Video

Science in 60 breaks down the latest research at Whitehead Institute through one-minute explainers. In this video, Gayathri Muthukumar discusses how the outer mitochondrial membrane, which is a hub for signaling proteins, helps regulate mitochondrial functions.

Humans don't regrow body parts after an injury, but certain animals can and do. The planarian, a tiny, water-dwelling flatworm, is one such organism. This multipart video explainer follows the journey of a neoblast — a versatile cell in the planarian crucial for regeneration — and explores what regeneration research could mean for human health.

Science in 60 breaks down the latest research at Whitehead Institute through one-minute explainers. In this video, Xochitl Luna discusses investigating the role of microglia—the brain’s resident immune cells—in multiple sclerosis.

When genetic information is passed along to offspring, different versions of the same gene typically have equal chances of being transmitted. But some “selfish” genes break this rule to stack the odds in their favor. Whitehead Institute Member Yukiko Yamashita and colleagues have discovered one such gene—except it also uses a novel mechanism to limit its own “selfishness”.

Our latest Research Highlights video features three exciting new findings from Whitehead Institute: New work from the Jaenisch lab helps explain bats' impressive resistance to viruses; researchers in the Young lab identify a common denominator underlying chronic disease states; and researchers in the Cheeseman lab identify precise regulatory mechanisms controlling the production of protein variants during mitosis.

Valhalla Fellow Lindsey Backman explains what the microbiome is and the roles that different members of our microbiomes play in health and disease. She also discusses how her lab studies adaptations that some microbes have evolved to tolerate oxygen-containing environments, and how researchers may be able to use what she learns to create better antibiotics and probiotics.

From chemical reactions occurring in a splinter of a second, to evolution shaping species over billions of years, the processes that make up our biology occur in time frames both short and long. In this video, we will hear from Whitehead Institute scientists on how their thinking about different time scales informs scientific discovery.