Skip to main content

Rockefeller University

News & Highlights > News
Displaying 1171 of 2857 articles.
A human cell (green) infected with HIV (red)
Science News

In the fight against viral infection, spelling counts

Scientists have discovered a peculiarity in the genetic code of HIV that might explain how this and other viruses evolved ways to dodge our immune system. The findings could make it possible to develop safer vaccines.
Measles virus is suppressed
Science News

Targeting a single protein might treat a broad range of viruses

Scientists have identified a protein that many viruses require to spread within a host—a discovery that could lead to fighting diseases as varied as parainfluenza, West Nile, and Zika with a single drug. This finding could also lead to the development of treatments for emerging viruses.
Fragile X brain
Science News

Potential new treatment for Fragile X targets one gene to affect many

Scientists found that inhibiting a regulatory protein alters the intricate signaling chemistry that is responsible for many of the disease’s symptoms. The findings provide a path to possible therapeutics for disorders associated with Fragile X.
Wound memory
Science News

Inflammation trains the skin to heal faster

Scientists have found that stem cells in the skin remember an injury, helping them close recurring wounds faster. The discovery could advance research and treatment of psoriasis and other inflammatory diseases.
Smell loss test
Science News

New smell test could aid early detection of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s

Problems with olfaction have been linked to a variety of health conditions. Scientists have developed new tests to detect smell loss more reliably.
CA3 neurons
Science News

Stress has dramatically different effects on male and female mouse brains

Scientists have found unexpected differences in how male and female mice respond to stress. Their findings are raising big questions about sex discrepancies in the brain and their impact on neuropsychiatric disease.
Michael W. Young, PhD
Awards and Honors, Science News

Rockefeller University biologist Michael W. Young honored with Nobel Prize for pioneering studies on circadian rhythm

Rockefeller University biologist Michael W. Young, who studies the biological clocks that regulate sleep, metabolism, and response to disease, is this year’s recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Avian influenza
Science News

Simple strategy could lead to a “universal” flu vaccine

To keep up with evasive flu viruses, new vaccines must be developed each year. Scientists are devising a strategy to better prevent the disease without annual shots.
Science News
>
In Brief

In brief: Alternative CRISPR system is less specific, more robust

Scientists found that a system called CRISPR-Cas10 can target rapidly mutating viruses.
Gut bacteria
Science News

Gut bacteria that “talk” to human cells may lead to new treatments

Scientists developed a method to genetically engineer gut bacteria to produce molecules that have the potential to treat certain disorders by altering human metabolism.
Science News

How the brain recognizes familiar faces

Scientists have located two areas in the brain that help us recognize familiar faces. The discovery will help them delve deeper into the relationship between face recognition, memory, and social knowledge.
Ant antennae
Science News

First mutant ants shed light on evolution of social behavior

Scientists disrupted a gene essential for sensing pheromones, resulting in severe deficiencies in the ants’ social behaviors and their ability to survive within a colony.
Science News

Hunger-controlling brain cells may offer path for new obesity drugs

Within the oldest part of the brain, scientists have found cells in charge of controlling appetite and eating. The discovery could revitalize efforts to develop drugs for obesity that make us less hungry.
CCK Neurons
Science News

Faster-acting antidepressants may finally be within reach

Neuroscientists have taken a major step toward answering longstanding questions about how Prozac and similar drugs act in the brain. Their findings could lead to better antidepressants that don't take weeks to kick in.
Science News
>
In Brief

In brief: How a microRNA protects against liver cancer

New insights about gene regulation in liver cells could lead to better treatments for a common tumor type.
Rats HepC
Science News

New animal models for hepatitis C could pave the way for a vaccine

In the rats that roam New York City’s streets and tunnels, scientists have found a virus that resembles hepatitis C. They have used it to create the first animal model of the human disease, a breakthrough that potentially could yield a much-needed vaccine.
Science News
>
In Brief

In brief: A glimpse into the origins of antibiotic resistance

Scientists have identified several genetic mechanisms by which antibiotic resistance may have arisen in a bacterium that causes deadly infections.
RNA polymerase
Science News

