This year's scientific endeavors included multiple attacks on SARS-CoV-2—and a lot more. Here are the most memorable science stories to come out of Rockefeller labs in 2021, from the benefits of brown fat to the pitfalls of modern IVF screening techniques.
Researchers found that the antibodies present in people who have had COVID or taken two doses of mRNA vaccine are inadequate against Omicron. But their protective ability increases significantly after a booster dose.
New research reveals how neurons in a fly's brain signal the direction in which the body is traveling. The cells appear to literally perform vector math in order to act as a biological compass.
Scientists have identified hundreds of llama-derived antibodies that potentially could be developed into a COVID treatment. They hope such a drug would be potent against different variants of the coronavirus, including Omicron.
Epidermal stem cells that hail from the hair follicle retain memories of their journey to the skin's surface. Those memories are a boon for wound repair, but may also contribute to chronic diseases and cancer.
In animal experiments, the structurally altered antibodies activated the immune system more effectively than those currently used in the clinic. They also proved to be more protective against the virus.
Prior infections appear to shield enteric neurons, preventing these key components of the body's "second brain" from dying off when future pathogens strike.
Human cells can be coaxed into preventing certain enveloped viruses (including HIV, Ebola, and parainfluenza) from escaping their membranes in the lab, a finding that could lead to novel treatments for many viral diseases.
A new study finds that proteins known as linker histones control the complex coiling process that determines whether DNA will wind into long and thin chromosomes, made up of many small loops, or short and thick chromosomes with fewer large loops.
Studying dozens of naturally occurring and laboratory-selected mutations in SARS-CoV-2, researchers found that the virus will need to pull off a genetic feat to become fully resistant to antibodies.
The DRUL saliva assay is safer, more comfortable, and less expensive than comparable COVID screening tools. Now a new study demonstrates that it is at least as sensitive as swab tests, too.
Three-dimensional images of human small ribosomal subunits offer the most detailed explanation for how the cell's protein-making machines are assembled.
Using light beads microscopy, researchers can now capture images of a vast number of cells across different depths in the brain at high speed, with unprecedented clarity.
Animals as small and soft as tardigrades seldom have legs and almost never bother walking. But a new study finds that water bears propel themselves through sediment and soil on eight stubby legs, in a manner resembling that of insects 500,000 times their size.
People who recover from COVID-19 may have better protection than those who received a vaccine, but the benefits of natural immunity do not outweigh the very real risk of disability and death from contracting the disease.
If COVID-19 lockdowns scrambled your sleep schedule and stretched your waistline, you're not alone. Fruit flies quarantined in test tubes sleep too little and eat too much after only one week of social isolation.
Not every gene that's essential in tuberculosis is also vulnerable to attack. A new study ranks essential genes by vulnerability, allowing researchers to better prioritize future drug targets.
In Drosophila’s neural circuitry for courtship, researchers discover a configuration that enables a male fruit fly to be persistent, yet flexible in his pursuit of a female.
