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Aging takes its toll on the brain, and the cells of the hippocampus—a brain region with circuitry crucial to learning and memory—are particularly vulnerable to changes that can lead to Alzheimer’s disease or cognitive decline. With the hope of counteracting the changes that can lead to these t...

Same but Different: How epigenetics can blur the line between nature and nurture "Allis walked me to his lab, a fluorescent-lit space overlooking the East River, divided by wide, polished-stone benches. A mechanical stirrer, whirring in a corner, clinked on the edge of a glass beaker. 'Two featur...

Like jewels in a vault, our precious genetic material is stored in the nucleus of a cell—sequestered away from potentially damaging cellular components and toxins so that no harm can come to it. Yet over the course of a life moving through this world, our DNA does get damaged, and our cells have ...

To learn what different cells do, scientists switch them on and off and observe what the effects are. There are many methods that do this, but they all have problems: too invasive, or too slow, or not precise enough. Now, a new method to control the activity of neurons in mice, devised by scienti...

Jeffrey Friedman, Marilyn M. Simpson Professor and head of the Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, has won the 2016 Harrington Prize for Innovation in Medicine. The award, given by the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Harrington Discovery Institute, recognizes physician-scientist...

Congratulations to our latest award winners: Cori Bargmann has won the 2016 Edward M. Scolnick Prize in Neuroscience, an award given by the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT to recognize outstanding advances in the field. She is being honored for her work on the genetic and neural mech...

by Katherine Fenz, media relations manager Mutant mosquitoes Earlier this month, PBS Newshour featured Leslie Vosshall in a segment on the use of mutant mosquitoes to fight Zika and dengue fever. “Mosquitoes—especially the mosquitoes that are spreading Zika, dengue, and chikungunya...

In the ongoing arms race between pathogenic viruses and the cells they infect, each side needs every advantage it can get. One way wily viruses can get a leg up is by subverting the microRNAs (miRNAs) of their host. These miRNAs are small stretches of RNA made by host cells to regulate gene expre...

Barry Coller, vice president for medical affairs and physician-in-chief of The Rockefeller University Hospital, has won the 2016 Gill Award. The prize, given by the University of Kentucky Gill Heart Institute, recognizes lifelong achievements in the study of cardiovascular biology and disease. ...

What Iran May Be Able to Teach Us About Stem Cells "Now, there are opportunities for collaborations with non-Iranian scientists—which has Ali Brivanlou, who leads the Stem Cell Biology and Molecular Embryology lab at The Rockefeller University, intrigued about the possibilities."

The molecular intricacies of hunger and satiety, pivotal for understanding metabolic disorders and the problem of obesity, are not yet fully understood by scientists. However, new research from The Rockefeller University reveals an important new component of the system responsible for regulating ...

The Options and Obstacles to Treating Heroin Addiction   "'Methadone became stigmatized almost immediately,' says Dr. Mary Jeanne Kreek of Rockefeller University. Kreek was part of the team that originally studied methadone as a potential treatment for opioid addiction in the 1960s. She notes tha...

by Katherine Fenz, media relations manager Tapping into human genetics holds great promise for understanding and treating disease, but there is still much to be learned. Scientists continue to have questions about how our DNA is altered in various afflictions, and how to effectively sort thr...

Congratulations to our latest award winners: Jean-Laurent Casanova has been recognized with the Stanley J. Korsmeyer Award for his work investigating the genetic basis of pediatric infectious diseases. The award is given by the American Society for Clinical Investigation, an honor society of phys...

To fight superbugs, scientists are turning toward antibodies   "'The bottom line is that the bacteria now develop resistance to anti-infectious agents faster than we can develop the anti-infectious agents,' says Dr. Jean-Laurent Casanova, a professor at Rockefeller University who studies how ge...

Jean-Laurent Casanova, professor and head of the St. Giles Laboratory of Human Genetics of Infectious Diseases, is the recipient of the 2016 Stanley J. Korsmeyer Award for his work investigating the genetic basis of pediatric infectious diseases. The award, given by the American Society for Clini...

Congratulations to our latest award winners: Luciano Marraffini has been recognized with the Hans Sigrist Prize for his work developing a new approach to fight antibiotic resistance. The Hans Sigrist Prize recognizes work in a different academic field each year based on a decision by a faculty co...

Despite their bad reputations, the vast majority of mutations are not harmful. Even in very rare genetic disorders, only one or two genetic variations ­— out of tens of thousands — is actually the cause of disease. Distinguishing between harmful and harmless mutations has long been a challenge....

Chronic stress can lead to changes in neural circuitry that leave the brain trapped in states of anxiety and depression. But even under repeated stress, brief opportunities for recovery can open up, according to new research at The Rockefeller University. “Even after a long period of chronic st...

Since scientists have begun sequencing the genome of cancer cells, they have noticed a curious pattern. In many different types of cancers, there are cells in which a part of a chromosome looks like it has been pulverized, then put back together incorrectly, leading to multiple mutations. For yea...

A Nobel Laureate Turning 90 Continues to Churn Out Ideas for New Drugs   "Paul Greengard has been busy. In August he co-authored a paper on molecules that appear to regulate genes that might protect against Parkinson’s. That same month he took the lead on another paper that describes a protei...

Some infectious diseases are particularly difficult to treat because of their ability to evade the immune system. One such illness, African sleeping sickness, is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma brucei, transmitted by the tsetse fly, and is fatal if left untreated. The trypanosome parasite is t...

by Katherine Fenz, media relations manager Helen Hobbs, a cardiology researcher, received the 2015 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize during a festive event in the Caspary Auditorium last month. The award, which Dr. Hobbs received for her pioneering research into the genetics of high cholesterol and ...

There's no such thing as a male or female brain, study finds   "These results add to a complex picture that you’d never guess from media accounts and pop psych books. After decades of research, 'we’re still debating the question of whether there are sex differences in the [human] brain and ...

Congratulations to our latest award winners: Jesse Ausubel has been awarded an American Geographical Society honorary fellowship. The fellowship recognizes an individual who has made significant contributions to the field of geography. Certificates of this honor will be presented during the so...

Sometimes, the molecules that make up life exhibit strange behavior. For instance, in simple organisms such as yeast, when genetic material becomes damaged, the affected DNA strands increase their motion, waving about inside the cell like a sail unfurled. Over the years, scientists have seen more...

Jean-Laurent Casanova, who investigates genetic vulnerability to infectious diseases among children, has been elected to the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, the health and medicine arm of the National Academy of Sciences. Casanova is professor and head of the St. Giles Laboratory of Human Gen...

The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust has awarded a new three-year, $15-million grant to The Rockefeller University to help support the interdisciplinary Center for Basic and Translational Research on Disorders of the Digestive System. Established in 2012 with an initial $15-million...

by Wynne Parry, Science Writer The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust has awarded a new three-year, $15-million grant to The Rockefeller University to help support the interdisciplinary Center for Basic and Translational Research on Disorders of the Digestive System. Established in 2...

Congratulations to our latest award winners: Hani Goodarzi has been named a Blavatnik Regional Awards Winner in the life sciences. Given by the Blavatnik Family Foundation and the New York Academy of Science, the award honors outstanding postdocs in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Winners ...