News & HighlightsNews
Facial motion activates a dedicated network within the brain, research shows
A face is more than a static collection of features. A shift in gaze, a tightening of the lips, a tilt of the head, these movements convey important clues to someone’s state of mind. Scientists know that two particularly social and visual creatures, humans and rhesus macaque monkeys, have a netwo...
New research suggests an existing drug, riluzole, may prevent foggy ‘old age’ brain
Forgetfulness, it turns out, is all in the head. Scientists have shown that fading memory and clouding judgment, the type that comes with advancing age, show up as lost and altered connections between neurons in the brain. But new experiments suggest an existing drug, known as riluzole and alread...
‘Radiogenetics’ seeks to remotely control cells and genes
It’s the most basic of ways to find out what something does, whether it’s an unmarked circuit breaker or an unidentified gene — flip its switch and see what happens. New remote-control technology may offer biologists a powerful way to do this with cells and genes. A team at Rockefeller Univers...
Discovery links shift in metabolism to stem cell renewal
Stem cells in early embryos have unlimited potential; they can become any type of cell, and researchers hope to one day harness this rejuvenating power to heal disease and injury. To do so, they must, among other things, figure out how to reliably arrest stem cells in a Peter Pan-like state of in...
Atomic-level view provides new insight into translation of touch into nerve signals
Whether stubbing a toe or stroking a cat, the sensation of touch starts out as a mechanical force that is then transformed into an electrical signal conveying pain or other sensations. Tiny channels in neurons act as translators by helping to formulate that signal to the brain. However, scientist...
Research suggests how mosquitoes evolved an attraction to human scent
The female mosquitoes that spread dengue and yellow fever didn’t always rely on human blood to nourish their eggs. Their ancestors fed on furrier animals in the forest. But then, thousands of years ago, some of these bloodsuckers made a smart switch: They began biting humans and hitchhiked all ov...
3D deep-imaging advance likely to drive new biological insights
In a significant technical advance, a team of neuroscientists at The Rockefeller University has devised a fast, inexpensive imaging method for probing the molecular intricacies of large biological samples in three dimensions, an achievement that could have far reaching implications in a wide arra...
Research resolves contradiction over protein’s role at telomeres
Mice and humans share a lot more than immediately meets the eye, and their commonalities include their telomeres, protective ends on chromosomes. But in recent years, the role of one particular protein at telomeres has puzzled scientists. New work at Rockefeller University has solved the contradi...
New technique efficiently turns antibodies into highly tuned ‘nanobodies’
Antibodies, in charge of recognizing and homing in on molecular targets, are among the most useful tools in biology and medicine. Nanobodies – antibodies’ tiny cousins – can do the same tasks, for example marking molecules for research or flagging diseased cells for destruction. But, thanks to...
One signal means different things to stem cells versus their progeny
Two listeners might hear the same message, but understand it differently and take different actions in response. Something similar happens within the hair follicle: Stem cells and their progeny react quite differently to an important group of signaling proteins. New experiments at Rockefeller Uni...
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