When it comes to sex, animals of all shapes and sizes tend behave in predictable ways. There may be a chemical reason for that. New research from Rockefeller University has shown that chemicals in the brain — neuropeptides known as vasopressin and oxytocin — play a role in coordinating mating an...

Joan A. Steitz, a pioneer in the field of RNA biology whose discoveries involved patients with a variety of autoimmune diseases, will be awarded the 2012 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize from The Rockefeller University. The prize, which honors female scientists who have made extraordinary contributi...

Vitamin D has been touted for its beneficial effects on a range of human systems, from enhancing bone health to reducing the risk of developing certain cancers. But it does not improve cholesterol levels, according to a new study conducted at The Rockefeller University Hospital. A team of scienti...

Bacteria may be simple creatures, but unlike “higher” organisms they have a neat evolutionary trick. When the going gets tough, they can simply pick up and incorporate a loose bit of genetic material from their environment. It’s instant evolution, no time-consuming mutations required. This pro...

A team of researchers led by scientists at Rockefeller University have discovered that a protein once thought to be mainly involved in antiviral immunity is in fact more important in fighting bacterial infections and could provide new mechanisms for treating diseases like tuberculosis, which is i...

A research collaboration involving Rockefeller University and more than two dozen other institutions has found a link between a gene mutation and chronic kidney failure. The study, published in Nature Genetics in July, found patients who had a specific kind of kidney disease — called karyomegalic...

Cell 150: 533-548 (August 3, 2012) Exome capture reveals ZNF423 and CEP164 mutations, linking renal ciliopathies to DNA damage response signaling Moumita Chaki, Rannar Airik, Amiya K. Ghosh, Rachel H. Giles, Rui Chen, Gisela G. Slaats, Hui Wang, Toby W. Hurd, Weibin Zhou, Andrew Cluckey, Heon Yun...

Cancer cells are immortal because they circumvent failsafe mechanisms that stop out-of-control cell proliferation. One of these mechanisms – the progressive shortening of chromosomes – is prevented by replenishment of telomeres, the protective elements at the ends of chromosomes. Most cancer cel...

To date, few fundamentals have been known about the most common gland in the body, the sweat glands that are essential to controlling body temperature, allowing humans to live in the world’s diverse climates. Now, in a tour de force, researchers at The Rockefeller University and the Howard Hughes...

Knowing that a drug works is great. Knowing how it works is a luxury. And until now, determining a drug’s mechanism of action has been a tedious and difficult process for scientists. Researchers led by Tarun Kapoor at The Rockefeller University, in collaboration with Olivier Elemento at Weill Cor...