News & HighlightsNews
Cori Bargmann elected to the National Academy of Medicine
Bargmann is honored for her research exploring how genes and the environment interact to generate a variety of behaviors, and how behavioral decisions are modified by context and experience.
Gabriel Victora named 2017 MacArthur Fellow
One of the most prestigious funding programs in the world, the MacArthur fellows program awards grants to exceptionally creative individuals as an investment in their potential.
New smell test could aid early detection of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
Problems with olfaction have been linked to a variety of health conditions. Scientists have developed new tests to detect smell loss more reliably.
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.
Rockefeller University biologist Michael W. Young honored with Nobel Prize for pioneering studies on circadian rhythm
Rockefeller University biologist Michael W. Young, who studies the biological clocks that regulate sleep, metabolism, and response to disease, is this year’s recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
In brief: Alternative CRISPR system is less specific, more robust
Scientists found that a system called CRISPR-Cas10 can target rapidly mutating viruses.
Albany Medical Center Prize awarded to Luciano Marraffini
The prestigious award honors Marraffini and four other scientists for development of the revolutionary genome-editing system known as CRISPR-Cas9.
First mutant ants shed light on evolution of social behavior
Scientists disrupted a gene essential for sensing pheromones, resulting in severe deficiencies in the ants’ social behaviors and their ability to survive within a colony.
Hunger-controlling brain cells may offer path for new obesity drugs
Within the oldest part of the brain, scientists have found cells in charge of controlling appetite and eating. The discovery could revitalize efforts to develop drugs for obesity that make us less hungry.
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.
New faculty member studies the tuberculosis bacterium
Jeremy M. Rock uses genetics to investigate how the microbe causes disease. He will join Rockefeller’s faculty on January 1, 2018.
A cell’s destiny is set earlier than expected
Stem cells in the hair follicle are organized by the cell type they will eventually become in unique compartments, at the ready to regenerate tissue.
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.
A mechanism shared by healing wounds and growing tumors
Scientists have long seen parallels between healing wounds and growing tumors. In studying the molecular changes that occur within both, a research team has discovered a new cancer-fuelling mechanism that potentially could inform drug development.
Scientists engineer human-germ hybrid molecules to attack drug-resistant bacteria
The centromere region of chromosomes retains the same DNA from one generation to the next. Scientists have gained new insights into how it avoids being scrambled in normal cells, and how it becomes unstable in cancer.
Study identifies “night owl” gene variant
Scientists have discovered a common mutation that might explain why some people have trouble going to sleep at night and getting up early. The gene alteration slows the internal biological clock that regulates our sleeping patterns.
For microbes fighting viruses, a fast response means a better defense
Researchers have found that the bacterial immune system targets an invading virus as soon as it enters the cell. This discovery answers a long-standing question about how microbes defend themselves.
Changes in the vascular system may trigger Alzheimer’s disease
In some people whose cognitive functions are weakened due to Alzheimer’s, the disease can be traced back to changes in the brain’s blood vasculature. Scientists have found that a protein involved in blood clotting and inflammation might offer a potential path to new drugs.
For biologists studying tiny worms, new technologies make big improvements
Two new technologies are helping scientists understand new aspects of organ and nervous system development in C. elegans. One allows them to image worms developing in a natural environment, while the other makes it possible to track single neurons as the worms grow.
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 research explains why a common bacterium can produce severe illness
As much as we try to avoid it, ­we are constantly sharing germs with those around us. But even when two people have the same infection, the resulting illnesses can be dramatically different—mild for one person, severe or even life-threatening for the other. Now, new research from The Rockefell...
Talking Science lecture introduces students to the genetic aspects of infectious diseases
As he opened this year’s Talking Science lecture, geneticist Jean-Laurent Casanova made a stark observation to his teenage audience: “If we had been here 150 years ago, about half of you would already have died.” The primary reason, he told the 350 high school students and 60 teachers present,...
Crowdsourcing effort helps researchers predict how a molecule will smell
You can anticipate a color before you see it, based solely on the length of light waves. Music can be interpreted from notes on a page without being heard. Not so with odor.
Newly discovered beetle species named after Rockefeller’s Daniel Kronauer
 Scientists can rack up many awards, but to have one’s name cemented in scientific nomenclature is a special kind of honor. In an homage to his mentor Daniel Kronauer, former Rockefeller postdoctoral associate Christoph von Beeren has named a new species of beetle Nymphister kronaueri. ...
Scientists discover an unexpected influence on dividing stem cells’ fate
When most cells divide, they simply make more of themselves. But stem cells, which are responsible for repairing or making new tissue, have a choice: They can generate more stem cells or differentiate into skin cells, liver cells, or virtually any of the body’s specialized cell types. As r...
Researchers explore how protein production gets distorted in skin cancer
Each cell in the body follows a strict protocol for manufacturing the proteins it needs to function. When a cell turns cancerous, however, its protein production goes off script. A new study led by researchers at the Rockefeller University takes a close look at one way in which this procedure goe...
Elaine Fuchs wins 2017 McEwen Award for Innovation
Elaine Fuchs, Rebecca C. Lancefield Professor and head of the Robin Chemers Neustein Laboratory of Mammalian Cell Biology and Development, has been honored with the 2017 McEwen Award for Innovation. The prize, given by the International Society for Stem Cell Research, recognizes groundbreaking wo...
Scientists learn how to ramp up microbes’ ability to make memories
Some microbes can form memories—although, inconveniently for scientists who study the process, they don’t do it very often. Rockefeller University researchers and their colleagues at the University of California, Berkeley, have found a way to make bacteria encode memories much more frequently...
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