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Science News

Using magnetic forces to control neurons, study finds the brain plays key role in glucose metabolism

To learn what different cells do, scientists switch them on and off and observe what the effects are. There are many methods that do this, but they all have problems: too invasive, or too slow, or not precise enough. Now, a new method to control the activity of neurons in mice, devised by scienti...
Science News

Parasites reveal how evolution has molded an ancient nuclear structure

Long before animals evolved from sponges, and before plants evolved out of algae, there was a pivotal event that allowed complex, multicellular organisms to arise: the development of the nucleus in single-celled organisms. Eukaryotes, one of the three main branches of living organisms, are define...
Awards and Honors

Jeffrey Friedman receives the 2016 Harrington Prize for Innovation in Medicine

Jeffrey Friedman, Marilyn M. Simpson Professor and head of the Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, has won the 2016 Harrington Prize for Innovation in Medicine. The award, given by the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Harrington Discovery Institute, recognizes physician-scientist...
Campus News

Awards, arrivals, and promotions

Congratulations to our latest award winners: Cori Bargmann has won the 2016 Edward M. Scolnick Prize in Neuroscience, an award given by the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT to recognize outstanding advances in the field. She is being honored for her work on the genetic and neural mech...
Campus News

Rockefeller scientists in the news

by Katherine Fenz, media relations manager Mutant mosquitoes Earlier this month, PBS Newshour featured Leslie Vosshall in a segment on the use of mutant mosquitoes to fight Zika and dengue fever. “Mosquitoes—especially the mosquitoes that are spreading Zika, dengue, and chikungunya...
Campus News

February attacks show why we should take cybersecurity seriously

by Diana Gitig, science writer Rockefeller was attacked some eight billion times last year by hackers. The overwhelming majority of those attempts were thwarted by firewalls, anti-virus software, and other countermeasures maintained by IT’s information security team: the offenders are blocked a...
Campus News

Mayor de Blasio visits Rockefeller for tour and biotech conference

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio hosted a life sciences roundtable, featuring leaders from the pharmaceutical, biotech, and venture capital industries, at The Rockefeller University this week, part of an effort by the city to highlight investments in this sector and solicit ideas to encourage c...
Science News

A virus common among livestock depends on a microRNA to replicate

In the ongoing arms race between pathogenic viruses and the cells they infect, each side needs every advantage it can get. One way wily viruses can get a leg up is by subverting the microRNAs (miRNAs) of their host. These miRNAs are small stretches of RNA made by host cells to regulate gene expre...
Awards and Honors

Barry Coller receives the 2016 Gill Award for outstanding contributions to cardiovascular research

Barry Coller, vice president for medical affairs and physician-in-chief of The Rockefeller University Hospital, has won the 2016 Gill Award. The prize, given by the University of Kentucky Gill Heart Institute, recognizes lifelong achievements in the study of cardiovascular biology and disease. ...
Science News

New findings suggest severe tornado outbreaks are increasingly common

One tornado alone can cause intense destruction, but the largest impact on both death rates and economic losses stems from “outbreaks,” in which six or more tornadoes occur within a limited time. New research from Joel Cohen, Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Professor and head of the Laboratory of Pop...

In the News - PBS Newshour - Vosshall

Can mutant mosquitoes be used to fight Zika and dengue fever? "'Ultimately, how cool would it be to have a cream that you put on your arm that has a probiotic, right, that makes you demagnetized as a mosquito magnet?' asks Leslie Vosshall."
Campus News

Three new trustees are elected to the Board

by Alexandra MacWade, assistant editor The university’s Board of Trustees elected three new members at their February 17 meeting: William A. Ackman, chief executive officer and portfolio manager of Pershing Square Capital Management, L.P.; Scott K.H. Bessent, chief executive officer and chief in...

In the News - Mental Floss - Brivanlou

What Iran May Be Able to Teach Us About Stem Cells "Now, there are opportunities for collaborations with non-Iranian scientists—which has Ali Brivanlou, who leads the Stem Cell Biology and Molecular Embryology lab at The Rockefeller University, intrigued about the possibilities."
Awards and Honors

Cori Bargmann honored with the 2016 Scolnick Prize in Neuroscience

Cori Bargmann, Torsten N. Wiesel Professor and head of the Lulu and Anthony Wang Laboratory of Neural Circuits and Behavior, has won the 2016 Edward M. Scolnick Prize in Neuroscience, an award given by the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT to recognize outstanding advances in the field...

