News & Publications

News Releases 2008 - 2009

November 19, 2009
Scripps Research Scientists Find New Link Between Insulin and Core Body Temperature
A team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have discovered a direct link between insulin—a hormone long associated with metabolism and metabolic disorders such as diabetes—and core body temperature.
November 18, 2009
Nationally Known Memory Researcher Appointed to Metabolism and Aging Faculty at Scripps Florida
The Scripps Research Institute has appointed Courtney Miller, Ph.D., as an assistant professor in the Department of Metabolism and Aging and the Department of Neuroscience on the Scripps Florida campus.
October 26, 2009
New Consortium Led by Scripps Research Scientists Awarded $10 Million by National Cancer Institute
The National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a $10 million, five-year grant to a new physics oncology center led by Scripps Research Institute scientists.
October 22, 2009
Team Led by Scripps Research and UC San Diego Scientists Reveals Secrets of Drought Resistance
A team of biologists in California led by researchers at The Scripps Research Institute and the University of California (UC), San Diego has solved the structure of a critical molecule that helps plants survive during droughts.
October 20, 2009
Consortium Including Scripps Research Institute Receives $12.2 Million to Establish National Network of Scientists
Imagine a Web site like Facebook, but instead of using it to share videos or post quizzes like "What '80s song are you?" scientists could scour a national network of researchers, only a few mouse clicks separating them from information needed for a scientific breakthrough.
October 19, 2009
A Major Step in Making Better Stem Cells from Adult Tissue
A team led by scientists from The Scripps Research Institute has developed a method that dramatically improves the efficiency of creating stem cells from human adult tissue, without the use of embryonic cells.
October 14, 2009
Six New Graduate Students to Study at Scripps Florida
Six new graduate students have chosen the Scripps Florida campus as the place to pursue their doctoral degrees.
October 13, 2009
Scripps Research Scientists Illuminate Structure of Circulating Lung Cancer Cells
The Scripps Research Institute has been able to determine the structural features of circulating tumor cells, which were collected from the blood of a woman with advanced lung cancer.
October 12, 2009
Scripps Research Names Ronald L. Davis as Founding Chair of New Neuroscience Department
The Scripps Research Institute has named Ronald L. Davis, Ph.D., formerly the R.P. Doherty-Welch Professor of Science at Baylor College of Medicine, as the founding chair of the Department of Neuroscience on the Scripps Florida campus.
October 5, 2009
Scripps Research Scientists Awarded $3.9 Million "Transformative" Federal Grant to Develop New Compound Screening Platform
A pair of scientists from The Scripps Research Institute, one on each coast, has been awarded a five-year $3.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop a new technology to accelerate the search for new protein ligands – compounds that bind to proteins and alter their function.
October 1, 2009
Scripps Research Scientists Find Missing Puzzle Piece of Powerful DNA Repair Complex
Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute have found, crystallized, and biologically characterized a poorly defined component of a key molecular complex that helps people to avoid cancer, but that also helps cancer cells resist chemotherapy.
September 30, 2009
The Ray Romano and Kevin James Celebrity Golf Classic to Benefit Advancement in Vision Research
The Ray Romano and Kevin James Celebrity Golf Classic will be held on Monday, November 16, 2009 at the El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana, California.
September 29, 2009
Scripps Florida Scientist Awarded $1.4 Million in Federal Stimulus Funds to Study Drug Targets in Alzheimer's, Alcoholism
A scientist from The Scripps Research Institute's Florida campus has been awarded a pair of research grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) totaling just over $1.4 million to pursue drug discovery work in both Alzheimer's disease and alcoholism.
September 25, 2009
Mechanism for Potential Friedreich's Ataxia Drug Uncovered
Using clever chemistry, a Scripps Research team has pinpointed the enzyme target of a drug group that stops the progression of the devastating disease Friedreich's ataxia in mice and may do the same for humans.
September 24, 2009
The Scripps Research Institute and IAVI Host Symposium to Launch Research Center Dedicated to Solving the Neutralizing Antibody Problem
Today, the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and The Scripps Research Institute officially launched a new research center, the IAVI Neutralizing Antibody Center at The Scripps Research Institute.
September 18, 2009
The Scripps Research Institute and IAVI Host Leading Scientists Searching for New Ways to Produce an HIV/AIDS Vaccine
Media Advisory: Media Briefing will present recent significant progress and symposium highlights; interview opportunities; lab tour.
September 17, 2009
Rare Genetic Disease Successfully Reversed Using Stem Cell Transplantation
A recent study by Scripps Research Institute scientists offers good news for families of children afflicted with the rare genetic disorder, cystinosis. In research that holds out hope for one day developing a potential therapy to treat the fatal disorder, the study shows that the genetic defect in mice can be corrected with stem cell transplantation.
September 15, 2009
Rendina Family Foundation Awards $150,000 Grant to Scripps Florida Scientist
The Rendina Family Foundation has awarded a $150,000 grant to Derek Duckett, an associate scientific director with the Translational Research Institute at Scripps Florida, a division of The Scripps Research Institute.
September 10, 2009
Scripps Research Appoints Stem Cell Scientist to Molecular Therapeutics Faculty
The Scripps Research Institute has appointed Donald G. Phinney, Ph.D., a nationally recognized expert in the study of adult bone marrow-derived stem cells, as a professor in the Department of Molecular Therapeutics.
September 3, 2009
Two New Antibodies Found to Cripple HIV
Researchers at and associated with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), at The Scripps Research Institute, and at the biotechnology companies Theraclone Sciences and Monogram Biosciences have discovered two powerful new antibodies to HIV that reveal what may be an Achilles heel on the virus.
September 3, 2009
Scripps Research Scientists Identify Genetic Cause for Type of Deafness
A team led by scientists from The Scripps Research Institute has discovered a genetic cause of progressive hearing loss. The findings will help scientists better understand the nature of age-related decline in hearing and may lead to new therapies to prevent or treat the condition.
September 2, 2009
Scripps Research Scientists Illuminate Structure of Circulating Lung Cancer Cells
Most cancer-related deaths are caused by metastases—the spread of cancer to other parts of the body—and tumor cells that circulate in the bloodstream are generally understood to be the cause of these dangerous secondary tumors. Now, for the first time, a collaboration led by scientists from The Scripps Research Institute has been able to determine the structural features of circulating tumor cells, which were collected from the blood of a woman with advanced lung cancer.
August 28, 2009
Latest Scripps Florida Collaboration Aims to Reshape Addiction Therapy
Scripps Florida scientist, working with the Hanley Center, a non-profit addiction recovery facility in West Palm Beach and the Florida Department of Health, is closing in on a novel blood test that could accurately predict the risk of a relapse in patients with addictions.
August 17, 2009
Scripps Research, UCSD, and University of Oslo Team Definitively Ties Genetic Variations to Brain Size for First Time
Using advanced brain imaging and genomics technologies, an international team of researchers co-led by Scripps Research Institute scientists has shown for the first time that natural variations in a specific gene influence brain structure. By establishing this link, the researchers have opened the door to a range of potential research efforts that could reveal gene variations responsible for a number of neurological conditions such as autism.
