Molecular biology, genetics, microbiology, ecology and animal health.
Professor Thomas Scheibel and Edgardo Santiago-Rivera used CRISPR gene editing in spiders, switching off an eye-development gene in some offspring and adding a red fluorescent protein to silk in others.
Dr. Jason Buenrostro's team developed a way to sequence DNA inside intact nuclei and found that misshapen nuclei in progeria cells carry scattered patches of wrongly silenced active DNA.
Professor Masashi Kato's team found that the plant compound luteolin, applied to the skin or given orally, reduced hair graying in mice bred to go gray quickly.
Professor Nadav Ahituv's team engineered fat cells to soak up sugar and fat, out-competing tumors for nutrients and slowing cancer growth in mice and lab-grown breast tumor samples.
Dr. Ernesto Di Maio's team found that moving eggs back and forth between hot and cold water cooks the white fully while keeping the yolk creamy, and retains more nutrients.
Professor Isak Pretorius's team built a fully synthetic yeast chromosome, traced its growth defects to design flaws near gene control regions, and fixed them so the yeast grew normally.
Professor Joanna Masel's team used protein domains traced to life's last universal common ancestor to infer the order amino acids joined the genetic code, finding sulfur-containing ones arrived earlier than thought.
Dr. Kouhei Toga and Professor Hidemasa Bono compared genomes of resistant and susceptible bed bugs and found mutations, including in genes not previously tied to resistance, that may help them survive insecticides.
Dr. Oktay Kaplan's team found that the protein ARL13B keeps paired cilia on worm sensory neurons growing side by side, apparently by regulating the cilia membrane rather than cilia length.
Professor Wu-Chou Su's team found that lung cancer cells whose interleukin-6 lacks its normal sugar tags spread more readily and resist targeted drugs, with patient samples supporting the link.
Dr. John Newman's team found that the ketone body beta-hydroxybutyrate reduced misfolded protein buildup in cells, in worms and in the brains of older mice given ketone supplements.
Professor Ferdinand von Meyenn's team found that fat tissue keeps obesity-linked changes after weight loss, and in mice these epigenetic marks helped the animals regain weight faster on a fatty diet.
