHernandez, a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Professor Rusty Gage, journeyed up and down the west coast and turned from scientist to hot sauce entrepreneur and back before finally settling at Salk to study neuroscience.
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