Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

12/17/2025

Season’s Greetings! Students, faculty, and staff at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory would like to wish you and your loved ones a wonderful holiday season. May the coming year bring curiosity, discovery, and innovation to all!

12/16/2025

Scientists discovered nuclear speckles over a century ago. Until recently, that’s pretty much all anyone knew. So, if you’ve never heard of them, you’re certainly not alone. For our latest podcast, CSHL Assistant Professor Kate Alexander joins us At the Lab to dig into what she’s uncovered, how it might impact cancer treatment strategies, and how her investigations are shining a light on these mysterious cellular structures.

If you remember high school biology, you know cells pack a lot inside a tiny package. Inside the nucleus of every one of our cells, you’ll see more than a few things floating around. You may be familiar with RNA and DNA. But that’s not all you’ll find there. Over a century ago, scientists disc...

12/15/2025

“It's been known for decades that cancer can flatten healthy day-night stress hormone rhythms—but how?” asks CSHL’s Jeremy Borniger. In mice, the Borniger lab discovered that breast cancer disrupts the brain-body feedback loop that regulates these rhythms. Stimulating key neurons in the brain's hypothalamus—which regulates hormones and other bodily processes—at the right times restored healthy function, bolstering anti-tumor defenses. Their work may one day do the same for existing cancer therapies.

“The brain is an exquisite sensor of what’s going on in your body,” says Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Assistant Professor Jeremy Borniger. “But it requires balance. Neurons need to be active or inactive at the right times. If that rhythm goes out of sync even a little bit, it can change the...

12/11/2025

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory faculty and staff recently attended the Don Monti Memorial Research Foundation 54th Anniversary Ball of the Year.

The Don Monti Foundation is dedicated to patient care, research, and education in the fields of oncology and hematology. Similar to CSHL’s mission of making life better though improving quality of life, the Don Monti Foundation is dedicated to easing the pain and suffering of patients and helping families in times of great need.

Since 2006, the partnership between CSHL and the Don Monti Foundation has continually grown stronger. Most recently, the Foundation supported Assistant Professor Lingbo Zhang’s work on acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a rare blood cancer that is related to a group of blood disorders, including myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). With the Foundation’s support, the Zhang laboratory is currently working with experts in the pharmaceutical industry to develop a treatment for AML.

12/11/2025

As we age, foods. hit. differently. Often triggering inflammation and conditions like leaky gut syndrome which can result from or just natural .
CSHL biologists Corina Amor Vegas and Semir Beyaz have devised a way to stimulate cell growth and repair in the intestine. Their discovery lays the groundwork for new drugs that can address age-related diseases like leaky gut syndrome and improve overall gut health.

Ever notice that as you get older, some foods no longer sit with you the same? This could be due to a breakdown of the intestinal epithelium, a single layer of cells that forms the organ’s lining. The intestine plays a crucial role in many health functions, including digestion. Under normal condit...

12/10/2025

CSHL has been a place for global collaboration since its beginnings, and our science has thrived because of it. Each of CSHL’s eight Nobel Laureates has come from drastically different backgrounds. To commemorate their achievements on , the CSHL Center for Humanities & History of Modern Biology compiled historical pieces of artwork made in the likeness of our Nobel Laureates.


Credits:
Carol Greider by David Peikon
Rich Roberts - https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/sir-richard-roberts-b-1943-344423
Phil Sharp - https://www.kentuckytotheworld.org/illustrated-profile-gallery/philip-sharp
Barbara McClintock by Eleanor Malamed
Max Delbrück and Salvador Luria
Max Delbrück by Efraim Racker
Alfred Hershey by Efraim Racker
James Watson by Efraim Racker

12/08/2025

Plant biologists in CSHL’s Lipppman lab have devised a new system for identifying redundant genes and predicting how certain genetic mutations may affect plant traits. Their model provides plant breeders with a potential roadmap for future crop improvements. “It’s the first time in tomatoes where you have such big targeting of so many genes at the same time,” says postdoc Iacopo Gentile, who led the study, published by Oxford University Press.

As global temperatures rise, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) scientists work to grow stronger, more resilient crops. Yet, this process is challenging. Plants often have several related genes that control desirable traits, such as size or drought resistance. Finding genes with overlapping functi...

12/05/2025

Every day, CSHL School of Biological Sciences graduate students are encouraged to pursue ambitious goals and ask tough questions. Diego Hernandez, studying in the Lippman Laboratory, is hoping his research can solve a problem in our not-so-distant future. The global population is estimated to reach 10 billion by 2050, leading to increased demands on food supply. Learn more about Diego’s research and how engineered plants could provide nutritious food to all.

12/04/2025

Each year, CSHL’s Meetings and Course program attracts thousands of scientists from around the world, seeking guidance from experts and collaboration with peers in their field. During the 10th anniversary of the Genome Engineering: CRISPR Frontiers meeting, we welcomed two physician-scientists behind the world’s first personalized CRISPR treatment: Dr. Kiran Musunuru from the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, and Dr. Rebecca Ahrens-Nicklas from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Listen to our most recent podcast episode to discover these two inspiring pioneers’ visions for the future of CRISPR, science, and medicine.

How does science make life better? Here’s one example spanning eons. There’s an adaptive immune system called CRISPR that has existed in bacteria for billions of years. Thanks to fundamental biology research, it is now being used to discover and develop powerful new forms of medicine. Just this ...

12/04/2025

The CSHL School of Biological Sciences has launched a new Ph.D. program in BioAI. Machine learning has transformed science, yet few formal doctorate programs exist at the intersection of biology and AI. This new program will equip today’s students with the tools they’ll need to make the groundbreaking biomedical discoveries of the future.

AI and machine learning have transformed science, enabling new discoveries and laying the groundwork for lifesaving treatments. Yet, as valuable as these tools may be for science and medicine, few if any formal degree programs exist at the intersection of biology and AI. For over 135 years, Cold Spr...

12/02/2025

is a day to not only encourage philanthropic support, but to highlight organizations that transform our communities.

CSHL is grateful to our many partners and supporters, including Joanne Ameruoso, whose advocacy and community engagement help raise awareness and support for vital research. Her dedication to our mission allows us to continue inspiring curiosity, discovery, and innovation.

12/02/2025

On this , we’re celebrating partners who make our mission stronger year after year.

Thank you to the Masthead Cove Yacht Club for your continued generosity and belief in the power of scientific discovery. Your support fuels bold ideas, advances lifesaving research, and helps us bring science closer to the community.