Amgen Foundation grant bolsters Whitehead Institute’s science education programs for middle school students
August 11, 2015
Whitehead Institute has strengthened its popular science education programs for middle schoolers this year thanks to a new grant from the Amgen Foundation.
Amino acid shortage curbs proliferation in cells with mitochondrial dysfunction
July 31, 2015
According to Whitehead Institute researchers, cells with malfunctioning mitochondria are unable to proliferate due to a shortage of the amino acid aspartate, not because of an energy crisis, as was once thought. Mitochondrial dysfunction plays a role in a host of relatively rare disorders as well as neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson’s disease.
Forks colliding: How DNA breaks during re-replication
June 4, 2015
Leveraging a novel system designed to examine the double-strand DNA breaks that occur as a consequence of gene amplification during DNA replication, Whitehead Institute scientists are bringing new clarity to the causes of such genomic damage. Moreover, because errors arising during DNA replication and gene amplification result in chromosomal abnormalities often found in malignant cells, these new findings may bolster our understandings of certain drivers of cancer progression.
Repurposed anti-cholesterol drug could improve treatment-resistant anemias
May 11, 2015
Using a mouse model, the lab of Whitehead Institute Founding Member Harvey Lodish, has now determined that combining the cholesterol-lowering drug fenofibrate with glucocorticoids could allow for dramatically lower steroid doses in the treatment of Diamond Blackfan anemia and other erythropoietin-resistant anemias.
Scientists identify gene required for differentiation of breast stem cells
May 6, 2015
Scientists have applied a new method of analyzing cell states to identify a gene required for breast stem cells to differentiate. This gene, RUNX1, is deregulated or mutated in some leukemias and breast cancers. The novel approach, known as PEACS, could also be used to screen for drugs that activate or inhibit the expression regulators of stem cell differentiation.
Whitehead’s Susan Lindquist elected to UK’s Royal Society
May 1, 2015
The UK’s Royal Society today announced that it has elected Whitehead Institute’s Susan Lindquist as a Foreign Member.
Whitehead’s Rudolf Jaenisch honored with March of Dimes Prize
April 27, 2015
The prize honors Jaenisch’s groundbreaking body of work in epigenetics, the development of transgenic animals, and the generation and use of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells.
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.