May 9, 2008 | science news
New theory suggests how hepatitis C may cause rare immune disease

In 1990 researchers observed that most patients with hepatitis C also develop a rare autoimmune disease called mixed cryoglobulinemia, a condition that frequently leads to cancer, arthritis or both. Now scientists at Rockefeller University say that a decade-old explanation of how one disease causes the other is likely wrong, and instead offer a new � albeit controversial � theory of their own.

May 6, 2008 | honors and awards
Seth Darst joins National Academy of Sciences

Seth Darst, whose research explores the mechanisms by which RNA is transcribed from DNA, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors given to a scientist or engineer in the United States.

May 5, 2008 | honors and awards
Jeffrey Ravetch elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

An immunologist who studies how cells respond to specific antibodies has been elected to The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, an independent policy research center that undertakes studies of complex and emerging problems.

May 2, 2008 | campus news
New policy at Rockefeller University Press allows authors to retain copyright to their published work

Citing the growing demand from the public and the scientific community for access to research data, The Rockefeller University Press has revised its copyright policy to allow authors to retain the rights to work published in its three journals.

April 25, 2008 | science news
Newly refined antibody therapy may be potent treatment for autoimmune diseases

Despite its variable efficacy, IVIG � a therapeutic made from the pooled plasma of healthy blood donors � has been used for years. Now, researchers have reengineered it to create a therapy that could be far more effective.

April 22, 2008 | meetings and events
Rockefeller University hosts two-day evolution symposium

Beginning with the molecular origins of life and culminating with the latest findings on human evolution, 18 of the world�s leading experts will report on research spanning three billion years of evolution.

April 17, 2008 | science news
New molecule could be key to anti-heart-attack drug

New research suggests that it should be possible to create a clot-busting pill that targets blood cells called platelets � something that high-risk patients could take at the first sign of chest pain, saving previous time and preventing excess damage.

April 15, 2008 | meetings and events
Miles O�Brien, Susan Wood, Paul Nurse to be panelists at public �Science and Politics� event

Many of the biggest problems facing our society, like global warming, dwindling oil and unaffordable health care, are at their core scientific problems. Yet the national conversation on science tends toward oversimplification and pandering � never more so than in an election year. The result: a confused public who gets neither the straight story nor good policy. �Conversations on Science and Politics� will feature panelists from science, journalism and government discussing obstacles to reasoned debate and sound policies in science.

April 14, 2008 | science news
Insects evolved a radically different strategy to smell

To find their prey, insects use smell. But scientists at Rockefeller University have found that they don�t detect odors the same way other animals do. These findings, which break with the ideology of the field, could lead to new insect repellents that effectively and safely keep backyard biters at bay and reduce the incidence of diseases they transmit.

April 11, 2008 | science news
Slightly abnormal blood test may point to a �silent� form of hepatitis B

In the first study to screen for multiple markers of hepatitis A, B and C in patients entering a single drug-treatment program, researchers reveal that 20 percent who had hepatitis B in the past may have a silent form of the virus. The findings, which reignite an ongoing public health debate, heighten justification for treating this potentially infectious viral renegade.

April 4, 2008 | campus news
Final episode of �Charlie Rose Science Series� airs April 7

The final episode, titled �The Imperative and Promise of Science,� will feature scientific leaders who have inspired a new generation of thinkers.

April 1, 2008 | science news
Newly identified gene may prompt pancreas cells to form

Researchers uncover key genetic signals involved in how the pancreas begins forming, a finding they say might lead to regenerative therapies for patients with certain forms of diabetes, whose pancreases no longer function.

March 27, 2008 | science news
New drug may help rescue the aging brain

An experimental compound appears to prevent inflammation and stimulate neurotransmitter production in older rats. Taken chronically, it may have the ability to fend off memory impairment, depression, Parkinson�s, and other ailments.

March 27, 2008 | honors and awards
First Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prizes awarded to infectious disease experts

The inaugural Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prizes, named after Rockefeller University�s prominent early-20th-century bacteriologist, were awarded to Brian Greenwood and Miriam K. Were.

March 25, 2008 | grants and gifts
$4.5 million grant funds interdisciplinary fellowships at Rockefeller

The grant, from the Leon Levy Foundation, will fund the Leon Levy Presidential Fellowships in Neuroscience, designed to recruit young scientists whose research is at the crossroads of physics, mathematics and neuroscience.

March 25, 2008 | honors and awards
Three geneticists win 2007 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize

The fourth annual prize, created to recognize outstanding female scientists, has been awarded to Gail Martin of the University of California, San Francisco, Beatrice Mintz of the Fox Chase Cancer Center and Elizabeth Robertson of the University of Oxford.

March 19, 2008 | books
Brains are hardwired to act according to the Golden Rule

Donald Pfaff, the author of the new book The Neuroscience of Fair Play: Why We (Usually) Follow the Golden Rule, proposes a theory that explains why people usually treat each other in a thoughtful and civil manner. Our brains, he says, are hardwired to do unto others as we would have them do unto us � an ethical principle that seems to be present in all cultures throughout the ages.

March 13, 2008 | science news
Chemical in bug spray works by masking human odors

The United States Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Army invented DEET, a chemical found in bug spray, to protect soldiers from disease-transmitting insects. But now, thanks to Rockefeller University researchers, we know how it works. By pinpointing DEET�s molecular target in insects, these researchers have shown that the widely used bug repellent masks human odors that blood-feeding insects find attractive � work that makes it possible not only to improve upon DEET�s repellent properties but also make it a safer chemical.

March 12, 2008 | appointments and promotions
Neuroscientist Gerald Fischbach named visiting professor

A researcher best known for his work on synapses, the junctions between brain cells, will become a visiting professor at Rockefeller University beginning this spring. Fischbach currently serves as scientific director of The Simons Foundation�s Autism Research Initiative, a philanthropy that has awarded $130 million over the past five years to researchers studying autism.

March 11, 2008 | science news
Specialized natural killer cells in human tonsils pack a punch

Located at the back of the throat, immune cells in the tonsils are perfectly positioned to catch inhaled and swallowed germs. Now, new research shows that they house immune cells that are particularly good at protecting against the Epstein Barr virus.