Imaging immunity: Noninvasive imaging of immune system detects tumors, could monitor therapeutic response
April 20, 2015
A novel approach that allows real-time imaging of the immune system’s response to the presence of tumors—without the need for blood draws or invasive biopsies—offers a potential breakthrough both in diagnostics and in the ability to monitor efficacy of cancer therapies.
Whitehead Member Jing-Ke Weng named a Searle Scholar
April 14, 2015
Whitehead Institute Member Jing-Ke Weng is among 15 young scientists nationwide to be named a 2015 Searle Scholar.
Biologists identify brain tumor weakness
April 8, 2015
Biologists at Whitehead Institute and MIT have discovered a vulnerability of brain cancer cells that could be exploited to develop more-effective drugs against brain tumors.
CRISPR-Cas genome editing of Candida albicans holds promise for overcoming deadly fungal infections
April 3, 2015
Candida albicans is a human pathogen that causes potentially lethal infections in immunocompromised individuals. Efforts to overcome Candida’s innate resistance to many drugs have been thwarted by an absence of tools enabling genetic modifications. Now, using a modified CRISPR-Cas system, Whitehead Institute researchers can edit the fungus’s genome systematically—an approach that could help scientists understand Candida’s unique biology and identify potential drug targets.
Age discrimination during cell division maintains the ‘stem’ in stem cells
April 2, 2015
A team of Whitehead Institute scientists has discovered that during division, stem cells distinguish between old and young mitochondria and allocate them disproportionately between daughter cells.
Refined CRISPR/Cas genome editing accelerates generation of transgenic mice
March 23, 2015
Although the genome editing system known as CRISPR/Cas has revolutionized genetic research in cell lines, its overall efficiency has been relatively poor when used to generate genetically altered animals for disease modeling. Now Whitehead Institute scientists have altered the approach in a manner that could accelerate the production of mice carrying precise mutations of multiple genes.
Scientists identify first nutrient sensor in key growth-regulating metabolic pathway
January 7, 2015
Scientists in the lab of Whitehead Institute Member David Sabatini have for the first time identified a protein that appears to be a nutrient sensor for the key growth-regulating mTORC1 metabolic pathway.
Family of neural-associated RNA-binding proteins found to regulate cell state in breast cancer
December 15, 2014
A widely conserved family of RNA-binding proteins known to be expressed in neural stem cells and other stem cell types has now been shown to play a role in controlling both the state and behavior of breast cancer cells.
Heat-shock protein enables tumor evolution and drug resistance in breast cancer
December 8, 2014
Long known for its ability to help organisms successfully adapt to environmentally stressful conditions, the highly conserved molecular chaperone heat-shock protein 90 (HSP90) also enables estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancers to develop resistance to hormonal therapy.
Direct generation of neural stem cells could enable transplantation therapy
November 6, 2014
Induced neural stem cells (iNSCs) hold promise for therapeutic transplantation, but their potential in this capacity has been limited by failed efforts to maintain such cells in their multi-potent NSC state. Now, Whitehead Institute scientists have created iNSCs that remain in the multi-potent state—without ongoing expression of reprogramming factors. This allows the iNSCs to self-renew repeatedly to generate cells in quantities sufficient for therapy.
What’s mighty about the mouse? For starters, its massive Y chromosome
October 30, 2014
An exhaustive effort to sequence the mouse Y chromosome reveals a surprisingly large and complex biological beast, at the same time providing remarkable insight into a heated battle for supremacy between mammalian sex chromosomes.
Blocking a fork in the road to DNA replication
October 30, 2014
A team of Whitehead Institute scientists has discovered the surprising manner in which an enigmatic protein known as SUUR acts to control gene copy number during DNA replication. It’s a finding that could shed new light on the formation of fragile genomic regions associated with chromosomal abnormalities.