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...

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...

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...

Tiny, abundant biological factories, known as ribosomes, produce the cell’s most fundamental building material: protein. If ribosomes don’t work, cells can’t divide—and this can be an advantage for scientists seeking to develop drugs that target invading organisms, such as pathogenic fungi. ...

Like humans, bacteria come under attack from viruses and rely on an immune system to defend themselves. A bacterial immune system known as CRISPR helps microbes “remember” the viruses they encounter and more easily fend them off in the future. Since researchers first discovered CRISPR in the mid...

During the first year of life, the human brain doubles in size, and continues expanding through adolescence. The loosely connected bony plates of the young skull accommodate this growth. But sometimes, these bones fuse too early, a disorder known as craniosynostosis. This disorder can produce fac...

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...

Concerns over the Zika virus have focused on pregnant women due to mounting evidence that it causes brain abnormalities in developing fetuses. However, new research in mice from scientists at The Rockefeller University and La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology suggests that certain adult ...

    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...

Great strides have been made in recent years to develop treatment options for HIV, and the disease can now be controlled with anti-retroviral drugs. But a cure remains elusive and current medications have limitations: they must be taken daily, for life, and can cause long-term complications. Now,...