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Don’t worry, men—the Y chromosome is here to stay
If you were to discover that a fundamental component of human biology has survived virtually intact for the past 25 million years, you’d be quite confident in saying that it is here to stay. Such is...
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Planarian genes that control stem cell biology identified
Despite their unassuming appearance, the planarian flatworms in Whitehead Institute Member Peter Reddien’s lab are revealing powerful new insights into the biology of stem cells—insights that may...
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By understanding rapamycin, researchers on the path to extending lifespan
Eat less, live longer. Researchers have long known that one of the keys to a longer, healthier life is simply to eat less. But is it possible to mimic the effects of caloric restriction without...
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Neurologist Vikram Khurana brings a new perspective to Parkinson’s disease...
When neurologist Dr. Vikram Khurana tells his patients that he’s doing all he can to help them, he’s not exaggerating—after treating patients for Parkinson’s disease in the clinic, he works to find a...
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Cell surface transporters exploited for cancer drug delivery
Whitehead Institute scientists report that certain molecules present in high concentrations on the surfaces of many cancer cells could be exploited to funnel lethal toxic molecules into the malignant...
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Nutrient-sensing enzymes key to starvation response and survival in newborn...
In the perilous hours immediately after birth, a newborn mammal must survive the sudden loss of food supply from its mother. Under normal circumstances, newborns mount a metabolic response to ward off...
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Modified antibodies trigger immune response, point to novel vaccine design...
In an approach with the potential to aid therapeutic vaccine development, Whitehead Institute scientists have shown that enzymatically modified antibodies can be used to generate highly targeted,...
View ArticleScientists expose new vulnerabilities in the security of personal genetic...
Using only a computer, an Internet connection, and publicly accessible online resources, a team of Whitehead Institute researchers has been able to identify nearly 50 individuals who had submitted...
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Long noncoding RNAs control development of fat cells
Whitehead Institute researchers have identified a previously unrecognized layer of genetic regulation that is necessary for the generation of undesirable white fat cells. When this regulation is...
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Engineering cells for more efficient biofuel production
In the search for renewable alternatives to gasoline, heavy alcohols such as isobutanol are promising candidates. Not only do they contain more energy than ethanol, but they are also more compatible...
View ArticleScientists revolutionize the creation of genetically altered mice to model...
Whitehead Institute Founding Member Rudolf Jaenisch, who helped transform the study of genetics by creating the first transgenic mouse in 1974, is again revolutionizing how genetically altered animal...
View ArticleSex Chromosome Shocker: The “Female” X Contributes to Sperm Production
Painstaking new analysis of the genetic sequence of the X chromosome—long perceived as the “female” counterpart to the male-associated Y chromosome—reveals that large portions of the X have evolved to...
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Disrupting Ancient Survival Strategy Slows Cancer Growth
Protein production or translation is tightly coupled to a highly conserved stress response that cancer cells rely on for survival and proliferation, according to Whitehead Institute researchers. In...
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In regenerating planarians, muscle cells provide more than heavy lifting
In this image, muscle cells (green) in a planarian express 19 position control genes (red) that help the flat worm’s stem cells know where they are in the body and which cells are needed to recreate...
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Helper cells aptly named in battle with invading pathogens
By tracking the previously unknown movements of a set of specialized cells, Whitehead Institute scientists are shedding new light on how the immune system mounts a successful defense against hostile,...
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New models advance the study of deadly human prion diseases
In these tissue sample from mouse cerebellar (A and B) and hippocampal (C-F) tissue, the prion protein (PrP) is stained brown in the tissues from the mouse model of Creutzfeld-Jakob disease (CJD) are...
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Flu virus wipes out immune system’s first responders to establish infection
This image displays flu-specific B cells of the immune system. On the left, cells stained green are not infected by influenza virus. Red staining shown in the cells at right indicate influenza...
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Yeast, human stem cells drive discovery of new Parkinson’s disease drug targets
A dual yeast and human stem cell discovery platform for Parkinson’s disease: Investigations in simple baker’s yeast cells brought to light abnormalities in Parkinson’s patient neurons and identified...
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Rapid evolution of novel forms: Environmental change triggers inborn capacity...
Surface form and cave form of Astyanax mexicanus differ in many morphological traits, the most prominent being the loss of pigmentation and the loss of eyes in the cave forms.Image: Courtesy of Nicolas...
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New gene-editing system enables large-scale studies of gene function
Image: Courtesy of Broad Institute Since the completion of the Human Genome Project, which identified nearly 20,000 protein-coding genes, scientists have been trying to decipher the roles of those...
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