Skip to main content

Toward a universal dengue vaccine

Why do our bodies not only fail to learn from prior dengue infection but also become more vulnerable to it as a result? New research pinpoints a subgroup of antibodies that may be to blame.

The Rockefeller University joins with leading New York City-area institutions to launch new Chan Zuckerberg research hub

The new research hub will engineer immune cells for early disease prevention, detection, and treatment.

>

Community-developed guidelines for publishing images help address reproducibility problem in science

The use of images in scientific papers is more popular than ever, but there have been no common standards for their publication—until now.

Popular community science festival returns to Rockefeller

Science Saturday brings hundreds of kids back to campus for the first time since 2019.

New method tracks how brain cells age

The novel technique may offer panoramic view into the mechanisms of many diseases and the enigma of aging.

New faculty member untangles the mysteries of RNA folding 

Steve Bonilla joined Rockefeller as an assistant professor on October 1, 2023.

Lily Jan and Eve Marder receive 2023 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize

Jan and Marder, who have both made fundamental contributions to neurobiology, were presented with the award in a ceremony on The Rockefeller University campus on September 20.

Vocal learning linked to problem solving skills and brain size

The better a songbird is at working its way around obstacles to retrieve a snack, the more complex its vocal learning ability will be.

Unlocking how the new Alzheimer’s drug lecanemab works

As with many cutting-edge therapies, we know more about the drug's effectiveness than we do about how it actually operates. A new study reveals a possible mechanism for its impact on patients.

A conversation with Ashton Murray, Rockefeller’s Chief Diversity Officer

Murray discusses developing strategies and programming grounded in the belief that a true community draws strength from its individuals.

>

Boosters are key to protecting pregnant individuals and newborns against the worst effects of COVID

Patients with a specific cocktail of COVID exposure had the highest level of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 and its variants, which also provided a strong immunological shield for their babies.

Rockefeller community symposium brings together scientists and local gardeners

Sponsored by the Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, the event brought together land stewards from across the city in an effort to make soil science more accessible to the local community.

A scent paradise for flies 

One clever way to observe the neural activity of Drosophilae: build them a custom fly treadmill and tempt them with the tangy perfume of apple cider vinegar.

Researchers find an epigenetic key that unlocks common deadly cancers

In skin, some aberrant adult epidermal stem cells turn on SOX9, kickstarting a process that ultimately activates cancer genes.

Kivanç Birsoy named a 2023 Blavatnik National Awards finalist

Birsoy is honored for groundbreaking research uncovering metabolic weaknesses of diseased cells, such as cancer, while shedding light on debilitating mitochondrial diseases and rare genetic disorders.

An immune flaw may cause West Nile virus’s deadliest symptoms

With 40% of encephalitis cases now explained by an autoimmune deficiency, West Nile virus "is by far the best understood human infectious disease in the world. It’s stunning.”

Probing the dynamic forces that move 37 trillion cells in the human body

Gregory Alushin reveals fundamental truths about cellular biomechanics by studying how the wiggly protein strands known as actin filaments bend and flex, crisscross each other, and have tugs of war.

How one of nature's most fundamental molecules forms

New high-resolution images of the large ribosomal subunit shed light on how human ribosomes are assembled.

Researchers discover neuronal mechanism linked to a minutes-long decision process in fruit flies

They identified a brain signal that guides one type of decision-making—findings that could build a foundation for understanding how humans make educated and strategic decisions.

The potential molecular indicators of Parkinson’s symptoms

Overlapping RNA changes in the blood and brain were associated with many of the clinical signs of the disease.

Proteome of rare liver cancer sheds new light on basic biology

Fibrolamellar carcinoma not only hinders the body's ammonia consumption but also produces ammonia, a finding with sweeping implications for treating this cancer—and the study of ammonia metabolism.

Rockefeller tops an international ranking of research impact

According to the 2023 CWTS Leiden Ranking of over 1,400 universities from 72 countries, Rockefeller has the highest percentage of most frequently cited scientific publications.

Campus tennis court transforms into a new multisport athletic hub

You'll be able to book court time for basketball, pickleball, badminton, futsal, and of course tennis.

World’s first transgenic ants reveal how colonies respond to an alarm

The findings raise tantalizing possibilities for revealing what hundreds of ant odorant receptors are up to.

>

New algorithm cleans microbiome data with unprecedented efficiency

The algorithm, dubbed SCRuB, can distinguish native bacteria and viruses from contaminants—a powerful tool for researchers working with the microbiome.

36 students receive Ph.D.s at Rockefeller’s 65th convocation

With this week’s ceremony, Rockefeller has granted Ph.D.s in bioscience to 1,431 students. In addition, Ingrid Daubechies, Marc W. Kirschner, and Evelyn G. Lipper received honorary doctor of science degrees.

Studying the cleanup crew of the genome to illuminate a rare disease

Agata Smogorzewska investigates the handful of DNA repair mechanisms that attempt to correct problems, errors, and breakdowns.

Lab-grown mini lungs could accelerate the study of respiratory diseases  

The labs of Ali Brivanlou and Charles M. Rice collaborated to refine a cell culture technology platform that grows genetically identical lung buds from human embryonic stem cells.

A new approach to Alzheimer’s is unfolding 

Despite decades of scientific struggle, progress been excruciatingly slow. But the tide is turning.