August 6, 2009
Scripps Research Scientists Find Early Evolution Maximized the "Spellchecking" of Protein Sequences
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have examined how an enzyme responsible for adding one amino acid, alanine, to proteins has come to have its own spellchecker. Professor Paul Schimmel and colleagues show that two separate functions—alanine adding and editing—were joined together in a single enzyme during early evolution, in a way that greatly enhances these activities. The findings provide a glimpse into how enzyme functions have evolved.
August 3, 2009
Scripps Research Team Reports Breakthrough in Creating Live Mice from Skin Cells
Scripps Research Institute scientists are reporting a breakthrough in stem cell research in which they successfully created live mice from mouse skin cells, without using embryonic stem cells or cloning techniques that require eggs. This milestone opens the door to the development of exciting therapies, such as using a patient's own cells to grow replacement organs.
July 31, 2009
Scripps Research Structure of Virus Protein Reveals How Viruses Hijack Cell Proteins
Viruses are masters at taking over a host cell's machinery and using it to their own advantage. In doing so, they often disrupt the cell's mechanisms for keeping cell growth and division in check, wreaking havoc. Researchers from The Scripps Research Institute describe for the first time the structure of a protein from a type of virus called adenovirus as it grabs hold of two cell proteins, preventing them from performing their normal jobs .
July 21, 2009
Scripps Research Studies Lead to a Promising First-in-Class Drug Candidate
Discoveries by Scripps Research Institute scientists have led to a promising new drug candidate—the first in its class—for patients with a genetic protein-misfolding disease. In results announced by the biopharmaceutical firm FoldRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today, the new drug tafamidis significantly halts disease progression for patients with a disease called Transthyretin (TTR) amyloid polyneuropathy (ATTR-PN).
July 15, 2009
Wellington High thinkPINKkids™ Donation Presented to Scripps Florida
The thinkPINKkids™ Club of Wellington High School has recently presented $7,000 to support Scripps Florida's breast cancer research. The club raised the funds at a 5K Walk to Win the Battle Against Breast Cancer held May 8, 2009.
July 13, 2009
Scripps Research Scientists Uncover a New Protein Necessary for the Proper Formation of the Immune System
Armies of immune cells patrol our blood, fending off invading viruses and bacteria, and even destroying cancer cells. Researchers have elucidated intricate cascades of signals that orchestrate the step-by-step development of different immune cells, endowing them with unique functions and specificities. Professor Nicholas R. J. Gascoigne, Ph.D., and colleagues at The Scripps Research Institute have now discovered a critical signal that has remained elusive—until now.
July 10, 2009
Two Scripps Research Institute Scientists Win Prestigious Presidential Early Career Awards
Two scientists from The Scripps Research Institute—Associate Professor Erica Ollmann Saphire, Ph.D., and Associate Professor Marisa Roberto, Ph.D.—have been selected to receive a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on young professionals at the outset of their independent research careers.
July 7, 2009
Chris T. Sullivan and Leanna Landsmann to Lead Scripps Florida Council
Businessman and philanthropist Chris T. Sullivan, chairman of OSI Restaurant Partners, Inc., which includes the Outback Steakhouse chain, and editor, publisher, and educator Leanna Landsmann have been named co-chairs of the newly formed Scripps Florida Council.
July 6, 2009
Scripps Research Institute Appoints Scott Forrest as Director of Business and Technology Development
The Scripps Research Institute has appointed Scott Forrest, formerly of the University of North Carolina (UNC), Chapel Hill, as the institute's new director of business and technology development.
June 29, 2009
Scripps Research Scientists Find Key Culprits in Lupus
The more than 1.5 million Americans with systemic lupus erythematosus (or lupus) suffer from a variety of symptoms that flare and subside, often including painful or swollen joints, extreme fatigue, skin rashes, fever, and kidney problems. Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute have now identified the main trigger for the development of this disease.
June 24, 2009
Scripps Research Scientists Observe Human Neurodegenerative Disorder in Fruit Flies
A team of scientists from The Scripps Research Institute, Katholeike Universiteit Leuven, and the University of Antwerp, Belgium, among other institutions, has created a genetically modified fruit fly that mimics key features of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a common neurodegenerative disorder that strikes about one out of every 2,500 people in the United States.
June 22, 2009
Scripps Florida's Laura Bohn Wins 2009 Joseph Cochin Young Investigator Award
Laura Bohn, an associate professor in the Department of Molecular Therapeutics at The Scripps Research Institute's Florida campus, has been awarded the 2009 Joseph Cochin Young Investigator Award for her outstanding early achievements in the field of drug abuse.
June 19, 2009
Researchers Observe Single Protein Dimers Wavering Between Two Symmetrically Opposed Structures
Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute, the University of California, San Diego, and Ohio State University have used a very sensitive fluorescence technique to find that a bacterial protein thought to exist in one "natural" three-dimensional structure (shape), can actually twist itself into a second form, depending on the protein's chemical environment. One folded form is active and the other is inactive, but the protein can easily morph from one state to another.
June 12, 2009
New Study Reveals Structure of the HIV Protein Shell
New research by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute and other institutions provides a close-up look at the cone-shaped shell that is the hallmark of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), revealing how it is held together—and possible ways to break it apart.
June 11, 2009
Scripps Research Team Creates Simple Chemical System that Mimics DNA
A team of Scripps Research scientists has created a new analog to DNA that assembles and disassembles itself without the need for enzymes. Because the new system comprises components that might reasonably be expected in a primordial world, the new chemical system could answer questions about how life could emerge.
June 11, 2009
Arlene & Arnold Goldstein Foundation Gives $1.5 Million to Scripps Research Institute for Research on Amyloidosis
The Arlene & Arnold Goldstein Family Foundation has given $1.5 million to support research in The Scripps Research Institute's Department of Molecular and Experimental Medicine.
June 10, 2009
Scripps Florida Will Host a Record Number of Student Summer Interns
For 17 Florida high school students, teachers, and university undergraduates, this summer will be an opportunity to try their hand at science in the laboratories of The Scripps Research Institute's Florida campus and to receive an extended lesson in the day-to-day intricacies of modern biomedical research. A total of 14 high school juniors and seniors and one high school teacher have been selected as summer interns at Scripps Florida. The program, now in its fourth year on the Florida campus, is sponsored by the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust, a North Carolina foundation with a special interest in education.
June 8, 2009
Scripps Research Scientists Uncover a Novel Mechanism Controlling Tumor Growth in the Brain
As survival rates among some patients with cancer continue to rise, so does the spread of these cancers to the brain—as much as 40 percent of all diagnosed brain cancers are considered metastatic, having spread from a primary cancer elsewhere in the body. Now, scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have discovered a molecular mechanism that plays a pivotal role in controlling cancer growth in the brain. The discovery could provide a basis for potentially effective therapies for the treatment of brain metastasis.
