HHMI - Howard Hughes Medical Institute

A gene editing tool based on a bacterial toxin can make precise changes to mitochondrial DNA inside cells.

Scientists have found a new way to identify genetic modifications to transfer RNAs that could be important in a wide variety of diseases.

Data from COVID-19 cases around the world suggest that the new coronavirus hits men harder than women. Differences in men and women’s immune responses to the virus may help explain why.

Research labs are racing to develop innovative testing methods and overcome the bottlenecks to more widespread testing, which is crucial to controlling the spread of the disease.

A new analysis of difficult-to-access genetic variation is the most comprehensive ever conducted in plants. It could guide the improvement of tomatoes and other crops.

CRISPR has sparked a renaissance in genome editing. Now, next-generation CRISPR technologies let scientists modify the genome more efficiently and more precisely than before. Such tools could one day serve as therapeutics, but many challenges remain.

A clinical trial in people with the new coronavirus is testing a drug that may halt an overactive immune response before it ramps up.

The parasite that causes malaria has its own internal clock, explaining the disease’s rhythmic fevers and opening new pathways for therapeutics.

The new coronavirus invades cells that sport certain molecules on their surfaces. A network of researchers realized they already had the data to identify these cells.

Edwin Chapman has long studied how one protein triggers the release of neurotransmitters, allowing neurons to communicate. A mother’s email prompted him to investigate what happens when this protein malfunctions.

Clayton S. Rose, President of Bowdoin College and a longtime Howard Hughes Medical Institute Trustee, will succeed Kurt L. Schmoke as Chair of the Trustees.

Researchers and a volunteer team from Pinterest developed How We Feel, an app that lets users report symptoms of the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

The sensation of sweetness starts on the tongue, but sugar molecules also trip sensors in the gut that directly signal the brain. This could explain why artificial sweeteners fail to satisfy the insatiable craving for sugar.

A map of interactions between the novel coronavirus and human proteins is helping scientists identify drugs that might work as therapeutics.

Using a research assay called VirScan, scientists plan to study how antibodies from people who have had COVID-19 attack the virus that causes it.

Using a free computer game called Foldit, researchers are enlisting the help of citizen scientists to design drugs that could stop the novel coronavirus from infecting human cells.

A new international project aims to enroll 500 COVID-19 patients to search for genetic mutations that make some people more vulnerable to severe infection.

After reconstructing the ancient forms of two cellular proteins, scientists discovered the earliest known instance of a complex form of protein regulation.

Cellular structures once thought to be inactive fat storage centers may actually help regulate metabolism.

As a rat approaches a maze juncture, neural activity rapidly cycles between two sets of cells. The discovery suggests the rodents are envisioning turning left or right. A similar phenomenon may underlie how humans make decisions.

Janelia and Google scientists have constructed the most complete map of the fly brain ever created, pinpointing millions of connections between 25,000 neurons. Now, a wiring diagram of the entire brain is within reach.