2003 News Stories
December 24, 2003
“Mad Cow” Mechanism May Be Integral to Storing Memory Scientists have discovered a new process for how memories might be stored, a finding that could help explain one of the least-understood activities of the brain.
December 16, 2003
The Protein Universe The story of life and all its associated processes takes place within a vast universe of proteins and their interactions, a bountiful frontier ripe for exploration.
December 11, 2003
Study Identifies Protein Complex Critical in Rapid Embryogenesis For scientists who study embryonic development, insects, amphibians and marine invertebrates provide a unique window on the early stages of an embryo’s life. These organisms differ from higher life forms by having a simpler system for cell division, but it’s a system on fast forward: The embryos receive a maternal care package that permits their DNA replication and chromosome segregation to go into overdrive.
December 9, 2003
Robert Langer Appointed to Whitehead Institute Board of Directors Robert Langer, the Kenneth J. Germeshausen professor of chemical and biomedical engineering at MIT, is a pioneer in biomedical engineering and author of more than 500 issued and pending patents. His research on drug delivery and tissue engineering serves as a foundation for today's $20 billion drug-delivery industry.
December 4, 2003
Yeast Helps Researchers Better Understand Parkinson's Mystery Scientists know that in patients with Parkinson’s disease, certain proteins in the brain form clusters that somehow contribute to cell death and, eventually, lead to the onset of the disease’s debilitating symptoms. Whitehead scientists have succeeded in duplicating the disease’s most critical features in the most readily manipulated model organism in existence.
December 4, 2003
MicroRNAs Play a Role in Blood Formation, Study Finds Scientists have been fascinated by miRNAs ever since the abundance of these tiny RNAs was discovered in 2001. Rather than code for proteins, miRNAs serve as regulators that turn protein-coding genes off. Now, new studies by scientists at Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research are offering insight into the role miRNAs play in mammalian development.
December 2, 2003
Villa-Komaroff Named to TKT Board of Directors Lydia Villa-Komaroff, chief operating officer and vice president for research at Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, has been named to the board of directors for Transkaryotic Therapies, Inc. (TKT), a Cambridge-based biopharmaceutical company.
November 25, 2003
Drivers of Discovery A national report says postdoctoral researchers are "indispensable" to the advancement of science, a fact often overlooked by institutions and funding agencies. Now postdocs are pushing for change. And people are listening.
November 20, 2003
7 Million Letters and Counting Almost 150 different genomes have been sequenced to date, including the human genome. But sequencing needs are growing faster than ever. This fall, researchers at Whitehead Institute will test new technology to speed genome sequencing.
November 19, 2003
Scientists Identify Dual Function for “Eyes absent” Scientists know that proteins called transcription factors that regulate gene expression play a key role in cellular function. But what if that’s only part of the story? What if these regulators lead a double life no one knew before?
November 18, 2003
Whitehead Researchers Recognized for Scientific Contributions The American Society of Human Genetics presented awards to Whitehead Member David Page and former graduate student Sjoerd Repping during its 53rd annual meeting, held recently in Los Angeles.
November 13, 2003
New Program Interrogates Gene Pathways Any criminologist will tell you that witnesses, even the best intentioned, don’t always get it right. New software promises to do for biology what any criminal investigator would do at a crime scene: cross-examine witnesses until a single, coherent account of the event emerges.
November 13, 2003
Study Identifies Potential New Source for Adult Stem Cells In research reported in the online version of the journal Blood, Whitehead scientists report the discovery of a new blood stem cell growth factor. This discovery provides a new tool that allows researchers to multiply blood stem cells in culture for potential therapeutic use.
November 11, 2003
Cholesterol Lowering Gene Increases Longevity For years scientists have suspected that both longevity and low cholesterol are closely linked to genetics. This suspicion proves accurate in a new study to be published this week online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, which shows genetic variation in a gene known for playing a key role in lipoprotein production also appears to be significantly overrepresented in centenarians.
November 6, 2003
Scientists Work to Break Cellular Code Despite the rich knowledge scientists now have of the genes that constitute the human genome, researchers have yet to unravel the precise choreography by which they work – or malfunction – together in the cell in response to triggers from the outside world.
