Pharma executive Michael W. Bonney joins Whitehead Institute Board of Directors
December 10, 2015
Whitehead Institute announced today that Michael W. Bonney, former Chief Executive Officer of Cubist Pharmaceuticals, has been elected to its Board of Directors.
Whitehead’s Susan Lindquist named a Moore Distinguished Scholar at Caltech
December 8, 2015
Established in 2000 by Intel co-founder Gordon Moore and his wife Betty, the Moore Distinguished Scholars Program invites researchers of exceptional quality who are acclaimed at both the national and international levels to visit Caltech for a designated period of time.
Architecture of protein complex hints at its foundational function in chromosome segregation
November 19, 2015
The Constitutive Centromere-Associated Network (CCAN) plays a foundational role in the machine that directs chromosome segregation during cell division. On the left is a model of the complete machine (the kinetochore) attached to the microtubule that provides the power for chromosome segregation. The right side depicts the direct interactions between CCAN sub-complexes based on Whitehead scientists’ research as viewed from above the CENP-A nucleosome, either occuring on a single nucleosome (top) or or between two nucleosomes (bottom).”
Screen of human genome reveals set of genes essential for cellular viability
October 15, 2015
Using two complementary analytical approaches, scientists at Whitehead Institute and Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard have for the first time identified the universe of genes in the human genome essential for the survival and proliferation of human cell lines or cultured human cells. Their findings and the materials they developed in conducting the research will not only serve as invaluable resources for the global research community but should also have application in the discovery of drug-targetable genetic vulnerabilities in a variety of human cancers.
Scientists discover essential amino acid sensor in key growth-regulating metabolic pathway
October 8, 2015
Whitehead Institute scientists have at last answered the long-standing question of how the growth-regulating pathway known as mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) detects the presence of the amino acid leucine—itself a key player in modulating muscle growth, appetite, and insulin secretion.
Enhanced-sensitivity NMR could reveal clues on how proteins fold
October 8, 2015
Until now, it has been difficult to fully characterize the different structures that proteins can take on in their natural environments. However, using a new technique known as sensitivity-enhanced nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Whitehead Institute and MIT researchers have shown that they can analyze the structure that a yeast protein forms as it interacts with other proteins in a cell.
Hydrogen peroxide induces signals that link the mitochondrial respiratory chain to specific cellular pathway
October 5, 2015
Countering the prevailing theory that cellular hydrogen peroxide signaling is broad and non-specific, Whitehead Institute scientists have discovered that this reactive oxygen species (ROS) in fact triggers a distinct signal transduction cascade under control of the mitochondrial respiratory chain—the Syk pathway—that regulates transcription, translation, metabolism, and the cell cycle in diverse cell types. Hydrogen peroxide and other ROS mediate cellular responses in aging and myriad common chronic diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, and neurodegeneration. Understanding how these signals function may point to new therapy targets for these conditions.
New methodology tracks changes in DNA methylation in real time at single-cell resolution
September 24, 2015
Whitehead Institute researchers have developed a tool that allows scientists to monitor changes in DNA methylation over time in individual cells. Certain diseases, including cancer, cause changes in DNA methylation patterns, and the ability to document these alterations could aid in the development of novel therapies.
New role for an old protein: Cancer causer
September 3, 2015
A protein known to play a role in transporting the molecular contents of normal cells into and out of various intracellular compartments can also turn such cells cancerous by stimulating a key growth-control pathway.
Variations in cell programs control cancer and normal stem cells
September 3, 2015
In the breast, cancer stem cells and normal stem cells can arise from different cell types and tap into distinct yet related stem cell programs, according to Whitehead Institute researchers. The differences between these stem cell programs may be significant enough to be exploited by future therapeutics.
Cellular recycling complexes may hold key to chemotherapy resistance
September 2, 2015
Upsetting the balance between protein synthesis, misfolding, and degradation drives cancer and neurodegeneration. Recent cancer treatments take advantage of this knowledge with a class of drugs that block protein degradation, known as proteasome inhibitors. Widespread resistance to these drugs limits their success, but Whitehead researchers have discovered a potential Achilles heel in resistance. With such understandings researchers may be able to target malignancy broadly, and more effectively.
Tiny antibodies point to vulnerability in disease-causing parasites
August 24, 2015
By teasing apart the structure of an enzyme vital to the parasites that cause toxoplasmosis and malaria, Whitehead Institute scientists have identified a potentially ‘drugable’ target that could prevent parasites from entering and exiting host cells.