Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month—and the timing couldn’t be more urgent. Colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death in men under 50 and the second in women under 50. At CSHL, Peter Westcott’s (@PeterMKWestcott) lab is at the forefront of understanding why diagnoses are rising again after declining before the 1990s. His team is investigating how environmental factors may be driving this alarming global trend in younger people. In this clip from his Cocktails & Chromosomes talk, “Cancer: A disease of genes and… garbage?”, Westcott explains why understanding how cancer evolves—and how our environment influences it—is key to prevention. 🎥 Watch the full video at the link here: cshl.edu/videos/cancer-… #ColorectalCancer #EnoughCRC #NationalColorectalCancerAwarenessMonth #ScienceMakesLifeBetter

Congratulations again to the eight winners of our 2026 MIND Prize! 🎉 Learn more about these scientists and their innovative projects here: pershingsquarephilanthropies.org/news/pershing-…

Right on time for this spring weather.... research published today, provides plant breeders a new tool to confront future challenges, from droughts to food scarcity. In a new study in @ScienceMagazine, CSHL's Zachary Lippman lab and colleagues at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem @HebrewU and Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge @slcuplants more than 2.3 million regulatory DNA sequences conserved across 284 plant species—some more than 400 million years old. Learn more on the "Secrets of evolution found in ancient plant DNA": cshl.edu/secrets-of-evo… #InspiringInnovation #ScienceMakesLifeBetter

For Women’s History Month, Barbara McClintock remembered through a story from her friend and colleague Phil Renna at CSHL—from campus walks in galoshes to cracking black walnuts for her famous pound cake. A rare glimpse at the scientist who changed genetics forever.  @NobelPrize @GeneticsGSA @theNASciences

Congrats to CSHL @corina_amor_MD on winning the 2026 @PershingSqFdn @MindPrize! Her lab is developing a CAR-T strategy for Alzheimer’s disease that targets inflammatory aging cells outside the brain—aiming for safer, long-lasting ways to prevent cognitive decline. cshl.edu/corina-amor-ve… #Alzheimers #Dementia

Every scientific breakthrough has a beginning. As we celebrate Women’s History Month, this episode highlights two women whose determination and discovery are helping define the next generation of scientific leadership. #WomenMakingHistory cshl.edu/podcasts/life-…

Congrats to CSHL's @LucasCheadle for receiving The Eagles Autism Foundation grant, which contributed $10.8 million to fund 54 projects specializing in cutting edge autism research and care! This grant will support Cheadle's pilot project: Dissecting the roles of maternal:fetal antigenicity and placental endocrine function in an inflammatory mouse model of autism. 💚 Thank you @Eagles Nation. Go Birds! #Autism #PhiladelphiaEagles #InspiringDiscovery #ScienceMakesLifeBetter philadelphiaeagles.com/news/eagles-au…

For #RareDiseaseDay, there’s hopeful news from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration 💙 Professor Adrian Krainer explains the FDA's new “Plausible Mechanism Pathway” guidance — which was released this week. Its aim is to provide a more flexible way to move personalized treatments for ultra-rare genetic diseases into clinical trials and toward approval. It's based on the "why it should work" in lieu of large-scale, randomized clinical trials. Instead of requiring large, traditional trials (which can be nearly impossible for ultra-rare conditions), this pathway focuses on something just as important: ✔️ Is the therapy hitting its intended biological target? ✔️ Are the first patients showing real, measurable improvement? For families facing ultra-rare diseases, time matters. This approach could help promising, custom-built therapies move closer to patients in need. It’s science meeting urgency — and turning deep biological understanding into real-world hope #RareDiseases #RareDiseaseWeek #RareDiseaseMonth #RareDiseaseDay #InspiringCuriosity #ScienceMakesLifeBetter

Genetically vulnerable to Huntington’s Disease, Nancy Wexler devoted her life to ground-breaking work that revealed the HD mutation and produced a test for susceptibility. Now living with HD, Nancy Wexler has a powerful autobiography published by CSHL Press: "My Life, My Science: Pursuing a Cure for Huntington’s Disease". Pre-order from Amazon at amz.cx/3c1w

We’re grateful to @_TheTransmitter for highlighting the amazing work in @LucasCheadle's laboratory! Read all about their recent preprint on maternal-fetal immune conflict in a mouse model of ASD. 👇

