Skip to main content

Scientists discover how a well-known protein repairs broken DNA ends

During the life cycle of our cells, a minefield of environmental and biological assaults can lead to double-stranded DNA breaks, the most lethal and dangerous form of DNA damage. Now, in research published online this week inNature, Rockefeller University scientists reveal that when these breaks ...

A new role for a critical DNA molecule in the immune system

The human immune system is a brilliantly adaptable weapon against foreign invaders. But it all depends on the work of specialized cells called lymphocytes that have made a risky evolutionary gambit to mutate their own DNA. New research to be published this week in Nature shows for the first time ...

Rockefeller accepts mayor's challenge to reduce emissions by 30 percent

Rockefeller is one of 14 New York City universities that have pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent over a 10-year period in response to a challenge issued by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg as part of his PlaNYC sustainability program. The initiative, known as the 2030 Mayoral Chal...

By recognizing odors, a single neuron controls reactions

“When you’re out hiking, you’ll notice that everything tastes really delicious. That’s one of the best parts about hiking, actually, is how delicious a peanut butter and raisin sandwich can be,” says Cori Bargmann, Torsten N. Wiesel Professor and head of the Laboratory of Neural Circuits a...

Molecule stops DNA replication in its tracks

The process is akin to unzipping a zipper: The sliding clamp works its way along the DNA double helix while a network of proteins work together to unwind the two strands. Proteins known as polymerases then add, in assembly-line fashion, nucleotide bases — the building blocks that make up DNA — t...

Study specifies chemical pathways for ions through cell membrane

Life ultimately depends on the traffic of tiny charged particles through porous proteins studding the membrane surrounding every cell. In research published in Nature, scientists at The Rockefeller University have for the first time mapped a stepping-stone pathway of amino acids that these charge...

Four Rockefeller researchers named finalists in Blavavtik Awards for Young Scientists

Four Rockefeller scientists — head of laboratory Tom W. Muir, postdocs Valerie Horsley and Andreas Keller and former postdoc Matthew Evans — have been named finalists for the second annual Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists. Established by the New York Academy of Sciences and the Blavatnik Ch...

Newly identified cells make fat

To understand where fat comes from, you have to start with a skinny mouse. By using such a creature and observing the growth of fat after injections of different kinds of immature cells, Rockefeller University scientists have discovered an important fat precursor cell that may in time explain how...

Scientists identify a molecule that coordinates the movements of cells

Even cells commute. To get from their birthplace to their work site, they sequentially attach to and detach from an elaborate track of exceptionally strong proteins known as the extracellular matrix. Now, in research to appear in the October 3 issue of Cell, scientists at Rockefeller University s...

A DNA-based vaccine shows promise against the avian flu

Though it has fallen from the headlines, a global pandemic caused by bird flu still has the United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on high alert. Yet, to date, the only vaccines that have proven even semi-effective are produced in chicken eggs, take five to six months to prepar...