National Institutes of Health (NIH)

The ingestible hydrogel device as a small pill can swell to a large soft sphere, and deswell to a floppy membrane.

Ingestible, expanding pill monitors the stomach for up to a month

Soft, squishy device could potentially track ulcers, cancers, and other GI conditions over the long term.

January 30, 2019

Crystal structure of Cas12b (purple) bound to RNA (gold) and DNA (brown).

Scientists engineer new CRISPR platform for DNA targeting

CRISPR team harnesses new Cas12b enzyme for use in eukaryotic cells, adding to the CRISPR toolbox.

January 22, 2019

MIT researchers’ new platform detects and extracts rare circulating tumor cells from live mouse models using a combination of laser excitation and a microfluidic chip.

From microfluidics to metastasis

New platform enables longitudinal studies of circulating tumor cells in mouse models of cancer.

January 21, 2019

Researchers have discovered that full-length introns — that is, those that have been cut out but remain otherwise intact — can persist and carry out useful biological functions.

Revising the textbook on introns

Whitehead Institute researchers uncover a group of introns in yeast that possess surprising stability and function.

January 16, 2019

This image, taken through an optical microscope, shows a cross-section of the tectorial membrane, a gelatinous structure that lies atop the tiny hairs that line the inner ear.

Mechanism helps explain the ear’s exquisite sensitivity

A critical gel-like structure in the inner ear moves according to a sound’s frequency, researchers find.

January 16, 2019

MIT and Arizona State University researchers have created a computer program that can translate drawings of arbitrary shapes into two-dimensional structures made of DNA.

DNA design that anyone can do

Computer program can translate a free-form 2-D drawing into a DNA structure.

January 3, 2019

Researchers found that a type of nerve cell found in the gut of the worm Caenorhabditis elegans is specialized to detect when bacteria are ingested.

Gut-brain connection signals worms to alter behavior while eating

Study may lead to a better understanding of the digestive tract’s nervous system.

December 20, 2018

MIT researchers used their new tissue preservation technique to label and image neurons in a brain region called the globus pallidus externa. Neurons that express a protein called parvalbumin are labeled in red, and neurons labeled blue express a protein called GAD1.

Mapping the brain, cell by cell

Technique for preserving tissue allows researchers to create maps of neural circuits with single-cell resolution.

December 17, 2018

Cells have evolved to produce the components of their multi-protein complexes in precise ratios.

Tracking the footprints of protein synthesis

Researchers refine a method to quantify protein production, show that the precision with which bacteria and eukaryotes tune their gene expression is remarkably similar.

December 14, 2018

MIT engineers have devised a way to create 3-D nanoscale objects by patterning a larger structure with a laser and then shrinking it. This image shows a complex structure prior to shrinking.

Team invents method to shrink objects to the nanoscale

It’s not quite the Ant-Man suit, but the system produces 3-D structures one thousandth the size of the originals.

December 13, 2018

MIT researchers have designed an ingestible sensor that can lodge in the stomach for a few weeks and communicate wirelessly with an external device.

Ingestible capsule can be controlled wirelessly

Electronic pill can relay diagnostic information or release drugs in response to smartphone commands.

December 13, 2018

MIT researchers are developing ribonucleases as potential drugs to treat cancer. In a new study, they found that the drugs work better when given with already-approved drugs known as kinase inhibitors.

New drug combination could be more effective against melanoma

Chemists discover an unexpected synergy between two types of cancer drugs.

December 3, 2018

MIT engineers have designed a system that can repeatedly measure cancer cells as they flow through an array of mass sensors. Once the cells reach the end, they are collected for RNA-sequencing.

Measuring cancer cell “fitness” reveals drug susceptibility

Together, cell growth rate and gene expression shed light on why some tumor cells survive treatment.

November 29, 2018

A strong immune response can be seen in this immunofluorescence image of lung tissue infected with pneumonia where immune cells are stained green and red.

With these nanoparticles, a simple urine test could diagnose bacterial pneumonia

Results could also indicate whether antibiotics have successfully treated the infection.

November 29, 2018

Neural representations of task rules are maintained in the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for planning action.

How the brain switches between different sets of rules

When you slow down after exiting the highway, or hush your voice in the library, you’re using this brain mechanism.

November 19, 2018

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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