News

Scientists at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. have identified a protein in the small intestine that plays a key role in the uptake of dietary fat into the body. The scientists report in the September 24 issue of Molecular Cell that the protein, called fatty acid transporter protein-4 (FATP4), may constitute a novel target for anti-obesity therapy in humans.

Researchers led by Dr. Robert A. Weinberg of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research have made the first genetically defined human cancer cells, according to a report published in the July 29 issue of Nature. This achievement brings scientists one step closer to understanding the complex process by which human cells become cancerous.

Genetic studies at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research have shown that some boys will be infertile as adults because they have inherited a genetic defect from their fathers through a commonly used method of assisted reproduction known as intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).

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.