AudioHelicase

Whitehead Institute Member Siniša Hrvatin discusses his research on the neuroscience of hibernation.

Whitehead Institute researchers Silvi Rouskin, Ankur Jain, and David Bartel discuss how their RNA research connects to health and disease, including viral infections and neurodegeneration. This podcast is part of a multimedia series on RNA.

In this special episode of AudioHelicase, we talk to three researchers about the cells in our bodies that can regenerate – and those that can’t. We ask, why can some cells no longer renew themselves? And, importantly, can we change that? This podcast is part of our multimedia series, Cells Over Time.

Making our world more sustainable to preserve it for future generations will take not just one but many solutions. Researchers at Whitehead Institute are exploring how the natural world could teach us how to improve the sustainability of how we produce food, how we make medicines, how we make products more durable, and potentially how … Continue reading AudioHelicase Special: How researchers at Whitehead Institute are building a more sustainable future →

In this episode of AudioHelicase Podcast, Whitehead Fellow Silvi Rouskin discusses her research on solving the structure of the novel coronavirus’s RNA genome, with the goal of revealing weak points in the virus’s gene regulation that new drugs could potentially target. Music: “Versailles” by Pierce Murphy (CC-BY 4.0). Produced by Conor Gearin.

On this episode of AudioHelicase podcast, Whitehead Fellow Olivia Corradin talked about investigating the genetic underpinnings of diseases through a new technique she developed, the outside variant approach. Applying the method to study the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis (MS), Corradin and colleagues identified a role for a cell type in the brain in MS, offering … Continue reading Whitehead Institute’s Olivia Corradin on a New Way to Probe Disease Genetics →

Plants have been used as medicine for thousands of years; could they contribute to a solution to the COVID-19 pandemic? This is what Whitehead Institute Member Jing-Ke-Weng set out to address in a new paper, published May 20 in the journal Molecular Plant. We talked to Weng about an herbal treatment being used to treat … Continue reading Whitehead’s Jing-Ke Weng on COVID-19 treatments taking root in plant science →

In this special episode of AudioHelicase podcast, we’re taking a look at how our researchers are identifying the key players that help conduct the cell’s symphony — the proteins and molecules that direct many other parts of the cell on when and how to do their jobs. The episode features highlights from interviews with Whitehead … Continue reading AudioHelicase Special: The Conductors of the Cell’s Symphony →

In this episode of AudioHelicase, Whitehead Institute Member Pulin Li talks about how her lab engineers cells in Petri dishes to communicate with each other and form patterns, recreating processes seen in embryo development—and how this work could eventually inform efforts to grow tissues in the lab.   Produced by Conor Gearin Music: Pierce Murphy, … Continue reading Whitehead Institute’s Pulin Li on creating multicellular patterns in a Petri dish →

In this episode of AudioHelicase, Whitehead Institute Member Ankur Jain discusses how RNA can clump in cells and the diseases, such as Huntington’s and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), that are associated with these aggregations.

In this episode of AudioHelicase, Whitehead Institute Member Iain Cheeseman discusses how his work on the kinetochore provides a window into cell division and what happens when this vital cellular function goes awry.

In this episode of AudioHelicase, Whitehead Institute Member Mary Gehring discusses how her research on the plant Arabidopsis thaliana reveals how gene regulation can be passed from one generation to the next.

From his discovery of the first oncogene and tumor suppressor, to his work revealing critical aspects of the mutational basis of cancer, and more recently its metastatic behavior, Whitehead Founding Member Robert Weinberg’s work has been foundational in our understanding of cancer biology.

Whitehead Member Sebastian Lourido studies a group of parasites called the Apicomplexa. These single-celled organisms are among the most common pathogens and are capable of causing devastating diseases in humans and animals, including toxoplasmosis, malaria, and infant diarrhea. Lourido’s laboratory is investigating in particular how the Apicomplexan Toxoplasma gondii  invades host cells and establishes its site of replication. The work … Continue reading Whitehead’s Sebastian Lourido on Toxoplasma, malaria parasites, and global health →

NASA Astronaut and Former Whitehead Fellow Kathleen “Kate” Rubins sits down with Whitehead’s Director David Page to discuss her journey from studying pox viruses to sequencing DNA in space.

As a graduate student, Whitehead Member David Sabatini identified mTOR, the keystone molecule in a cellular pathway connecting nutrition, metabolism, and aging. In this episode, he discusses how the molecule was first discovered and what his lab is currently working on, including mTOR’s role in cancer, growth, and metabolism.