May 28, 2009
Scripps Florida Scientists Devise Accelerated Method to Determine Infectious Prion Strains
Current tests to identify specific strains of infectious prions, which cause a range of transmissible diseases (such as mad cow) in animals and humans, can take anywhere from six months to a year to yield results—a time-lag that may put human populations at risk. Now, a group of scientists from The Scripps Research Institute's Florida campus have developed a new method that cuts this critical time lag by several months.
May 13, 2009
Scripps Research Scientists Devise New Strategy for Simplifying the Synthesis of Important Chemical Class
Terpenes are a massive class of chemicals that includes numerous biological and commercial products, from vitamin A to the successful cancer drug Taxol^TM. But, despite widespread use, chemists have remained frustrated in their attempts to synthesize terpenes in the laboratory at sufficient scale for commercial or, in many cases, even research purposes. But at last, a Scripps Research Institute team has devised a terpene production method that could prove widely applicable to even the most sought-after molecules, opening a range of new drug development and other possibilities.
May 13, 2009
Scripps Research Scientists Discover Molecular Defect Involved in Hearing Loss
Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have elucidated the action of a protein, harmonin, which is involved in the mechanics of hearing. This finding sheds new light on the workings of mechanotransduction, the process by which cells convert mechanical stimuli into electrical activity. Defects in mechanotransduction genes can cause devastating diseases, such as Usher's syndrome, which is characterized by deafness, gradual vision loss, and kidney disease, which can lead to kidney failure.
April 30, 2009
Scripps Research Scientists Determine Workings of Potentially Useful Virus
A group of scientists at The Scripps Research Institute hope to enlist the help of one particular virus to treat disease. Their discovery that the tiny plant virus, cowpea mosaic virus (CPMV), attaches itself to a specific protein on mammalian cells brings them closer to achieving this mission.
April 29, 2009
Darwin in a Test Tube
A group of scientists at The Scripps Research Institute has set up the microscopic equivalent of the Galapagos Islands -- an artificial ecosystem inside a test tube where molecules evolve to exploit distinct ecological niches, similar to the finches that Charles Darwin famously described in The Origin of the Species 150 years ago.
April 24, 2009
Scripps Research Appoints Two New Faculty Members to the Department of Metabolism and Aging in Florida
The Scripps Research Institute has named two new faculty members to the Department of Metabolism and Aging on the Scripps Florida campus. The two new faculty members are Associate Professor Andrew A. Butler, Ph.D., and Assistant Professor Shuji Kishi, M.D., Ph.D.
April 23, 2009
Scripps Research/Pfizer Team Produces a Potential New Painkiller
Scientists from the Scripps Research Institute and Pfizer, Inc. have discovered an exquisitely potent new chemical compound that harnesses the endocannabinoid system—a natural pain-controlling pathway—to deliver profound pain reduction. The compound, called PF-3845, could be pursued as a lead for a drug candidate and should prove an invaluable tool for researchers studying how the endocannabinoid system functions.
April 23, 2009
A Major Breakthrough in Generating Safer, Therapeutic Stem Cells from Adult Cells
A group of researchers at The Scripps Research Institute and other institutions have achieved a breakthrough in converting adult cells all the way back to the most primitive embryonic-like cells without using the dangerous genetic manipulations associated with previous methods. The new technique solves one of the most challenging safety hurdles associated with personalized stem cell-based medicine because for the first time it enables scientists to make stem cells in the laboratory from adult cells without genetically altering them. This discovery has the potential to spark the development of many new types of therapies for humans, for diseases that range from Type 1 diabetes to Parkinson's disease.
April 21, 2009
Scripps Research Cancer Biology Department Awarded More than $8 Million in New Research Grants
The Scripps Research Institute's Department of Cancer Biology has been awarded more than $8.4 million in multiple grants by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Department of Defense. The grants will be used to study topics ranging from prostate cancer to the production of T lymphocytes, the cells that provide immune surveillance for cancer.
April 17, 2009
Scripps Research Team Invents First Technique for Producing Promising Anti-Leukemia Agent
Kapakahines, marine-derived natural products isolated from a South Pacific sponge in trace quantities, have shown anti-leukemia potential, but studies have been all but stalled by kapakahines' lack of availability. A team from The Scripps Research Institute has established the first technique to synthesize kapakahines in the laboratory in large quantities. With supplies now in hand, and unlimited production potential established, research on the compound can proceed and may eventually lead to new drug treatments.
April 13, 2009
Scripps Research Scientists Uncover Mimicry at the Molecular Level in a Critical Pathway that Protects Genome Integrity
Mimicry is common in nature, where it is used as a key survival mechanism. Now scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have discovered molecular mimicry in a genetic integrity pathway, which is implicated in many human diseases, from cancer to neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington's diseases.
April 10, 2009
Scripps Research Scientists Model 3-D Structures of Proteins that Control Human Clock
Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute say they have taken a leap forward in their quest to understand the proteins that control the human circadian clock – the 24-hour wake-sleep cycle that, when interrupted, can lead to jet lag and other sleep disturbances.
March 27, 2009
Scripps Research Appoints Laura Bohn to Department of Molecular Therapeutics
The Scripps Research Institute has appointed Laura Bohn as associate professor in the Department of Molecular Therapeutics. Bohn, a nationally known researcher investigating the mysteries of G protein-coupled receptors, particularly their role in pain and addiction, officially joined the Scripps Florida Jupiter campus on March 2, 2009.
March 25, 2009
Scripps Research Scientists Find Structure of a Protein that Makes Cancer Cells Resistant to Chemotherapy
A research team at the Scripps Research Institute has obtained the first glimpse of a protein that keeps certain substances, including many drugs, out of cells. The protein, called P-glycoprotein or P-gp for short, is one of the main reasons cancer cells are resistant to chemotherapy drugs. Understanding its structure may help scientists design more effective drugs.
March 16, 2009
Scripps Research Scientists "Watch" as Individual Alpha-Synuclein Proteins Change Shape
Much remains to be understood about what role alpha-synuclein, a protein mostly associated with Parkinson's disease, plays in the brain, either in a normal or diseased state. Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute have now used high-sensitivity single-molecule methods to show that it is a highly mobile protein, and can rapidly switch shapes depending on its environment.
March 9, 2009
Scripps Research Team Identifies Key Molecules that Inhibit Viral Production
A team from The Scripps Research Institute has found a way to inhibit viral production of the Hepatitis C virus (HCV). The advance has the potential to accelerate future research on the virus life cycle and to aid in the development of novel HVC drugs.
March 2, 2009
Scripps Research Scientists Engineer New Type of Vaccination that Provides Instant Immunity
A team of scientists at the Scripps Research Institute has found a way to use specially programmed chemicals to elicit an immediate immune response in laboratory animals against two types of cancer. The experiments, thus far performed only in mice, appear to overcome a major drawback of vaccinations—the lag time of days, or even weeks, that it normally takes for immunity to build against a pathogen. This new method of vaccination could potentially be used to provide instantaneous protection against diseases caused by viruses and bacteria, cancers, and even virulent toxins.
