Tag Archives: genetics

More Than Skin Deep

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HHMI Bulletin | May 2007

Elaine Fuchs used to do crossword puzzles as a diversion from her undergraduate studies. With crosswords, every solved clue creates new hints to help solve neighboring clues. Fuchs, an HHMI investigator at The Rockefeller University, has followed a similar approach throughout her professional life. By honing each experimental finding into a new set of tools, she has probed deeper into the question that first piqued her curiosity three decades ago.  read in full issue (pdf)

A Pluripotent Stew

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HHMI Bulletin | February 2007

Embryonic stem (ES) cells are plain enough to look at, forming a nondescript clump within the hollow ball of an early embryo. But that generic character is key to their magical rejuvenating potential. Unlike all other cells, which are preordained toward a specialized form and function, ES cells have a clean slate. The developing embryo can mold them into any cell type it needs. 

Scientists Crack Code for Motor Neuron Wiring

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HHMI Bulletin | February 2006

As you turn the pages of this Bulletin, motor neurons that project from your spinal cord are coordinating the precise actions of more than 50 muscles in each of your arms. Each muscle is individually controlled by its own motor neuron cluster, which has a distinct identity and pattern of connectivity.  read in full issue (pdf)

Tracking a Perpetrator Gene

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HHMI Bulletin | September 2005

On May Day 1999, Jennifer Chamberlin,* a 43-year-old secretary in the Midwest, stayed home to recuperate from back surgery and spend time with her three daughters, on spring break from school. Walking into her kitchen, Jenn fainted and fell to the floor. She soon regained consciousness but never returned to her normal self.
read in full issue (pdf)

Also read Separated at Birth?

It all began some 30 years ago, when the two physician-scientists were 20-some-thing medical students at Duke University. Being a year apart, “we didn’t know each other at all,” Ginsburg recounts, “but we discovered just a couple of years ago that we had dated the same girl!”