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Princeton team discovers new organelle involved in cancer metastasis
March 9, 2021

Princeton’s leading cancer researchers, including Yibin Kang, were startled to discover that what they thought was a straightforward investigation into how cancer spreads through the body — metastasis — turned up evidence of liquid-liquid phase separations.

Testing lab in MOL integral to overall safety on campus during pandemic
Feb. 4, 2021

Princeton University President Christopher L. Eisgruber speaks with Irina Aranovich, general supervisor of Princeton’s Diagnostic Laboratory, on a tour of the campus’ new COVID-19 testing facility. 

Dewdrops on a spiderweb reveal the physics behind cell structures
Jan. 29, 2021

The physics at work in the beading of dewdrops on a spiderweb is the same as that which drives the sub-microscopic beading of a protein called TPX2, necessary to building microtubules. A team including the lab of Sabine Petry studied the link.

Entrepreneurship program supports fight against hepatitis B virus
Jan. 29, 2021

When Alexander Ploss’ team discovered a compound that blocks the cancer-causing hepatitis B virus, he knew that such findings require additional research before they are ready for testing in patients. Ploss turned to the Science Center, a Philadelphia-based organization.

Bassler and Silverman win 2021 Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize
Jan. 27, 2021

Bonnie Bassler and Michael Silverman will be awarded the Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize for their ground-breaking discoveries concerning bacterial quorum sensing.

Schüpbach Awarded AAAS Amory Prize
Jan. 21, 2021

Emeritus Professor Gertrud M. Schüpbach has been awarded the 2020 Francis Amory Prize in Reproductive Medicine and Reproductive Physiology by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Register here to attend virtual prize ceremony on February 3 at 1 pm EST.

Alexander Ploss among Princeton researchers studying the impacts of COVID-19
Jan. 20, 2021

To make SARS-CoV-2 safer for handling in the laboratory, Alexander Ploss, associate professor of molecular biology, and his team are developing a less virulent version of the virus.

Alexis Cowan part of team mapping human cardiac fuel use
Nov. 30, 2020
Molecular Biology grad student Alexis Cowan, in the lab of Chemistry’s Joshua Rabinowitz, helped complete the first comprehensive, quantitative mapping of human cardiac fuel use, reporting that the heart preferentially and voraciously consumes fatty acids.
Social bacteria build shelters using the physics of fingerprint patterns
Nov. 28, 2020

A team at Princeton University has discovered the physics behind how certain rod-shaped bacteria, which align in patterns like those on fingerprint whorls and liquid crystal displays, build the layers of these fruiting bodies. The study was published online in Nature Physics.

Princeton University will open COVID-19 testing laboratory for campus community
Nov. 23, 2020

The COVID-19 testing laboratory, housed in Princeton’s Department of Molecular Biology, is part of the University’s comprehensive testing program. The testing lab is an integral part of the University’s overall health and safety measures. 

Jonikas Lab researchers have learned how an enigmatic organelle, the pyrenoid, is formed
Nov. 23, 2020

Shan He, Martin Jonikas, and colleagues have discovered how Rubisco holoenzymes assemble to form the algal pyrenoid, an organelle that mediates the incorporation of carbon dioxide into sugars. The study was published July 23, 2020 in the journal Nature Plants. 

 

 

Cameron Myhrvold named a STAT News "Wunderkind"
Nov. 16, 2020

The news site recognized Myhrvold's interest in Cas13 and his plan to continue developing CRISPR-based technologies at Princeton.

Jonikas Lab discovers a motif that guides assembly of the algal pyrenoid
Nov. 11, 2020

Researchers have discovered that assembly of the algal pyrenoid, a structure that mediates the incorporation of carbon dioxide into sugars, is guided by the presence of a particular protein sequence, or motif. The study appears November 11, 2020 in the open-access journal Science Advances.  

Video Feature: Imaging Life
Nov. 2, 2020

State-of-the-art imaging technologies are used in research programs across the Department of Molecular Biology and beyond. See how principal investigators Jared Toettcher, Danelle Devenport, Nieng Yan and Department Chair Bonnie Bassler are using these core-facility imaging resources to advance knowledge.

Johnson and Betsinger win MOL BIO Teaching Awards
Oct. 27, 2020

MOL Postdoc Matt Johnson and graduate student Cora Betsinger were honored at the department retreat for their excellence in teaching.