Think a 280-character limit is small? CSHL's Ben Cowley in collab with @PrincetonNeuro and @CarnegieMellon, has recreated the visual system of the macaque - a species of monkey whose brains are much closer to humans-using an AI model that fits in an email. Punch approves! (And who knows? It could help explain what he sees in that stuffed orangutan!) What if the key to understanding the brain wasn’t bigger AI- but smaller AI? cshl.edu/ai-monkey-brai… #Neuroscience #AI #BrainResearch #InspiringInnvoation #ScienceMakesLifeBetter

For #RareDiseaseMonth, we’re spotlighting innovation at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Cystic fibrosis (CF) is more than a diagnosis — it’s a daily reality for about 40,000 people in the U.S. and 100,000+ worldwide. This rare, inherited disease affects the lungs and digestive system, making every breath and every day harder than it should be. CSHL Professor Adrian Krainer — who helped develop Spinraza — is now advancing ASO technology to help CF cells produce functional CFTR protein, paving the way for more personalized treatments. #InspiringInnovation #InspiringDiscovery #InspiringCuriosity means hope. #ScienceMakesLifeBetter

DEGU, a new AI tool courtesy of CSHL’s Koo lab (@pkoo562), distils the predictive power of multiple deep neural networks into a single model. DEGU-trained models make better predictions and provide better explanations, at a fraction of the cost, than those trained via standard methods. #InspiringDiscovery #ScienceMakesLifeBetter  cshl.edu/degu-debuts-wi…

Excited to launch our new Behind the Name series—spotlighting the 50+ CSHL facilities along the hilly shores of Cold Spring Harbor. In each post, we’ll share who each building was named after, their contributions, and how the space is used today. First up is the Beckman Laboratory (@BeckmanFnd) in honor of Alzheimer's and Dementia Care Education Week: Dedicated in 1991, the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Laboratory was designed to kickstart CSHL’s search for the seat of memory. The Laboratory honors scientist and inventor Dr. Arnold O. Beckman and his wife Mabel, whose generous support was instrumental in getting construction off the ground. Today, Beckman houses CSHL neuroscientists exploring the inner workings of the brain, the origins of neurodevelopmental disorders, and conditions like Alzheimer’s, Dementia, and Schizophrenia. #LegacyAtTheLab #InspiringDiscovery #ScienceMakesLifeBetter

Alzheimer’s & Dementia Education Week: @Newsday @T_Cusaac spotlights CSHL research—“Alzheimer’s disease discovery: Cold Spring Harbor research with key protein improves memory in mice with symptoms.” CSHL Prof. Nicholas Tonks and team found blocking PTP1B improved learning & memory in an Alzheimer’s mouse model. Link in bio. newsday.com/news/health/al… #Alzheimers #AlzheimersAwareness #InspiringCuriosity #ScienceMakesLifeBetter

#InternationalDayofWomenandGirlsinScience allows us to acknowledge the innovative women of CSHL past and empower the visionaries of the future. #ScienceMakesLifeBetter #WomenInSTEM #EveryVoiceInScience #WomenInScience

Scientists have found a way to jumpstart the brain's waste-disposal system. By inhibiting a common metabolic enzyme, researchers enabled immune cells to devour Alzheimer’s plaque and improve cognitive function in mouse models. dlvr.it/TQr4ND

🚨Excited to share our latest study in @Cancer_Discovery! We’ve discovered how myofibroblasts induce neuroplasticity to drive #PDAC progression—from early inflammation to invasive carcinoma. 🎗️💜🕸️ #PancreaticCancer #CancerNeuroscience @CSHL @lustgartenfdn @PanCAN 🧵

After losing their son, Jason Michael Brescia Jr., to the rare genetic disorder ILFS-1, Jason and Patricia Brescia made a powerful decision: to honor his life by advancing research that could help other families find answers.  Through the Jason Michael Brescia Foundation, the family has donated $250,000 to support ILFS-1 research at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. The work that will be done under CSHL Professor Alea Mills (@alea_mills) and Professor Dick McCombie, could unlock insights into rare diseases and beyond. cshl.edu/brescia-founda… #ScienceMakesLifeBetter #InspiringDiscovery #RareDiseaseMonth

A new discovery from Jeremy Nigri, a postdoc in CSHL’s Tuveson lab, is getting on the nerves of pancreatic cancer—or rather, getting all around them. Take a look at this state-of-the-art imaging from deep inside the pancreas and read the story to find out more! @CD_AACR cshl.edu/lets-get-on-pa… #PancreaticCancer #InspiringDiscovery #ScienceMakesLifeBetter