Seven with MIT ties elected to National Academy of Medicine for 2024
Professors Matthew Vander Heiden and Fan Wang, along with five MIT alumni, are honored for their outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service.
How cfDNA testing has changed prenatal care
The noninvasive screening procedure can reduce pregnancy risks and lower costs at the same time, but only when targeted effectively.
A new framework to efficiently screen drugs
Novel method to scale phenotypic drug screening drastically reduces the number of input samples, costs, and labor required to execute a screen.
Tiny magnetic discs offer remote brain stimulation without transgenes
The devices could be a useful tool for biomedical research, and possible clinical use in the future.
Teen uses pharmacology learned through MIT OpenCourseWare to extract and study medicinal properties of plants
Inspired by traditional medicine, 17-year-old Tomás Orellana is on a mission to identify plants that can help treat students’ health issues.
Victor Ambros ’75, PhD ’79 and Gary Ruvkun share Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
The scientists, who worked together as postdocs at MIT, are honored for their discovery of microRNA — a class of molecules that are critical for gene regulation.
Research quantifying “nociception” could help improve management of surgical pain
New statistical models based on physiological data from more than 100 surgeries provide objective, accurate measures of the body’s subconscious perception of pain.
3 Questions: Should we label AI systems like we do prescription drugs?
Researchers argue that in health care settings, “responsible use” labels could ensure AI systems are deployed appropriately.
A new way to reprogram immune cells and direct them toward anti-tumor immunity
MIT scientists’ discovery yields a potent immune response, could be used to develop a potential tumor vaccine.
3 Questions: What does innovation look like in the field of substance use disorder?
Hanna Adeyema and Carolina Haass-Koffler discuss the substance use disorder crisis and the future of innovation in the field.
Harnessing the power of placebo for pain relief
MIT researchers investigate the neural circuits that underlie placebos’ ability to relieve chronic and acute pain.
Pursuing the secrets of a stealthy parasite
By unraveling the genetic pathways that help Toxoplasma gondii persist in human cells, Sebastian Lourido hopes to find new ways to treat toxoplasmosis.
An implantable sensor could reverse opioid overdoses
The new device, which can be implanted under the skin, rapidly releases naloxone when an overdose is detected.
New method enables fast, accurate estimates of cardiovascular state to inform blood pressure management
A mathematical method, validated with experimental data, provides a fast, reliable, and minimally invasive way of determining how to treat critical blood pressure changes during surgery or intensive care.
Study reveals how an anesthesia drug induces unconsciousness
Propofol, a drug commonly used for general anesthesia, derails the brain’s normal balance between stability and excitability.