February 26, 2009
Opening Ceremonies Celebrate New Scripps Florida Biomedical Research Facilities
The Scripps Research Institute's leaders will be joined by Florida Governor Charlie Crist and Palm Beach County commissioners to cut the ribbon to officially open Scripps Florida, the institute's 350,000 square-foot state-of-the-art biomedical research facility in Jupiter.
February 25, 2009
Scripps Research Scientists Develop General-Purpose Method for Detecting Trace Chemicals
A team of scientists at The Scripps Research Institute has developed a method of sensitively detecting specific chemicals in the laboratory—a discovery that may lead to a host of new ways to monitor a variety of chemicals in nature.
February 24, 2009
Scripps Research Team Finds Immune Molecule that Attacks Wide Range of Flu Viruses
Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute report the characterization of an immune system molecule that targets what appears to be an "Achilles heel" of a wide range of influenza viruses—including the viruses responsible for past global pandemics, those causing current common infections, and strains of bird flu believed to pose future world threats.
February 22, 2009
Scripps Research Team Establishes Vastly Improved Technique for Studying Critical Protein Group
A team of Scripps Research Institute scientists has now developed a technique that offers a 10-fold improvement in the critical process of labeling glycoproteins. This opens the possibility of new studies to identify cancer biomarkers that will allow early cancer diagnoses, among numerous applications.
February 18, 2009
Scripps Research Study Shows How Microscopic Changes to Brain Cause Schizophrenic Behavior in Mice
Disrupting the function of a key molecule in the brain leads to microscopic brain abnormalities and schizophrenia-like behavior in mice. These abnormalities are similar to those seen in the autopsied brains of people who diagnosed with schizophrenia in life, according to a team of scientists at The Scripps Research Institute.
February 17, 2009
Scripps Research Institute Board of Trustees Elects Mark Pearson as Newest Member
The Scripps Research Institute Board of Trustees has elected philanthropist and entrepreneur Mark Pearson as its newest member. "We warmly welcome Mark to the board," says Scripps Research President Richard A. Lerner, M.D. "Mark's business acumen and extensive leadership experience will be a great asset to the continuing success of the institute."
February 13, 2009
New Scripps Research Technique Clears Path for Developing Drugs and Vaccines for Hemorrhagic Fever Diseases
A team from the Scripps Research Institute has developed a novel method for studying arenaviruses, rodent-borne viruses that can cause hemorrhagic fever diseases. Currently, no licensed vaccines are available against arenaviruses and drug therapies are extremely limited. This development opens new avenues for vaccine development and identification of anti-viral drugs to combat human pathogenic arenaviruses.
February 12, 2009
Thomas P. Burris, Noted Nuclear Receptor Expert, Appointed to Scripps Florida Molecular Therapeutics Faculty
The Scripps Research Institute has appointed Thomas P. Burris, Ph.D., as a professor in the Department of Molecular Therapeutics at the institute's Scripps Florida campus. Burris's research focus is nuclear receptors, protein molecules that mediate hormone activity inside the cell, and are implicated in the progress of a number of cancers, including prostate, breast, and colon cancers. Nuclear receptors have also become novel targets for drug development in other diseases, including Type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis, and metabolic syndrome.
February 10, 2009
Quantum Foundation, National City, and Florida Trend Named Premier Sponsors of Scripps Florida Opening Ceremonies
The Quantum Foundation of Palm Beach County, National City Corporation, and Florida Trend magazine will serve as premier sponsors of Scripps Florida's three-day campus opening ceremonies on February 26-28, 2009. Scripps Florida is a division of The Scripps Research Institute.
February 9, 2009
Scientists at Scripps Research Identify a Mutation that Causes Inflammatory Bowel Disease
A team of scientists at The Scripps Research Institute has linked a mouse mutation to an increased susceptibility for developing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)—represented in humans as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, which together are estimated to affect more than a million people in the United States. The findings may one day lead to new and better treatments for the disease.
February 8, 2009
Scripps Research Scientists Create First Crystal Structure of an Intermediate Particle in Virus Assembly
A research team at the Scripps Research Institute has been able to produce the first crystal structure of a virus particle caught in the midst of assembling its impenetrable outer protein coat.
February 5, 2009
The Scripps Research Institute Appoints Three New Faculty Members to Chemistry Department
The Scripps Research Institute has appointed three new faculty members to its Department of Chemistry. All three will be located on the campus of Scripps Florida in Jupiter, Palm Beach County.
February 2, 2009
Team Led by Scripps Research Scientists Increases Understanding of Two Types of Blindness, Bolsters Simple Prevention Strategy, and Develops Gene Therapy Option
A collaborative team of scientists from the Scripps Research Institute and other institutions has shed light on the causes of and potential treatment for two blinding conditions known as macular telangiectasia (MacTel) and retinal angiomatous proliferation (RAP), types of macular degeneration. Though based on mouse studies, the research bolsters the idea that humans suffering from these and other eye conditions may be able to help preserve function by adding antioxidants to their diet, and explains why this would work. The team also devised a new cell-based gene therapy technique that could eventually offer another option for arresting vision loss from these diseases.
January 27, 2009
W. Mark Crowell Joins Scripps Research as VP, Business Development
The Scripps Research Institute has announced that W. Mark Crowell, previously of University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, has joined the institute as vice president for business development.
January 26, 2009
Scripps Florida Scientists Uncover Potential New Target for Schizophrenic Treatment
Scientists from Scripps Florida, part of The Scripps Research Institute, and colleagues have for the first time linked a specific microRNA to behavioral problems frequently associated with psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia. The finding presents new opportunities in the development of potential treatments.
January 20, 2009
Scripps Research Scientists Find Drug Lessens Body's Massive and Often Deadly Immune Response to Flu Virus
A team led by scientists from The Scripps Research Institute has shown that a drug that acts on a specific aspect of the immune system—rather than by killing the virus itself—may mitigate the virulence of influenza infection. The drug impacts the cytokine response, the body's signature immune reaction to influenza infection that can itself be lethal.
January 15, 2009
Scripps Florida Scientists Find Novel Use for Old Compound in Cancer Treatment
Scientists from the Scripps Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have found a potentially beneficial use for a once-abandoned compound in the prevention and treatment of neuroblastoma, one of the most devastating cancers among young children.
January 15, 2009
Scripps Research Scientists Find New Structural Motif in Key Enzymes Is Essential to Prevent Autoimmune Disease
Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute and the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (GNF) have found a specific mutation that leads to the development of severe autoimmune kidney disease in mice. The research sheds light on the basic biology of the immune system, as well as on the effectiveness of drugs such as the anti-leukemia medication Gleevec®/Imatinib.
