2014 News Archive
Vera Gorbunova appointed Doris Johns Cherry Professor
Congratulations to Professor Vera Gorbunova, who has been appointed the Doris Johns Cherry Professor.
Are Male Brains Wired to Ignore Food for Sex?
Choosing between two good things can be tough. When animals must decide between feeding and mating, it can get even trickier. In a discovery that might ring true even for some humans, researchers have shown that male brains – at least in nematodes – will suppress the ability to locate food in order to instead focus on finding a mate.
Less effective DNA repair process takes over as mice age
As we and other vertebrates age, our DNA accumulates mutations and becomes rearranged, which may result in a variety of age-related illnesses, including cancers. Biologists Vera Gorbunova and Andrei Seluanov have now discovered one reason for the increasing DNA damage: the primary repair process begins to fail with increasing age and is replaced by one that is less accurate.
Targeting Cells’ Protein-making Machinery May Stop Harmful Bacteria
One challenge in killing off harmful bacteria is that many of them develop a resistance to antibiotics. Researchers at the University of Rochester are targeting the formation of the protein-making machinery in those cells as a possible alternate way to stop the bacteria. And Professor of Biology Gloria Culver has, for the first time, isolated the middle-steps in the process that creates that machinery—called the ribosomes.
Alternate mechanism of species formation picks up support, thanks to a South American ant
Christian Rabeling and his team discovered the parasitic Mycocepurus castrator, an example of a still-controversial theory known as sympatric speciation.
When temperatures drop, newly-discovered process helps fruit flies cope
Rochester biologist Michael Welte and his team made their discovery while studying the internal mechanisms of the egg cell of the fruit fly, known as Drosophila. What keeps the assembly line functioning—based on the new research—is a protein called Klar.
Protein Anchors Help Keep Embryonic Development 'Just Right'
Research from Rochester biologists shows that different types of histone proteins need to exist in specific proportions in order not to damage a fruit fly's DNA—and that any over-produced histones are kept in cellular storage facilities until they are needed.
Professor of the Year Awards
Cheeptip Benyajati receives this year's Professor of the Year Award in the Natural Sciences!
Biologist Vera Gorbunova to lead 5-year project on longevity
University of Rochester Professor of Biology Vera Gorbunova, whose innovative research on DNA repair and the aging process has been internationally recognized, has been awarded a $9.5 million grant from the National Institute on Aging to study longevity.
Biology Professors Awarded the 2014 Prince Hitachi Prize in Comparative Oncology
Vera Gorbunova and Andrei Seluanov recognized for their work and research clarifying the molecular mechanisms of the naked mole rat's cancer resistance.