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Displaying 126 of 2857 articles.

Potential new treatment for Fragile X targets one gene to affect many

Scientists found that inhibiting a regulatory protein alters the intricate signaling chemistry that is responsible for many of the disease’s symptoms. The findings provide a path to possible therapeutics for disorders associated with Fragile X.

Titia de Lange to receive 2017 Rosenstiel Award

de Lange is honored for her elucidation of the mechanism of telomere protection and the maintenance of genome stability.

Gut bacteria that “talk” to human cells may lead to new treatments

Scientists developed a method to genetically engineer gut bacteria to produce molecules that have the potential to treat certain disorders by altering human metabolism.

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In brief: How a microRNA protects against liver cancer

New insights about gene regulation in liver cells could lead to better treatments for a common tumor type.

New animal models for hepatitis C could pave the way for a vaccine

In the rats that roam New York City’s streets and tunnels, scientists have found a virus that resembles hepatitis C. They have used it to create the first animal model of the human disease, a breakthrough that potentially could yield a much-needed vaccine.

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In brief: A glimpse into the origins of antibiotic resistance

Scientists have identified several genetic mechanisms by which antibiotic resistance may have arisen in a bacterium that causes deadly infections.

A hidden movement in the molecule that makes RNA

Researchers have uncovered new details about the molecular machine that separates DNA strands before copying a gene's sequence into RNA.

In brief: Mapping the errors that disrupt heartbeat

By determining the structure of a protein linked to a deadly form of arrhythmia, scientists have gained new insights about the condition.

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In brief: A closer look at why some drugs cause arrhythmia

Scientists have identified the features that render a potassium channel in the heart vulnerable to interference by a range of drugs.

C. David Allis wins 2017 March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology

Allis has received the March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology. The award, given to investigators whose research offers hope for the prevention and treatment of birth defects and other infant diseases, honors Allis for his groundbreaking work on gene regulation.

Discovery of a Zika antibody offers hope for a vaccine

Searching for a way to thwart Zika, scientists have discovered an antibody with a potent ability to neutralize the virus.

Shooting the messenger: how one protein allows germ cells to develop

Researchers have identified a molecule that guides the formation of eggs and sperm by preventing a host of factors related to cell death and inflammation from killing the precursors to these cells. Their findings reveal new knowledge about how a mutation in this molecule leads to male sterility.

New study resolves the structure of the human protein that causes cystic fibrosis

In order to better understand how genetic mutations give rise to cystic fibrosis, researchers need to map the protein responsible for the disorder. The new structure has led to new insights on how this molecular channel functions.

A new way to reset gene expression in cancer cells shows promise for leukemia treatment

New findings from Rockefeller University researchers could guide the development of potent combination therapies that deliver more effective and durable treatment of leukemia. In recent work published in Nature, they show it’s possible to deactivate cellular programs involved in tumor growth by d...

New structural studies reveal workings of a molecular pump that ejects cancer drugs

Sometimes cells resist medication by spitting it back out. Cancer cells, in particular, have a reputation for defiantly expelling the chemotherapy drugs meant to kill them. Researchers at The Rockefeller University have shed new light on a molecular pump that makes this possible, by determining i...

Howard C. Hang receives 2017 Eli Lilly Award in Biological Chemistry

Howard C. Hang, Richard E. Salomon Family Associate Professor and head of the Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Microbial Pathogenesis, has won the 2017 Eli Lilly Award in Biological Chemistry. The prize, given by the American Chemical Society, recognizes outstanding research in biological chemi...

Atomic-scale view of bacterial proteins offers path to new tuberculosis drugs

With the first detailed analysis of a cellular component from a close relative of the pathogen that causes tuberculosis, Rockefeller scientists are suggesting strategies for new drugs to curb this growing health problem. Each year, nearly half a million people around the world are infected with m...

Study reveals the structure of a protein crucial for DNA replication

Our DNA contains instructions crucial for virtually all forms of life on this planet. But for life to propagate, this blueprint must be copied and passed on to future generations. New findings describing the structure of a key molecule involved in DNA replication place another piece in the puzzle...

MacKinnon lab charts the anatomy of three molecular channels

Using a state-of-the-art imaging technology in which molecules are deep frozen, scientists in Roderick MacKinnon’s lab at Rockefeller University have reconstructed in unprecedented detail the three-dimensional architecture of three channels that provide a path for specific types of ions to travel...

Biophysicist Gregory M. Alushin receives White House honor for early career scientists

Gregory M. Alushin, assistant professor and head of the Laboratory of Structural Biophysics and Mechanobiology, has been chosen by President Obama as one of 102 researchers to receive the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor given by the U.S. government ...

New molecular map reveals how cells spew out potassium

New research from Roderick MacKinnon's Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology and Biophysics at The Rockefeller University has determined, for the first time, the complete structure of an ion channel that plays an important role in cellular electrical signaling by sending potassium ions out of the ...

Pels Family Center for Biochemistry and Structural Biology receives new $10 million grant

by Alexandra MacWade, assistant editor A new $10 million endowment gift made by the Donald A. Pels Charitable Trust will provide ongoing support for the university’s chemical and structural biologists through the Pels Family Center for Biochemistry and Structural Biology. Mr. Pels, who was a Roc...

New structure shows how cells assemble protein-making machinery

Scientists at The Rockefeller University have created the most detailed three-dimensional images to date of an important step in the process by which cells make the nano-machines responsible for producing all-important protein. The results, described December 15 in Science, are prompting the rese...

First structural map of the cystic fibrosis protein sheds light on how mutations cause disease

Rockefeller scientists have created the first three-dimensional map of the protein responsible for cystic fibrosis, an inherited disease for which there is no cure. This achievement, described December 1 in Cell, offers the kinds of insights essential to better understanding and treating this oft...

Survey of New York City soil uncovers medicine-making microbes

Microbes have long been an invaluable source of new drugs. And to find more, we may have to look no further than the ground beneath our feet. Researchers at The Rockefeller University have shown that the dirt beneath New York City teems with our tiny allies in the fight against disease. In soil c...

Researchers discover new antibiotics by sifting through the human microbiome

Most antibiotics in use today are based on natural molecules produced by bacteria—and given the rise of antibiotic resistance, there’s an urgent need to find more of them. Yet coaxing bacteria to produce new antibiotics is a tricky proposition. Most bacteria won’t grow in the lab. And even whe...

Researchers shed new light on RNA’s journey out of a cell’s nucleus

Cells secure DNA within their nuclei like a secret code stashed in a vault. However, the tightly controlled borders of the nucleus create a challenge: In order for the cell to produce essential proteins, messages derived from DNA must somehow escape the nucleus in the form of RNA molecules. New w...

Sebastian Klinge receives 2016 NIH New Innovator Award

Sebastian Klinge, assistant professor and head of the Laboratory of Protein and Nucleic Acid Chemistry, has won a National Institutes of Health Director’s New Innovator Award. The prestigious award, which is given as a five-year grant of up to $1.5 million, supports early-career investigators who...

Study explains how an intestinal microbe protects against other, more dangerous bacteria

Antibiotics save millions of lives. But their tendency to kill helpful and harmful bacteria alike, coupled with the growing problem of antibiotic resistance, means that they are not without their downside. Probiotics consisting of beneficial microorganisms, meanwhile, have the potential to delive...

New research clarifies how cells take in cholesterol and offers insight on Ebola

Cholesterol—that waxy substance incriminated in heart attack and stroke—is a precious commodity for cells. In fact, errors in a cell’s ability to import these rod-like molecules can be fatal. In new work, researchers at The Rockefeller University and their colleagues delved into a pivotal p...