In the current age of information, where digitization is becoming indispensable (turning signals into digital format; i.e. “0s” and “1s”), photographs can be used as a great source of data. They can be transformed into mathematical databases, where each color of a single pixel can be seen as a set of three numbers representing the intensity of red, green, and blue channels. Therefore, the higher the number of pixels in a photo, which is directly related to its resolution, the greater the amount of information that can be used for different applications.

In this specific scenario, several photographs of olives, of different quality grades, were gathered, and their pixel maps were extracted through image processing. Afterwards, this information was used to train intelligent mathematical models to distinguish the olives in terms of quality grade. This intelligent modeling is also known as machine learning (computational artificial intelligence), which is becoming more and more popular within the scientific community. In many cases, its use is turning out to be a necessity, as it is the only way to process the immense databases that arise from fields such as food technology, biochemistry, or biomedicine.

Scintillon Institute is now accepting applications for this summer's SURE program.  

The Summer Internship Program (SURE Program) aims to introduce top high school applicants to basic scientific research and prepare them for college. One goal of this immersive research experience is to encourage and prepare the most talented high school students for successful careers in biomedical research. In addition, the SURE Program aims to create a pipeline of future scientists for the highly competitive and successful biomedical research community in San Diego County.

The very best high school students from San Diego County school districts will be selected and invited to participate in the SURE Program. A Scintillon Institute faculty member will be the student’s scientific mentor and will introduce the student to the program’s curriculum and guide the student through to graduation of the program.

The SURE Program has a specially tailored curriculum that aligns the students’ time constraints with the commitment required by basic research.

Applications are due by 5pm on March 30, 2018.  More details can be found under Summer Program.    

Scintillon Institute launches its first crowdfunding campaign!  

Did you know that 2.7 million Americans suffer from glaucoma and over 65% are women?

Scintillon Institute believes the future of science begins today. But we need your help!

We aim to purchase a confocal microscope for our newly established Eye Disease Research Center.  Our goal is $500,000 by December 31.

As a thank you, we are offering exciting perks, such as tickets to our 'Healthy Aging' lecture series and an exclusive lunch with our top scientists. 

To learn more and donate, please visit our campaign page.  

Thank you for sharing our vision!

Scintillon Institute proudly hosts

Jeanne F. Loring, Ph.D.

Professor of Developmental Neurobiology

Director, Center for Regenerative Medicine

Department of Molecular Medicine

The Scripps Research Institute

"The potential of pluripotent stem cells: from cell therapy to rescue of endangered species" 

on December 12th

at 1pm

Scintillon Institute seminar room at 6868 Nancy Ridge Drive

Promising Finding to Combat Autism

San Diego, CA

A group of researchers at Scintillon Institute in San Diego, California demonstrated a promising therapeutic intervention for autism in an animal model.  This study, published today in Nature Communications under the title of “NitroSynapsin therapy for a mouse MEF2C haploinsufficiency model of human autism”, proposes a therapeutic strategy to mitigate the hallmarks of MEF2C haploinsufficiency syndrome (MCHS), a condition where patients who carry one copy of defective MEF2C gene suffer from severe neurological conditions including autism spectrum disorders, intellectual disabilities, and seizures.  

Neurons of normal versus mutant cells