Bioengineering and biotechnology

Graduate student James Hermus demonstrates a production robot based on the original MIT-MANUS design in the Eric P. and Evelyn E. Newman Laboratory for Biomechanics and Human Rehabilitation. The robot, which helps stroke victims recover and regain mobility, represents one of the many ways MIT's mechanical engineering researchers are working to improve health care.

Understanding and treating disease

Mechanical engineering researchers are developing new and innovative ways to improve health care.

February 2, 2018

“Robin’s research will not only deepen our understanding of the development of the biotech industry in Greater Boston,” said Melissa Nobles, the Kenan Sahin Dean of MIT’s School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. “It will also reveal insights into the ways that human values, community action, and public policy converge to shape technological innovation more generally.”

Historian Robin Scheffler awarded 2018 Levitan Prize

Prestigious award in the humanities includes a $30,000 grant that will support his research into the factors that influenced the development of Boston’s booming biotech industry.

February 1, 2018

Clipart of someone with laptop and lab equipment

Startup makes labs smarter

Platform connects individual pieces of lab equipment, compiles data in the cloud for speedier, more accurate research.

January 25, 2018

A Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research study has revealed how an enzyme first isolated in bacteria and introduced into plants such as corn and soybeans in the 1990s can sometimes act imprecisely, and how it can be successfully re-engineered to be more precise.

Revealing an imperfect actor in plant biotechnology

Whitehead Institute researchers detect the chemical mistakes of a common herbicide-resistance enzyme, then successfully re-engineer it for enhanced precision.

November 29, 2017

Ritu Raman is one five U.S. scientists who have received the 2017 L’Oréal USA For Women in Science Fellowship.

Ritu Raman named L’Oréal Women in Science Fellow

Postdoc in the Langer Lab is honored for her contributions to the advancement of STEM fields and for her support of women and girls in science.

October 17, 2017

Arup K. Chakraborty, the Robert T. Haslam Professor of Chemical Engineering, professor of physics, chemistry, and biological engineering, and a core faculty member at the Institute for Medical Engineering & Science has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine in recognition of his distinguished contributions to medicine and health.

Arup Chakraborty elected to National Academy of Medicine

Recognized for his contributions to health, the distinguished professor is now a member of the national academies of medicine, science, and engineering.

October 16, 2017

$“If we want to be able to deliver mRNA, then we need a mechanism to be more effective at it because everything that’s been used so far gives you a very small fraction of what would be the optimal efficiency,” says professor Paula Hammond.$

Bio-inspired approach to RNA delivery

New technique could make it easier to use mRNA to treat disease or deliver vaccines.

September 19, 2017

Photo of a dozen or so people in front of a brick wall

The Engine announces investments in first group of startups

New venture launched by MIT will support “tough-tech” companies at work on transformative ideas that take time to commercialize.

September 19, 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

The COBRA sensor is more portable and cost-effective than existing indirect calorimetry sensors. It includes a chest harness and bite grip that enable hands-free use of the system during exercise and training.

Monitoring metabolic energy expenditure, health, and fitness with a breath analyzer

Simple-to-use, low-cost respiratory sensor enables measurement and tracking of personal metabolism.

July 27, 2017

MIT engineers have designed a gel-like material that can be coated onto standard plastic or rubber devices, providing a softer, more slippery exterior that can significantly ease a patient’s discomfort during surgery.

New gel coatings may lead to better catheters and condoms

Bonded layers of rubber and hydrogel yield tough, slippery, and impermeable coatings.

July 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

Mark Bathe, associate professor in MIT’s Department of Biological Engineering

Deploying therapeutic payloads to cells

Mark Bathe develops molecular packages for targeted delivery of drugs, vaccines, and gene-editing tools.

June 4, 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

MIT Corporation life member and biotech pioneer Henri Termeer dies at 71

Termeer built Genzyme from a startup into a biotech powerhouse, while becoming an innovator in rare-disease drug development.

May 17, 2017

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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