A new way to discover DNA modifications
Researchers systematically find molecules that help regulate and protect DNA.
Title for ‘Earth’s first animal’ likely goes to simple sea creature
Sponges may be source of molecular fossils that significantly predate Cambrian explosion.
Breaking through the bacteria barrier
New microfluidic device may speed up DNA insertion in bacteria, the first step in genetic engineering.
Faster drug discovery?
Startup develops more cost-effective test for assessing how cells respond to chemicals.
Mapping regulatory elements
Systematically searching DNA for regulatory elements indicates limits of previous thinking.
“Kill switches” shut down engineered bacteria
Synthetic biology technique could make it safer to put engineered microbes to work outside the lab.
MIT, Broad scientists overcome key CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing hurdle
Team re-engineers system to dramatically cut down on editing errors; improvements advance future human applications.
Four MIT faculty elected 2015 AAAS Fellows
Berggren, Bertschinger, Fink, and Zue are among those recognized for efforts toward advancing science.
Mapping the 3-D structure of DNA
PhD student Abe Weintraub helps identify when DNA folding is helpful, and when it might cause cancer.
Alumnus Paul Modrich wins Nobel Prize in chemistry
Biochemist who graduated from MIT in 1968 is honored for his work on DNA repair mechanisms.
A natural light switch
MIT scientists identify and map the protein behind a light-sensing mechanism.
New system for human genome editing has potential to increase power and precision of DNA engineering
CRISPR-Cpf1 offers simpler approach to editing DNA; technology could disrupt scientific and commercial landscape.
Engineering biology
With a new DARPA contract, biological engineer Christopher Voigt aims to harness the power of living cells.
Viruses join fight against harmful bacteria
Engineered viruses could combat human disease and improve food safety.
Automating single-molecule image studies
MIT physics graduate student James Owen Andrews is developing software to improve dynamic image capture from super-resolution fluorescent microscopes.