Koch Institute

An MIT-led research team has developed a drug capsule that could be used to deliver oral doses of insulin.

New pill can deliver insulin

Capsule that releases insulin in the stomach could replace injections for patients with type 1 diabetes.

February 7, 2019

MIT researchers found that when they halted cell division in human fibroblast cells, they became abnormally large and then entered a non-dividing state known as senescence (right panel). Untreated, normal-sized fibroblasts are shown at left.

Biologists answer fundamental question about cell size

The need to produce just the right amount of protein is behind the striking uniformity of sizes.

February 7, 2019

MIT researchers found that lung tumors in mice treated with antibiotics (right, purple stain) were much smaller than untreated lung tumors (left).

Bacteria promote lung tumor development, study suggests

Antibiotics or anti-inflammatory drugs may help combat lung cancer.

January 31, 2019

MIT researchers’ new platform detects and extracts rare circulating tumor cells from live mouse models using a combination of laser excitation and a microfluidic chip.

From microfluidics to metastasis

New platform enables longitudinal studies of circulating tumor cells in mouse models of cancer.

January 21, 2019

Individually traced dopaminergic neurons in the right hemisphere of a fruit fly brain, innervating the fan-shaped body (green), ellipsoid body (magenta), and noduli (green).

Mapping the brain at high resolution

New 3-D imaging technique can reveal, much more quickly than other methods, how neurons connect throughout the brain.

January 17, 2019

MIT researchers have designed inhalable particles that can deliver messenger RNA. These lung epithelial cells have taken up particles (yellow) that carry mRNA encoding green fluorescent protein.

Engineers create an inhalable form of messenger RNA

Patients with lung disease could find relief by breathing in messenger RNA molecules.

January 4, 2019

MIT engineers have devised a way to create 3-D nanoscale objects by patterning a larger structure with a laser and then shrinking it. This image shows a complex structure prior to shrinking.

Team invents method to shrink objects to the nanoscale

It’s not quite the Ant-Man suit, but the system produces 3-D structures one thousandth the size of the originals.

December 13, 2018

MIT researchers have designed an ingestible sensor that can lodge in the stomach for a few weeks and communicate wirelessly with an external device.

Ingestible capsule can be controlled wirelessly

Electronic pill can relay diagnostic information or release drugs in response to smartphone commands.

December 13, 2018

Thirty-one MIT community members were named to this year’s list, including 25 alumni.

More than 30 from MIT named to Forbes 30 Under 30 lists

Forbes calls its 2019 30 Under 30 honorees “a collection of bold risk-takers who are putting a new twist on the old tools of the trade.”

December 7, 2018

An enzyme encircles the double helix to repair a broken strand of DNA.

The long and short of CDK12

A new study linking RNA processing to DNA repair may open new avenues to cancer therapy.

November 30, 2018

MIT engineers have designed a system that can repeatedly measure cancer cells as they flow through an array of mass sensors. Once the cells reach the end, they are collected for RNA-sequencing.

Measuring cancer cell “fitness” reveals drug susceptibility

Together, cell growth rate and gene expression shed light on why some tumor cells survive treatment.

November 29, 2018

A strong immune response can be seen in this immunofluorescence image of lung tissue infected with pneumonia where immune cells are stained green and red.

With these nanoparticles, a simple urine test could diagnose bacterial pneumonia

Results could also indicate whether antibiotics have successfully treated the infection.

November 29, 2018

Six days after treatment with IGF-1 carried by dendrimer nanoparticles (blue), the particles have penetrated through the cartilage of the knee joint.

Potential arthritis treatment prevents cartilage breakdown

Injectable material made of nanoscale particles can deliver arthritis drugs throughout cartilage.

November 28, 2018

MIT chemical engineers have devised a way to encapsulate probiotics so that they can be delivered along with antibiotics to kill multiple strains of bacteria.

Probiotics and antibiotics create a killer combination

Delivered together, the two join forces to eradicate drug-resistant bacteria.

October 17, 2018

Angelika Amon wins 2019 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences

Four other MIT researchers to receive New Horizons Prizes in math and physics; two alumni win Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics.