How biomarkers can record and reconstruct climate trends
Scientists reveal the genes and proteins controlling the chemical structures underpinning paleoclimate proxies.
Investigating the rise of oxygenic photosynthesis
EAPS scientists find an alternative explanation for mineral evidence thought to signal the presence of oxygen prior to the Great Oxidation Event.
A new way to control microbial metabolism
Chemical engineers program bacteria to switch between different metabolic pathways, boosting their yield of desirable products.
Coated seeds may enable agriculture on marginal lands
A specialized silk covering could protect seeds from salinity while also providing fertilizer-generating microbes.
Continuing a legacy of Antarctic exploration
The Summons Lab compares lipids from Antarctic microbial communities to century-old samples.
Biologists build proteins that avoid crosstalk with existing molecules
Engineered signaling pathways could offer a new way to build synthetic biology circuits.
Study reveals how mucus tames microbes
Specialized sugar molecules called glycans can disarm opportunistic pathogens and prevent infection.
Engineered viruses could fight drug resistance
By tweaking bacteriophage genomes, MIT team creates a new weapon to combat infection.
Using recent gene flow to define microbe populations
New method identifies ecologically and medically relevant bacteria groups.
A new way to block unwanted genetic transfer
Researchers identify a strategy to prevent mobile genetic elements from breaching the bacterial cell wall.
How a declining environment affects populations
Study finds that competition between bacterial species can be upended when conditions deteriorate.
Painting a fuller picture of how antibiotics act
Machine learning reveals metabolic pathways disrupted by the drugs, offering new targets to combat resistance.
Department of Biology hosts second annual Science Slam
Eight biology contestants get one slide and three minutes to explain their research and impress their listeners.
Designing ocean ecological systems in the lab
Associate Professor Otto Cordero and colleagues discover simple assembly rules for marine microbiomes.
The complex world of carbohydrate chemistry
Drawn to MIT by its “amazing women who were doing science,” Professor Laura Kiessling explores sugar-protein interactions that influence cell behavior.