March 11, 2010 | science news
Scientists pinpoint source of recurrent yeast infections in autoimmune syndrome

It turns out that the immune system can create its own infections. Scientists now report that the immune-fighting proteins that keep yeast in check in healthy immune systems are under siege in patients with a rare autoimmune disorder known as APS-1. By pinpointing the cause of candidiasis in these patients, the finding paves the way for treating these fungal infections with drugs that are already out in the market.

March 10, 2010 | science news
Scientists track variant of gene-regulating protein in embryonic stem cells

The path to fully developed cells from embryonic stem cells requires that the right genes are turned on and off at the right times. New research from Rockefeller University shows that tiny variations between gene-regulating histone proteins play an important role in determining how and when genes are read. The finding shows that each region of the genome may be even more specialized than previously expected and may open a new avenue of investigation regarding the mysterious causes of the human genetic disease known as ATR-X syndrome.

March 9, 2010 | science news
Research identifies gene that changes the brain’s response to stress

Brains change. They change throughout life, responding to developmental but also environmental cues, like stress. Scientists know of several important proteins that play a role in what brains do with new experience. Now they have identified one, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which must be present at a certain level to enable the brain’s “adaptive plasticity,” particularly in response to stress.

February 25, 2010 | science news
Imaging studies reveal order in programmed cell death

In order to thrive, the human body orchestrates a mass suicide of about 10 billion potentially dangerous cells a day. New research takes a closer look at programmed cell death — called apoptosis — and finds order in this process, once thought to be an erratically timed, sudden collapse.

February 22, 2010 | science news
Mouse model reveals a cause of ADHD

New research in a mouse model of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder suggests that the root of the psychiatric disorder might be the over-activity of a protein that regulates the brain’s reward-motivation system. The work suggests a path toward new treatments for symptoms including inattentiveness, over-activity and impulsivity.

February 9, 2010 | science news
Scientists crash test DNA’s replication machinery

Important molecular machines routinely crash into one another while plying their trades on DNA. New research shows that the enzymes that copy DNA before cell division, called replisomes, are the kings of this road, kicking aside machines that are performing less critical tasks, such as transcribing instructions for proteins.

February 9, 2010 | science news
Research identifies gene with likely role in premenstrual disorder

Some women are especially sensitive to the natural flux of hormones in the menstrual cycle. New research points to a gene that likely influences how women respond to swings in estrogen levels and could help diagnose and treat premenstrual dysphoric disorder, a condition marked by extreme mood swings and irritability. The work also provides insight into the historically understudied area of medically relevant differences between men and women.

February 9, 2010 | science news
Leaf veins inspire a new model for distribution networks

Following the straight and narrow may be good moral advice, but it’s not a great design principle for a distribution network. In new research, a team of biophysicists describe a complex netting of interconnected looping veins that evolution devised to distribute water in leaves. The work, which bucks decades of thinking, may compel engineers to revisit some common assumptions that have informed the building of many human-built distribution networks.

February 5, 2010 | science news
By tracking water molecules, physicists hope to unlock secrets of life

Compared to any other liquid on Earth, water behaves in strange and unexpected ways, yet its unusual properties enable and protect life as we know it. By tracking individual water molecules in a “supercooled” state, scientists find what explains one of water’s most notable and life-saving features: its astounding capacity to resist gaining or losing heat.

February 5, 2010 | science news
Newly engineered enzyme is a powerful staph antibiotic

In the past decade, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, has ushered in a new era in the fight between man and bug. By harnessing the power of nature’s own antibiotics, scientists have engineered an enzyme known as a lysin that not only kills MRSA in mice but also works synergistically with antibiotics that were once powerless against the formidable organism.

January 27, 2010 | science news
Brain arousal heightens sexual activity in male mice

Ever since the dawn of time, teenage boys have been defined by their sexual urges. Stereotype or not, the same fate has now befallen male mice. In new research that harkens back to those awkward high school moments and uncomfortable coming-of-age memories, scientists now show that male mice genetically selected for high levels of nervous energy act like sex-crazed teenage boys: highly motivated, but awkward and inefficient.

January 22, 2010 | science news
Researchers track evolution and spread of drug-resistant bacteria across hospitals and continents

Using high resolution genome sequencing, scientists have tracked a deadly strain of multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus as it traveled between South America, Europe and Southeast Asia. The new technique provides an unprecedented view of how MRSA evolved over decades and across entire continents, as well as on the short timescale of a few weeks within a hospital in Thailand.

January 21, 2010 | science news
First evidence that the brain’s native dendritic cells can muster an immune response

Since their initial discovery in 1973, dendritic cells, the sentinels of the immune system, have turned up in a number of places other than the immune organs. They stand guard in the heart, for instance, and in 2008, the first population native to the brain was identified. New research shows that dendritic cells are not only present in the brain, but active, too. They confront foreign substances and seem to form a barrier between healthy and stricken brain tissue following a stroke.

January 20, 2010 | studies and trials
Clinical trial to explore link between vitamin D and cholesterol

An unusual finding in previous studies of vitamin D-deficient patients has prompted a new clinical study at The Rockefeller University Hospital. Investigator Manish Ponda aims to discover if there is a causative relationship between vitamin D supplementation and elevated levels of small LDL cholesterol. The hospital is currently recruiting subjects for the study.

January 8, 2010 | science news
Loss of epigenetic regulators causes mental retardation

New findings, published in recent issues of Neuron and Science, indicate that malfunction of a protein complex that normally suppresses gene activation causes mental retardation in mice and humans and may even play a role in promoting susceptibility to drug addiction.

