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Fred Bohen, longtime Rockefeller administrator, dies

by AMELIA KAHANEY Frederick M. Bohen, who was executive vice president and chief operating officer at Rockefeller for many of the years between 1990 and 2005, died March 14 at his home in Manhattan at the age of 77. During his tenure at Rockefeller, Mr. Bohen served with five university president...

A newly discovered molecular feedback process may protect the brain against Alzheimer’s

It is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease: Toxic protein fragments known as amyloid-β clumped together between neurons in a person’s brain. Neurons themselves make amyloid-β, and for reasons that aren’t fully understood, its accumulation ultimately contributes to the memory loss, personality c...

Luciano Marraffini and Robert Roeder recognized by ASBMB awards

Two Rockefeller scientists, Luciano Marraffini and Robert Roeder, have received awards from the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in recognition for their significant contributions to their fields. A nonprofit scientific and educational organization, the ASBMB announced its ...

In exploring a fly’s choice of a mate, researchers track the neural circuits that bridge sensory perception and behavioral action

If you’ve ever found a banana overtaken by a swarm of tiny flies, you were in fact witnessing an orgy of amorous Drosophila melanogaster. These trespassers engage in fervent courtship and mating atop ripe fruits, and the sex is anything but casual. In particular, male flies are very precise in ch...

New research helps explain why a deadly blood cancer often affects children with malaria

In equatorial Africa, a region of the globe known as the “lymphoma belt,” children are ten times more likely than in other parts of the world to develop Burkitt’s lymphoma, a highly aggressive blood cancer that can be fatal if left untreated. That area is also plagued by high rates of malaria,...

Obesity researcher and former hospital physician-in-chief Jules Hirsch dies

Jules Hirsch, an early leader in the study of human metabolism, died at age 88 in Englewood, New Jersey, after a long illness. His research, conducted at The Rockefeller University, helped establish the biological underpinnings of obesity, challenging the notion that the disease results from a la...

Agata Smogorzewska, who studies DNA repair, promoted to associate professor

Agata Smogorzewska, a physician-scientist and head of the Laboratory of Genome Maintenance, has been promoted to associate professor, effective July 1. Smogorzewska came to Rockefeller as a faculty member in 2009 to study DNA repair processes that occur during cellular replication. “The genome ...

New research sheds light on the molecular origins of Parkinson’s disease

As Parkinson’s disease progresses in patients, a puzzling dichotomy plays out in their brains. One set of neurons degenerates, while a similar population nearby is spared the same degree of damage. Why the difference? An answer to this question could clear the way for preventions and treatments f...

In the News - NY Post - Darnell

Ice Bucket Challenge money distributed to ALS researchers   "In New York, Dr. Robert Darnell is one of the beneficiaries. The New York Genome Center, where he is the president and scientific director, received $2.5 million in challenge money from the ALS Association. Half of that money came from ...

Mutations linked to genetic disorders shed light on a crucial DNA repair pathway

Dividing cells are prone to errors, and so they must be prepared to summon sophisticated emergency systems to deal with potential damage. One type of division-derailing mishap can occur when assault by certain chemicals causes two strands of DNA to permanently connect when they shouldn’t, in what...