A hidden movement in the molecule that makes RNA

Researchers have uncovered new details about the molecular machine that separates DNA strands before copying a gene's sequence into RNA.
Science News

In brief: Mapping the errors that disrupt heartbeat

By determining the structure of a protein linked to a deadly form of arrhythmia, scientists have gained new insights about the condition.
recording of mouse neurons in action
Science News

Scientists use algorithm to peer through opaque brains

A new algorithm allows scientists to record the activity of individual neurons within a volume of brain tissue.
Science News
>
In Brief

In brief: A closer look at why some drugs cause arrhythmia

Scientists have identified the features that render a potassium channel in the heart vulnerable to interference by a range of drugs.
Portrait of Jeremy M. Rock
Science News

New faculty member studies the tuberculosis bacterium

Jeremy M. Rock uses genetics to investigate how the microbe causes disease. He will join Rockefeller’s faculty on January 1, 2018.
Dolphin eye
Science News

Researchers create interactive touchscreen for dolphins

To learn more about dolphin cognition and communication, researchers have developed an underwater touchscreen using optical technology, the first of its kind.
PENs_48328
Science News

Scientists identify a neural circuit that rotates a fly’s internal compass

Researchers have uncovered the neurons that spin a fly’s internal compass when the insect turns—the first such mechanism identified in any animal.
Rhesus monkeys grooming
Science News

Newly discovered brain network offers clues to social cognition

By studying rhesus monkeys, researchers have identified a brain network dedicated to processing social interactions—a discovery that offers tantalizing clues to the origins of our ability to understand what other people are thinking.
swirls_homepage
Science News

Swirling swarms of bacteria offer insights on turbulence

When bacteria swim at just the right speed, swirling vortices emerge. As those patterns disintegrate into chaos, physicists detect a telling mathematical signature.
Hair follicle micro-niche
Science News

A cell’s destiny is set earlier than expected

Stem cells in the hair follicle are organized by the cell type they will eventually become in unique compartments, at the ready to regenerate tissue.
zika envelop protein domain structure
Science News

Discovery of a Zika antibody offers hope for a vaccine

Searching for a way to thwart Zika, scientists have discovered an antibody with a potent ability to neutralize the virus.
squamous carcinoma cells
Science News

A mechanism shared by healing wounds and growing tumors

Scientists have long seen parallels between healing wounds and growing tumors. In studying the molecular changes that occur within both, a research team has discovered a new cancer-fuelling mechanism that potentially could inform drug development.
macrophage-animation-1
Science News

Scientists engineer human-germ hybrid molecules to attack drug-resistant bacteria

The centromere region of chromosomes retains the same DNA from one generation to the next. Scientists have gained new insights into how it avoids being scrambled in normal cells, and how it becomes unstable in cancer.
Bieniasz_ancient-virus_nw
Science News

Viral fossils reveal how our ancestors eliminated an ancient infection

Some viruses can insert their genetic material into the genome of their host, creating a genetic fossil record. Researchers have uncovered how our ancestors may have wiped out one such virus around 11 million years ago.
Funabiki_scrambled-centromeres_nw
Science News

Scientists discover how crucial DNA sequences endure

The centromere region of chromosomes retains the same DNA from one generation to the next. Scientists have gained new insights into how it avoids being scrambled in normal cells, and how it becomes unstable in cancer.
U-Multirank survey
Science News

Rockefeller tops ranking of 1,300 universities in measures of scientific impact and productivity

Released by the European Commission–funded U-Multirank, the survey placed Rockefeller first in categories related to scientific impact and research productivity. The results incorporate data on more than 1,300 institutions in over 90 countries.
People who self-describe as night owls often have a sleep disorder encoded in their genes. (Illustration by Jasu Hu)
Science News

Study identifies “night owl” gene variant

Scientists have discovered a common mutation that might explain why some people have trouble going to sleep at night and getting up early. The gene alteration slows the internal biological clock that regulates our sleeping patterns.
Enterobacteria phage T2
Science News