January 13, 2009
Scripps Research Team Develops New Technique to Tap Full Potential of Antibody Libraries
Antibodies are the attack dogs of the immune system, fighting off bacterial and other invaders. Massive libraries of synthetic antibodies that mimic this natural response, for instance to attack proteins critical to a particular cancer, are also available, but current techniques have allowed scientists to screen these antibodies for effectiveness against only a very limited number of disease-causing agents.
January 9, 2009
Scripps Research Scientists Find Cause of Cartilage Degeneration in Osteoarthritis
A team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute has found an important link between a protein that declines with age and the development of osteoarthritis, the most common disease of aging affecting nearly 27 million Americans. The finding opens the door to developing effective new treatments for osteoarthritis. Currently, no treatment for this degenerative disease exists apart from palliative drugs for pain and inflammation.
January 8, 2009
The Immortal Molecule: Scripps Research Scientists Develop First Examples of RNA that Replicates Itself Indefinitely Without Any Help from Biology
One of the most enduring questions is how life could have begun on Earth. Molecules that can make copies of themselves are thought to be crucial to understanding this process as they provide the basis for heritability, a critical characteristic of living systems. Now, a pair of Scripps Research Institute scientists has taken a significant step toward answering that question. The scientists have synthesized for the first time RNA enzymes that can replicate themselves without the help of any proteins or other cellular components, and the process proceeds indefinitely.
December 22, 2008
New Technique is Quantum Leap Forward in Understanding Proteins
Proteins drive critical functioning in the cells of everything from bacteria to humans. But deciphering genomic data to discover just how the thousands upon thousands of proteins in a given organism interact has emerged as one of the most confounding biological challenges of the new century. In this ongoing quest, a group of Scripps Research Institute scientists, along with colleagues from the University of California, San Diego, (UCSD) have borrowed from physics to deliver one of those research rarities—an unmitigated success. The group has devised a computational method that, with remarkable accuracy, predicts how bacterial proteins fold and interact.
December 19, 2008
Renowned Researcher Roy G. Smith to Head New Department of Metabolism and Aging at Scripps Florida
The Scripps Research Institute has appointed Roy G. Smith, Ph.D., an internationally recognized expert on research designed to intervene in the process of age-dependent physical and cognitive decline, as chair of its new Department of Metabolism and Aging. Professor Smith's laboratory and team will be located on the campus of Scripps Florida, in Jupiter.
December 18, 2008
Team Led by Scripps Research Scientists Develop Method for Generating Novel Types of Stem Cells
A team led by Scripps Research Institute scientists has for the first time developed a technique for generating novel types of rat and human stem cells with characteristics similar to mouse embryonic stem cells, currently the predominant type of stem cells used for creating animal models of human diseases in research. The technique potentially provides scientists with new sources of stem cells to develop drugs and treatments for human diseases.
December 11, 2008
Scripps Research Scientists Watch Membrane Fission in Real Time, Identifying a Cellular Fission Machine
Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute have solved one of biology's neatest little tricks: they have discovered how a cell's outer membrane pinches a little pouch from itself to bring molecules outside the cell inside—without making holes that leak fluid from either side of the membrane.
December 10, 2008
Scripps Florida Scientist Awarded Landenberger Foundation Grant
Michael Conkright, a Scripps Florida scientist and assistant professor in the Department of Cancer Biology, has received a $150,000 grant from the Margaret Q. Landenberger Research Foundation.
December 4, 2008
Dr. Charles Weissmann to Speak at Premiere of Scripps Florida Science Discussion Series
Dr. Charles Weissmann, one of the world's preeminent scientists in the field of infection, will be the featured speaker at the premiere of a new Scripps Florida discussion series, "At the Front Lines of Hope."
November 24, 2008
Scripps Florida Scientists Find Blocking a Neuropeptide Receptor Significantly Decreases Nicotine Addiction
Scientists at Scripps Florida have found that blocking the receptor for a specific neuropeptide, short chains of amino acids found in nerve tissue, significantly decreases the desire for nicotine in animal models. In addition, these data may explain intriguing findings from human smokers who spontaneously quit smoking when they suffer brain damage restricted to a small portion of their frontal cortex.
November 24, 2008
Scripps Research Scientists Shed Light on How DNA Is Unwound So That Its Code Can Be Read
Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute have figured out how a macromolecular machine is able to unwind the long and twisted tangles of DNA within a cell's nucleus so that genetic information can be "read" and used to direct the synthesis of proteins, which have many specific functions in the body.
November 21, 2008
Scripps Research Scientists Identify Blood Component that Turns Bacteria Virulent
Scientists from the Scripps Research Institute have discovered the key chemical that signals Bacillus anthracis, the bacterium that causes anthrax, to become lethal. This finding opens up new avenues of exploration for the development of treatments for bacterial infections.
November 16, 2008
Scripps Research and New York University Scientists Discover New Cause of Fatal Brain Injury from Acute Viral Meningitis
What was once thought to be the culprit responsible for fatal brain damage in acute viral meningitis has now been found to be only an accomplice, say researchers at The Scripps Research Institute and New York University.
November 14 , 2008
San Diego Philanthropist John Moores Gives $2.1 Million to Scripps Research Institute
San Diego philanthropist, businessman, and community leader John J. Moores has contributed the first gift of $2.1 million to The Scripps Research Institute's new $50 million initiative to recruit new world-class researchers and sustain and expand the work of current scientists at the renowned La Jolla- and Florida-based biomedical organization, the Institute announced.
November 10, 2008
Scripps Research Scientists Uncover New Mechanism Closely Linked to Neurodegeneration and Alzheimer's
Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have uncovered a novel mechanism that may play a significant role in the development of Alzheimer's disease and a host of other neurodegenerative conditions. The discovery of this mechanism points towards potential new targets that could lead to treatments to enhance neuron survival.
November 5, 2008
Scripps Research Scientists Identify Exciting New Compounds for Stem Cell Production from Adult Cells
Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have identified a combination of small molecules that significantly improve the reprogramming of general adult cells into pluripotent stem cells, which can then develop into all cell types.
November 3, 2008
New Sculpture Portraying Human Antibody as Protective Angel Installed on Scripps Florida Campus
A strikingly designed stainless steel sculpture that will be dedicated to Richard A. Lerner, M.D., president of The Scripps Research Institute, will be installed at the entrance to the main building on the new Scripps Florida campus.
October 28, 2008
Scripps Florida Scientists Awarded $1.5 Million to Fight Major Water and Food Parasites
The National Institutes of Health recently awarded a major grant to a consortium of research institutions, including Scripps Florida, to develop novel drug targets for amebiasis and giardiasis, two major water- and food-borne illnesses caused by microscopic parasites.
October 27, 2008
Scripps Research Scientists Develop A New Strategy to Fight Obesity
Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have discovered a catalytic antibody that degrades a known appetite stimulant. The antibody works against the gastric hormone ghrelin, which has been linked to weight gain and fat storage through its metabolic actions. These findings point towards a potentially novel treatment for obesity that would interfere directly with the some of the biological mechanisms determining weight.