November 4, 2003
Photo Exhibit Featuring Revolutionary Figures Includes Whitehead Scientists A new photography exhibit recognizing leaders in science, the arts, politics and society includes images of Whitehead scientists Rudolf Jaenisch and Eric Lander. “Something Better Change,” an exhibit by Cambridge-based photographer John Nikolai, opens Nov. 4 at the Zeitgeist Gallery.
October 30, 2003
Study Offers New Insight into Rett Syndrome Rett Syndrome is a major cause of mental retardation in girls. Although researchers have identified the protein involved in the disease, its exact role remains a mystery. Now, a group of researchers from Children’s Hospital Boston and Whitehead Institute have identified the protein’s function, a discovery the scientists say could be the first significant advance in Rett Syndrome research in years.
October 28, 2003
MIT World Features Robert Weinberg on How Cancer Begins If you’re worried about getting cancer, do yourself a favor: steer clear of red meat and rich foods, and avoid cigarettes. In this lecture, Robert Weinberg provides the scientific basis for this commonplace advice, as well as a layman’s look at the genetic, biochemical and environmental factors that make good cells go bad.
October 23, 2003
With Respect and Conscience In the heated debate over human embryo stem cell research, voices become muddled and motivations misunderstood. Scientist Willy Lensch is among those speaking out in support of this research. His reasons are complex, he says, but his cause is clear.
October 21, 2003
Balancing Science and Security: Gerald Fink Featured on NPR's Science Friday A report issued by the National Academies' National Research Council recommends a new oversight system to minimize the potential for hostile nations or terrorists to misuse research. Ira Flatow interviews Whitehead Member Gerald Fink who chaired the committee that wrote the report.
October 16, 2003
Lydia Villa-Komaroff among 100 Most Influential Hispanics in America Whitehead Institute’s Vice President for Research and Chief Operating Officer Lydia Villa-Komaroff has been named one of the 100 Most Influential Hispanics in America by Hispanic Business Magazine.
October 15, 2003
New Protein Provides Clue to Diabetes Although cases of adult-onset diabetes have skyrocketed in the United States, researchers still don’t know much about the biological processes that predispose so many people to the disease. But in research that will be published in the Oct. 16 issue of the journal Nature, scientists say they’ve found a protein that plays an essential role in regulating a cell’s ability to absorb glucose.
October 14, 2003
New Computer Method Advances Systems Biology A team of researchers from Whitehead Institute and MIT have developed a new computational method that will give a boost to the field of systems biology.
October 9, 2003
Committee Recommends Balanced Approach to Bioterrorism Threats Research in the life sciences has fueled advances that have fostered gains inpublic health and in the development of detection methods to improve America’s defenses against biological threats. But some of the technologies that lead to medical benefits also could be used to create biological weapons.
October 7, 2003
New Magazine to Explore Findings and Impact of Life Sciences Research The world of life sciences research has changed a great deal in recent decades. Advances in technology and biology have enabled scientists to pose questions they never before dreamed they might be able to ask — or answer.
October 2, 2003
"Photogram" Exhibit Shows Science and Art in Silhouette Showcasing the similarities between science and art is one motivation behind a special photography exhibit in New York that features Whitehead Institute scientists Susan Lindquist and Eric Lander.
September 30, 2003
Zebra Fish Studies Provide Insight into Blood-Cell Formation Whitehead Institute Visiting Scientist George Daley and Postdoctoral Fellow Yuan Wang collaborated on the study led by Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigators at Children's Hospital.
September 25, 2003
Lindquist Receives 2003 Dickson Prize in Medicine Whitehead Director Susan L. Lindquist received the 2003 Dickson Prize in Medicine Sept. 24 during Science 2003: Improving the Human Condition, a three-day showcase of research held at the University of Pittsburgh.
September 25, 2003
Software Tackles Protein Pathways When biologists want to compare different sequences of DNA or protein, it’s as simple as plugging the information into a browser and pressing enter. Within 15 seconds, an online software tool contrasts one sequence of DNA with up to 18 million others catalogued in public databases. Now, a software tool developed by Whitehead Institute scientists promises to apply this same computational muscle to the far more intricate world of protein interaction networks, giving researchers a new view of the complexities of cellular life.
