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Despite their bad reputations, the vast majority of mutations are not harmful. Even in very rare genetic disorders, only one or two genetic variations ­— out of tens of thousands — is actually the cause of disease. Distinguishing between harmful and harmless mutations has long been a challenge....

Since scientists have begun sequencing the genome of cancer cells, they have noticed a curious pattern. In many different types of cancers, there are cells in which a part of a chromosome looks like it has been pulverized, then put back together incorrectly, leading to multiple mutations. For yea...

Luciano Marraffini, assistant professor and head of the Laboratory of Bacteriology, has been recognized with the Hans Sigrist Prize for his work developing a new approach to combat antibiotic resistance. This Swiss award, bestowed by the University of Bern, specifically honors Marraffini for mani...

Many animals gravitate towards heat, most often to regulate their own body temperatures. In rare cases, certain species—ticks, bedbugs, and some species of mosquitoes—seek out heat for food. For female mosquitoes, finding heat is essential for survival, as they need to feast on warm-blooded prey...

There are about 20,000 genes in the human genome, but not all are used in all cells at all times. At any given moment, a cell is converting only roughly half its genes into proteins. And of those active genes, about 75 percent are regulated by a process known as “RNA polymerase pausing.” This...

Some infectious diseases are particularly difficult to treat because of their ability to evade the immune system. One such illness, African sleeping sickness, is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma brucei, transmitted by the tsetse fly, and is fatal if left untreated. The trypanosome parasite is t...

For many living things, a roughly 24-hour internal clock governs the rhythms of life—everything from sleep in animals, to leaf opening in plants and reproduction in bread mold. Scientists have come to understand much about this internal time-keeping system, but one important aspect, its complex r...

Part of the reason people find smoking difficult to quit is that each time they have a cigarette, feelings of craving, irritability and anxiety melt away. This component of addiction is known as negative reward and is controlled in part by a region of the brain called the habenula. The neurotrans...

When a pathogen invades the body, the immune system responds by producing proteins called antibodies that are precisely targeted at the invader. Gabriel Victora, an immunologist who studies how these finely tuned antibodies are generated, is the most recent addition to Rockefeller’s tenure-track ...

by Katherine Fenz, media relations manager When a pathogen invades the body, the immune system responds by producing antibodies that are precisely targeted at the invader. Gabriel Victora, an immunologist who studies how these finely tuned antibodies are generated, is the most recent addition t...