Biological Engineering

MIT engineers have devised a new way to analyze biologics as they are being produced. After proteins enter a nanofilter array device, they are directed to one side of the wall. This narrow line of proteins then encounters a series of slanted filters with tiny pores, designed so that smaller proteins will fit through them easily, while larger proteins will move along the diagonal for some distance ...

Speeding up quality control for biologics

Nanofluidic device enables rapid testing of protein drugs produced by living cells.

May 22, 2017

Left to right: Matthew Nicolai, Dallace Francis, and Christian Argenti, MIT seniors in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and members of the fraternity Delta Kappa Epsom, took the MIT History seminar, People and Other Animals, together.

Entering the animal world

In a history seminar, engineering students explore shifting ideas about animal intelligence and human uses of animals throughout the ages.

May 19, 2017

This breathable workout suit prototype has ventilating flaps that open and close in response to an athlete’s body heat and sweat. The left photo was taken before exercise when ventilation flaps are flat; after exercise, the ventilation flaps have curved.

Researchers design moisture-responsive workout suit

Ventilating flaps lined with live cells open and close in response to an athlete’s sweat.

May 19, 2017

Top row, left to right: Yuriy Roman, Katharina Ribbeck, Ryan Williams, Bradley Olsen, Noelle Selin, and John Hart. Bottom row, left to right: Polina Anikeeva, Cullen Buie, Nuno Loureiro, Timothy Lu, Jessika Trancik, and Xuanhe Zhao.

The tenured engineers of 2017

Twelve appointments in the School of Engineering.

May 12, 2017

For their 2017 J-WAFS Seed Grant project, MIT professors Stephen Graves and Bishwapriya Sanyal will analyze irrigation practice, supply chain design, and extension services in Senegal. Their goal is to understand how policy and market conditions influence the availability of irrigation technologies in developing countries. Seen here: Irrigated rice cultivation in the Senegal River Valley.

J-WAFS awards $1.4 million in third round of seed grant funding

Principal investigators will receive grants of up to $200,000 per year for two years, overhead free, for innovative research on food and water challenges.

May 10, 2017

Three MIT alumni are among 30 winners nationwide of the 2017 Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans. Clockwise from top left: Seyedeh Maryam Zekavat '15, Pratyusha Kalluri '16, and Võ Tiến Phong '15.

Three MIT alumni win 2017 Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans

Fellowship funds graduate school studies for exceptional immigrants and children of immigrants.

April 20, 2017

By expanding brain tissue twice, researchers were able to obtain high-resolution images of neurons in the hippocampus.

High-resolution imaging with conventional microscopes

Tissue-expansion technique could allow scientists to map brain circuits.

April 17, 2017

MIT professors James Collins (left) and Feng Zhang are co-authors of a new paper reporting that an RNA-targeting CRISPR enzyme can be harnessed as a highly sensitive detector able to indicate the presence of as little as a single molecule of a target RNA or DNA.

Scientists unveil CRISPR-based diagnostic platform

New system adapts tool known for gene editing; to be used in rapid, inexpensive disease diagnosis.

April 13, 2017

Eleven from MIT elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences for 2017

Prestigious honor society announces 228 new members this year.

April 12, 2017

Researchers have found a way to make tiny particles that can be injected into the body, where they emit short-wave infrared light. The advance may open up a new way of making detailed images of internal body structures such as fine networks of blood vessels.

Nanoparticles open new window for biological imaging

“Quantum dots” that emit infrared light enable highly detailed images of internal body structures.

April 10, 2017

Research scientist Bogdan Fedeles and postdoc Supawadee Chawanthayatham have discovered a mutational signature that reveals liver cell exposure to aflatoxin, a potent carcinogen.

Detecting mutations could lead to earlier liver cancer diagnosis

New technique can reveal exposure to aflatoxin, a potent carcinogen, before tumors develop.

March 27, 2017

A new paper from an MIT-led team demonstrates that Alaska can offer a significant foothold for Asian flu viruses, enabling them to enter North America.

Tracking the spread of bird flu

Asian flu strains can enter North America through Alaska, study finds.

March 17, 2017

MIT graduate programs earn top marks from US News

Graduate engineering and economics programs are No. 1 in the nation; MIT Sloan is No. 4.

March 14, 2017

Mild heating of graphene oxide sheets makes it possible to bond particular compounds to the sheets’ surface, a new study shows. These compounds in turn select and bond with specific molecules of interest, including DNA and proteins, or even whole cells. In this image the treated graphene oxide on the right is nearly twice as efficient at capturing cells as the untreated material on the left.

Graphene sheets capture cells efficiently

New method could enable pinpoint diagnostics on individual blood cells.

March 3, 2017

A team of MIT biological engineers has developed a method to measure levels of the iron-containing protein heme inside the malaria parasite. “One of our long-term goals is ultimately being able to tie insights from these studies back to thinking about drug discovery and targeting pathways that regulate heme,” says Jacquin Niles, an MIT associate professor of biological engineering.

Taking aim at a key malaria molecule

Measuring the parasite’s heme levels could help scientists develop better antimalarial drugs.

February 27, 2017

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