W hen Rockefeller immunologist Jeffrey V. Ravetch asks his students to describe the function of the system he’s studied for the better part of four decades, he typically gets a variety of answers. But his own is always the same. “Its primary function is not to kill you,” Ravetch says. “Because given the chance your... View Article| Seek
From the outset, Rockefeller scientists have played a crucial role in transforming our understanding of RNA. Their foundational discoveries illustrate how cells use it to respond to environmental signals; pinpoint how its dysregulation leads to disease; underpin RNA-based therapeutics for formerly untreatable conditions; explicate its role in the quick-change evolution antibiotic-resistant bacteria are capable of;... View Article| Seek
Mahsa Shirani (left), a postdoc, with Skye Ryan, a fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma (FLC) patient who joined the Simon lab in 2024 and is currently working on a project utilizing CRISPR-Cas9 to search for mechanisms that allow FLC to develop unchecked. At 18, Willow Pickard was an open-hearted, artistic soul. She loved drawing and painting, and... View Article| Seek
All scientists are driven by curiosity, and biomedical researchers are no exception to that rule. But pursuing basic science doesn’t just mean unpacking nature’s mysteries: It frequently results in scientific discoveries that lead to new medical treatments to relieve suffering and save lives. For instance, some recent studies have estimated that more than 25 percent... View Article| Seek
What if aging weren’t just the result of years of wear and tear on the body, as is commonly believed? What if it were, as Junyue Cao has come to see it, another stage of development—one that could be regulated by thwarting age-related changes on the molecular level? Should that become possible, it will be... View Article| Seek
Scientists know a good deal about Huntington’s disease, an inherited neurodegenerative disorder that slowly robs patients of their physical and mental health. They know, for example, that it is caused by mutations to a particular gene; that these mutations involve the excessive repetition of tiny stretches of DNA bases known as CAG repeats; and that... View Article| Seek
Tucked behind the circulation desk inside Rockefeller’s Rita and Frits Markus Library, readers can find Rockefeller student dissertations dating back to 1959, the year of the university’s first convocation. On this storied bookcase sits early work that developed into biomedical breakthroughs, from revealing the chemical structure of antibodies to demystifying the circadian clock to explicating... View Article| Seek
Mere weeks into human embryonic development, an indistinct ball of cells called a blastocyst rearranges itself into an orderly three-layered structure—a process called gastrulation that sets up the eventual emergence of the human form. Understanding the molecular underpinnings of this pivotal event could help scientists prevent miscarriages and head off a host of serious disorders.... View Article| Seek
Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is a wily foe, adept at bobbing and weaving around the immune system and antibiotics alike, and sometimes lying dormant for years. “It’s a very smart bacterium, with a lot of tricks,” says Shixin Liu, head of the Laboratory of Nanoscale Biophysics and Biochemistry. Liu has pulled the curtain back on one... View Article| Seek
cancer has an unsettling ability to circumvent our natural defenses, growing and metastasizing from one place to another despite the body’s best efforts to contain it. Now, Rockefeller researchers have shown how the disease appears to be co-opting the nervous system to extend its reach. Previous studies had shown that cancer and the nervous system... View Article| Seek