Levine leads 475 faculty members and researchers and 140 Ph.D and M.D.-Ph. D. students, in using their knowledge to help the people of New York City and the wider world. Nearly half of Rockefeller's full professors are members of the National Academy of Sciences. A gene called double-time regulates the molecular cycles underlying circadian rhythms, or the internal controls timing daily activities in living organisms, according to Michael W. Young, Ph.D., professor and head of the Laboratory of Genetics. Young's group identified TIM in 1994.
Similar mechanisms exist in humans.
Across the tree of life, from bacteria to humans, clocks use oscillating levels of proteins in feedback loops to keep time. Now that they understand the cellular clock, scientists can begin to manipulate it, with applications from curing jet lag to brightening winter depression. Ion channels regulate the flow of electrically charged atoms across cell membranes-a process that is critical to the generation of electrical impulses in the nervous system and in the heart. This long-awaited finding is a technical marvel that provides insight into how the nervous system works its magic. Proof that immunity to cancer exists naturally in humans.