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Scientists identify DNA that regulates antibody production
Performance enhancers are the currency of a competitive society. But there’s one that we have always had: For millions of years, segments of our DNA have improved the performance of our genome, revving up protein production at those times we need it most. New research from Rockefeller University ...
Multitasking may be Achilles heel for hepatitis C
Despite its tiny genome, the hepatitis C virus packs a mean punch. The virus is a microcosm of efficiency, and each of its amino acids plays multiple roles in its survival and ability to sidestep attack. But new research from Rockefeller University suggests that this fancy footwork and multitaski...
Imaging study shows HIV particles assembling around its genome
HIV is a wily and lethal replicator. In less than 25 years, it’s killed more than 25 million people. Scientists are exploring exactly how this virus reproduces because they would like to find a way to abort the process. Now, just two years after a group at Rockefeller University was the first to ...
Two proteins act as molecular tailors in DNA repair
Every day tiny segments of our DNA are chipped or fragmented or get stuck together when they should really be pulled apart. But what our genome necessarily lacks in stability it makes up for with a phalanx of guards that monitor and repair the damage. In new research to appear in this week’s adva...
High fat diet increases inflammation in the mouse colon
Colorectal cancer, the third most common type of cancer worldwide, has been linked to an increased prevalence of the Western diet: one high in fat and low in fiber, vitamin D and calcium. Now, a team of scientists led by researchers at Rockefeller University have shown what happens to colon tissu...
Scientists reveal a new mechanism that increases atherosclerosis in mice
A shot of espresso may rev you up in the morning, but the downside is that it may also ramp up levels of bad cholesterol due to its effects on a unique liver protein called PXR. New research from Rockefeller University now shows that when chronically activated, the protein rejiggers how cholester...
Immune system uses a “leash” to restrict HIV’s spread
Measure. Countermeasure. So the war against a virus unfolds. The immune system comes up with one defense and the invader finds a way to thwart it. New research on HIV details a new example of this ongoing struggle, showing that the immune system produces an antiviral protein called tetherin that ...
Disrupting sleep causes problems for the body and brain
Anyone who has pulled an all-nighter or flown across an ocean knows you can’t mess up your sleep schedule without unpleasant consequences. New research in mice now shows that throwing off natural circadian rhythms over the long term can seriously disturb the body and brain, causing weight gain an...
Checkered history of mother and daughter cells explains cell cycle differences
When mother and daughter cells are created each time a cell divides, they are not exactly alike. They have the same set of genes, but differ in the way they regulate them. New research now reveals that these regulatory differences between mother and daughter cells are directly linked to how they ...
Transgenic songbirds provide new tool to understand the brain
You can learn a lot from an animal. By manipulating the DNA of mice, flies, frogs and worms, scientists have discovered a great deal about the genes and molecules behind many of life’s essential processes. These basic functions often work about the same in people as they do in “model” animals....
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