The weather outside is frightful, but science is so delightful

Refresh your RNA basics before diving into the rest of the series! 

A cartoon explainer illustrating the metabolic basis of diabetes and work being done at the Institute to work toward better therapies and improved understanding. 

Some of the most important tools in researchers’ toolkits are the model organisms they use to study biological questions. How do researchers decide which species, out of the millions that exist, to develop as models? Whitehead Institute researchers have had a hand in establishing and promoting the use of several model organisms over the years.

Whitehead Institute researchers investigate methylation, the chemical tags that help define gene expression during development and disease.

Whitehead Institute researchers are uncovering new ways that genes are regulated that upend existing paradigms of gene expression and provide important insights into health and disease. This collection of stories and multimedia explores that research.

Read about brain-related research at Whitehead Institute.

Much of biology is defined by activity: the rapid growth of an embryo, or the adventurous life cycle of a parasite, or the frenzied evolution of cancer cells. But for two Whitehead Institute researchers, there is much to learn by studying periods of rest.

Researchers at Whitehead Institute study the many aspects of germ cells that set them apart from other cell types. They ask questions about how germ cells migrate across the embryo to meet developing gonads, and how germ cells ultimately give rise to eggs and sperm. 

An intricate set of processes govern how cells know where to go and what to become during development. In this article, learn how Whitehead Institute researchers are investigating the various biological mechanisms that serve as the architects of life forms.

Whitehead Institute research projects continue to provide important insights into human biology, and they are paving the way for future treatments to address developmental disorders and diseases.

Institute researchers continue to pioneer a deeper understanding of how metabolic processes contribute to health and disease – with long-term implications that could range from new treatments for obesity and type 2 diabetes to methods for slowing the aging process. Here are a few examples of Whitehead Institute scientists’ creative and pioneering work in the field of metabolism.

Whitehead Institute researchers are studying how RNA molecules group together for the good of the cell and our health — and what happens when these groupings go awry.

Researchers at Whitehead Institute have made important discoveries that have uncovered the prevalence, characteristics, and functions of regulatory RNAs. Their work has transformed researchers’ understanding of gene regulation and revealed a complex, elegant system that tailors gene expression for each cell type and tissue.

Whitehead Institute researchers are changing how we study fleeting but pivotal points in the development of the disease.

Maintaining food security in the face of climate change is a complex, multifaceted problem of global importance, and so researchers are tackling it from many different angles. Whitehead Institute Member Mary Gehring is starting to work on ways to engineer crops that can better survive the effects of climate change and continue to produce high yields with high nutritional value.