News & HighlightsNews
New technique reveals a role for histones in cell division
Proteins known as histones give structure to DNA, which coils around them like string on spools. But as is so often the case in biology, it turns out there is more to these structures than meets the eye. Scientists already know histones play a part in controlling the expression of genes, and more...
Imaging studies open a window on how effective antibodies are formed
Sometimes, in order to understand what’s happening in the immune system, you just have to watch it. By imaging the immune response, researchers have observed how two types of immune cells, T and B cells, interact with one another during a critical period following infection in order to prepare th...
Research hints at why stress is more devastating for some
Some people take stress in stride; others are done in by it. New research at Rockefeller University has identified the molecular mechanisms of this so-called stress gap in mice with very similar genetic backgrounds — a finding that could lead researchers to better understand the development of ps...
Discovery reveals how bacteria distinguish harmful versus helpful viruses
When they are not busy attacking us, germs go after each other. But when viruses invade bacteria, it doesn’t always spell disaster for the infected microbes: Sometimes viruses actually carry helpful genes that a bacterium can harness to, say, expand its diet or better attack its own hosts. Scient...
Research explains how cellular guardians of the gut develop
Even the most careful chosen meal can contain surprises. To defend against infectious microbes, viruses or other potential hazards that find their way to the intestines, a dedicated contingent of immune cells keeps watch within the thin layer of tissue that divides the contents of the gut from th...
Antibodies, together with viral ‘inducers,’ found to control HIV in mice
Although HIV can now be effectively suppressed using anti-retroviral drugs, it still comes surging back the moment the flow of drugs is stopped. Latent reservoirs of HIV-infected cells, invisible to the body’s immune system and unreachable by pharmaceuticals, ensure that the infection will reboun...
An embryonic cell’s fate is sealed by the speed of a signal
When embryonic cells get the signal to specialize the call can come quickly. Or it can arrive slowly. Now, new research from Rockefeller University suggests the speed at which a cell in an embryo receives that signal has an unexpected influence on that cell’s fate. Until now, only concentration o...
Small RNAs in blood may reveal heart injury
Like clues to a crime, specific molecules in the body can hint at exposure to toxins, infectious agents or even trauma, and so help doctors determine whether and how to treat a patient. In recent years, tiny pieces of RNA called microRNAs have captured scientific attention for their potential as ...
Discovery of pro-metastasis protein reveals mysterious link to neurodegeneration
Researchers have identified a protein that makes breast cancer cells more likely to metastasize. What's more, the protein appears to trigger cancer's spread in part by blocking two other proteins normally linked to neurodegeneration, a finding that suggests a tie between two of the most common di...
Researchers create the first model of the DNA ‘replication fork’
Human cells make new copies of their DNA billions of times each day, a crucial process upon which life itself depends. However, scientists do not fully understand how cells unzip the double-stranded DNA molecule before replicating both halves of it. New work at Rockefeller may help change that. F...
View
View