The shape of things to come 

Thanks to cryo-em, the breakthroughs are coming faster than ever for Jue Chen. She explains the exciting applications for medicine and science.

The clearest snapshot of human genomic diversity ever taken

The human reference genome has always been a remarkable but flawed tool. A new "pangenome" aims to correct its oversights and omissions.

Behind the formation and protection of microtubules

Research shed light on the process by which the γ-Tubulin Ring Complex stabilizes microtubules, which may inform the study of developmental diseases and cancers.

Solving the mystery behind how nutrients enter cells

A new paper describes how choline is transported into the cell, with potentially sweeping implications for the study of rare diseases.

Maybe the virus isn't the problem 

Why do some with COVID end up on ventilators while others get a scratchy throat—and yet others seem to have dodged the virus entirely? Answers are emerging from scientists around the globe.

Researchers reveal an ancient mechanism for wound repair

The study is the first to identify a damage response pathway that is distinct from but parallel to the classical pathway triggered by pathogens.

Gum disease may lie at the root of some arthritis flare-ups

Damaged gums may release bacteria into the bloodstream that trigger arthritis flare-ups, potentially explaining why people with gum disease don't respond as well to arthritis treatments.

How to end a pandemic in one jab 

Universal vaccines can give years of protection against polio, measles, and smallpox, among other diseases. Pamela Bjorkman believes HIV, influenza, and COVID are next.

New tool to study hepatitis B could open the door to a cure

Just as the Rice lab’s work on HCV exposed that virus’s weaknesses, the hope is that this novel approach could do the same for HBV.

Seeking the origin story of de novo genes

Li Zhao studies the intriguing genes that emerge from previously silent or non-coding stretches of DNA.

Scientists discover brain region linking short-term to long-term memory

The anterior thalamus plays such a key role in memory that boosting it in mice consolidates the animals' trivial experiences into long-term memories.

What you get is not just what you see 

Scientists have built a novel AI system that rewrites the rules for computer vision. It might soon turn neuroscience on its head.

>

New technique captures unprecedented view of the active brain

The tech, dubbed MesoLF, captures 10,500 neurons buried at once-inaccessible depths, firing from brain regions many millimeters apart, simultaneously—all with unprecedented resolution.

Pioneering forestry researcher Suzanne Simard to receive the 2023 Lewis Thomas Prize

The author of Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest will be presented with Rockefeller’s prestigious science writing award on April 17.

Innovative approach opens the door to COVID nanobody therapies

The relatively simple and low-cost procedure could empower laboratories in low-resource areas to generate nanobodies against SARS-CoV-2, as well as other viruses.

Illuminating the evolution of social parasite ants

The findings offer a new way to understand how some ants become total layabouts.

Emil C. Gotschlich, creator of lifesaving vaccines, has died

A molecular chemist whose work has protected millions of people from bacterial meningitis, Gotschlich passed away on February 14. He was 88.

Homing in on the genetics of severe COVID in children

A trio of faulty genes fail to put the brakes on the immune system’s all-out assault on SARS-CoV-2, leading to the inflammatory overload characteristic of MIS-C.

The nutrient that cancer cells crave

Starving cancer cells of a key amino acid could potentially render tumors more vulnerable to the body’s natural immune response.

Elaine Fuchs awarded Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science

Fuchs receives the honor for illuminating the genetics of skin diseases and the mechanisms that guide skin renewal, yielding insights into aging, inflammation, and cancer.

A unique window into "original antigenic sin"

The body's first blush with a pathogen shapes how it will respond to vaccines. New evidence clarifies how this phenomenon works, mechanistically.

How the body's B cell academy ensures a diverse immune response

A diverse immune response hinges on naive B cells mingling with high affinity ones in the late-stage germinal center. Whether that helps or hinders, however, depends on the virus.

Remembering a pioneer of chromatin biology

Charles David Allis, a molecular biologist who shaped the field of chromatin biology, died on January 8 at the age of 71.

Why older fathers pass on more genetic mutations to their offspring

It's not just the number of mutations that matters. It's the failure to fix them too.

>

Solving a crucial bottleneck in drug discovery

A novel method reduces the time required to identify novel antibiotic-producing DNA from weeks to days.

When the body's B cell training grounds stay open after hours

While most germinal centers shut down after a few weeks, some stay in business for more than six months. A new study helps explain why.

Intriguing science discoveries of 2022

Breakthroughs in genetics, biochemistry, neuroscience, infectious disease, and drug development were a few of the year's highlights.

Markus Library prepares researchers for new NIH data management policy

The library is offering new tools and training to support researchers operating under an updated NIH policy.

>

How a cell's mitochondria make their own protein factories

The findings shed a rare light on mitoribosomes, the unique ribosomes found within the cell's mitochondria.

How antibody therapy impacts COVID vaccines

People who receive monoclonal antibodies before vaccines may benefit from increased coverage, due to antibody feedback inhibition.

Research on rare genetic disease sheds light on a common head and neck cancer

Patients with Fanconi anemia have an elevated risk for squamous cell carcinoma, a highly aggressive head-and-neck cancer. New findings pinpoint the mechanisms linking the two conditions, and also shed new light on how smoking or drinking may elevate anyone’s cancer risk.