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The story of life and all its associated processes takes place within a vast universe of proteins and their interactions, a bountiful frontier ripe for exploration.

For scientists who study embryonic development, insects, amphibians and marine invertebrates provide a unique window on the early stages of an embryo’s life. These organisms differ from higher life forms by having a simpler system for cell division, but it’s a system on fast forward: The embryos receive a maternal care package that permits their DNA replication and chromosome segregation to go into overdrive.

Scientists know that in patients with Parkinson’s disease, certain proteins in the brain form clusters that somehow contribute to cell death and, eventually, lead to the onset of the disease’s debilitating symptoms. Whitehead scientists have succeeded in duplicating the disease’s most critical features in the most readily manipulated model organism in existence.

Scientists have been fascinated by miRNAs ever since the abundance of these tiny RNAs was discovered in 2001. Rather than code for proteins, miRNAs serve as regulators that turn protein-coding genes off. Now, new studies by scientists at Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research are offering insight into the role miRNAs play in mammalian development.

A national report says postdoctoral researchers are "indispensable" to the advancement of science, a fact often overlooked by institutions and funding agencies. Now postdocs are pushing for change. And people are listening.

Almost 150 different genomes have been sequenced to date, including the human genome. But sequencing needs are growing faster than ever. This fall, researchers at Whitehead Institute will test new technology to speed genome sequencing.