January 8, 2010 | science news
Loosely coiled DNA helps trypanosomes make their escape

Some animals use camouflage to outsmart their prey; others use mimicry or fake their own death. But Trypanosoma brucei, the wily parasite that causes African sleeping sickness, is the only organism we know of that can change its molecular identity on command to escape the grip of the human immune system. New research reveals a key discovery that has eluded scientists for decades: To avoid capture, trypanosomes must strategically uncoil their DNA.

December 28, 2009 | science news
DNA ‘barcoding’ reveals 95 species of life in NYC homes, students show

Armed with the latest high-tech DNA analysis techniques, two New York City high school students examined every nook and cranny of their homes and were astonished to discover a veritable zoo of 95 animal species surrounding them, in everything from fridges to furniture.

December 23, 2009 | science news
Genomic differences identified in common skin diseases

If you have dry skin, wet it, if wet skin, dry it. This has been a general rule of dermatology for centuries, but scientists are working to develop more precise treatments for the dozen-plus inflammatory skin diseases that afflict people. New research details the fine genetic and immunological differences between two of the most common skin diseases, psoriasis and atopic eczema, presenting a new way to classify the disorders as well as possible novel therapeutics.

December 23, 2009 | science news
Scientists visualize how a vital hepatitis C virus protein moves along its nucleic acid substrate

In a series of three snapshots that recapitulate the coordinated actions, scientists reveal how a protein essential for the replication of the hepatitis C virus moves along its nucleic acid substrate. The finding illustrates the nucleotide-dependent changes of interactions between the protein, known as NS3, and DNA, work that suggests some of the most feasible strategies to date to block the action of this largely unexplored drug target.

December 23, 2009 | honors and awards
Titia de Lange awarded grant, named American Cancer Society Research Professor

The head of Rockefeller University’s Laboratory of Cell Biology and Genetics has received a $400,000 grant from the American Cancer Society and has been named an American Cancer Society Research Professor. The five-year grant, which is effective January 1, 2010, will fund de Lange’s continuing research on telomeres, the strings of extra DNA that cap and protect the ends of chromosomes through numerous cycles of cell division.

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IN THE NEWS

March 9, 2010


“‘In more than 90 percent of human deafness, what’s missing are hair cells, the sensory receptors of the internal ear,’ Dr. Hudspeth said. ‘What we want to do and what we hope to do is to replace those cells. Now the zebrafish can tell us how those cells might be replaced. We hope to learn what genes are involved, and then to learn how to switch those same genes in our own ear, and by that means to restore hearing.’”

March 3, 2010


“Operations researchers have appreciated that these redundancies are an effective hedge against damage. What’s most surprising in the new research, according to Marcelo O. Magnasco, head of the Laboratory of Mathematical Physics at Rockefeller University, is that the complex network also does a better job of handling fluctuating loads according to shifts in demand from different parts of the system — a common real-world need within dynamic distribution networks.”

February 23, 2010


“When you shop at a grocery store, you trust that the food labels are accurate. In other words, if you’re buying anchovies you assume you’re getting anchovies. Some students at Trinity High School in New York City never imagined their school science project would turn into an expose of food labels. The teens tested 66 food items and found that 11 of them were mislabeled, including caviar, cheese and fish. Their teacher had them team up with scientists from the Rockefeller University and the American Museum of Natural History. The objective: To see if they could extract DNA from samples they took from around the house, including a feather from a duster, a hair from a brush, and stuff in the refrigerator.”

February 15, 2010


“Although scientists still don’t understand the precise biological mechanism behind PMDD, it’s increasingly clear that the brains of women who suffer from the disorder are affected by where they are in their menstrual cycle. Pieces of this puzzle are slowly emerging. On Feb. 8, researchers at the Rockefeller University in New York reported the results of a study in mice that suggested that a particular gene may be involved.”

February 12, 2010


“Leaves have an intricate web of veins that transport nutrients and water and provide structural support. But what determines the pattern of venation? Physicists Marcelo Magnasco and Eleni Katifori, of The Rockefeller University, investigated this question using sophisticated algorithms and a little glow-in-the-dark dye.”

February 11, 2010


“Another group of researchers at Rockefeller, led by Marcelo Magnasco, also examined vein-loops in leaves. They found that as well as improving efficiency, they also help to ameliorate damage. They discovered this by injecting fluorescent dye into leaves to see if the vein network could distribute the dye to all parts of a leaf that had been damaged. They found the loops are structured in such a way that no matter which piece of a leaf’s supply mechanism is disrupted, there is usually enough capacity in the rest to distribute water and nutrients. ‘It was very surprising,’ Dr Magnasco observes. ‘The famous theorems that tell us that the optimal structure is a tree failed in a spectacular fashion.’”

February 9, 2010


“Scientists have suspected for decades that some phages have a hand at helping the growth of anthrax, Bacillus anthracis, and its less deadly cousins in the Bacillus genus. Then, four years ago, [Raymond] Schuch, along with Vincent Fischetti, a professor of bacteriology at Rockefeller, found a direct link — a type of phage that made anthrax resistant to an antibiotic commonly produced by other bacteria in soil, such as Streptomyces.”

February 5, 2010


“It’s not unusual for both halves of a two-scientist couple to work in the same field, and it can be a painful dilemma to forge parallel but separate careers. But Michael Crickmore and Dragana Rogulja, both postdoctoral researchers at Rockefeller University in New York City, credit much of their success to their partnership. In their art-filled Manhattan apartment, conversations flow effortlessly from practical family matters to the latest art exhibition to the experiments they’re working on. During those conversations, they work out many of their scientific ideas — ideas that they hope will propel them into labs of their own someday. ‘We’re on the same team,’ Crickmore says.”



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