What drives ecosystems to instability?
With only a little information, researchers can predict the circumstances under which an ecosystem will be stable or unstable.
Department
Biology
Four from MIT receive NIH New Innovator Awards for 2022
Awards support high-risk, high-impact research from early-career investigators.
Providing new pathways for neuroscience research and education
Payton Dupuis finds new scientific interests and career opportunities through MIT summer research program in biology.
MIT biologist Richard Hynes wins Lasker Award
Hynes and two other scientists will share the prize for their discoveries of proteins critical for cellular adhesion.
Through mentorship, a deeper understanding of brain cancer metabolism grows
As an MSRP-Bio student in the Vander Heiden lab, Alejandra Rosario helped to reveal how cancer cells maintain access to materials they need to grow.
Divorce is more common in albatross couples with shy males, study finds
In a long-studied population of wandering albatrosses, females are less likely to stick with a shy mate.
Biologists glean insight into repetitive protein sequences
A computational analysis reveals that many repetitive sequences are shared across proteins and are similar in species from bacteria to humans.
New leadership at MIT’s Center for Biomedical Innovation
Stacy Springs named executive director; Richard Braatz is associate faculty director.
When a task adds more steps, this brain circuit helps you notice
By tracking feedback during tasks, the anterior cingulate cortex notices when a new step has become necessary and signals the motor cortex to adjust.
Amy Keating named head of the Department of Biology
The computational structural biology researcher continues to serve the department and the MIT life sciences community.
Scientists identify a plant molecule that sops up iron-rich heme
The peptide is used by legumes to control nitrogen-fixing bacteria; it may also offer leads for treating patients with too much heme in their blood.
New findings reveal how neurons build and maintain their capacity to communicate
Nerve cells regulate and routinely refresh the collection of calcium channels that enable them to send messages across circuit connections.
When cells’ tiny differences have far-reaching implications
Alex Shalek’s technologies for single-cell RNA profiling can help dissect the cellular bases of complex diseases around the globe.
Starfish embryos swim in formation like a “living crystal”
Their swirling, clustering behavior might someday inform the design of self-assembling robotic swarms.
Five with MIT ties win 2022 Hertz Foundation Fellowships
Award provides five years of funding and access to a community of innovative scholars and leaders in science and technology.