In the News - Huffington Post - Pfaff

Neuroscience Has An Important (But Complicated) Place In The Courtroom "Rockefeller University neurobiologist Dr. Donald Pfaff explained one way that neuroscience evidence can be important in the courtroom -- juries can consider testosterone levels, as high testosterone can cause violent behavior...
Campus News

Luciano Marraffini, among the first scientists to plumb the workings of the CRISPR-Cas system, is promoted to associate professor

by Diana Gitig, science writer Rockefeller University microbiologist Luciano Marraffini, head of the Laboratory of Bacteriology, has been promoted to associate professor. He studies the CRISPR-Cas system, which is part of an immune response that bacteria and some other microbes use to defend...
Science News

New research clarifies how stem cells get activated to produce new hair—and what happens when their regenerative powers wear out

Adult stem cells provide the body with a reservoir from which damaged or used up tissues can be replenished. In organs like the intestines and skin, which need constant rejuvenating, these stem cells are dividing frequently. But in other body structures, including the hair follicles, they are hel...
Campus News

Luciano Marraffini, among the first scientists to plumb the workings of the CRISPR-Cas system, is promoted to associate professor

Rockefeller University microbiologist Luciano Marraffini, head of the Laboratory of Bacteriology, has been promoted to associate professor. He studies the CRISPR-Cas system, which is part of an immune response bacteria and some other microbes use to defend themselves against viruses known as phag...
Awards and Honors

Alex Gitlin and Wenyan Jiang win 2016 Weintraub Graduate Student Awards

Alex Gitlin, who performed his thesis research in Michel Nussenzweig’s Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, and Wenyan Jiang, a graduate fellow in Luciano Marraffini’s Laboratory of Bacteriology, are two of this year’s recipients of the Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award. The award, one...
Science News

Metabolism protein found to also regulate feeding behavior in the brain

The molecular intricacies of hunger and satiety, pivotal for understanding metabolic disorders and the problem of obesity, are not yet fully understood by scientists. However, new research from The Rockefeller University reveals an important new component of the system responsible for regulating ...
Campus News

Search committee formed to identify Marc Tessier-Lavigne’s successor

When President Marc Tessier-Lavigne announced earlier this month that he will be leaving the university in September to become the next president of Stanford University, the news was met with praise for his many accomplishments by the campus community, the Rockefeller Board of Trustees, and its c...
Campus News

Timothy O’Connor appointed executive vice president

by Eva Kiesler, managing editor The Rockefeller Board of Trustees has approved the appointment of Timothy O’Connor as executive vice president of the university, effective February 17. In his former role as chief of staff and vice president, Dr. O’Connor provided high-level support to presi...

In the News - PBS Frontline - Kreek

The Options and Obstacles to Treating Heroin Addiction   "'Methadone became stigmatized almost immediately,' says Dr. Mary Jeanne Kreek of Rockefeller University. Kreek was part of the team that originally studied methadone as a potential treatment for opioid addiction in the 1960s. She notes tha...
Science News

Scientists question a popular theory about how the nervous system trims its branches

As tiny embryos in the womb, we start out with a lot more neuronal material than we actually need. During development, the body drastically prunes back the excess—cutting the branches from nerve cell bodies, known as axons, as well as entire neurons. Scientists have long assumed that the decisi...
Campus News

Rockefeller hosts the first New York City symposium on human genetics

by Katherine Fenz, media relations manager Tapping into human genetics holds great promise for understanding and treating disease, but there is still much to be learned. Scientists continue to have questions about how our DNA is altered in various afflictions, and how to effectively sort thr...

In the News - New Scientist - Ausubel

Earth’s rarest minerals could hint at life on other planets   "Two-thirds of rare minerals arise as a consequence of biological processes, such as biomineralisation, the authors say. These minerals could shed light on the co-evolution of biology and geology. And looking for them in space could be...

In the News -

Neuroscience of Early-Life Learning in C. elegans   "“[The] idea that the transient learning signal would later be dispensable at the time of memory goes back as far as Pavlov. We’re just developing the idea at a different level of resolution to map it onto a physical site and not just a conc...
Campus News

Awards, arrivals, and promotions

Congratulations to our latest award winners: Jean-Laurent Casanova has been recognized with the Stanley J. Korsmeyer Award for his work investigating the genetic basis of pediatric infectious diseases. The award is given by the American Society for Clinical Investigation, an honor society of phys...
Science News

Scientists learn how young brains form lifelong memories by studying worms’ food choices

Members of neuroscientist Cori Bargmann’s lab spend quite a bit of their time watching worms move around. These tiny creatures, Caenorhabditis elegans, feed on soil bacteria, and their very lives depend on their ability to distinguish toxic microbes from nutritious ones. In a recent study, Bargma...
Campus News

Help our archivists keep Rockefeller's science legacy alive

by Katie Fenz, media relations manager The scene at Rockefeller in the early 20th century was bustling with activity. There was Simon Flexner, developing an efficient way to treat meningitis; René Dubos, identifying properties of the first antibiotics; and Peyton Rous, testing his new idea tha...
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