News

Scientists at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and Genetics Institute, Inc. have identified a new gene called derriere that plays a key role in the development of the frog embryo from the neck down, including the neural tube and the muscles flanking the spinal cord. Embryos lacking derriere gene function developed normal heads but only had disorganized tissue where the trunk and tail should have been. Scientists conclude that derriere controls the formation of the posterior regions of the embryo-that is, the entire body from the neck down.

To help people decipher the bewildering maze of cancer information on the World Wide Web and to empower patients and families to work as effective partners with their health care providers, four Boston-based organizations are offering a unique two-day program called "Demystifying Cancer." This program will take place at Boston's Museum of Science on Friday and Saturday, April 9 and 10.

Using a sophisticated computer algorithm, a team of scientists at the Whitehead Institute has designed a new technique to analyze the massive amounts of data generated by DNA microarrays, also known as DNA chips. This technique will help scientists decipher how our 100,000 genes work together to keep us healthy and how diseases result when they fail.

The Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research has received a three-year, $7 million grant from the National Human Genome Research Institute to develop chip-based genome sequencing machines that can sequence 7 million DNA letters per day, or 2 billion letters per year. Once these machines are up and running, it would be possible to use as few as 20 machines to sequence an entire mammalian genome in one year, according to Whitehead scientists.

Tetley is no ordinary mouse. And it's not just because he's a clone. Tetley is special because he was created using a new technology that researchers say has produced the most efficient results to date for cloning mice. He is also the first mouse clone whose genetic material was modified in the laboratory before cloning. The technology used to create Tetley, say researchers, will have a major impact on improving the efficiency of cloning in general.

Using a hot new microchip technology, scientists at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research have identified how key components of the cell’s gene-reading machinery coordinate the expression of genes throughout the genome of a living organism.

For decades, many researchers thought that ribonucleic acid, or RNA, was nothing more than a molecular interpreter that helps translate DNA codes into proteins. But research over the past 15 years, including studies at the Whitehead Institute, has been lending credence to the notion of a so-called “RNA world,” an era in early evolution when all life forms were based on RNA.

The next time you pick up a bag of weed killer from The Home Depot, think about this: a chemical company probably spent years of testing and millions of dollars to develop an effective herbicide that is harmful to weeds but safe for you, your children, and your pets. Now a new study of root growth in a tiny weed called Arabidopsis thaliana suggests that genetics could help scientists save valuable time and money in developing better herbicides for the future.

Scientists at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research have established for the first time that DNA methylation, a chemical process by which cells alter how genes are read without changing the basic text, may also be responsible for maintaining the integrity of the genome, or in other words, for ensuring that the 3 billion-letter DNA code is copied accurately when cells divide.

On Tuesday, December 16, President Clinton will present the National Medal of Science, the nation's highest scientific honor, to Whitehead Member and cancer research pioneer Dr. Robert A. Weinberg and eight other recipients. Dr. Weinberg is a founding member of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, the Daniel K. Ludwig Professor for Cancer Research in the Department of Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and an American Cancer Society Research Professor at MIT.