October 23, 2008
Pioneering Neuroscientist Hollis T. Cline Joins The Scripps Research Institute
The Scripps Research Institute has announced the appointment of innovator and neuroscientist Hollis "Holly" T. Cline, Ph.D., as professor in the institute's Departments of Cell Biology and Chemical Physiology.
October 21, 2008
Scripps Research Scientists Enhance Immune System Attacks on Cancer
Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute have tweaked, prodded, and pushed immune system cells into successfully attacking tumors in laboratory and animal studies. They say their new strategy could prove to be safer than some treatments now being used to stimulate cancer immunity in humans.
October 17, 2008
Scripps Research Team Sheds Light on Immune System Suppression
Diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis, and measles claim countless lives by weakening immune systems in ways that have remained unclear. But a team from The Scripps Research Institute has for the first time pinpointed a clear mechanism for immunosuppression. They have shown how an initial viral infection can block production of critical immune system proteins known as type I interferons, leading to susceptibility to other, potentially deadly infections.
October 12, 2008
Team Led by Scripps Research Scientists Uncovers New Way to Limit Damaging Production of Nitric Oxide
Excess nitric oxide production by one enzyme has been tied to human illnesses ranging from inflammation to cancer, but adequate treatments for the problem have been elusive. Now, work led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute has revealed a new method for chemically targeting this single enzyme to block troubling nitric oxide production, without limiting its beneficial production by other closely related enzymes.
October 10, 2008
Scripps Florida Receives ITFlorida Innovation and Entrepreneurialism Award
Scripps Florida was selected as the recipient of the ITFlorida Innovation and Entrepreneurialism Award on October 6, at the 2008 Awards Gala in Orlando at Disney's Lake Buena Vista Resort.
October 8, 2008
Scripps Research Team Solves Structure of "Beneficial" Virus
Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute have, for the first time, solved the structure of a virus that can infect specific cancer cells. This new knowledge may help drug designers tweak the pathogen enough so that it can attack other tumor subtypes.
October 3, 2008
Study Unveils Structural Details of Enzyme Vital to DNA Repair
Working in close collaboration, two groups of scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have revealed for the first time details of the crucial role played by the enzyme Mre11 in DNA repair, a process critical to cell survival and good health.
October 2, 2008
Scientists Define Structure of Important Neurological Receptor, Establishing a Platform to Understand G Protein-Coupled Receptors
Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have determined the structure of an adenosine receptor that plays a critical role in a number of important physiological processes including pain, breathing, and heart function. The findings could lead to the development of a new class of therapeutics for treating numerous neurological disorders, including Parkinson's and Huntington disease.
October 1, 2008
The Scripps Research Institute and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative Launch World's First Dedicated HIV Neutralizing Antibody Center
The Scripps Research Institute and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), the world's only global non-profit organization focused solely on AIDS vaccine development, announced the establishment of a new research center dedicated exclusively to solving the most pressing challenge facing AIDS vaccine researchers today.
September 19, 2008
Alex Bruner Joins Scripps Florida Philanthropy as Associate Vice President
The Scripps Research Institute has announced the appointment of Alex Bruner as associate vice president for philanthropy for Scripps Florida.
September 15, 2008
Team Led by Scripps Research Scientists Finds Gene Critical to Normal Hearing
Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute have discovered a new gene they say is essential for both hearing and balance in mice and humans. They found that a mutation in this gene causes a form of deafness that has nothing to do with structural proteins in the inner ear—commonly altered in hereditary deafness. On the contrary, the mutation affects an enzyme with a known catalytic function, which gives hints as to how the problem might be preventable with novel drug therapy.
September 15, 2008
Scripps Research Team Reverses Huntington's Disease Symptoms in Mice
There is no cure for Huntington's disease, or even treatments that can reverse or slow progression of the devastating movement deficits and cognitive dysfunction that occur with the condition. But, now, an agent developed by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute has shown dramatic therapeutic efficacy in experimental mice, and did so with minimal toxicity.
September 9, 2008
Scripps Research Study Topples the One Drug-One Disease Paradigm for Combating Protein-Folding Diseases
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have discovered that a single small molecule may be effective in treating multiple protein-folding diseases, breaking the one drug-one disease approach that has guided the pharmaceutical and biotechnological industries for so many years.
September 2, 2008
Scripps Research Institute and Scripps Florida Receive Record Federal Grant of More than $80 Million to Screen Molecules for Possible New Drug Development
The Scripps Research Institute has been awarded more than $80 million by the National Institutes of Health to greatly expand the work of The Scripps Research Molecular Screening Center, further strengthening the collaborative efforts of teams of scientists at the La Jolla, California and Jupiter, Florida campuses. The six-year grant is the largest ever awarded to Scripps Research.
August 27, 2008
Latest Scripps Florida Spin Off Builds on Advanced Non-Coding RNAs Technology
Claes Wahlestedt, the Scripps Florida professor who heads the biomedical research institute's efforts to develop drug candidates for diseases of the central nervous system, has a development of his own these days, a brand new company based on an advanced technology licensed from his work at The Scripps Research Institute's Jupiter facilities.
August 25, 2008
Scripps Research Scientists Find Gene Expression Profile Shared by Pluripotent Stem Cells
An international team of researchers led by Professor Jeanne Loring, Ph.D., of The Scripps Research Institute has developed a novel method to identify pluripotent stem cells--cells that can differentiate into multiple distinct cell types. These pluripotent cells hold great promise for drug development and treatment of many devastating disorders.
August 21, 2008
New Protein Survey by Scripps Research Scientists Upends Understanding of Cell Death Process
Results from a Scripps Research Institute study have nearly tripled the number of proteins known to be involved in the critical process of programmed cell death, and have shot down a long-held idea about the life cycle of proteins. The work opens doors for potential new drug discoveries, and may open countless more as the new technique that enabled the work, dubbed the PROTOMAP, is applied to studies of other cellular functions.
August 8, 2008
New Scripps Research Study Solves Structural Mystery of Cellular Protein Transport
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have determined the structure of the protective protein coat surrounding intracellular vesicles or sacs that are needed to transport proteins out of the cell. Understanding this structure could shed critically needed light on many loss-of-function diseases such as atherosclerosis, diabetes, obesity and cystic fibrosis and lead to potential new therapies.
August 7, 2008
Scripps Research Scientists Find Modified Protein Containing an Unnatural Amino Acid that Breaks Immune Tolerance
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have produced a powerful immune response in mice by incorporating an unnatural amino acid into a target protein. This novel approach could prove useful in the development of new vaccines for cancer, infectious diseases, and other disorders.
August 6, 2008
Scripps Research Team Unravels New Cellular Repair Mechanism
A Scripps Research team has unraveled a new biochemical pathway that triggers a critical repair response to correct errors in the DNA replication process that could otherwise lead to harmful or fatal mutations in cells.
