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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 worlds 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 OBrien, 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 dont 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, Parkinsons, 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 Universitys 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 DEETs 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 DEETs 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 Foundations 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.

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April 29, 2008


In a study by scientists at Rockefeller University in New York City, young male canaries isolated in soundproof cages learned to imitate computer-generated compositions in the first half of their youth. Come spring mating season, they changed their tune to the good old-fashioned canary love song even though theyd never heard it before.

April 15, 2008


Rockefeller University and University of Tokyo researchers said its been believed when molecules in the air travel up an insects nose, they latch onto a large protein on the surface of the cell and set off a chain of steps to open a molecular gate, signaling an odor is present. It's that way in the nematode, its that way in mammals, its that way in every known vertebrate, said study co-author Leslie Vosshall of Rockefeller University. So its actually unreasonable to think that insects use a different strategy to detect odors. But here, we show that insects have gotten rid of all this stuff in the middle and activate the gate directly.

April 15, 2008


When the first AIDS cases were reported in 1981, the victims were almost all white gay men. They were treated as outcasts. It was a repeat of the cholera experience, said David Ho, a biomedical scientist at Rockefeller University. The cause of the disease was unknown, and it affected a subset of the population. It was easy to brand the victims and blame the disease on their lifestyle.

April 14, 2008


Neuroeconomics is a hot area of research, Dr. McEwen says, and experiments have shown that particular areas of the brain are active when people make financial decisions, for example whether to take a small, immediate reward or wait for a bigger payoff later. Now, he says, it is clear that hormones are also part of the picture.

April 11, 2008


If behavior and technology do not change, more numerous humans will trample the earth and endanger our own survival, Jesse Ausubel told me. The snake brain in each of us makes me cautious about relying heavily on changes in behavior. In contrast, centuries of extraordinary technical progress give me great confidence that diffusion of our best practices and continuing innovation can advance us much further in decarbonization, landless agriculture, and other cardinal directions for a prosperous, green environment.

March 27, 2008


With the help of a handful of major philanthropies, the citys medical schools and research universities are investing billions to add a whopping 2 million or so square feet and hundreds of new medical science researchers by 2012. The expansions are part of an attempt to reclaim New Yorks stature in the world of medical research. With five major medical schools and research powerhouses, including Rockefeller University and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York City is still at the forefront of many kinds of research, especially in areas such as neuroscience, the study of HIV and other viruses, and the emerging field of structural biology.

March 18, 2008


As an experienced microbiologist, the overall goal of Cindy Quezadas work is to decipher how bacteria, specifically Salmonella, manipulate normal cellular processes in order to allow for their proliferation and survival within our cells. In addition to furthering our knowledge of how bacteria cause disease, her findings may identify potential prospects for drug development.

March 18, 2008


It may be great stuff, but DEET (short for N,N-diethyl-meta- toluamide) has also been a great mystery since it was developed after World War II. No one has known why it does what it does. All researchers really knew, said Leslie B. Vosshall, a researcher at Rockefeller University in New York, is that it had something to do with insect smell. Now Dr. Vosshall, with her colleagues Mathias Ditzen and Maurizio Pellegrino, has uncovered DEETs secret.


Watch recent episodes co-hosted by Paul Nurse:

The Brain
The Human Genome
Longevity
Cancer
Stem Cells
Obesity
HIV/AIDS
Pandemics
Heart Disease
Global Health
Human Sexuality
Brain Potential/Disease
The Imperative and Promise of Science



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