September 23, 2003
Whitehead Genome Center Scientists Assemble Draft Sequence of Ustilago maydis Scientists at the Whitehead Institute/MIT Center for Genome Research (WICGR) have publicly released a high quality draft genome sequence of Ustilago maydis, commonly known as corn smut, an important model system for the study of plant fungal diseases. In the United States, U. maydis poses a significant economic threat to agriculture.
September 4, 2003
New Compound Library to Speed Drug Discovery Making drugs is a difficult and costly business. Even before companies spend exorbitant amounts on clinical trials (most of which fail), they already have spent significant time and money identifying the best drug candidates for those trials. Brent Stockwell has developed a possible shortcut for this early drug-development stage.
August 26, 2003
Laboratory “Theme Park” Re-creates RNA World for Study Rarely, if ever, are theme parks built around a biological theme – and never do such parks fit inside a test tube. Almost never. Scientist David Bartel is hard at work on what might seem an impossibility – a microscopic theme park whose motif, the origins of life, is of equal interest to both scientists and philosophers.
July 31, 2003
Researchers Piece Together Cancer Puzzle About four years ago, a group of Whitehead researchers created the first genetically engineered human cancer cells in the lab. They infected normal cells in mice with cancer-causing genes, and waited for tumors to form. Some cells formed large tumors, but others yielded only small, harmless bumps. What went wrong? they wondered. Or rather, What went right?
July 29, 2003
Postdoctoral Associate Wins Damon Runyon Fellowship Award David Guertin, a postdoctoral associate in the Sabatini lab, received the distinguished Damon Runyon Fellowship Award from the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation.
July 24, 2003
Studies Shed Light on Gene Response to Bacterial Infections Making a medical diagnosis today often relies on symptomology, bacterial cultures, stain tests, experience – and luck. But new research by systems biologists at Whitehead aims to offer physicians new diagnostic tools by uncovering important differences in the way immune cells respond to bacteria.
July 16, 2003
Faulty Reprogramming Likely Culprit behind Cloning Failures, Review Finds Faulty reprogramming of the genome is most likely the culprit behind abnormalities common in cloned animals, according to a review article in the July 17 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
July 15, 2003
Researchers Zero in on New Drug Combination Strategy The magic-bullet approach to drug discovery has fallen short in treating the majority of human ailments. Doctors often rely instead on combination therapies that harness the power of multiple drugs. Researchers recently reported the development of the first systematic approach to screen for novel combination drugs, identifying several new pairings with significant therapeutic promise.
June 30, 2003
David Sabatini Named 2003 Pew Scholar Twenty of America’s most promising biomedical researchers, including David Sabatini of the Whitehead Institute, have been chosen as the 2003 Pew Scholars in the Biomedical Sciences.
June 19, 2003
Philanthropists Eli & Edythe Broad of Los Angeles Give $100M to Create Institute with MIT, Harvard, and Whitehead to Fulfill Genome’s Promise for Medicine In an unprecedented alliance, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, and Whitehead Institute announced today they have joined forces with Los Angeles philanthropists Eli and Edythe L. Broad to create a new type of biomedical research institute, aimed at realizing the promise of the human genome to revolutionize clinical medicine and to make knowledge freely available to scientists around the world.
June 18, 2003
Rumors of Male Chromosome's Demise Greatly Exaggerated, Study Finds In the biological battle between the sexes, the Y chromosome has suffered defeat after defeat. The male-determining chromosome has seen its gene supply shrink from more than 1,000 genes when sex chromosomes first evolved, to what scientists once thought was only a handful of genes, a downward trend predicted to continue until the Y disappeared altogether.
June 10, 2003
Whitehead Genome Center Begins Sequencing Dog as Chimp Draft Nears Completion. Scientists announced that they will begin a project to sequence the genome of the domestic dog (Canis familiaris), an important model for biomedical research that will yield vital information in the fight against both human and canine diseases.
