Featured Post from University of Rochester

Research Matters: Targeting ‘jumping genes’ holds promise for treating age-related diseases

University of Rochester’s Vera Gorbunova says ‘inhibiting transposons shows great promise.’

May 1, 2025

1 min

Vera Gorbunova

A growing number of clinical trials gauging the effects of inhibiting transposons, so-called “jumping genes,” have yielded encouraging results for treating Alzheimer’s and a wide range of other conditions.


CaptionResizeWrap TextRemove

Vera Gorbunova, a molecular biologist at the University of Rochester whose research on the causes of aging and cancer is widely regarded as pioneering, says researchers tackling aging “need something new, and inhibiting transposons shows great promise.”


Gorbunova’s comments were recently featured in Science magazine, a leading news outlet for

cutting-edge research in all areas of science.


Researchers say clinical trials of transposon inhibitors are important not just to identify potential treatments, but also to test whether jumping genes do, in fact, drive human diseases, as many suspect.


Transposon genes are found in a diverse variety of organisms, from miniscule bacteria to humans, and they are known in biological terms as “transposable elements” because they literally jump around the genome. Their vagrancy has been implicated in illnesses such as lupus, Parkinson’s disease, cancer, and aging.


Gorbunova is a recognized expert in aging and cancer whose research has been featured in high-profile publications ranging from Nature to The New York Times.


Reach out to Gorbunova by clicking on her profile.


Connect with:
Vera Gorbunova

Vera Gorbunova

Doris Johns Cherry Professor Professor of Biology and Co-Director of the Rochester Aging Research Center

Gorbunova's innovative research on DNA repair and the aging process has been internationally recognized

Lifespan Human DevelopmentLongevityBiology of AgingDNA RepairCancer Resistance

You might also like...

Check out some other posts from University of Rochester

1 min

Research Matters: Physics Magic with a Twist

University of Rochester scientists have discovered that twisting together two atom-thin flakes of molybdenum diselenide at high angles produces artificial atoms that can act as quantum information bits, or qubits. The discovery was made in the laboratory of Nickolas Vamivakas, the Marie C. Wilson and Joseph C. Wilson Professor of Optical Physics, who says he hopes the artificial atoms can be used like memory or nodes in a quantum network. “These could be the backbone for devices like the next generation of lasers or even tools to stimulate quantum physics,” Vamivakas says. The revelations built on experiments that found twisting a pair of one-atom-thick layers of graphene at the “magic” angle of 1.1 degrees created a superconductive material. Molybdenum diselenide, like graphene, is a 2D material. When monolayers of it are twisted at angles up to 40 degrees, they produce excitons, or artificial atoms, that retain information when activated by light. The discovery was recently published in Nano Letters. To learn more about Vamivakas’s research, read about it at the University of Rochester News Center and contact him at nick.vamivakas@rochester.edu.

1 min

Research Matters: Can Neurons Transmit Light?

Neurons, the cells in brains and spinal cords that make up the central nervous system, communicate by firing electrical pulses. But scientists have found hints that neurons may transmit light as well, which would profoundly change our current understanding of how the nervous system works. Researchers from the University of Rochester have begun an ambitious project to study if living neurons can transmit light through their axons — the long, tail-like nerve fibers of neurons that resemble optical fibers. “There are scientific papers offering indications that light transport could happen in neuron axons, but there’s still not clear experimental evidence,” says the principal investigator, Pablo Postigo, a professor at the university's Institute of Optics. “Scientists have shown that there is ultra-weak photon emission in the brain, but no one understands why the light is there.” If light is at play and scientists can understand why, it could have major implications for medically treating brain diseases and drastically change the way physicians heal the brain. To learn more about Postigo's research, contact him at ppostigo@ur.rochester.edu.

2 min

Why generative AI 'hallucinates' and makes up stuff

Generative artificial intelligence tools, like OpenAI’s GPT-4, are sometimes full of bunk. Yes, they excel at tasks involving human language, like translating, writing essays, and acting as a personalized writing tutor. They even ace standardized tests. And they’re rapidly improving. But they also “hallucinate,” which is the term scientists use to describe when AI tools produce information that sounds plausible but is incorrect. Worse, they do so with such confidence that their errors are sometimes difficult to spot. Christopher Kanan, an associate professor of computer science with an appointment at the Goergen Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at the University of Rochester, explains that the reasoning and planning capabilities of AI tools are still limited compared with those of humans, who excel at continual learning. “They don’t continually learn from experience,” Kanan says of AI tools. “Their knowledge is effectively frozen after training, meaning they lack awareness of recent developments or ongoing changes in the world.” Current generative AI systems also lack what’s known as metacognition. “That means they typically don’t know what they don’t know, and they rarely ask clarifying questions when faced with uncertainty or ambiguous prompts,” Kanan says. “This absence of self-awareness limits their effectiveness in real-world interactions.” Kanan is an expert in artificial intelligence, continual learning, and brain-inspired algorithms who welcomes inquiries from journalists and knowledge seekers. He recently shared his thoughts on AI with WAMC Northeast Public Radio and with the University of Rochester News Center. Reach out to Kanan by clicking on his profile.

View all posts
Powered by