- Professor Kwang-Hyun Cho's team in the Department of Bio and Brain Engineering develops NUDGE, a general-purpose foundational technology that harnesses cells' own regulatory dynamics

- A single temporary intervention, without permanently altering genes, can switch cells between diverse states in computational models while preserving their native adaptability

- Expected to enable new control strategies spanning stem cell differentiation, aging, autoimmune disease, regenerative medicine, and cancer reversion therapy

The Bezos Earth Fund is granting $18 million for ROOTS, a three-year Salk project to test deeper-rooted, more resilient crops that can store more carbon in soil. The project builds on six years of work through Salk’s Harnessing Plants Initiative, which has identified 347 gene candidates and advanced 37 projects across genes and crops. The grant brings the Bezos Earth Fund’s total support for Salk to $48 million.

Researchers identify a brain circuit that normally supports flexible behavior, but is recruited by cocaine to drive increasingly rigid and repetitive behavior.  The findings show that shifting the balance between opposing neural pathways can either promote behavioral rigidity or, conversely, rapidly interrupt cocaine driven repetitive behavior and restore a broader range of actions, offering new insight into the brain mechanisms underlying compulsive and stereotyped behavior.