Michelle Frank is a postdoc in Whitehead Institute Member David Bartel’s lab studying how brain cells regulate RNA to flexibly adapt to different inputs. We sat down with Michelle to learn more about her and her experiences in and out of the lab.
In order for researchers to understand the biology of living organisms, they must consider what is happening across the size scale. Interactions between molecules drive interactions between cells that affect traits and behaviors. Experiences and decisions made by the organism can lead to changes at the cellular and molecular level. In order to understand the full picture, Whitehead Institute researchers study everything from molecules to cells to whole organisms.
Whitehead Institute Member David Bartel and colleagues uncovered how small changes in the molecular machines that carry out RNA interference can lead to big differences in the efficacy of gene silencing. Their findings have implications for the design of gene-silencing therapeutics.
Brad Wierbowski is a postdoc in Whitehead Institute Member David Bartel’s lab studying the turnover of messenger RNAs. We sat down with Brad to learn more about him and his experiences in and out of the lab.
Changes in DNA and gene function are the engines that drive evolution. These seemingly small modifications in an organism’s evolutionary journey ultimately dictate its fate — deciding which traits will be safeguarded and transmitted through generations, and which new traits will emerge. Whitehead Institute researchers are studying how organisms sharing a common ancestor develop unique traits over time, diverging from one another. These traits — encoded in the genes — impact their chances of survival and reproduction.
Whitehead Institute Member David Bartel and colleagues uncover how RNA translation into protein is regulated during early development, when genes are turned off and not making new RNA.
Researchers frequently turn to C. elegans to learn about not only their biology, but our own. C. elegans is one of the most intimately understood species in biology—the first animal to have its complete genome sequenced or its neural circuitry completely mapped. How did this simple worm become so well studied and a fixture in laboratories around the world?
Researchers in the lab of Whitehead Institute Member David Bartel have identified new genetic sequences that can lead to the degradation of cellular regulators called microRNAs. The finding will allow scientists to learn more about the microRNA degradation pathway, which is critical for some species to survive.
Whitehead Institute Member David Bartel’s lab has uncovered how a key shift in RNA regulation happens early in embryonic development, providing new insight into when and how genes are regulated differently during development.
