The funds are approved! We're hiring a postdoc to build a CRISPRa toolkit to identify new aging mechanisms in C. elegans. Email or DM me to find out more. Please share & repost!

Looking for new, local science podcasts to keep you up to date on research that matters? Check out the two podcasts from the @whiteheadinstitute.bsky.social: AudioHelicase and BioGenesis! 🎧 bit.ly/3J9Yw5p

From our latest episode of #AudioHelicase: four Whitehead Institute researchers gain unique insights into biological processes—from regeneration to organ function—by studying them within the rich context of their natural environment. Listen here: wi.mit.edu/multimedia/a...

“Developing this tool required combining diverse skillsets through the sort of ambitious interdisciplinary collaboration that’s only possible at a place like Whitehead Institute,” @weissmanlab.bsky.social says. New tool reveals a detailed history of tumor growth: wi.mit.edu/news/mapping...

How do proteins know where to go inside of a cell? Postdoc Henry Kilgore answers our latest #AskaScientist question. Learn how students can submit their own questions: wi.mit.edu/bionook/ask-...

New preprint! We solve a mystery you didn't know existed. Mitotic cells lack new transcription but require ongoing translation. Interphase mRNA half life is only 2-4 hrs. So how do cells arrest in mitosis for hours without depleting their transcriptomes? www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Things you might see in Kendall Square: a giant image of a drosophila testis traveling a mile down the street

We had so much fun at Expedition: Bio, Whitehead Institute's summer science program for middle school students! Here's everyone showing off what they learned at Friday's poster session. 🧬🌱🧫

So nice to see another group of middle school students getting into the lab and out into the field as part of the Expedition:Bio summer program.

Just as cancer cells can co-opt other cell types to protect themselves, so can therapies co-opt various cell types to destroy the cancer. Read "The company we keep: Revealing cancer’s accomplices": wi.mit.edu/news/company...

Sometimes it’s great to pause and appreciate the incredible work at #WhiteheadInstitute. It’s not every day you get to work alongside people pushing the boundaries of #CancerResearch and making real strides in understanding and treating cancer. #MIT #BiomedicalResearch #Immunology #ResearchSky

Toxoplasma gondii divides by endodyogeny — a process in which two daughters form inside a mother cell, eventually consuming the mother cell. In special cases, as captured in this image, a single cell spawns a multitude of daughters. Credit: Dominic Schwarz. #WhiteheadWonders

60 seconds of mitochondrial biology for lunchtime viewing!

Someone told me what the world needs most is another podcast, & by the time I figured out that person was being facetious, it was too late. Announcing the launch of "KOHN'S ZONE: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom About Education & Kids" (2 episodes posted; new ones due every 2 weeks): is.gd/JiaK2w

Animals that enter states of dormancy, such as daily torpor or hibernation, live much longer compared to closely related species. But why is that so? And what does it reveal about aging? Whitehead Institute Member Siniša Hrvatin shares how his research probes these questions.

Interesting glimpse into Sinisa Hrvatin's work studying hibernation and torpor and how their discoveries can inform our understanding of aging and disease progression.

. @whiteheadinstitute.bsky.social researchers developed Perturb-Multimodal, a powerful new approach that simultaneously measures how genetic changes affect both #GeneExpression and cell structure in intact liver tissue. 📰: bit.ly/440TrVi 📝 @cellpress.bsky.social: bit.ly/3TEs2ST

Researchers in the Oni lab study how pancreatic cancer cells manipulate their microenvironment to escape immune attack. Read how the Oni lab and others at Whitehead are studying cancer in context: wi.mit.edu/news/company...

This article is part of our series, “Biology in its natural habitat: studying cellular processes in context”. View the entire collection here: wi.mit.edu/series/biolo... #WhiteheadStoryArc

Humans don't regrow body parts after an injury, but certain animals can and do. The planarian, a tiny, water-dwelling flatworm, is one such organism. This multipart video explainer explores what we know about planarian regeneration, and what it could mean for human health: wi.mit.edu/news/how-neo...

A researcher can learn a lot from studying a single gene or cell type in isolation. But study a component within the context of its environment, and the picture becomes even more clear. Read our latest #WhiteheadStoryArc: wi.mit.edu/series/biolo...

Interesting new collection of stories highlighting the importance of studying biology "in its natural habitat."

New pre-print! Ryan Kim et al distinguish the roles of the Spindle Assembly Checkpoint as a surveillance pathway only triggered by mitotic errors vs a mitotic timer that is required in every cell division. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Whitehead Institute and Harvard researchers have developed Perturb-Multi, a powerful new approach that simultaneously measures how genetic changes, such as turning off individual genes, affect both gene expression and cell structure in intact tissue.

