Health sciences and technology

Cleverly dividing information among multiple servers lets an MIT system protects the privacy of contributors to genomic databases in a way that is much more computationally efficient than standard cryptographic techniques.

Protecting confidentiality in genomic studies

Cryptographic system could enable “crowdsourced” genomics, with volunteers contributing information to privacy-protected databases.

May 7, 2018

Belinda H. Tan '96 says virtual drug trials can result in more diverse testing populations and boost non-white participation, which currently averages less than 10 percent.

Virtual drug trials boost results

Bringing drug trials to the virtual realm, Belinda Tan ’96 has found a way to cut entire process in half.

May 1, 2018

Elazer Edelman will be the new director of MIT's Institute for Medical Engineering and Science.

Elazer Edelman named director of Institute for Medical Engineering and Science

A faculty member at MIT and Harvard and a practicing cardiologist, Edelman will lead MIT’s hub for health science research, innovation, and education.

April 30, 2018

Illustration showing pancreatic islets and oxygen molecules.

Implantable islet cells come with their own oxygen supply

Device could help insulin-producing cells live longer after transplant and improve treatment of type 1 diabetes.

April 25, 2018

Left to right: Jay Mahat, Nicholas Struntz, Benjamin Mead, and Sarvesh Varma are the first recipients of the MIT-GSK Gertrude B. Elion Research Fellowship Program for Drug Discovery and Disease.

Inaugural class of MIT-GSK Gertrude B. Elion Research Fellows selected

New fellowship program honoring trailblazing Nobel laureate awards four MIT postdocs focused on drug discovery and development.

April 17, 2018

MIT researchers have developed a way to measure white blood cell levels by imaging the cells as they flow through capillaries at the base of the fingernail. In these images, the white blood cells are marked by crosses.

Monitor detects dangerously low white blood cell levels

Technology could help prevent life-threatening infections in patients receiving chemotherapy.

April 2, 2018

Ruike Zhao, a postdoc in MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, says kirigami-patterned adhesives may enable a whole swath of products, from everyday medical bandages to wearable and soft electronics.

Paper-folding art inspires better bandages

Cutting kirigami-style slits in stretchy films could make for bandages, heat pads, and wearable electronics that adhere to flexible surfaces.

March 27, 2018

Eight teams pitched novel health care inventions at the annual MIT Sloan Healthcare Innovations Prize competition, held as part of the 16th annual Cour. The team, Theraoptix, took home the $25,000 grand prize, sponsored by health services firm Optum, for contact lenses that deliver medications directly to the eye over days or weeks.

Contact lenses that deliver drugs directly to the eye win health care prize

Eight teams pitched novel inventions at MIT Sloan Healthcare Innovations Prize competition.

March 9, 2018

In lively presentations at the Garden Court Hotel in Palo Alto, MIT faculty and graduate students described scientific and engineering research advances in the first "Infinite" symposium, which was hosted by the dean of MIT’s School of Engineering.

The "Infinite" in the Bay Area

MIT faculty and students bring their health care research, and enthusiasm, to alumni in California.

March 9, 2018

Timothy Lu's early interest in computer programming was inspired by his father, who worked as an electrical engineer at IBM.

Timothy Lu seeks to combat disease by reprogramming biological systems

Synthetic biologist hopes to develop treatments for cancer and other diseases.

March 4, 2018

Alex Amouyel, executive director of Solve

Solve announces next global challenges

March 2, 2018

Researchers hope that their work will lead to a new approach to designing and evaluating polymer stents and other types of degradable medical devices.

Study reveals why polymer stents failed

Microscopic flaws in material structure can lead to stent deformation after implantation.

February 26, 2018

In this image, four Plasmodium vivax parasites have invaded human hepatocytes. Three of the parasites are developing while one parasite, on the lower right, is a dormant hypnozoite, which remains small until its reactivation.

Human malaria parasites grown for the first time in dormant form

Novel technology could allow researchers to develop and test new antimalaria drugs.

February 22, 2018

A collection of SHERLOCK paper test strips. (Left) Unused paper strips, (middle) paper tests displaying a negative SHERLOCK readout, and (right) paper tests displaying a positive SHERLOCK readout.

Researchers advance CRISPR-based tool for diagnosing disease

With SHERLOCK, a strip of paper can now indicate presence of pathogens, tumor DNA, or any genetic signature of interest.

February 15, 2018

AJ Edelman '14 caught the Olympic bug while watching the Olympic bobsled trials in the Burton 2 lounge in 2013.

MIT alumnus to compete in Winter Olympics

AJ Edelman ’14 will represent Israel in the men's skeleton during the 2018 Winter Olympics.

February 14, 2018

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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