National Institutes of Health Shifts non-mission-critical Laboratory Operations to Minimal Maintenance Phase

National Institutes of Health Shifts non-mission-critical Laboratory Operations to Minimal Maintenance Phase | site |




(March 20, 2020) - - Today (March 20, 2020), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) published the following information: To further reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19 and enhance the safety of staff, the National Institutes of Health is shifting all non-mission-critical laboratory operations to a maintenance phase. Beginning on Monday, March 23, only mission-critical functions within NIH research laboratories will be supported. Mission-critical functions include the following: care of research participants in NIH clinical protocols that are non-elective, research directly on COVID-19, urgent public health research recommended by NIH scientific leadership, work involving significant research investments that could be lost if not continued, and protection of life, property and resources, including the care of research animals. Th...

National Institutes of Health says Scientists Monitored Brains Replaying Memories in Real Time| site |



NIH says study suggests our brains use distinct firing patterns to store and replay memories.



(March 5, 2020) - - Today, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) published the following information:

In a study of epilepsy patients, researchers at the National Institutes of Health monitored the electrical activity of thousands of individual brain cells, called neurons, as patients took memory tests. They found that the firing patterns of the cells that occurred when patients learned a word pair were replayed fractions of a second before they successfully remembered the pair. The study was part of an NIH Clinical Center trial for patients with drug-resistant epilepsy whose seizures cannot be controlled with drugs. “Memory plays a crucial role in our lives. Just as musical notes are recorded as grooves on a record, it ...

Researchers say 1 in 15 Americans Smell Odors that Aren’t There

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NIH study reveals prevalence of and risk factors for phantom odor perception.


(August 16, 2018) - - Today, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) published the following information: Imagine the foul smell of an ash tray or burning hair. Now imagine if these kinds of smells were present in your life, but without a source. A new study finds that 1 in 15 Americans (or 6.5 percent) over the age of 40 experiences phantom odors. The study, published in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (link is external), is the first in the U.S. to use nationally representative data to examine the prevalence of and risk factors for phantom odor perception. The study could inform future research aiming to unlock the mysteries of phantom odors. The study was led by Kathleen Bainbridge, Ph.D., of the Epidemiology and...

Princeton in Space: Princeton-led Instrument Prepares to ‘Kiss the Sun’

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On Aug. 11, NASA will launch a spacecraft carrying a Princeton-led instrument that will fly repeatedly through the sun’s million-degree corona, getting closer to our star than any human-made spacecraft in history. Video courtesy of NASA

By: Liz Fuller-Wright, Office of Communications, Princeton University


Aug. 6, 2018 10 a.m.



At about 4 a.m. on Aug. 11, the Parker Solar Probe is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral carrying ISʘIS, an instrument suite led by Princeton’s David McComas to measure energetic particles from the sun’s corona and the solar wind. The car-sized satellite will be carried by a Delta-IV Heavy rocket, one of the tallest rockets launched in...

National Nuclear Security Administration Awards Los Alamos National Laboratory Management & Operating Contract

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Washington, DC - - (June 8, 2018) - - The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) announced today it has awarded Triad National Security, LLC the management and operating (M&O) contract for the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Triad National Security, LLC is a limited liability company, which consists of Battelle Memorial Institute, the Regents of the University of California, and the Regents of Texas A&M University. Fluor Federal Services, Huntington Ingalls Industries/Stoller Newport News, Longenecker & Associates, TechSource, Strategic Management Solutions and Merrick & Company will support Triad National Security, LLC in the performance of this contract. “For 75 years, Los Alamos National Laboratory has been at ...

Food and Drug Administration Finalizes Guidances to Accelerate the Development of Reliable and Beneficial Next Generation Sequencing-based Tests

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The agency is leveraging new tools and policies to advance the creation of innovative genetic and genomic-based tests and help ensure the validity of their results



(April 12, 2018) - - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today finalized two guidances to drive the efficient development of a novel technology that scans a person’s DNA to diagnose genetic diseases, which are usually hereditary, and guide medical treatments. The guidances provide recommendations for designing, developing, and validating tests that use the technology, called next generation sequencing (NGS), and will play an important role in the continued advancement of individualized, genetic-based medicine. “As disease detection technologie...

Massachusetts General Hospital-led Team Identifies Gene Mutations Behind Lack of a Nose

Alterations in same gene previously associated with rare form of muscular dystrophy



February 27, 2017


Boston, MA - - (February 10, 2017) - - Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) led a large, international research team that has identified gene mutations associated with a rare congenital condition involving the absence of a nose and often accompanied by defects involving the eye and reproductive systems. Surprisingly, mutations in the same gene, SMCHD1, have previously been associated with a form of muscular dystrophy. The findings are described in a report published in Nature Genetics.

“Fascinating genetic studies had been done on SMCHD1 that linked the gene to FSHD2, a rare muscular dystrophy involving the interaction of multiple genetic sites, but it had never been connected to craniofacial abnormalities,”...