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Displaying 182 of 2942 articles.
Inside the brains of hungry worms, researchers find clues about how they hunt
When looking for food, the roundworm C. elegans searches the same area for up to 20 minutes before trying its luck at more distant locales. New research on the worm’s brain explains how this behavior arises at the level of molecules and cells.
New findings could make mosquitoes more satisfied—and safer to be around
Scientists have learned new tricks that could be useful in preventing mosquito-borne illnesses such as Zika and yellow fever. A new study shows that some appetite-reducing drugs can curtail the insects’ impulse to feed on warm-blooded hosts.
New method for studying gene expression could improve understanding of brain disease
By analyzing gene expression patterns, researchers have identified previously unknown distinctions between mouse and human neurons. They have also developed a new way to track cellular changes associated with brain disorders.
Mosquito genome opens new avenues for reducing bug-borne disease
Researchers have assembled a new and improved DNA catalogue for the mosquito Aedes aegypti. This tool will help researchers understand the insect’s biology, and may lead to new strategies for preventing diseases like Zika and dengue.
Gaby Maimon and Luciano Marraffini are named HHMI investigators
Maimon, who studies cognition and decision-making, and Marraffini, who studies the bacterial defense system CRISPR-Cas, are among 19 scientists nationwide to receive this designation.
What happens to a dying cell’s corpse? New findings illuminate an old problem
Scientists have discovered a curious way for cells to die. In studying it, they are learning about how remnants of diseased cells are normally chewed up and removed.
In brief: Mutation explains why some people are more vulnerable to viral brain infection
Scientists identified mutations in a single gene that impair immunity to viruses in a region of the brain called the brain stem.
Scientists shed light on biological roots of individuality
A new study illuminates the biology that guides behavior across different stages of life in worms, and suggests how variations in specific neuromodulators in the developing nervous system may lead to occasional variations.
New images reveal how the ear’s sensory hairs take shape
Our ability to hear relies on tiny bundles of hair-like sensors inside the inner ear. Scientists have identified a key component of the machinery that makes these bundles grow in an orderly fashion.
Brain research points the way to new treatments for nicotine addiction
Scientists have discovered a group of brain cells that may play a role in keeping smokers addicted to nicotine. Their work could ultimately lead to new drugs to help people conquer their tobacco dependence.
Neuroscientist Vanessa Ruta promoted to associate professor
Ruta, who explores how brains produce such flexible responses to fixed stimuli, has been promoted to Gabrielle H. Reem and Herbert J. Kayden associate professor.
Daniel Kronauer, who uses ants to study social behavior, is promoted
Kronauer has been promoted to associate professor. He has dedicated his laboratory to investigating the molecular basis underlying complex social behavior among insects.
Mosquito sex protein could provide key to controlling disease
A protein transferred from male to female mosquitoes during sex influences female mating behavior—a phenomenon that could be exploited to limit the spread of mosquito-borne illnesses like Zika and dengue.
Michael W. Young receives 2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Young was honored for his discoveries of molecular mechanisms controlling the circadian rhythm. He accepted the Nobel medal and diploma from King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.
Glial cells, not neurons, lead the way in brain assembly
Researchers have found that the cells directing the very first steps of brain formation are not other neurons, as scientists have long assumed. They've also uncovered previously hidden molecular pathways that attract neurons into the brain.
Mary E. Hatten honored with the Ralph W. Gerard Prize in Neuroscience
Hatten is awarded for her significant contributions to neuroscience. She studies the mechanisms of neuronal differentiation and migration during the early stages of embryonic development.  
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.
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.
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.
Stress has dramatically different effects on male and female mouse brains
Scientists have found unexpected differences in how male and female mice respond to stress. Their findings are raising big questions about sex discrepancies in the brain and their impact on neuropsychiatric disease.
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.
How the brain recognizes familiar faces
Scientists have located two areas in the brain that help us recognize familiar faces. The discovery will help them delve deeper into the relationship between face recognition, memory, and social knowledge.
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.
Faster-acting antidepressants may finally be within reach
Neuroscientists have taken a major step toward answering longstanding questions about how Prozac and similar drugs act in the brain. Their findings could lead to better antidepressants that don't take weeks to kick in.
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.
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.
Scientists use algorithm to peer through opaque brains
A new algorithm allows scientists to record the activity of individual neurons within a volume of brain tissue.
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.
Researchers create interactive touchscreen for dolphins
To learn more about dolphin cognition and communication, researchers have developed an underwater touchscreen using optical technology, the first of its kind.
Scientists identify a neural circuit that rotates a fly’s internal compass
Researchers have uncovered the neurons that spin a fly’s internal compass when the insect turns—the first such mechanism identified in any animal.
Newly discovered brain network offers clues to social cognition
By studying rhesus monkeys, researchers have identified a brain network dedicated to processing social interactions—a discovery that offers tantalizing clues to the origins of our ability to understand what other people are thinking.
Mary E. Hatten is elected to the National Academy of Sciences
With Hatten’s election, the Rockefeller faculty now has 39 members or foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences.
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.
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.
Study tests the “three-hit” theory of autism
Since the first case was documented in the United States in 1938, the causes of autism have remained elusive. Hundreds of genes, as well as environmental exposures, have been implicated in these brain disorders. Sex also seems to have something to do with it: About 80 percent of children diagnose...