For microbes fighting viruses, a fast response means a better defense

Researchers have found that the bacterial immune system targets an invading virus as soon as it enters the cell. This discovery answers a long-standing question about how microbes defend themselves.
human-cftr-home
Science News

New study resolves the structure of the human protein that causes cystic fibrosis

In order to better understand how genetic mutations give rise to cystic fibrosis, researchers need to map the protein responsible for the disorder. The new structure has led to new insights on how this molecular channel functions.
inflammation2-home
Science News

Changes in the vascular system may trigger Alzheimer’s disease

In some people whose cognitive functions are weakened due to Alzheimer’s, the disease can be traced back to changes in the brain’s blood vasculature. Scientists have found that a protein involved in blood clotting and inflammation might offer a potential path to new drugs.
Immobilized worm
Science News

For biologists studying tiny worms, new technologies make big improvements

Two new technologies are helping scientists understand new aspects of organ and nervous system development in C. elegans. One allows them to image worms developing in a natural environment, while the other makes it possible to track single neurons as the worms grow.
Science News

Early intervention with new treatment provides durable control of HIV-like virus in monkeys

There are more than 25 drugs to control HIV, yet the virus remains one of the world’s biggest health problems. One of the many challenges with existing therapies is that a dormant version of the virus is always lurking in the background, ready to attack the immune system as soon as treatment is i...
Science News

Study tests the “three-hit” theory of autism

Since the first case was documented in the United States in 1938, the causes of autism have remained elusive. Hundreds of genes, as well as environmental exposures, have been implicated in these brain disorders. Sex also seems to have something to do with it: About 80 percent of children diagnose...
Science News

A new way to reset gene expression in cancer cells shows promise for leukemia treatment

New findings from Rockefeller University researchers could guide the development of potent combination therapies that deliver more effective and durable treatment of leukemia. In recent work published in Nature, they show it’s possible to deactivate cellular programs involved in tumor growth by d...
Awards and Honors, Science News

Raphael Cohn wins 2017 Weintraub Graduate Student Award

Raphael Cohn, a graduate fellow in Vanessa Ruta’s Laboratory of Neurophysiology and Behavior, is a recipient of this year’s Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award, one of the country’s most prestigious graduate student prizes in the biosciences. The award, given by the Fred Hutchinson Canc...
Science News

New structural studies reveal workings of a molecular pump that ejects cancer drugs

Sometimes cells resist medication by spitting it back out. Cancer cells, in particular, have a reputation for defiantly expelling the chemotherapy drugs meant to kill them. Researchers at The Rockefeller University have shed new light on a molecular pump that makes this possible, by determining i...
Science News

New research explains why a common bacterium can produce severe illness

As much as we try to avoid it, ­we are constantly sharing germs with those around us. But even when two people have the same infection, the resulting illnesses can be dramatically different—mild for one person, severe or even life-threatening for the other. Now, new research from The Rockefell...
Awards and Honors, Science News

Jeffrey V. Ravetch receives 2017 Ross Prize in Molecular Medicine

Jeffrey V. Ravetch, Theresa and Eugene M. Lang Professor and head of the Leonard Wagner Laboratory of Molecular Genetics and Immunology, has won the 2017 Ross Prize in Molecular Medicine. The award, given by The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research and its journal Molecular Medicine, honors s...
Science News

Crowdsourcing effort helps researchers predict how a molecule will smell

You can anticipate a color before you see it, based solely on the length of light waves. Music can be interpreted from notes on a page without being heard. Not so with odor.
Science News

Mouse studies offer new insights about cocaine’s effect on the brain

 Cocaine is one of the most addictive substances known to man, and for good reason: By acting on levels of the “feel-good” chemical dopamine, it produces a tremendous sensation of euphoria. Now the laboratory of Rockefeller University Professor and Nobel Laureate Paul Greengard has shown...
Campus News, Science News

