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In the News

“‘Dinochelus ausubeli’ was the name conferred earlier this year on a strange deep sea monster, a lobster discovered off the Philippine coast whose right claw is elongated into a fearsome pincer. The new species was named not after its discoverer, but in honor of the person under whose auspices...

Anti-inflammatory drugs reduce effectiveness of SSRI antidepressants

Scientists at Rockefeller University have shown that anti-inflammatory drugs, which include ibuprofen, aspirin and naproxen, reduce the effectiveness of the most widely used class of antidepressant medications, the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, often prescribed for depression...

Jesse Ausubel elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Jesse Ausubel, director of the Program for the Human Environment at Rockefeller University, has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, an honorary society and independent policy research center. The academy announced the election this week; Ausubel will be inducted this fall. ...

Polarized microscopy technique shows new details of how proteins are arranged

Whether you’re talking about genes, or neurons, or the workings of a virus, at the most fundamental level, biology is a matter of proteins. So understanding what protein complexes look like and how they operate is the key to figuring out what makes cells tick. By harnessing the unique properties ...

'Big picture' of how interferon-induced genes launch antiviral defenses revealed

When viruses attack, one molecule more than any other fights back. Interferon triggers the activation of more than 350 genes, and despite the obvious connection, the vast majority have never been tested for antiviral properties. A team of researchers, led by scientists from Rockefeller University...

Researchers put potent staph killer to the test, hope for new drug treatment

Standard antibiotics, and even those reserved for the most defiant infections, are fighting an uphill battle against the evolutionary ingenuity of bacterial defenses. Staphylococci, and especially methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), is a particular scourge in hospitals, and is inc...

Announcements

Convocation is June 16. Twenty-three students will receive Ph.D.s at this year’s Convocation. In addition, honorary degrees will be awarded to Richard Axel of Columbia University and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Linda Buck of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the Howard H...

Town hall meeting kicks off strategic planning process

At Marc Tessier-Lavigne’s first town hall meeting, the new president discussed his thoughts on the university’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as its place in science and in history. Dr. Tessier-Lavigne outlined his initial priorities, particularly concerning faculty recruitment, and sketched...

After cuts, university to close FY2011 budget with a small surplus

Cost reductions first announced last spring have successfully stabilized the university’s finances, according to a recent analysis of the operating budget. The university expects to close out the 2011 fiscal year, which ends June 30, with a modest surplus. “Although making cuts to the 2011 fi...

Milestones

Awarded: Titia de Lange, the 2011 Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science. The $100,000 prize recognizes her body of research on mechanisms that help maintain genome stability, in particular on telomeres, the elements that protect chromosome ends from unnecessary repair and mediate their replication. ...