HHMI - Howard Hughes Medical Institute

The large viruses known as jumbo phages employ a curious counter-defense strategy to protect their DNA while attacking bacteria. Now, scientists have identified the key protein involved and solved its structure.

Fifty-one graduate students and their advisers are joining the thriving community supported by the HHMI Gilliam Fellowships for Advanced Study.

To test their DNA typewriter, scientists sought to hide well-known phrases inside cells. But this invention’s most powerful application may lie in documenting the biological events that unfold within the boundaries of normal and diseased cells.

Plants’ immune defenses falter during heat waves, rendering them more vulnerable to insects and pathogens under climate change. HHMI scientists have now figured out why high temperatures knock out a key defense system and they’ve come up with a strategy that bolsters plant immunity.

Feeling ill is about both the body and the brain. Now scientists have identified a group of neurons in mice that has ultimate control over symptoms such as fever and behaviors like seeking out warmth.

Scientists have discovered that lysosomes in roundworms produce molecules that allow cells to ‘talk’ to one another about aging, coordinating the process across the entire organism.

The Freeman Hrabowski Scholars Program will support up to 150 early career scientists for their research and their efforts to create labs in which everyone can thrive. Applications to the program are open now.

Neurons across eight areas of the brain team up to process visual information. Researchers have now documented these neurons’ activity at a breadth and resolution never before reported.

When pathogens attack, the NPR1 protein steps in to control a plant’s immune response. Scientists have now figured out what the protein looks like and how it works – a possible boon for agriculture.