News and Events | Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics

Light-Activated Opioid Painkiller May Work Without Dangerous Side Effects

October 15, 2026

Opioid painkillers are some of the strongest analgesic medicines, but they are also the riskiest owing to a range of side effects, including addiction. An experimental opioid painkiller designed to be reversibly switched on and off with different light frequencies, keeping its action local and out of the brain, may eliminate the dangerous side effects of current opioids, according to a study led by Weill Cornell Medicine and University...

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Newly Discovered Cell Helps Shape Blood Vessel Growth in the Heart

October 1, 2026

Researchers have discovered a new cell type that may help regulate blood vessel growth in the heart during development and in response to injury, according to a study from Weill Cornell Medicine. Working with zebrafish, they found that the new cell type helps stabilize the vascular network that supplies oxygen to growing cardiac muscle.

The findings, published Aug. 20 in Nature Communications, could...

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Neck Lymph Node Removal Linked to Increased Risk of Cognitive Decline

September 29, 2026

Surgery to remove lymph nodes in the neck may interfere with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) drainage from the brain, contributing to cognitive impairment, according to new multicenter research led by Weill Cornell Medicine scientists.

The paper, published Sept. 29 in Neuron, found that patients with head and neck cancer undergoing cervical lymphadenectomy, a procedure to remove nearby lymph nodes to reduce...

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Uncovering Hidden Complexity in a Key Drug Target for Brain Disorders

September 14, 2026

Metabotropic glutamate receptors, which are important but difficult drug targets, interact in surprisingly varied ways with their principal regulatory proteins, according to two new studies led by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators. The findings represent a big step forward in understanding these receptors and how they can be targeted effectively to potentially treat conditions such as epilepsy, depression, and anxiety disorders.

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Stress Hormone Timing Creates a Different Kind of Obesity

September 10, 2026

Obesity caused by disrupted stress-hormone rhythms is metabolically very different from obesity caused by a high-fat diet, according to a new preclinical study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators. The researchers found in mice that glucocorticoid-rhythm disruption concentrates insulin resistance in skeletal muscle while preserving key insulin responses in fat tissue and liver. This allows fat tissue to continue storing lipids, while the liver remains largely protected from the fat...

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Molecular Structures Provide Roadmap for Targeted Parkinson’s Disease Therapeutics

August 10, 2026