Researchers at Whitehead Institute propose a new model for how the stem cells in aquatic worms called planarians commit to a specific fate. Instead of a long, slow process that occurs over many generations, the researchers suggest that the transition from “blank” stem cells to specialized cells could happen in a single division.
In this webinar, Yukiko Yamashita will highlight ways in which fundamental research brings novel biological processes to light. And she will introduce her lab’s latest discoveries on the function of satellite DNA, which has long been regarded as “genomic junk.”
In this special episode of AudioHelicase, we talk to three researchers about the cells in our bodies that can regenerate – and those that can’t. We ask, why can some cells no longer renew themselves? And, importantly, can we change that?
Germline cells live in a never-ending loop, forming the body’s most tangible link from generation to generation. In this short video, Yukiko Yamashita, Ruth Lehmann and David Page talk about their work on tracking germline cells’ throughout their migration to the gonads and eventual commitment to their fates.
In this video, six Whitehead Institute researchers share what they have learned from the living world, and why it's more important than ever to conserve it.
Kutay Deniz Atabay is a postdoc in Whitehead Institute Member Peter Reddien’s lab investigating regeneration, including how neuronal circuits regenerate in various organisms including planarians, a type of flatworm. We sat down with Atabay to learn more about him and his experiences in and out of the lab.
Our researchers are investigating important questions about how organisms develop —How does one generation beget the next? How does a single cell give rise to a complex organism?—and, with the help of new tools and innovative approaches, revealing answers that give us a better understanding of the fundamental aspects of life.