May 29, 2003
Whitehead Genome Center Taps Comparative Genomics to Analyze Key Functions in Yeast In another example demonstrating the power of comparative genomics, scientists at the Whitehead Institute/MIT Center for Genome Research have compared four different species of baker’s yeast, the simple, age-old organism that turns sugar to alcohol, and shown that such comparisons are a powerful tool for identifying key functions in genomes.
May 22, 2003
Industry Handoff Furthers Discovery Scientist David Sabatini was studying a group of proteins that control cell growth, when he hit a roadblock. So, Sabatini did what many creative scientists do when faced with such a dilemma: He invented a new technique to solve his problem.
May 13, 2003
Pathogenic Yeasts and Fungi: A Growing Health Concern When a few weeds appear on your front lawn, you can easily pick them off one by one. But if they start taking over the yard, the picking becomes laborious, and you may need to turn to a chemical weed-killer to hold the invaders in check. After several applications of the herbicide, however, the weeds could become resistant, forcing you to use an even more powerful solution. Meanwhile, the survival of your lawn hangs in the balance.
May 8, 2003
Whitehead Director, Former Director Elected to American Philosophical Society Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research Director Susan Lindquist and Whitehead Founding Member and former director Gerald Fink have been elected to the American Philosophical Society, the oldest learned society in the United States devoted to the advancement of scientific and scholarly inquiry.
May 7, 2003
Massachusetts Legislators Consider Bill on Stem Cell Research Researchers at Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research testified on Beacon Hill last week in support of a bill that would promote stem cell research in the Commonwealth. The bill, which mirrors a similar measure passed in California last year, would give a government seal of approval to embryonic stem (ES) cell research.
May 1, 2003
Scientists Publish Draft Sequence and Analysis of Neurospora crassa The Whitehead Institute/MIT Center for Genome Research announced the publication of a high-quality draft sequence of the Neurospora crassa genome—better known as common bread mold—together with an analysis describing insights gleaned from the sequence.
April 29, 2003
Jaenisch Named to National Academy of Sciences Founding Whitehead Institute Member Rudolf Jaenisch is one of 72 new members of the National Academy of Sciences elected in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.
April 29, 2003
Researchers Find New Piece of Cell Growth Puzzle Spurred by the discover of a cellular pathway that helps switch cell growth on and off, new research links growth to a cell's ability to sense nutrients in its environments.
April 22, 2003
Lydia Villa-Komaroff among 50 Most Important Hispanics in Business and Technology Lydia Villa-Komaroff, vice president and chief operating officer for Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, has been selected as one of this country’s most powerful Hispanic executives in technology and business by “Hispanic Engineer & Information Technology” magazine.
April 17, 2003
Process Triggered by Some Anti-Cancer Drugs Causes Tumors in Mice, Study Finds It is well known that cancers frequently are caused by genetic mutations—random alterations along the long chain of molecules that make up the sequence of an organism's DNA. Two studies published this week in Science now point to another culprit in tumor formation.
April 17, 2003
Novel Method IDs “Hidden Genes” Once thought to serve only as a bridge between genes and protein production, RNA is quickly shedding its reputation as being all brawn and no brain. RNA’s research renaissance is due in part to the recent discovery of a new class of genes called microRNAs (miRNAs). Rather than code for proteins, miRNAs serve as regulators—genetic trump cards that turn protein-coding genes off.
April 14, 2003
International Consortium Completes Human Genome Project The International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium, led in the United States by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) and the Department of Energy (DOE), today announced the successful completion of the Human Genome Project more than two years ahead of schedule.
April 9, 2003
Whitehead/MIT Genome Center Researchers Assemble Draft Sequence of Aspergillus nidulans The Whitehead Institute/MIT Center for Genome Research this week announced the public release of a high quality draft genome sequence of Aspergillus nidulans, a mold, or filamentous fungus commonly used in laboratory research to study important questions in genetics and cell biology.
April 3, 2003
Eric Lander Named Scientist of the Year Eric Lander, a member of Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, Mass., has been named “Scientist of the Year” by the National Disease Research Interchange in recognition of his leadership in the field of genomic research and development.
