The most common and aggressive type of ovarian cancer, ovarian carcinoma, leaves a dark trail. Science has learned too little and most women learn too late to treat the deadly disease. Cornell scientists have found ovarian carcinoma’s first proven origin cells and uncovered clues for finding similar sources of other cancers. Published in Nature in […]
Category: Microbiology
Salmonella can cause serious disease on cattle farms, killing calves, causing cows to abort, contaminating raw milk, and harming humans along the way. While the cattle-adapted strain Salmonella Dublin creeps into the Northeastern US, veterinarians and farmers struggle to catch the bacteria in time to protect livestock because these bacteria often hide dormant in carrier […]
Surprise packages sent by cancer cells can turn normal cells cancerous, but Cornell scientists have found a way to keep their cargo from ever leaving port. Published in Oncogene in January 2012, their study demonstrates the parcels’ cancer-causing powers, describes how they are made, and reveals a way to jam production. Treatments that follow suit […]
Prime suspects in mystery fevers may hold new tick-borne diseases Suddenly your horse is sick and you don’t know why. She breathes normally but her temperature is rising, her eyes grow yellow with jaundice, she seems depressed, and barely eats. The fever is clear but the cause is not; even the most experienced experts can […]
An ancient union between cell and organelle has shown the first sign of fracture, challenging common conceptions of a primordial partnership all multicellular organisms rely on to live. Cornell researchers have recorded the first direct evidence of cells expelling intact mitochondria, the cellular machinery responsible for energy production. Malfunctioning mitochondria produce free-radicals that damage cells, […]
Sept. 19, 2011 By Carly Hodes Toxoplasma gondii parasites can invade your bloodstream, break into your brain and prompt behavioral changes from recklessness to neuroticism. These highly contagious protozoa infect more than half the world’s population, and most people’s immune systems never purge the intruders. Cornell researchers recently discovered how T. gondii evades our defenses by hacking immune cells, […]
Sept. 13, 2011 By Carly Hodes Herpesviruses are thrifty reproducers — they only send off their most infectious progeny to invade new cells. Two Cornell virologists recently have discovered how these viruses determine which progeny to release. The College of Veterinary Medicine researchers report in the Aug. 23 (108:34) issue I of the Proceedings of the […]
Professor emeritus continues serving the community and the profession If Noah’s ark sails again it could make a fruitful boarding stop in the office of Howard Evans, BS ’44, PhD ’50. A microcosm of biodiversity, this miniature museum is decked floor to ceiling with animal specimens from across the globe. Yet it models only a […]
Two experts from Cornell are teaming up to tackle salmonella contamination in produce, thanks to a $500,000 grant from the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Cornell was one of 24 institutions to receive such grants to reduce food-borne illnesses and deaths from microbial contamination. Craig Altier, a salmonella […]
From molecular blueprints to bacterial cities, Holger Sondermann explores biological architecture What do sink scum, dental plaque, and streambed slime have in common? They are all biofilms, billions of bacteria banded together into a resilient community. Beyond clogging your drain, these colonies can turn equipment such as catheters, implants, and heart valves into biomedical hazards. When […]