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Disease

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Mathai Mammen, head of R&D at the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, was the keynote speaker at the Jameel Clinic's AI Powered Drug Discovery and Manufacturing Conference in February.

MIT conference reveals the power of using artificial intelligence to discover new drugs

Inaugural AI Powered Drug Discovery and Manufacturing Conference drew pharmaceutical companies, government regulators, and pioneering drug researchers.

April 27, 2020

This scanning electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2 (orange)—also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus that causes COVID-19—isolated from a patient in the U.S., emerging from the surface of cells (green) cultured in the lab.

Researchers identify cells likely targeted by Covid-19 virus

Study finds specific cells in the lungs, nasal passages, and intestines that are more susceptible to infection.

April 22, 2020

Seth Mnookin, professor of writing in MIT’s Comparative Media Studies program and author of “The Panic Virus.”

Q&A: Seth Mnookin on Covid-19 and the public understanding of science

MIT professor and writer examines the large-scale reaction to our new public health crisis.

April 21, 2020

Shuguang Zhang, a scientist in MIT’s Media Lab, has been developing antibody-like proteins that can fuse to cytokine receptors and potentially block a “cytokine storm,” which is an excessive immune response that can occur during viral infections. This rendering depicts the secretion of cytokines, the tiny pink bits, from a cell.

Proteins may halt the severe cytokine storms seen in Covid-19 patients

Team designs antibody-like receptor proteins that can bind to cytokines, as possible strategy for treating coronavirus and other infections.

April 16, 2020

This research started as part of a project started in class 2.168 (Learning Machines), which was instructed by Professor George Barbastathis (pictured).

Model quantifies the impact of quarantine measures on Covid-19’s spread

A machine learning algorithm combines data on the disease's spread with a neural network, to help predict when infections will slow down in each country.

April 16, 2020

Assistant Professor Catherine D’Ignazio uses data and computational techniques to work toward gender and racial equity. MIT News spoke with her about the current boom in Covid-19 data visualizations, and how data visualizers can help us make sense of the pandemic’s uncertain numbers.

3 Questions: Catherine D’Ignazio on visualizing Covid-19 data

“Data scientists and visualization designers need to take their civic role very seriously in a pandemic,” says the MIT assistant professor.

April 13, 2020

Professor Rob MacFarlane is a professor of materials science and engineering at MIT.

3Q: Robert Macfarlane on cleaning your smartphone screen

Materials scientist explores why some household cleaners could harm the protective coating on a smartphone screen.

April 13, 2020

The new Solve Health Security and Pandemics Challenge is designed to produce both short-term solutions to the impact of the current pandemic as well as longer-term strategies for future crises.

MIT Solve rises to meet health security and pandemic challenge

MIT Solve 2020 Challenge seeks tech-based solutions to health security challenges, including Covid-19 and future pandemics.

April 13, 2020

Mail Services Supervisor Darren O’Conner (left) and mail processor Sue Monteiro prepare a shipment of PPE to Mt. Auburn Hospital.

MIT offers assistance to City of Cambridge during Covid-19 crisis

The Institute is supporting Cambridge’s nonprofits, small businesses, and residents.

April 9, 2020

Speakers at MIT's virtual town hall included, from top to bottom, left to right, Rick Danheiser, Martin Schmidt, Maria T. Zuber, Cynthia Barnhart, Ramona Allen, Suzy Nelson, Sanjay Sarma, Ian Waitz, Alfred Ironside, Cecilia Stuopis, Elazer Edelman, Martin L. Culpepper, and L. Rafael Reif.

In virtual town hall, MIT leadership updates community on Covid-19 responses

Critical research continues, students and staff are receiving support, and contingency planning proceeds for eventual phased reopening.

April 9, 2020

A new system relies on short-range Bluetooth signals emitted from people’s smartphones to trace who they've been in contact with. These signals represent random strings of numbers, likened to “chirps” that other nearby smartphones can remember hearing, offering a way to find people who may have been in contact with people who have tested positive for Covid-19.

Bluetooth signals from your smartphone could automate Covid-19 contact tracing while preserving privacy

A system that enables smartphones to transmit “chirps” to nearby devices could notify people if they have been near an infected person.

April 8, 2020

MIT’s innovation and entrepreneurship (I&E) community has stepped up to the challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic — and perhaps nowhere is that more apparent than in the new Covid-19 Rapid Innovation Dashboard, pictured, which features more than 50 projects, research initiatives, startups, and global activities undertaken by the MIT community to respond to the crisis.

MIT’s entrepreneurial ecosystem steps up to the challenge of Covid-19

Entrepreneurial groups around the Institute have launched initiatives to address challenges brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.

April 2, 2020

A new study co-authored by Emil Verner, an assistant professor at The MIT Sloan School of Management, shows that in the 1918 flu pandemic, cities that had more aggressive interventions including social distancing also experienced stronger economic recoveries afterward.

The data speak: Stronger pandemic response yields better economic recovery

Study of 1918 flu pandemic shows U.S. cities that responded more aggressively in health terms also had better economic rebounds.

March 31, 2020

The ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) enzyme is responsible for converting RNA building blocks into DNA building blocks, and is a critical player in both DNA synthesis and repair in all organisms.

Newly discovered enzyme “square dance” helps generate DNA building blocks

MIT biochemists can trap and visualize an enzyme as it becomes active — an important development that may aid in future drug development.

March 30, 2020

As MIT classes resume today, online, faculty and the hundreds of staff who helped implement remote learning at MIT can pause briefly and catch their collective breath. “None of us have ever done this before, so we will navigate together,” says Dean for Digital Learning Krishna Rajagopal.

Rolling out remote learning

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, MIT enters a new mode for teaching and learning.

March 29, 2020