July 9, 2008
Scripps Research Scientists Reveal Key Structure from Ebola Virus
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have determined the structure of a critical protein from the Ebola virus, which, though rare, is one of the deadliest viruses on the planet killing between 50 and 90 percent of those infected.
July 2, 2008
Bi-Coastal Collaboration at Scripps Research Uncovers Novel Activators of Key Cell Receptors
Working in close collaboration, scientists at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, and in Jupiter, Florida, have identified several new molecules that activate cell receptors responsible for the regulation of a number of key physiological processes.
June 29, 2008
Scripps Florida Scientists Find New Clue to Alzheimer's Disease Progression
Scientists from Scripps Florida, a division of The Scripps Research Institute, have shown for the first time that a specialized form of RNA is directly linked to increased levels of amyloid plaque in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.
June 27, 2008
Scripps Research Study of Disease-Causing Mutations Uncovers Surprising Pattern
A new Scripps Research Institute survey of genetic mutations definitively tied to diseases has revealed clustering in a specific region of an important class of enzymes. The pattern was so clear it suggests that other mutations contributing to a wide range of diseases are likely to be tied to the region. New searches focused there may therefore lead to a wealth of new targets for drug treatments.
June 24, 2008
Business Executive Amin J. Khoury Elected To Scripps Research Institute Board Of Trustees
International business leader and entrepreneur Amin J. Khoury has been elected to the Board of Trustees of The Scripps Research Institute, a world leader in biomedical science with laboratories in La Jolla, California, and Palm Beach County, Florida.
June 19, 2008
Scripps Research Scientists Find Pathogen Uses Unique Strategy to Inhibit Human Immune Response
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have uncovered a unique strategy used by some common bacteria to disrupt the human immune system, maintaining persistent infections and ensuring the bacteria's survival.
June 10, 2008
Research Unveils New Stabilizing and Signaling Properties of Cholesterol in Key Human Receptors
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have structurally shown for the first time that cholesterol acts as a stabilizing factor for an important family of cell receptors.
June 4, 2008
Researchers Discover Synthetic Chemicals that Create Pluripotent Stem Cells from Adult Cells
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute report that they have significantly improved upon a revolutionary technique that uses genes to turn skin cells from an adult back into pluripotent stem cells.
May 29, 2008
NIH awards $20 million CTSA grant to Scripps Translational Science Institute
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced today that Scripps Translational Science Institute (STSI) is one of 14 research centers to receive a highly competitive $20 million Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) this year. STSI, led by Eric J. Topol, M.D., is a collaborative program between The Scripps Research Institute and Scripps Health, partnering with a number of institutions in San Diego.
May 29, 2008
Scripps Research Crystal Structure Reveals Mystery Behind Three Rare Childhood Disorders
Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute have figured out how it is that tiny mutations in a single gene can produce three strikingly different childhood diseases—disorders that increase cancer risk thousands of times in some young patients and premature aging or a complete failure to develop in others. Investigators say that knowing more about the mechanisms of these diseases may provide insights into how therapeutic drugs can be designed.
May 27, 2008
Scripps Research Scientists Find Seizure Drug Reverses Cellular Effects of Alcohol Addiction in Models
New findings from scientists at The Scripps Research Institute provide evidence that the drug gabapentin affects certain components of the alcohol addiction cycle in the brain, supporting the idea that the medication, which is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treating seizures and pain, also holds potential for the treatment of alcohol dependence.
May 21, 2008
Scripps Florida Scientist Receives Major Infectious Disease Investigator Award
Scripps Florida Assistant Professor Timothy Tellinghuisen has received the prestigious Burroughs Wellcome Fund Investigators in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease Award for 2008.
May 20, 2008
Scripps Research Institute Awarded Patent for Remarkable Chemical Technology
The Scripps Research Institute has been awarded U.S. Patent No. US 7,375,234 B2, which covers a broad class of chemical reactions that mimic biological efficiency and opens the door to a new world of chemistry. The patent's diverse potential applications include the development of new drugs, bioactive nanomaterials, anti-bacterial and non-immunogenic coatings for medical implants, coatings for semiconductors, coatings and adhesives for ships' hulls, self-healing materials, microelectronics and responsive nanomaterials, and surface-sensitive adhesives, to name a few.
May 15, 2008
Scripps Research Team Devises Innovative Method to Produce Highly Sought-After Drug
A team of Scripps Research Institute scientists has developed an inexpensive and in many ways astonishing new method for economically producing a promising pharmaceutical steroid. The molecule, called cortistatin A, which was isolated in 2006 from a marine sponge discovered over 100 years ago, has shown huge promise for treating conditions ranging from macular degeneration to cancer.
May 12, 2008
Graduate Students Accept Scripps Florida Offer in Record Numbers
A record number of new graduate students have selected Scripps Florida, a division of The Scripps Research Institute, as their school of choice to pursue their doctoral degrees.
May 7, 2008
New International Agreement Advances Scripps Research Study of Alcoholism
The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, and the Institut de Génétique et Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (IGBMC) in Strasbourg, France, have entered into an agreement that aims to advance research on the biological basis of alcohol abuse. The research may uncover keys to vulnerability to alcoholism and help to develop new approaches for treating the condition.
May 6, 2008
Scripps Florida Receives Grant to Improve and Expand Science Teaching in Palm Beach County Schools
Scripps Florida, a division of The Scripps Research Institute, has been awarded a $110,000 grant to provide Palm Beach County middle and high school teachers with a summer program of instruction in basic science and advanced laboratory-based techniques and give them special portable teaching units for future classroom use.
May 5, 2008
New Test Helps Identify Cancer Drug Candidates
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute's Scripps Florida facilities have developed a novel method to help determine the probable effectiveness of drug candidates for the treatment of estrogen-dependent disorders such as breast cancer and osteoporosis.
May 1, 2008
Scripps Research Study Identifies Protein Critical for Iron Absorption
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have pinpointed an important protein that is essential for the normal absorption of iron in the body. The discovery could lead to novel therapies to block anemia during chronic diseases or to treat hemochromatosis, a genetic disease caused by an overabundance of iron.
April 29, 2008
Three Scripps Research Scientists Elected to National Academy of Sciences
Three members of The Scripps Research Institute faculty have been elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, it was announced today. Scripps Research is the only independent research institution in the nation to have three faculty members chosen this year.
April 22, 2008
No Boring Summer Vacation Here! Three Palm Beach County Teachers Selected for Scripps Florida Research Internships
Three high school science teachers from Palm Beach County schools will start their six week summer internships on June 16 in the research laboratories of Scripps Florida in Jupiter.
April 14, 2008
Scientists Create First Successful Libraries of Avian Flu Virus Antibodies
An international group of American and Turkish research scientists, led by Sea Lane Biotechnologies, has created the first comprehensive monoclonal antibody libraries against avian influenza (H5N1) using samples from survivors of the 2005/2006 "bird flu" outbreak in Turkey. These antibody libraries hold the promise for developing a therapy that could stop a pandemic in its tracks and provide treatment to those infected, as well as potentially pointing the way towards the development of a universal flu vaccine. The expanded treatment and containment options offered by Sea Lane's antibody libraries could help provide healthcare officials, researchers, and governments with unprecedented resources to combat this serious global health threat.
