News

Rett Syndrome is a major cause of mental retardation in girls. Although researchers have identified the protein involved in the disease, its exact role remains a mystery. Now, a group of researchers from Children’s Hospital Boston and Whitehead Institute have identified the protein’s function, a discovery the scientists say could be the first significant advance in Rett Syndrome research in years.

In the heated debate over human embryo stem cell research, voices become muddled and motivations misunderstood. Scientist Willy Lensch is among those speaking out in support of this research. His reasons are complex, he says, but his cause is clear.

Whitehead Institute’s Vice President for Research and Chief Operating Officer Lydia Villa-Komaroff has been named one of the 100 Most Influential Hispanics in America by Hispanic Business Magazine.

Although cases of adult-onset diabetes have skyrocketed in the United States, researchers still don’t know much about the biological processes that predispose so many people to the disease. But in research that will be published in the Oct. 16 issue of the journal Nature, scientists say they’ve found a protein that plays an essential role in regulating a cell’s ability to absorb glucose.

A team of researchers from Whitehead Institute and MIT have developed a new computational method that will give a boost to the field of systems biology.

Research in the life sciences has fueled advances that have fostered gains inpublic health and in the development of detection methods to improve America’s defenses against biological threats. But some of the technologies that lead to medical benefits also could be used to create biological weapons.

The world of life sciences research has changed a great deal in recent decades. Advances in technology and biology have enabled scientists to pose questions they never before dreamed they might be able to ask — or answer.

Showcasing the similarities between science and art is one motivation behind a special photography exhibit in New York that features Whitehead Institute scientists Susan Lindquist and Eric Lander.

Whitehead Director Susan L. Lindquist received the 2003 Dickson Prize in Medicine Sept. 24 during Science 2003: Improving the Human Condition, a three-day showcase of research held at the University of Pittsburgh.

When biologists want to compare different sequences of DNA or protein, it’s as simple as plugging the information into a browser and pressing enter. Within 15 seconds, an online software tool contrasts one sequence of DNA with up to 18 million others catalogued in public databases. Now, a software tool developed by Whitehead Institute scientists promises to apply this same computational muscle to the far more intricate world of protein interaction networks, giving researchers a new view of the complexities of cellular life.