Margaret Osborne

There are many theories for why cats and dogs eat grass, and some could be "old wives' tales."

Plant stem cells are crucial for the world's food supply, animal feed, and fuel production. They lay the foundation for how plants grow. Yet, much about these mysterious building blocks remains unknown. Previous analyses have failed to locate many of the important genes that regulate how these cells function.

Plant scientists discovered hidden stem cell regulators tied to growth and crop size. Their breakthrough could transform how we grow food, fuel, and resilient harvests.

She was considered the world's leading expert on chimpanzees and was renowned for her global conservation efforts

Branching isn't just for trees. This biological process occurs in animal development, enabling organs to perform complex functions. Branch-like structures form in the lungs, kidneys, and breasts, among other places. Importantly, only in female mammary glands does most branching occur years after birth. It happens during puberty and again during pregnancy as milk ducts branch out in preparation for breastfeeding. Disturbances here have been linked to breast cancer. However, studying branching can be difficult and time-consuming.

As many as one in eight men in America will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point in their lives. About one in 44 will die from it. “Prostate cancer is very common,” Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) Professor Lloyd Trotman says. “The vast majority of prostate cancers remain slow-growing and will never be...

Know someone who’s been diagnosed with breast cancer? There’s a good chance that person has received hormone therapy. Estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancers account for about 75 percent of cases. Hormone therapy is one of the most common and effective treatments. However, it’s far from a cure. Some ER+ tumors develop resistance. Many patients enter...

When Corina Amor Vegas was just 7 years old, her mother, Esperanza, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Esperanza’s treatment would take over a decade. However, after participating in a clinical trial for a new cancer drug, she entered remission. Today, Amor Vegas is happy to say her mother is doing “very well.” The clinical trial...

As global temperatures rise, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) scientists work to grow stronger, more resilient crops. Yet, this process is challenging. Plants often have several related genes that control desirable traits, such as size or drought resistance. Finding genes with overlapping functions, or "redundant genes," is a near-impossible scavenger hunt.

Ever notice that as you get older, some foods no longer sit with you the same? This could be due to a breakdown of the intestinal epithelium, a single layer of cells that forms the organ's lining. The intestine plays a crucial role in many health functions, including digestion. Under normal conditions, the entire intestinal epithelium typically regenerates every three to five days. However, with damage from old age or cancer radiation, regeneration can stop or slow. That can lead to inflammation and diseases like leaky gut syndrome.