News

Jaenisch has been named a recipient of the 2008 Meira and Shaul G. Massry Prize in recognition of his work in creating so-called induced pluripotent stem cells, or IPS cells.

Adult cells, from both humans and mice, can be converted into embryonic stem cell-like cells (induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells) using a single virus to insert four reprogramming genes into the cells’ genomes.

The MLL-AF4 fusion protein, which causes the blood cancer called mixed-lineage leukemia (MLL), binds to several genes responsible for early blood cell development. MLL-AF4 also alters the chromatin proteins associated with these genes, a state that is associated with cancer and leukemia progression.

Expression of the Dazl gene in embryonic germ cells primes these cells for stimulation by an external signal that initiates meiosis (the process of halving the cell’s chromosomes).

Scientists have long struggled for details on how the immune system responds to complex pathogens such as the parasite Toxoplasma gondii and herpes viruses. Adapting an existing technology, researchers have pinpointed precise molecular targets that these pathogens present to signal T cells.

A new quantitative model accurately predicts the three-dimensional forces involved in creating and maintaining certain biological membranes.

In yeast, a protein-misfolding mechanism can reveal hidden genetic variations and thus generate new phenotypes that may increase cell survival. Researchers now have demonstrated that when yeast cells are stressed, this mechanism is triggered much more often.

Whitehead Member and Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator Susan Lindquist has been awarded a Collaborative Innovation Award, part of a four year, $40 million pilot project launched by the HHMI.

Huntington’s disease is caused by misfolded and clumped proteins that interfere with the cell’s protein quality control, which may lead to cellular toxicity and eventually cell death.

A previously undescribed molecular mechanism for changing the shape of cell sheets is demonstrated in the embryonic brain, using the zebrafish model. This process, termed "basal constriction", is likely to occur in different structures during development in all animals.