Recent MSK Discoveries & Advances

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Recent MSK Discoveries & Advances

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Memorial Sloan Kettering researchers are relentlessly exploring every aspect of cancer — from basic investigations of cells and molecules to clinical trials of new treatments and population-wide studies of the disease. While our core mission is to translate this knowledge into new strategies to control cancer, many of our investigators are also making scientific progress against other diseases and conditions.

Below are some examples of discoveries and advances that recently were made in our laboratories and clinics, and featured in our news stories.

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375 News Items found
In the Lab
Pictured: Pseudomonas aeruginosa
The Enemy’s Telltale Mark: Researchers Find Novel Way Body Defends against Harmful Bacteria

MSK researchers discover that the body senses and attacks harmful bacteria indirectly after the pathogens cause stress within the cells.
In the Lab
Pictured: Ping Chi
Molecular Studies Provide New Clues about Rare Soft Tissue Sarcoma

Genetic analysis reveals biomarkers and possible drug targets for malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors.
In the Lab
Pictured: Scott Lowe
Researchers Uncover Potential Target for “Undruggable” Form of Liver Cancer

In taking a new approach to finding treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma, MSK scientists have uncovered a potential drug target for this highly aggressive cancer.
In the Lab
Pictured: Experimental Brain Tumor
Genetic “Kill Switch” Could Make Cell Therapies Safer

Researchers have engineered a gene into therapeutic cells that allows them to turn off tumor growth if some of the cells become cancerous.
Snapshot
Pictured: Nematode Worm Embryo
How to Build a Worm, in 3-D High Definition

Stunning movies captured in the lab of computational biologist Zhirong Bao reveal how cells divide, grow, and move around, as in a carefully choreographed dance, during the development of a nematode worm embryo.
In the Lab
Stained pathology slides of a patient’s tumor (right) and of an organoid made from that tumor (left).
Prostate Cancer Organoids Provide New Tool for Evaluating Therapies

Researchers have created tiny structures called organoids from patients’ prostate tumors. These organoids will allow the study of tumors in greater detail and enable correlation of genetic mutations with drug response.
In the Lab
Pictured: Johanna Joyce
Researchers Find Clues to How Breast Cancer Can Infiltrate the Brain

A new study sheds light on what enables breast cancer cells to spread to the brain and presents a potential target for drugs.
In the Lab
Lab mouse with cultured human pluripotent stem cells
A New Mouse? Genetically Pliable Stem Cells Could Advance Research on Many Diseases

Memorial Sloan Kettering researchers have developed a powerful new way to study human disease using stem cells whose genomes can be manipulated at will.
In the Lab
An origami crane illustrates the importance of RNA folding for regulating gene translation. The bolded sequences on the crane’s wings indicate the portion that is critical for the manufacture of many cancer-causing proteins.
Compound from Tropical Plant Targets Key Cancer-Causing Genes

Memorial Sloan Kettering researchers have found a naturally occurring compound that can destroy cancer cells in mice by targeting <em>MYC</em>, a cancer-causing gene that has remained elusive until now.
Finding
Pictured: Gabriela Chiosis
Hsp90: A Very Promising Target for Cancer Therapy

A small molecule discovered at MSK called PU-H71 blocks the growth of cancer cells and enables doctors to image tumors.