Microbes

“Understanding how our innate immune system works is important for thinking about the development of new ways to treat infectious disease,” says MIT associate professor of chemistry Elizabeth Nolan.

Exploring the tug-of-war over metals during infection

Chemist Elizabeth Nolan studies the battle between microbes and hosts for essential metals.

January 4, 2017

MIT oceanographers have found that some small marine organisms — mostly bacteria — have a surprisingly low limit to the amount of oxygen they need to breathe.

New study sets oxygen-breathing limit for ocean’s hardiest organisms

Bacteria can survive in marine environments that are almost completely starved of oxygen.

December 19, 2016

Four nucleotides, abbreviated A, C, G, and T, spell out DNA sequences that code for all of the proteins cells need. MIT researchers have now discovered another layer of control, mediated by transfer RNA, that helps cells to rapidly divert resources in emergency situations.

Cracking the code for dormant bacteria

Newly discovered genetic code controls bacterial survival during infections.

November 11, 2016

A team of researchers at MIT, the University of Brasilia, and the University of British Columbia has now engineered an antimicrobial peptide that can destroy many types of bacteria, including some that are resistant to most antibiotics.

Engineers design a new weapon against bacteria

Antimicrobial peptides can kill strains resistant to existing antibiotics.

November 2, 2016

Gregory Stephanopoulos receives Samson Prize for Innovation in Alternative Fuels

Metabolic engineering pioneer recognized for his work in the engineering of microbes for biofuels production.

October 19, 2016

Manoshi Datta, a postdoc in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, pipettes bacterial samples in the lab.

MIT researchers prove fast microbial evolutionary bursts exist

Study reveals closely related microbes can diversify rapidly via horizontal gene transfer.

September 22, 2016

A team of MIT scientists has developed a strategy for delivering large numbers of beneficial bacterial to the human gut. The strategy involves coating bacteria with polymer layers that protect them from the acids and bile salts found in the digestive tract.

Delivering beneficial bacteria to the GI tract

Method that transports microbes through the stomach to the intestine may benefit human health.

September 14, 2016

Ginkgo Bioworks staff members Ramya Prathuri (left) and Nate Tedford work at the mass spectrometer in the Ginkgo foundry.

Hacking microbes

Startup’s engineered yeast helps clients produce fragrances and flavors more efficiently.

August 25, 2016

Clownfish fight off predators of anemones that in turn provide habitats for the clownfish, an example of mutualism. But mutualistic relationships aren’t always set in stone; depending on environmental conditions, once-simpatico species can become competitors.

A mutual breakdown

Species relationships devolve from jointly beneficial to competitive in benign environments.

August 24, 2016

Researchers at MIT have for the first time identified the structure of class I fumarate hydratase enzyme, which could be a target for drugs combatting diseases prevalent in the developing world.

Targeting neglected diseases

New enzyme-mapping advance could help drug development.

August 15, 2016

The ability to ferment low-cost feedstocks under nonsterile conditions may enable new classes of biochemicals and biofuels, such as microbial oil produced by the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica (shown here, oil in lipid bodies is stained green and cells walls stained blue).

Microbial engineering technique could reduce contamination in biofermentation plants

Approach could lower cost and eliminate need for antibiotics during biofuel production.

August 4, 2016

MIT and Broad Institute postdoc Ilana Brito sampled not only the human microbiome in the remote villages in Fiji she studied, but also the reservoirs of microbes in the community.

Microbiome genes on the move

Largest metagenomic view of the developing world uncovers “mobile genes” that reveal how culture shapes the human microbiome.

July 14, 2016

Fluorescence microscopy reveals the surface of a single synthetic particle colonized by wild marine microorganisms (green), which are fluorescently labeled with a double-stranded DNA stain.

Microscale marine interactions may shape critical carbon cycles

New research finds interactions between microorganisms and marine particles may have significant effects on oceanic carbon cycling.

June 30, 2016

Mutualism, a phenomenon in which different species benefit from their interactions with each other, can help bacteria form drug-resistant communities. Pictured is an artist’s interpretation of mutualism among bacteria.

Teamwork enables bacterial survival

Strains of E. coli resistant to one antibiotic can protect other bacteria growing nearby.

May 16, 2016

MIT scientists say that the Great Oxygenation Event (GOE), a period that scientists believe marked the beginning of oxygen’s permanent presence in the atmosphere, started as early as 2.33 billion years ago.

Study pinpoints timing of oxygen’s first appearance in Earth’s atmosphere

Beginning 2.33 billion years ago, atmospheric oxygen built up in just 10 million years.

May 13, 2016

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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