Alisa White, a postdoc in the Page lab studying sex differences in the brain, recalls the moment she became interested in foundational research. wi.mit.edu/news/meet-wh... #WhiteheadPostdocProfiles

We've been asking Whitehead Institute scientists to give us their elevator pitch! In the first installment of #Sciencein60, grad student Xochitl Luna describes her research on microglia, the brain's resident immune cells that play a role in multiple sclerosis (MS). @xochitl-luna.bsky.social

Learn more about the Seminar Series for High School Teachers: wi.mit.edu/program/semi...

Thanks to all of the high school teachers that come to Whitehead Institute each month for this program so they can take the excitement of biomedical research back to their students.

Trump’s new ‘gold standard’ rule will destroy American science as we know it Colette Delawalla, Victor Ambros, Carl Bergstrom, Carol Greider, Michael Mann and Brian Nosek in The Guardian. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Whitehead Institute celebrated the legacy of its Founding Member and Former Director Gerald Fink, who is known not only for his pioneering work in yeast genetics, but for his mentorship to scientists whose discoveries have reshaped a range of scientific fields. wi.mit.edu/news/whitehe...

The worst part of science reporting right now is chronicling the expertise that will be lost. My latest piece for @nature.com

Interesting piece by @gretafriar.bsky.social about the choice by five physician-scientists to pursue foundational science research.

Researchers in the Jain lab engineered DNA and RNA-based liquids with programmable properties such as viscosity and elasticity. It's research that could offer insights into how biomolecular condensates assemble within cells. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

“I was starting to think that these worms have a way of bringing out the best in humans—generosity, cooperation, and an unbridled curiosity about life. But these days, the worm people are worried.”

Terrific talks on this day spoke not only of Gerry’s prescient leadership, but also to his approach to science, as he said in a recent interview: “I’d rather be a tiller of new soil than someone who harvests mature fields.”

Amazing that this has happened. Maddening that we are actively destroying the capability to do it again. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/15/h...

Great day at Gerry Fink’s retirement symposium at the Whitehead. Reconnected with many friends. Gerry’s talk was a call-to-arms to restore the covenant between the Federal Government and universities (via NIH and NSF) that brought us the scientific advances and prosperity of the last half-century!

AI has many uses in biology research. The machine learning model ProtGPS, developed by researchers in the Young lab and at @csail.mit.edu, accurately predicts where a protein will concentrate in the cell. Full #WhiteheadExplainer video on our YouTube channel: youtu.be/TH2n5uixdPk?...

Exciting work from Yukiko Yamashita's lab-How do selfish genes balance promoting their own propagation with the livelihood of their species?

There is something for everyone on BioNook, Whitehead Institute’s collection of free online biology education resources: wi.mit.edu/BioNook

AI is quickly becoming invaluable in biology research. In our newest Whitehead Explainer video, Whitehead Institute Member Richard Young breaks down ways that AI can accelerate discovery and highlights some exciting research at Whitehead that is using AI. youtu.be/TH2n5uixdPk?...

Our Spring Lecture Series for High School Students is underway! The program gives high school students a hands-on introduction to biology research, with an emphasis on exploring how technological innovation propels scientific discovery. Here's some highlights from our micropipetting and CRISPR labs.

Today is #EarthDay2025! Biology research has the potential to address complex challenges such as crop resiliency. Mary Gehring's lab studies how plant epigenetics can be harnessed to produce hardier crops. Full video: youtu.be/RjIqed8qoqU?...

"Artificial intelligence is changing the future of biomedical research and we’re delighted to have this discussion today," Whitehead Institute Director Ruth Lehmann says. Recent symposium held at Whitehead Institute highlights how AI is accelerating biomedical discovery: wi.mit.edu/news/ai-adva...

In recognition of World Parkinson's Day, we're resharing a recent story from the Jaenisch lab. Researchers uncovered how microglia — a type of immune cell in the brain — are involved in the disease: wi.mit.edu/news/whitehe...

Thanks to everyone who joined yesterday's symposium, "AI: Advancing Foundational Biology," for fascinating insights into how AI is currently accelerating biology research. For those who missed the event, a recording of the webcast is available online: web.mit.edu/webcast/wi/s...

Interesting piece in STAT highlighting the importance of understanding female heart cells to improve prevention and treatment of heart disease and featuring the research of @mayatalukdar.bsky.social, Lukas Chantal, David Page, and others.

Just read an insightful piece by @remlehmann.bsky.social, Director of @whiteheadinstitute.bsky.social. Her vision for bold, curiosity-driven research is one reason I joined #WhiteheadInstitute, to work with top scientists, spark meaningful discussions, and drive breakthroughs. Exciting times ahead!

New preprint drop! Check out work from @jimmy-ly.bsky.social et al for how protein isoforms generated by alternate translation initiation create dual localization, contribute to mitochondrial function, and are mutated in disease. "Blue-tutorial" thread below. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Honoring the death of Murphy, the eagle that fostered two eaglets after eagerly fostering a rock, and a break from the sharp talons of the news. “We fail the creatures with whom we share our ecosystems when we believe that only we are unique, that only we move through the world as individuals."