Research News
May 1, 2012
Whitehead Member Richard Young elected to National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences announced today that Whitehead Institute’s Richard Young is among 84 new Academy members elected in recognition of distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.
April 27, 2012
lobSTR algorithm rolls DNA fingerprinting into 21st Century
Whitehead Institute researchers have created a three-step algorithm, lobSTR, that in one day accurately and simultaneously profiles more than 100,000 short tandem repeats (STRs) in one human genome sequence—a feat that previous systems could never complete.
March 29, 2012
On the path to age-defying therapies
By teasing apart rapamycin’s activity at the cellular level, researchers at Whitehead Institute and the University of Pennsylvania have determined that inhibiting only the protein cluster known as the mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) prolongs life in mice without adversely affecting glucose tolerance or insulin sensitivity.
March 29, 2012
Once again, Whitehead Institute is the best place for postdocs
For the second year in a row, Whitehead Institute has been dubbed the best place in the United States for postdoctoral researchers to work. The honor was bestowed by The Scientist magazine, which conducts an annual survey of postdocs at research institutions internationally.
March 27, 2012
Whitehead Director talks Y chromosome with Stephen Colbert
Whitehead Institute Director David Page appeared last night on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report to engage in a little lively banter about the future of the human Y chromosome.
March 23, 2012
Whitehead Member Robert Weinberg honored for cancer genetics research
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) reported today that Whitehead Institute Founding Member Robert Weinberg is the 2012 Recipient of the Pezcoller Foundation-AACR International Award for Cancer Research.
March 1, 2012
Planarian genes that control stem cell biology identified
Despite their unassuming appearance, the planarian flatworms in Whitehead Institute Member Peter Reddien's lab are revealing powerful new insights into the biology of stem cells—insights that may eventually help such cells deliver on a promising role in regenerative medicine.
February 24, 2012
Prominent stem cell group honors Whitehead Member Rudolf Jaenisch
The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) has named Whitehead Institute Founding Member Rudolf Jaenisch the winner of the 2012 McEwen Award for Innovation.
February 22, 2012
Theory of the "rotting" Y chromosome dealt a fatal blow
If you were to discover that a fundamental component of human biology has survived virtually intact for the past 25 million years, you’d be quite confident in saying that it is here to stay.
Such is the case for a team of Whitehead Institute scientists, whose latest research on the evolution of the human Y chromosome confirms that the Y—despite arguments to the contrary—has a long, healthy future ahead of it.
February 19, 2012
In Memoriam: John Pratt
The entire Whitehead Institute community is profoundly saddened by news of Friday night's passing of John Pratt, the Institute’s former Associate Director and a central figure in establishing what would become one of the world’s preeminent biomedical research institutions.
February 15, 2012
Prions play powerful role in the survival and evolution of wild yeast strains
In a massive undertaking, Whitehead Institute scientists have tested nearly 700 wild yeast strains isolated from diverse environments for the presence of known and unknown prion elements, finding them in one third of all strains. All the prions appear capable of creating diverse new traits, nearly half of which are beneficial.
February 14, 2012
Noncoding RNAs alter yeast phenotypes in a site-specific manner
A team of scientists from Whitehead Institute and other institutions has shown for the first time how two long intergenic noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) in brewer’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) contribute to a location-dependent switch for the yeast FLO11 gene to toggle between active and inactive states.
February 12, 2012
A mitosis mystery solved: how chromosomes align perfectly in a dividing cell
Although the process of mitotic cell division has been studied intensely for more than 50 years, Whitehead Institute researchers have only now solved the mystery of how cells correctly align their chromosomes during symmetric mitosis.
February 1, 2012
Chaos in the cell's command center
Whitehead Institute researchers have determined the critical role one enzyme, lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1), plays as mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) differentiate.
January 12, 2012
Brain glia cells increase their DNA content to preserve vital blood-brain barrier
Whitehead Institute scientists report that the growing fruit fly brain instructs subperineurial glia (SPG) cells that form the blood-brain barrier to enlarge by creating multiple copies of their genomes in a process known as polyploidization.
2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1995
Last updated May 1, 2012. |
