Bacteria

The MIT Department of Biology welcomes new assistant professors Joey Davis (left) and Rebecca Lamason.

New faculty welcomed to Department of Biology

Assistant professors Joey Davis and Rebecca Lamason will spearhead research initiatives into fundamental cellular processes.

September 11, 2017

2017 MPC-CMSE Summer Scholar Gaetana Michelet holds a pipette in the Biogel Lab of Katharina Ribbeck, the Eugene Bell Career Development Professor of Tissue Engineering at MIT. Ribbeck studies how complex materials such as mucus influence bacterial behavior.

Mucus’ influence on bacterial behavior

Summer Scholar Gaetana Michelet explores the role mucus plays in protecting people from getting sick.

September 8, 2017

D-Lab research associate Megha Hegde and two local students from India conduct a hands-on workshop on water filters with the women of Mujholi village in Ranikhet, Uttarakhand, India, for the new xylem filter technology, funded by J-WAFS Solutions.

J-WAFS awards commercialization grants to develop technologies for water and food solutions

Three new projects and two renewals receive J-WAFS Solutions grant funding for 2017-2018.

September 7, 2017

2017 Gilliam Fellowship awardee Lindsey Backman

Lindsey Backman awarded Gilliam Fellowship

Howard Hughes Medical Institute fellows are chosen for their potential to be leaders in their scientific fields and for their commitment to diversity.

August 18, 2017

“My training at MIT gave me an empathy for microbes,” says Emily Greenhagen. “It’s an approach that a lot of chemical engineers don’t necessarily think about and has been key to my success.”

A rose by any other name would smell as yeast

Emily Havens Greenhagen ’05 leads a team of scientists brewing perfume from yeast.

July 14, 2017

Researchers have discovered that Prochlorococcus varieties can each produce more than two dozen different peptides (molecules that are similar to proteins, but smaller).

Microbe generates extraordinarily diverse array of peptides

In marine bacteria, evolution of new specialized molecules follows a previously unknown path.

June 22, 2017

A bubble of oxygen emerges from a cyanobacterial mat growing in the lab.

A genomic take on geobiology

Researchers in Greg Fournier’s geobiology lab are seeking to calibrate the ancient history of life on Earth using genomic analysis.

June 5, 2017

Marine bacteria form a community on a nutrient particle in the Cordero Lab.

In search of the fundamental laws of microecology

A new MIT-led Simons Foundation collaboration aims to understand basic principles and laws of microbial ecosystems.

May 30, 2017

Researchers produced colored images on culture plates by using red, green, and blue lights to control the pigment produced by bacteria with “multicolor vision.” The image has been color-corrected in Photoshop to improve contrast.

Bacteria with multicolor vision

Red, green, and blue light can be used to control gene expression in engineered E. coli.

May 26, 2017

This breathable workout suit prototype has ventilating flaps that open and close in response to an athlete’s body heat and sweat. The left photo was taken before exercise when ventilation flaps are flat; after exercise, the ventilation flaps have curved.

Researchers design moisture-responsive workout suit

Ventilating flaps lined with live cells open and close in response to an athlete’s sweat.

May 19, 2017

A new study, performed at MIT Medical, shows that most parents were able to successfully perform the Streptococcus (“strep throat”) test on their children.

Home strep test could save time and money

Study at MIT Medical finds most parents are capable of performing the test.

May 10, 2017

A new safety test for foodborne pathogens is based on a novel type of liquid droplet that can bind to bacterial proteins. This interaction, which can be detected by either the naked eye or a smartphone, could offer a much faster and cheaper alternative to existing food safety tests.

New technology could offer cheaper, faster food testing

Specialized droplets interact with bacteria and can be analyzed using a smartphone.

April 5, 2017

The many genetic variations of the tiny bacteria called Prochlorococcus are distributed in a layered structure, with each variant adapted to the particular mix of sunlight and nutrients found in that layer of seawater.

Tiny bacterium provides window into whole ecosystems

Ubiquitous marine organism has co-evolved with other microbes, promoting more complex ecosystems.

March 27, 2017

A raindrop, splashing on a porous surface, can release thousands of aerosols, as captured here in high-speed imaging experiments.

A light rain can spread soil bacteria far and wide, study finds

Global precipitation may account for 1 to 25 percent of bacteria emitted from land.

March 7, 2017

MIT earth scientists have found evidence that eukaryotes — the domain of life comprising animals, plants, and protists — were present on Earth as early as 2.33 billion years ago, right around the time when oxygen became a permanent fixture in the atmosphere.

Study suggests complex life was present on Earth 2.33 billion years ago

New estimate predates earliest fossil evidence by 800 million years.

March 6, 2017

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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