Newly discovered beetle species named after Rockefeller’s Daniel Kronauer

 Scientists can rack up many awards, but to have one’s name cemented in scientific nomenclature is a special kind of honor. In an homage to his mentor Daniel Kronauer, former Rockefeller postdoctoral associate Christoph von Beeren has named a new species of beetle Nymphister kronaueri. ...
Science News

Scientists discover an unexpected influence on dividing stem cells’ fate

When most cells divide, they simply make more of themselves. But stem cells, which are responsible for repairing or making new tissue, have a choice: They can generate more stem cells or differentiate into skin cells, liver cells, or virtually any of the body’s specialized cell types. As r...
Science News

Encouraging clinical results for an antibody drug to prevent or treat HIV

A new biologic agent—the most potent of its kind so far—is showing early promise as part of a potential new strategy for treating HIV. The drug, known as 10-1074, may also offer a new way to prevent viral infection in people who are at high risk to acquire HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. ...
Science News

Atomic-scale view of bacterial proteins offers path to new tuberculosis drugs

With the first detailed analysis of a cellular component from a close relative of the pathogen that causes tuberculosis, Rockefeller scientists are suggesting strategies for new drugs to curb this growing health problem. Each year, nearly half a million people around the world are infected with m...
Science News

Discovery helps explain why only some people develop life-threatening dengue infections

For most people who contract it, dengue fever is a relatively mild-mannered disease—at least the first time around. For some, however, a subsequent infection by the virus unleashes a vicious and potentially deadly illness. New research from a team based at The Rockefeller University has begun t...
The structure unveiled that part of the helicase known as the N-tier travels ahead of the C-tier along the leading DNA strand
Science News

Study reveals the structure of a protein crucial for DNA replication

Our DNA contains instructions crucial for virtually all forms of life on this planet. But for life to propagate, this blueprint must be copied and passed on to future generations. New findings describing the structure of a key molecule involved in DNA replication place another piece in the puzzle...
Science News

Researchers explore how protein production gets distorted in skin cancer

Each cell in the body follows a strict protocol for manufacturing the proteins it needs to function. When a cell turns cancerous, however, its protein production goes off script. A new study led by researchers at the Rockefeller University takes a close look at one way in which this procedure goe...
Science News

Antibody combination puts HIV on the ropes

Without antiretroviral drug treatment, the majority of people infected with HIV ultimately develop AIDS, as the virus changes and evolves beyond the body’s ability to control it. But a small group of infected individuals—called elite controllers—possess immune systems capable of defeating the ...
Science News

MacKinnon lab charts the anatomy of three molecular channels

Using a state-of-the-art imaging technology in which molecules are deep frozen, scientists in Roderick MacKinnon’s lab at Rockefeller University have reconstructed in unprecedented detail the three-dimensional architecture of three channels that provide a path for specific types of ions to travel...
Science News

New research offers clues into how the brain shapes perception to control behavior

What you see is not always what you get. And that, researchers at The Rockefeller University have discovered, is a good thing. “Every time you move your eye, the whole world moves on your retina,” says Gaby Maimon, head of the Laboratory of Integrative Brain Function. “But you don’t perce...
Science News

Scientists learn how to ramp up microbes’ ability to make memories

Some microbes can form memories—although, inconveniently for scientists who study the process, they don’t do it very often. Rockefeller University researchers and their colleagues at the University of California, Berkeley, have found a way to make bacteria encode memories much more frequently...
Science News

Research on sweat glands suggests a route to better skin grafts

As early humans shed the hairy coats of their closest evolutionary ancestors, they also gained a distinct feature that would prove critical to their success: a type of sweat gland that allows the body to cool down quickly. Those tiny glands are enormously useful, allowing us to live in a wide var...
Science News

Researchers develop automated melanoma detector for skin cancer screening

Even experts can be fooled by melanoma. People with this type of skin cancer often have mole-looking growths on their skin that tend to be irregular in shape and color, and can be hard to tell apart from benign ones, making the disease difficult to diagnose. Now, researchers at The Rockefeller Un...
View
Previous
Next
View
Previous
Next