April 2, 2003
Kevin Eggan Wins Harold M . Weinbtraub Grad Student Award Sixteen graduate students from North America and Europe, including Kevin Eggan of the Jaenisch lab, have been selected to receive the 2003 Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award, which is sponsored by the Basic Sciences Division of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
March 31, 2003
Prions Offer Nanotech Building Tool The same characteristics that make misfolded proteins known as prions such a pernicious medical threat in neurodegenerative diseases may offer a construction toolkit for manufacturing nanoscale electrical circuits, researchers report this week in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
March 25, 2003
Screening Technique Streamlines Search for Anticancer Drug Most cancer patients face an all or nothing dilemma. Aggressive chemotherapy can and often does kill cancerous cells, shrink tumors and increase a patient’s chance for survival. But chemo’s toxic chemicals kill healthy cells too, causing severe side effects like anemia, organ damage and even memory loss.
March 20, 2003
Researchers Develop Strategy to Predict Mutations Involved in Cancer Drug Resistance Researchers have devised a way to identify genetic mutations that will cause resistance to targeted anti-cancer drugs, even before patients are treated – a finding that will aid scientists involved in drug development and allow physicians to monitor patients for resistance problems before they occur.
March 20, 2003
Inactive genes may contribute to failure of animals cloned from adult cells, study finds Only 1 percent to 3 percent of animals cloned from adult cells survive to birth; many die mysteriously very early in development, around the time of implantation.
March 11, 2003
Daley receives Burroughs Wellcome Fund Award The Burroughs Wellcome Fund (BWF) in Research Triangle Park, NC, has named Whitehead Fellow George Daley one of six physician-scientists to receive Clinical Science Awards in Translational Research for 2003.
February 26, 2003
WICGR develops new assembly program Scientists at the Whitehead Institute/MIT Center for Genome Research have developed a new version of Arachne, a whole genome assembly software program that is able to assemble back from shredded fragments large and complex genomes such as the human, mouse, and rat.
February 16, 2003
Bartel research team wins prestigious AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize The discovery of micro-sized RNA molecules (miRNAs)—a breakthrough described as "the biological equivalent of dark matter, all around us but almost escaping detection"—earned the coveted 2001-2002 AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize.
February 12, 2003
Statistics Show Strengths and Weaknesses of Genetics-common Disease Studies When the $100M HapMap project was announced late last year, it stoked a decades-long debate surrounding the “common-disease, common variant” hypothesis. Can hunting for links between common genetic variants and common diseases help reveal why some individuals are more susceptible to common diseases like diabetes and hypertension than others?
February 11, 2003
Harnessing the power of SiRNA The Whitehead Institute recently released for public use a new computational tool that can help researchers more precisely silence gene function, streamlining drug discovery and disease research efforts.
January 23, 2003
Beyond the Double Helix: Spring Lecture Series at the Museum of Science Save the dates for this year's spring lecture series at the Boston Museum of Science, March 5, 12, and 19. This year's series, "Beyond the Double Helix," will feature Whitehead researchers who are taking a variety of new approaches to elucidate how genes and proteins coordinate cell activity and, in some cases, cause disease.
January 21, 2003
Lydia Villa-Komaroff, Maxine Singer Join Whitehead Leadership On January 1, the Whitehead Institute welcomed Lydia Villa-Komaroff and Maxine Singer to its leadership ranks. Villa-Komaroff was named Vice President of Research and Chief Operating Officer for the Whitehead Institute; Singer assumed the Chairmanship of the Institute's Board of Directors.
January 14, 2003
International Team Uses Genomic Tools to Discover Gene for Childhood Genetic Disorder In an advance illustrating the power of genomic information, an international team of researchers announced it has identified a gene that causes Leigh Syndrome, French Canadian type (LSFC), a fatal inherited disorder affecting 1 in 2000 live births each year in the Saguenay-Lac St-Jean region in Quebec
January 13, 2003
Biotech 2010: Vision for the Future Massachusetts can seize the opportunity to achieve global leadership in the life-sciences economy if the Commonwealth takes a more active state role in the promotion and support of biotechnology, according to a new report issued this month by the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (MBC) and the Boston Consulting Group.
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Last updated December 24, 2003. |