April 11, 2008
New Scripps Research Study Finds T Cell Multiplication Unexpectedly Delayed After Infection
In a surprising outcome that overturns the conventional wisdom on the body's immune response to infection, scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have shown that T cells do not begin proliferation until up to three days after infection.
April 10, 2008
Small RNAs May Play Big Role in Embryonic Stem Cells
An international team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute has used a new method to discover an unusual molecular signature in human embryonic stem cells that may lead to development of new cell-based therapeutics.
April 8, 2008
Scripps Research Scientists Automate Molecular Evolution
Under the control of a computer at The Scripps Research Institute, a population of billions of genes morphed through 500 cycles of forced adaptation to emerge as molecules that could grow faster and faster on a continually dwindling source of chemical fuel—a feat that researchers describe as an example of "Darwinian evolution on a chip."
March 26, 2008
Renowned Stem Cell Researcher Jeanne F. Loring Heads New Center at The Scripps Research Institute
Professor Jeanne F. Loring, Ph.D., has been named founding director of the newly created Center for Regenerative Medicine at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California.
March 20, 2008
Scripps Florida Scientists Develop a Process to Disrupt Hepatitis C Virion Production
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute's Scripps Florida facilities have discovered a method to disrupt the production of infectious virus particles that cause hepatitis C, a blood-borne liver disease. This discovery might be a first step in developing new and more effective therapies against the hepatitis C virus (HCV). Current anti-virals are ineffective for many patients infected with the viral strains most prevalent in the United States.
March 14, 2008
Scripps Research Team Wins $4 Million Grant to Study Effects of Chronic Marijuana Use
A group of investigators led by The Scripps Research Institute's Professor Barbara Mason has won a $4 million grant from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study the effects of chronic marijuana use, including influence on brain function and the consequences of withdrawal.
March 12, 2008
Scripps Florida Awarded $7.6 Million Grant to Develop Novel Treatment for Parkinson's Disease
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has awarded a $7.6 million multi-year grant to Scripps Florida, a division of The Scripps Research Institute, to develop the next generation of medication to treat Parkinson's disease.
March 10, 2008
Scripps Research Scientists Identify Potential New Target for Treating Metastatic Cancer
A team of scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have identified a human protein that may be a new target for future cancer therapies. By experimentally blocking the action of this protein, called CD151, the team showed they could stop cancer cells from metastasizing, or spreading from one tumor to establish new tumors elsewhere.
February 28, 2008
Bright Lights: Mystery of Glowing Antibody Solved by Scripps Research Scientists
A chance discovery of a uniquely luminescent monoclonal antibody nearly ten years ago has proven to be far more interesting—and far more tenacious—than anyone might have suspected. Now, a group of Scripps Research scientists have shown that EP2-19G2, one of a panel of fluorescent monoclonal antibodies that were first reported in 2000, produces its distinctive bright blue glow through a rare and highly complex recombination of electrical charge.
February 27, 2008
Scripps Research Scientists Devise Approach that Stops HIV at Earliest Stage of Infection
Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute have developed a new two-punch strategy against HIV and they have already successfully tested aspects of it in the laboratory.
February 27, 2008
Scripps Research Institute Scientists Studying Sepsis in Mice Find Potential Drug Targets for Deadly Disease
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have uncovered a connection between blood coagulation and the immune system that may have important implications for people with sepsis, a severe and difficult to treat disease that kills tens of thousands of Americans a year.
February 21, 2008
Scripps Research Study Uncovers New Mechanism of Long-Term Memory Formation
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have identified specific features of neurons that are critical components of the learning process and the development of long-term memory.
February 13, 2008
Scripps Research Scientists Find Protein May Protect Against Alzheimer's Disease
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute report that a protein capable of producing what has been called "Alzheimer's of the heart" has been found to protect against development of Alzheimer's disease in the brain in rodent models.
February 8, 2008
In Memoriam: Frank J. Dixon, 1920-2008
Frank J. Dixon, pioneering immunologist and founder of The Scripps Research Institute, died in San Diego, California, on Friday, February 08, 2008. He was 87.
February 7, 2008
Scripps Research Team Finds Genetic Mutation May Lead to Increased Autoimmunity
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have discovered that a mutation in a known DNA recombination mechanism may result in the onset of autoimmunity and an overexpression of autoreactive antibodies—molecules that attack the host—in animal models.
February 4, 2008
Scripps Research Scientists Find That Calcium Channel Blockers Help Normalize Lysosomal Storage Disease Patient-Derived Cells
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have discovered that two widely available prescription drugs restore partial cellular folding, trafficking, and function to a variety of mutant enzymes responsible for three distinct lysosomal storage diseases, maladies involving multiple organ system failure.
January 23, 2008
Scripps Research Scientists Develop New Method for Creating Self-Assembling, Nanoscale Materials
While biomedical, electronics, and other branches of research are marching steadily into the realm of the smaller-than-small nanometer scale, building needed materials at this scale has been problematic. A team from The Scripps Research Institute unveiled a novel approach to the problem that yields a material with novel properties, which some might find reminiscent of Flubber. The material is produced using naturally occurring proteins as templates for uniform, self-assembled, nano-scale construction.
January 23, 2008
Scripps Research Scientists Discover New Gene Linked to Fragile X Syndrome
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have discovered a new gene involved in fragile X syndrome, a condition that often shares many symptoms of autism. The discovery may lead to new tests or treatments for several neurological disorders.
January 17, 2008
Scripps Research Scientists Find New Genetic Mutation that Halts the Development of Lupus
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have uncovered a specific genetic mutation that suppresses the development of systemic lupus, an incurable autoimmune disease that causes the body to attack itself. The research suggests potential targets for future drug development.
January 16, 2008
Scripps Research Scientists: Naturally Occurring Peptide Inhibits Common Viral Infection
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have found that a naturally occurring peptide known for its antibacterial action can also inhibit viral infection.
January 16, 2008
Florida Philanthropists Phillip and Patricia Frost Give $1 Million to Scripps Florida
Miami physician, businessman and philanthropist Phillip Frost and his wife, Patricia Frost, an ardent supporter of education and the arts, have donated $1 million to Scripps Florida, the biomedical research campus under construction in Jupiter, it was announced today.
January 3, 2008
Renowned Immunologist Richard Ulevitch Retires from Scripps Research Institute
The Scripps Research Institute today announced the retirement of Professor Richard Ulevitch, chairman of the Immunology Department and an internationally renowned researcher in the field of innate immunity.
January 2, 2008
Scripps Research Scientists Discover Remarkable Editing System For Protein Production
Even small mistakes made by cells during protein production can have profound disease effects, but the processes cells use to correct mistakes have been challenging to decipher. Recent work by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute, however, has uncovered two surprising new methods for such editing.

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