Skip to main content

Rockefeller University

News & Highlights > News
Displaying 36 of 2857 articles.
fly navigation
Science News

How a fly's brain calculates its position in space

New research reveals how neurons in a fly's brain signal the direction in which the body is traveling. The cells appear to literally perform vector math in order to act as a biological compass.
water bear nirody
Science News

The physics behind a water bear's lumbering gait

Animals as small and soft as tardigrades seldom have legs and almost never bother walking. But a new study finds that water bears propel themselves through sediment and soil on eight stubby legs, in a manner resembling that of insects 500,000 times their size.
Kakapo_Sirocco
Science News

Scientists release error-free genomes of 25 animals—with another 70,000 coming up

Scientists have launched an ambitious effort to produce high-quality reference genomes for all vertebrate species, from mammals to birds and reptiles. The result could be discoveries with implications for animal conservation as well as human health and disease.
Zebra finch
Science News

A case for simplifying gene nomenclature across different organisms

Scientists call it oxytocin in humans, isotocin in fish, mesotocin in birds, and valitocin in sharks. But according to a new study, it’s all the same hormone—and high time we settled on just one name.

red downward graph
Science News

Financial crashes, pandemics, Texas snow: How math could predict "black swan" events

Statistical modeling may one day help scientists anticipate and manage a wide range of extreme occurrences, according to a new study.
Flying bat
Science News

What bats can teach us about COVID-19

Unlike most humans, bats are naturally resistant to coronavirus infection. Researchers are now searching their genomes for clues that might explain why SARS-CoV-2 can cause devastating disease in our own species.
Marine microorganisms Diatoms
Science News

Conservation of resources is hardwired into the genetic code

A study of marine microbes reveals that conservation of nutrients is a fundamental property of cells in all living organisms, from plants to humans.
Hair cells in zebrafish organ
Science News

Transparent fish reveal the subtle, cellular dance in which sensory organs take shape

How do primitive cells “know” where to go during development? Scientists studying the fish equivalent of inner-ear hair cells have shown that biochemical and mechanical cues work together to orchestrate a highly complex arrangement.
Fruit fly sperm
Science News

From the tiny testes of flies, new insight into how genes arise

A common birthplace of new genes, the male testes are a hotspot for biological innovation. Within these organs, scientists have found a trove of virgin genetic sequences—and a better understanding of how evolution moves forward.
Seek illustration
Science News

Fruit flies find their way by setting navigational goals

Navigating fruit flies do not have the luxury of GPS, but they do have a kind of neural compass. In a new study, researchers found that the animals decide which way to turn by comparing this internal compass needle to a fixed goal.
Mitchell J. Feigenbaum
Campus News

Celebrating and remembering Mitchell Feigenbaum, physicist who pioneered chaos theory

A mathematical physicist, Feigenbaum's groundbreaking work on deterministic chaos influenced fields ranging from cardiology to cartography. He died on June 30, at age 74.
3D epiblast
Science News

Three-dimensional model illuminates key aspects of early development

Researchers have created a new 3D model of human embryonic tissue that promises to shed light on critical components of development—including processes that go awry during pregnancy complications.
Science News
>
In Brief

Study explores genetic differences among people’s gut microbes, and their health consequences

Scientists have found that small genetic differences can cause the same gut microbe to behave differently in different people, and affect the overall health of their human hosts.
New microscopy technique
Science News

New microscopy technique peers deep into the brain

Using new imaging technology, researchers can now record the activity of large populations of brain cells with unprecedented speed, and at new depths.
Geckos move through water they slap their arms, generating air bubbles that help them stay afloat.
Science News

Study explains how geckos gracefully gallop on water

Geckos are amazingly agile. In addition to running across land and up trees, the animals can prance across the surface of water. A new study reveals how they do it.
Though small and seemingly simple organisms, bacteria are equipped with effective, multifaceted immune systems.
Science News

Shape-shifting protein protects bacteria from invaders

Researchers have discovered how bacteria manage to destroy enemy DNA, while keeping their own genetic material safe.
Equipment in Nussenzweig lab
Awards and Honors

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.
A cross section of a metastatic brain tumor from a patient
Science News

Scientists caution that a rare childhood liver cancer can spread to the brain

A new report details three cases of secondary brain tumors in people with fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma. The researchers say imaging tests could improve treatment for patients whose cancer spreads to the brain from the liver.
Wildtype bundle
Science News

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.
New study points the way to therapy for rare cancer that targets the young
Science News

New study points the way to therapy for rare cancer that targets the young

Scientists have engineered a mouse model to study a rare and often-fatal form of liver cancer. They’ve used it to clarify what drives these tumors at the molecular level, and discover new drug concepts.
recording of mouse neurons in action
Science News

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.
Dolphin eye
Science News

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.
PENs_48328
Science News

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.
Immobilized worm
Science News

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.
Science News

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...
Science News

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...
Science News

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 ...
Campus News

Rockefeller’s newest faculty member studies birdsong to illuminate the origins of human language

by Katherine Fenz, media relations manager The ability to speak has allowed our species to pass knowledge between generations, articulate complex ideas, and build societies. Erich Jarvis, the newest addition to Rockefeller’s faculty, uses songbirds as a model to study the molecular mechan...
Campus News

New faculty member investigates how genes are born and proliferate

It’s a central question in evolution: How does something new emerge? Li Zhao, an evolutionary biologist and the most recent addition to Rockefeller’s faculty, approaches this problem by investigating the birth of new genes. Appointed a tenure-track assistant professor and head of laboratory, Zha...
Campus News

New faculty member investigates how genes are born and proliferate

by Wynne Parry, science writer It’s a central question in evolution: How does something new emerge? Li Zhao, an evolutionary biologist and the most recent addition to Rockefeller’s faculty, approaches this problem by investigating the birth of new genes. Appointed a tenure-track assistant pr...
View
Next
View
Next