Research at Whitehead
Whitehead Institute provides researchers with the resources and freedom to follow their scientific instincts, form novel collaborations, and conduct high-risk research. While probing basic biological processes, the Institute’s 16 faculty Members and 2 Fellows develop innovative technologies and lay the foundation for projects that improve human health. They run pioneering programs in cancer, immunology, developmental biology, stem cell science, regenerative medicine, genetics, and genomics.
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Research News
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May 2, 2013 Scientists revolutionize the creation of genetically altered mice to model human diseaseUsing a bacteria-based technique, Whitehead Institute Founding Member Rudolf Jaenisch has efficiently created mouse models with multiple gene mutations in a matter of weeks. |
April 11, 2013 Genetic master controls expose cancers’ Achilles’ heelIn a surprising finding that helps explain fundamental behaviors of normal and diseased cells, Whitehead Institute scientists have discovered a set of powerful gene regulators dubbed “super-enhancers” that control cell state and identity. |
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March 28, 2013 Protective prion keeps yeast cells from going it aloneA team of scientists from Whitehead Institute and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center has added markedly to the job description of prions as agents of change, identifying a prion capable of triggering a transition in yeast from its conventional single-celled form to a cooperative, multicellular structure. This change, which appears to improve yeast’s chances for survival in the face of hostile environmental conditions, is an epigenetic phenomenon—a heritable alteration brought about without any change to the organism’s underlying genome. |
February 17, 2013 Engineering cells for more efficient biofuel productionWhitehead Institute and MIT chemical engineers and biologists have now devised a way to dramatically boost isobutanol production in yeast, which naturally make it in small amounts. They engineered yeast so that isobutanol synthesis takes place entirely within mitochondria, cell structures that generate energy and also host many biosynthetic pathways. |
Recent papers
April 23, 2013
Fundamental differences in endoreplication in mammals and Drosophila revealed by analysis of endocycling and endomitotic cells.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013 Apr 23.
april 19, 2013
MiR-150 blocks MLL-AF9 associated leukemia by repressing multiple oncogenes.
Mol Cancer Res. 2013 Apr 19.
April 16, 2013
Intact sphingomyelin biosynthetic pathway is essential for intracellular transport of influenza virus glycoproteins.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013 Apr 16;110(16):6406-11