During development, multipotent cells make a series of cell fate decisions, eventually leading to the various distinct cell types in the body. With the advent of high-throughput measurement…
News from 2026
From Motion to Mechanism: Cytoskeletal Dynamics Drive Cell Division in Bacteria [Garner Lab]
Cell division is one of the most fundamental processes of life, conserved across all kingdoms. Over the last decades, scientists have identified many of the components involved in…
Early Germ Layer Differentiation Occurs Through a Series of Discrete Cell State Transitions [Ramanathan Lab]
During mammalian development, embryonic stem cells undergo cell-fate decisions to commit to one of three germ layer lineages: ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm. Although decades of research in developmental…
MCO Graduate to Open Lab Through the Rowland Institute at Harvard
Recent MCO PhD graduate Mackenzie Weygandt Mathis, of Professor Nao Uchida’s lab, has been awarded a highly competitive Rowland Junior Fellowship. The five year fellowship will allow Mathis…
Meselson Featured in Conversations in Genetics Video Series
MCB faculty member and Cabot Professor of the Natural Sciences Matthew Meselson was recently interviewed for the Genetics Society of America's (GSA) Conversations in Genetics series. In the video Meselson,…
Uncovering the Dynamics of Interneuron Production and Maturation [Ramanathan Lab]
Inhibitory interneurons are a diverse population with crucial roles in cortical and striatal information processing. These cells have been implicated in human neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism,…
The Case of the Missing Crossovers [Kleckner Lab]
Sexual reproduction involves the production of male and female gametes (e.g. sperm and egg) each of which carries a single complete set of chromosomes. In most organisms, this…
Prediction Errors Stay on Track, Even When the Ride is Unpredictable [Uchida Lab]
Imagine you are waiting for the 2PM subway train. Based on your experience, you know that the train always arrives between 1:55PM and 2:05PM. You glance at your…
Unusual Calcium Binding Allows Flexing of a Cadherin Involved in Hearing [Gaudet Lab]
Vertebrates rely on the inner ear to convert the mechanical stimuli of sound and head movements into electrical signals that can be decoded by the brain. This process,…
Student Publishes Book on Systems Biology
James Valcourt, a third-year PhD student in Sharad Ramanathan’s lab, has written and published a book for the popular science market. Systematic: How Systems Biology Is Transforming Modern…
