Novel human/mouse model could boost type 1 diabetes research
March 23, 2018
Researchers at Whitehead Institute have developed a novel platform with human beta cells that could allow scientists to better understand the mechanisms underlying type 1 diabetes and what provokes it.
AudioHelicase podcast: Whitehead's Mary Gehring discusses how gene regulation can be passed from one generation to the next
March 20, 2018
In this episode of AudioHelicase, Whitehead Institute Member Mary Gehring discusses how her research on the plant Arabidopsis thaliana reveals how gene regulation can be passed from one generation to the next.
A Blueprint for Regeneration
March 15, 2018
Researchers at Whitehead Institute have uncovered a framework for regeneration that may explain and predict how stem cells in adult, regenerating tissue determine where to form replacement structures.
A Vision for Science
March 9, 2018
A postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Whitehead Member Sebastian Lourido wins Koch Institute Image Award
Toxic proteins and type 2 diabetes
March 8, 2018
New study in yeast implicates a molecular de-clogger in disease biology
Rudolf Jaenisch and Richard Young - Adventuring, in Science and the World
February 27, 2018
Though born half-a-world apart—Jaenisch in Wölfelsgrund, Germany; Young in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania—the two have collaborated virtually since each arrived at Whitehead in 1984, leveraging shared passions for discovery research and for exploring the Earth’s least-travelled paths.
Fragile X syndrome neurons restored using CRISPR/Cas9-guided activation strategy
February 15, 2018
Fragile X syndrome is the most frequent cause of intellectual disability in males, affecting 1 out of 3600 boys born. For the first time, researchers at Whitehead Institute have restored activity to the fragile X syndrome gene in affected neurons using a modified CRISPR/Cas9 system they developed.
AudioHelicase podcast: Whitehead's Robert Weinberg on cancer research's past, present, and future
January 22, 2018
From his discovery of the first oncogene and tumor suppressor, to his work revealing critical aspects of the mutational basis of cancer, and more recently its metastatic behavior, Whitehead Founding Member Robert Weinberg’s work has been foundational in our understanding of cancer biology.
Pairing mismatch helps impaired fish RNA cleavage proceed swimmingly
December 21, 2017
Researchers at Whitehead Institute have uncovered how small changes in the fish Argonaute (Ago) protein, an RNA slicing protein, that happened in its lineage an estimated 300 million years ago greatly diminished the efficiency of RNAi in these animals, while another ancestral feature, in a critical pre-microRNA, was retained that enabled the microRNA to still be produced despite the fish’s impaired Ago protein.
Harnessing nature’s riches
December 19, 2017
With unique sustainable engineering method, a team of Whitehead Institute researchers unlocks the biochemistry needed to synthesize key substance from rare medicinal plant.
Small RNA mediates genetic parental conflict in seed endosperm
December 19, 2017
When it comes to gene expression in the endosperm of seeds, gene provenance matters. In this specialized tissue, plants actively strive to keep the expression of genes inherited from the mother versus the father in balance, according to Whitehead Institute scientists.
Epigenetic rheostat helps uncover how gene regulation is inherited and maintained
December 14, 2017
DNA Methylation—the addition of chemical tags to DNA—typically reduces the expression of methylated genes. Whitehead Institute Member Mary Gehring and her lab have identified a mechanism important for maintaining methylation, that when disrupted, results in the demethylation of large sections of the Arabidopsis plant’s genome.