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COVID-19 vaccines may need regular updates for emerging variants

Lab experiments suggest that the new strains reported in Britain, South Africa, and Brazil may blunt the potency of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. This could mean that the vaccines will need updates as the virus mutates.

Neurophysiologist Victor Wilson, 92, has died

Victor Wilson, a neurophysiologist who traced the intricate neural mechanisms that govern our balance and posture, died on January 20 at the age of 92.

Synthetic “micro lungs” could take COVID-19 research to the next level

Scientists have developed stem-cell technology to mass-produce tissue cultures resembling our breathing organs. These tissues offer a powerful model in which to study how SARS-CoV-2 wreaks havoc in the lungs and to screen for new drugs.

The immune system mounts a lasting defense after recovery from COVID-19

The study participants continued to improve their antibodies months after initial infection, potentially due to exposure to remnants of the virus hidden in the gut.

The blood may hold clues to some of COVID-19’s most mysterious symptoms

COVID-19 causes a host of diverse complications, from lung inflammation to blood clots, heart failure, and brain fog. A team of scientists believes these attributes may have a single culprit—and that findings from research on Alzheimer’s disease might give them a leg up in finding it.

Rockefeller begins testing of new COVID-19 antibody drug in people

Patients in the clinical trial will receive two highly potent antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 discovered at the university. Designed to prevent people with early COVID-19 from developing severe disease, the treatment is urgently needed as hospitals continue to be inundated by repeated surges of inf...

What Darwin never guessed 

Scientists have found that evolution isn’t always a one-way street toward specialization.

Scientists capture the moving parts of the portal to the cell’s nucleus

The proteins of the nuclear pore complex flip-flop rapidly between two orientations as they let cargo through.

Study of 50,000 people finds brown fat may protect against many diseases

People with brown fat tissue tend to burn calories more quickly, but do they also enjoy better health? Now the largest study of its kind shows that brown fat is indeed linked to reduced risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and several other conditions.

Llamas immune to coronavirus, what zebrafish are thinking, and other memorable science stories of 2020 

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, from cracking the code behind specific skin cancer subtypes to understanding what goes on inside a fish brain.