Paul Greengard Professorship established with $5 million gift from the Fisher Center Foundation
Late last year, guests at the President’s House raised a glass in celebration of one of Rockefeller’s most beloved colleagues. In his nearly 35 years at Rockefeller, Paul Greengard has led pioneering studies that have transformed our understanding of how the nervous system works, and have paved ...
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.
Mouse studies offer new insights about cocaine’s effect on the brain
 Cocaine is one of the most addictive substances known to man, and for good reason: By acting on levels of the “feel-good” chemical dopamine, it produces a tremendous sensation of euphoria. Now the laboratory of Rockefeller University Professor and Nobel Laureate Paul Greengard has shown...
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. ...
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...
New research offers clues into how the brain shapes perception to control behavior
What you see is not always what you get. And that, researchers at The Rockefeller University have discovered, is a good thing. “Every time you move your eye, the whole world moves on your retina,” says Gaby Maimon, head of the Laboratory of Integrative Brain Function. “But you don’t perce...
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 ...
Fifty years after landmark methadone discovery, stigmas and misunderstandings persist
Methadone, the first pharmacological treatment for heroin addiction, was pioneered 50 years ago by Rockefeller University’s Mary Jeanne Kreek and her colleagues. Since then the drug, which is widely used in treatment programs across the globe, has saved countless lives and allowed millions of her...
Jean-Laurent Casanova receives the 2016 Inserm Grand Prix
Jean-Laurent Casanova, professor and head of the St. Giles Laboratory of Human Genetics of Infectious Diseases, has won the 2016 Inserm Grand Prix for his work on the genetic basis of infectious diseases. The prestigious award, given annually by Inserm—the French National Institute of Health and ...
Scientists prove how genetics change behavior by studying worms’ foraging strategies
“Organisms pay attention to what other members of their species are doing,” says Cori Bargmann, a neuroscientist at Rockefeller University. “It’s a very robust phenomenon that you see from humans on Twitter to bacteria, and everything in between.” That’s why Bargmann, Torsten N. W...
Researchers watch in 3D as neurons talk to each other in a living mouse brain
No single neuron produces a thought or a behavior; anything the brain accomplishes is a vast collaborative effort between cells. When at work, neurons talk rapidly to one another, forming networks as they communicate. Researchers led by Rockefeller University’s Alipasha Vaziri are developing tech...
Winrich Freiwald wins Columbia University’s 2016 W. Alden Spencer Award
Winrich Freiwald, associate professor and head of the Laboratory of Neural Systems, has received the 2016 W. Alden Spencer Award. The prize, given by Columbia University, recognizes outstanding research contributions in the field of neuroscience. Freiwald shares the award with his long-time colla...
Study uncovers how cells organize the growth of their structural filaments
To take shape, to move and to reproduce, cells need internal scaffolding composed of slender filaments known as microtubules. Before the cell can use microtubules for these and other essential functions, it must first organize them into carefully crafted bundles, which become the basis for three ...
A possible explanation for why male mice tolerate stress better than females
The nerves we feel before a stressful event—like speaking in public, for example—are normally kept in check by a complex system of circuits in our brain. Now, scientists at Rockefeller University have identified a key molecule within this circuitry that is responsible for relieving anxiety. Intr...
Four Rockefeller scientists named 2016 HHMI Faculty Scholars
Four Rockefeller University scientists—Daniel Kronauer, Luciano Marraffini, Agata Smogorzewska, and Sohail Tavazoie—have been named Howard Hughes Medical Institute Faculty Scholars. The Faculty Scholars program, a new collaboration between HHMI, the Simons Foundation, and the Bill & Melinda Gate...
Rockefeller neuroscientist Cori Bargmann to lead science work at Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
Cori Bargmann, an internationally recognized neuroscientist who heads the Lulu and Anthony Wang Laboratory of Neural Circuits and Behavior at The Rockefeller University, has been named the incoming president of science at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), the philanthropy funded by Facebook f...
Neuroscientist Cori Bargmann to lead science work at Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
Cori Bargmann, an internationally recognized neuroscientist who heads the Lulu and Anthony Wang Laboratory of Neural Circuits and Behavior at Rockefeller, has been named the incoming president of science at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), the philanthropy funded by Facebook founder Mark Zuc...
Four postdocs honored with 2016 Tri-Institutional Breakout Awards
NEW YORK, NY—Four young life scientists from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, The Rockefeller University, and Weill Cornell Medicine are the winners of the 2016 Tri-Institutional Breakout Awards for Junior Investigators. The awards, established last year by three winners of the 2013 Breakt...
Structural images shed new light on a cancer-linked potassium channel
    Most cells in the body carry on their surface tiny pores through which potassium ions travel. In controlling the flow of these positively charged ions, the channel helps the cell maintain its electrical balance. One particular type of potassium channel, called Eag1, has been found...
Resistance to antidepressants linked to metabolism
Often, clinical depression has company; it shows up in the brain alongside metabolic abnormalities, such as elevated blood sugar, in the body. While studying an experimental antidepressant in rats, Rockefeller University researchers and their colleagues at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden found so...
New approach exposes 3D structure of Alzheimer’s proteins within the brain
Alzheimer’s disease clouds memory, dims the mind, and distorts behavior. Its ravages also show up within the physical structure of the brain, perhaps most prominently as sticky clumps of a naturally occurring but harmful protein called amyloid-β. A team at The Rockefeller University used a new...
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