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A case for simplifying gene nomenclature across different organisms

Scientists call it oxytocin in humans, isotocin in fish, mesotocin in birds, and valitocin in sharks. But according to a new study, it’s all the same hormone—and high time we settled on just one name.

New Caspary exhibit honors 58 Rockefeller award winners, past and present
Redesigning the exhibit provided an opportunity to consider how to best honor and commemorate Rockefeller award winners. Discussions with university leadership and an ad-hoc faculty committee steered the process and led to a broadening of the criteria for inclusion.
Evolutionary biologist and ornithologist Richard Prum receives the 2021 Lewis Thomas Prize
The author of The Evolution of Beauty was presented with Rockefeller’s science writing award, which honors scientists as inspirational authors.
Study of “breakthrough” cases suggests COVID testing may be here to stay
Two new cases helped scientists confirm what many have come to suspect: that people can get infected by SARS-CoV-2 variants even after successful vaccination. The findings suggest continued testing may be needed to prevent future outbreaks in a post-vaccine world. <...
Inside the protein channel that keeps bacteria alive
A novel method for studying how one crucial membrane protein functions may pave the way for a new kind of broad-spectrum antibiotic.
Brain disease transmitted by tick bites may be treatable
The virus that causes tick-borne encephalitis appears to trick the immune system, misdirecting it into producing inferior antibodies. But new research shows some people produce more potent antibodies, providing hope for treatment.
Immunologist Katharine Hsu is named director of the Tri-Institutional M.D.-Ph.D. program
The joint program between Weill Cornell Medicine, The Rockefeller University, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center will be lead by Hsu, an accomplished physician-scientist who specializes in immunology research and treatment of blood cancers.
Paul Cohen, expert on fat, is promoted to associate professor
Cohen, a physician-scientist exploring obesity and metabolic disease, has conducted groundbreaking research on the complex inner workings of fat tissue.
Immunologist Daniel Mucida promoted to professor
A pioneer in the field of mucosal immunology, Mucida is unlocking the secrets of the digestive system and answering fundamental questions about the origins of human disease.
Mary Jeanne Kreek, pioneer in studies of addiction, has died
Kreek conducted landmark studies that led to the establishment of methadone as a treatment for heroin addiction. Her work not only yielded new treatments for addiction disorders, but also influenced societal attitudes toward them. She was 84.
Paula Volent is named chief investment officer
The university has named its next vice president and chief investment officer. Volent, who for decades oversaw investments at Bowdoin College, will assume stewardship of Rockefeller's endowment in August.
How one patient’s rare mutation helped solve a mycobacterial mystery
The discovery may explain why some patients suffer more severe reactions than others—putting us one step closer to understanding how our DNA influences our susceptibility to a wide range of infectious diseases.
Financial crashes, pandemics, Texas snow: How math could predict "black swan" events
Statistical modeling may one day help scientists anticipate and manage a wide range of extreme occurrences, according to a new study.
An old antibiotic may combat drug-resistant tuberculosis
Drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis bacteria affect half a million people a year. A compound first discovered in the 1980s may be able to help.
Why male mosquitoes leave humans alone
Unlike their female counterparts, male mosquitoes have no desire to bite us. But the hardware for host-seeking is hidden in the male mosquito brain, locked behind a simple genetic switch. 
This fish is about to flip 
An elaborate set of zebrafish experiments is shining light on one of neuroscience’s greatest enigmas: How brains make decisions. By tracking neural activity, scientists can now predict a fish’s next move before it happens.
Rockefeller grants commercial license for the development of monoclonal antibodies for treatment of COVID-19
The treatment, a combination of two antibodies, has been shown highly capable of neutralizing SARS-CoV-2 in preclinical studies. Researchers hope it will give countries around the world, including developing countries, a way to control the rampant disease.
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.
As COVID-19 vaccines emerge, the search for antiviral drugs continues
Scientists are digging through drug libraries of 430,000 compounds, in pursuit of an antiviral drug that can stop the novel coronavirus in its tracks.
A mediocre mutator 
Scientists developed a method to safely examine the ability of SARS-CoV-2 to escape future drugs or vaccines by mutating. Their initial results are reassuring.
Royalty Pharma and Pablo and Almudena Legorreta Support Development of Antibody-Based COVID-19 Therapy at The Rockefeller University
Royalty Pharma and The Rockefeller University announced generous gifts totaling $5,760,000 from Royalty Pharma and Pablo and Almudena Legorreta.
Scientists map the network of SARS-CoV-2’s helpers inside human cells
The virus must hijack a more than a hundred human proteins to replicate inside a cell. One of them stands out because it is an absolute requirement for infection by four different coronaviruses as well as by viruses that cause Zika, yellow fever, and other diseases.
Charles M. Rice formally receives 2020 Nobel Prize in a virtual ceremony
Rice was honored for research that contributed to a cure for hepatitis C. He accepted the Nobel medal and diploma at the Swedish Consulate in New York City.
Marina Caskey is promoted to professor of clinical investigation
Caskey, a clinician in the lab of Michel Nussenzweig, has spent the last decade working on clinical studies of experimental immune-based vaccines and therapies.
