Development and regeneration

Axolotls (Ambystoma mexicanum) are a critically endangered species of salamander. They are also highly regenerative. The latest story in our Unusual Labmates series explores these fascinating creatures, what Whitehead Institute researchers are hoping to discover by studying them, and why they are worth preserving in the wild. Click here to view the full multimedia story.

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.

First-of-its-kind study uses MERFISH to map the spatial pattern of how stem cells choose their fates during adult regeneration in flatworms.

Whitehead Institute Member Yukiko Yamashita and colleagues show that stem cells play a special role in maintaining ribosomal DNA, which they do by dividing asymmetrically.

Sperm use tiny proteins to pack their DNA correctly. New research explains how and why sperm cells balance the different versions of these proteins.

Sheri Grill is a postdoc in Whitehead Institute Director Ruth Lehmann’s lab studying germ cells, the cells that become eggs and sperm. We sat down with Sheri to learn more about her and her experiences in and out of the lab.

Researchers at Whitehead Institute are breathing new life into the study of rejuvenation, the ability of cells to repair and replenish tissues — and potentially learning how to slow or reverse the changes our cells experience over time. 

Planarians, a type of aquatic flatworm, are a super regenerator, able to restore their bodies by growing back anything from an eye or a tail to a head. Whitehead Institute Member Peter Reddien seeks to understand how planarians are able to regenerate so effectively.