News & HighlightsNews
Rendering of ion channel suggests how neurons fire
Four years ago, Roderick MacKinnon, head of the Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology and Biophysics at Rockefeller University, together with several members of his lab, published the first ever structure of a voltage-dependent potassium ion channel — a protein that controls the flow of potassium ...
Multi-lab collaboration yields first detailed map of nuclear pore complex
A cell’s membrane-bound nucleus contains precious contents — its DNA — so it must be very careful about what enters and leaves this important space. To do this, it uses hundreds to thousands of nuclear pores as its gatekeepers, selective membrane channels that are responsible for regulating th...
Data suggest community involvement is the key to controlling infectious disease
The battles against infectious diseases are challenging enough in Western countries with stable infrastructure and deep-pocketed pharmaceutical firms. In an impoverished section of Latin America, they are much more difficult. But new research from Rockefeller University’s Joel E. Cohen suggests t...
Recently discovered cell is unexpected player in psoriasis
When the FDA assesses a drug, it looks closely at its safety and its effectiveness, but it doesn’t require a precise understanding of how the drug works. A new study by Rockefeller University scientists shows that a strikingly successful psoriasis drug, etanercept, may not act on the immune cells...
Stress response in the brain relies on a blood-thinning protein
A stressed-out mouse tends to be a bit timid, tentative, even fearful. For that matter, so does a stressed-out human. Our ability to learn from frightening situations is part of what helps us avoid them in the future. When that learning process goes awry, it can lead to depression and a decreased...
A protein converts immune cells to tumor killers
Tumor cells are masters at evading detection. But new research from Rockefeller University shows how they can be exposed. By harnessing the immune system of patients with a rare neurological disorder, scientists have figured out how to transform immune cells that barely detect the presence of bre...
Biologists use microfluidics chips to watch worm behavior
Tiny roundworms called Caenorhabditis elegans have a rather uncomplicated method for finding food: They wriggle and turn and explore new territory until they find something edible, and then they stay the course until the food disappears. But despite the worm’s simple nervous system, researchers ...
Immune cells can simultaneously stimulate and inhibit killer cell activity
Dendritic cells, which are responsible for teaching other immune cells to attack infected or mutated cells, face a dangerous predicament. To demonstrate that an enemy has invaded, they must change to look a little bit like the invader. And once they look like an enemy, they risk being treated lik...
Balancing act protects vulnerable cells from cancer
When a cell loses some of its weapons to fight cancer, it can still look healthy and act normally — if not forever, at least for a while. In research published in the October 15 issue of Cancer Cell, Rockefeller University scientists show how cells lacking a key receptor in a tumor-suppressing pa...
Accessory protein determines whether pheromones are detected
heromones are like the molecules you taste as you chomp on a greasy french fry: big and fatty. In research to be published in the October 17 advance online issue of Nature, Rockefeller University researchers reveal an unanticipated role for a new CD36-like protein to help cells detect these invis...
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