New five-year fundraising campaign has already received $200 million in gifts
The $675 million Campaign for the Convergence of Science and Medicine, launched July 1, 2019, aims to fulfill the priorities identified in the university’s 2020-2024 strategic plan.
What bats can teach us about COVID-19
Unlike most humans, bats are naturally resistant to coronavirus infection. Researchers are now searching their genomes for clues that might explain why SARS-CoV-2 can cause devastating disease in our own species.
Telomere shortening protects against cancer
Researchers have found the first evidence that telomere shortening is not just a sign of aging, but a key component of the body's cancer prevention system.
Some cells are multilingual 
Experiments in zebrafish are shining light onto a poorly understood process in which cells communicate mechanically, by pushing and pulling on each other.
Conservation of resources is hardwired into the genetic code
A study of marine microbes reveals that conservation of nutrients is a fundamental property of cells in all living organisms, from plants to humans.
New atlas reveals the journey of human cells throughout development
The largest map of gene expression in over 4 million human cells charts the dynamic path to forming different organs.
Science fights back 
Researchers have launched a tremendous race to understand the new virus and attack it from every angle. How they work and collaborate might never again be the same.
Primordial shapeshifters 
Only in sci-fi movies can a living cell be created from scratch. But a recent discovery suggests that this tantalizing feat might one day become possible in the real world.
How the immune system deals with the gut's plethora of microbes
New research suggests that our immune system may play an active role in shaping the digestive-tract flora, which is tightly linked to health and disease.
How cells use mechanical tension sensors to interact with their environment
In a painstaking experiment, scientists suspended a single protein filament between two microscopic beads. Their results have shed light on an elusive process in which cells receive and respond to mechanical cues.
Rockefeller issues license for the development of novel anti-inflammatory drug
The novel compound, discovered in Jan L. Breslow’s lab and now licensed to Bridge Medicines, will be designed to treat immune-mediated diseases without harming the rest of the immune system.
New book by Rockefeller researcher spotlights one of nature’s fiercest hunters
Daniel Kronauer publishes a comprehensive monograph on army ants, the creatures at the center of his evolutionary-biology research.
Scientists discover mosquitoes’ unique blood-taste detectors
Female mosquitoes are armed with syringe-like stylets that begin to pump furiously only in the presence of blood. Scientists are now studying the specific neurons that line the stylet, and asking what mosquitoes taste when they bite us.
Rockefeller's Charles M. Rice honored with Nobel Prize for research that contributed to a cure for hepatitis C
Rice will receive the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for research that led to a cure for hepatitis C, a viral disease affecting 170 million people worldwide. His lab worked on the virus for three decades and became the first to produce a version of it that could be grown and studied i...
Joanne Chory wins the 2020 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize
Joanne Chory, who pioneered the application of molecular genetics to plant biology and transformed our understanding of photosynthesis, will receive the prize in a virtual ceremony hosted by Rockefeller on October 22.
Cancer cells use nerve-cell tricks to spread from one organ to the next
New research suggests that breast and lung tumors metastasize by hijacking a neural signaling pathway, potentially opening the door to better diagnostics and treatments.
A revised map of where working memory resides in the brain
Findings from genetically diverse mice challenge long-held assumptions about how the brain is able to briefly hold onto important information.
Scientists trace severe COVID-19 to faulty genes and autoimmune condition
The findings explain why some people are so vulnerable to the infection, and suggest new avenues for treatment.
When the city locked down, RockEDU moved the lab bench to the kitchen table
With input from participating students and scientists who volunteer with RockEDU, a blended Summer Science Research Program for high-school students was developed. The result was a modified SSRP curriculum with five experiential research tracks, complete with lab supply kits that were mailed to s...
Attention needs more attention 
Scientists long believed they knew precisely which nooks of the brain control our ability for selective attention. Now, new findings are redrawing the maps.
How dividing cells avoid setting off false virus alarms
A new molecular structure explains how cells hold an alarm-triggering protein captive during cell division, preventing cells from targeting their own DNA.
Microbes in the gut may influence metabolism
A growing number of studies find that microbes in the gut directly influence biological processes from bowel movements to behavior. New research reveals how they impact levels of glucose in the blood.
Return of the cytonaut 
The lysosome is having a moment. More than 60 years after this bubble-shaped cell structure was first discovered, scientists have found that it is key to our ability to metabolize iron, and a potential target for new cancer drugs.
Bulgari Corporation to support Rockefeller's COVID-19 research and women scientists
Over the next three years, the fund will augment the university's wide-ranging research initiatives aimed at alleviating the COVID-19 pandemic, and also support the its women scientists in their training and careers.
Heritable genome editing technology is not yet ready for clinical use, concludes an international commission co-chaired by President Lifton
A range of scientific and medical issues have yet to be addressed, the committee determined, and many ethical, moral, and societal concerns remain.
Scientists uncover antiviral protein that blocks coronavirus infection
New research identifies a protein that blocks infection by SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, along with several other types. The findings could inform treatment strategies and help us better prepare for future outbreaks.
How mechanical forces nudge tumors toward malignancy
Researchers studying two forms of skin cancer identified a long-overlooked factor determining why some tumors are more likely to metastasize than others: the physical properties of the tissue in which the cancer originates. The findings might set the stage for new ways to monitor and treat the di...
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