Recent MSK Discoveries & Advances

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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385 News Items found
Fluorescent image of CAR T cells in mouse liver fibrosis
In the Lab
A New Target for CAR T Cells: Senescence-Related Diseases

From atherosclerosis and diabetes to liver fibrosis and osteoarthritis, senescent cells are at the root of many debilitating diseases. Scientists increasingly have them in the crosshairs.
X and Y chromosomes in mice
In the Lab
Breaking Up Is Hard to Do (Especially for Sex Chromosomes)

One’s big, one’s small. Somehow, they make it work.
Two gloved hands opening a drawer in a laboratory.
Feature
Double Trouble: Researchers Find Many Cancers Carry Two Mutations in the Same Gene

Discovery reveals that the genetic causes of cancer may be more complicated than previously thought.
A fluorescent image of cells undergoing differentiation in a mouse model.
In Brief
Cancer Stem Cells’ Reliance on a Key Amino Acid Could Be an Exploitable Weakness

The discovery links metabolism to the way cancer stem cells form tumors.
Chromosomes from a human male
In the Lab
How Small Chromosomes Compete with Big Ones for a Cell’s Attention

During meiosis, small chromosomes risk being lost in the shuffle. Here’s how they hold their own.
Fluorescent image of mouse prostate gland
In the Lab
New Discovery Explains How the Prostate Gland Regenerates Itself

Androgen-deprivation therapy, a mainstay of prostate cancer treatment, may give prostate cells new growth abilities, scientists at Memorial Sloan Kettering have found.
Four dogs wearing blue bandanas are held on leashes in a hallway at Memorial Hospital. Three handlers are seen only from the waist down.
Feature
Top Dogs: Meet MSK’s Four-Legged Volunteers

The Caring Canines program at Memorial Sloan Kettering has been going strong for more than 12 years.
An illustration of a samurai riding a horse along a strand of RNA. The samurai’s sword is changing the letter A to the letter I.
In the Lab
Novel Tool Enables Study of Rare Acute Myeloid Leukemia Stem Cells

MSK investigators have used a lab tool originally developed to study fly nerve cells to uncover new findings about acute myeloid leukemia.
Bacteroides bacteria under the microscope
In the Lab
Research Uncovers Details about How Gut Microbes Influence the Immune System

Investigators have shown how gut microbes promote the formation of a type of immune cell called regulatory T cells.
Cancer biologist Scott Lowe
In the Lab
Drug Combination Could Boost the Effectiveness of Immunotherapy against Pancreatic Cancer

Studies conducted in mice reveal a potential way to breach the defenses of pancreatic cancer tumors.