Biologists identify targets for new pancreatic cancer treatments
Their study yielded hundreds of “cryptic” peptides that are found only on pancreatic tumor cells and could be targeted by vaccines or engineered T cells.
Dopamine signals when a fear can be forgotten
Study shows how a dopamine circuit enables mice to extinguish fear after a peril has passed, opening new avenues for understanding and potentially treating fear-related disorders.
Using AI to explore the 3D structure of the genome
Two meters of DNA is crammed into the nucleus of every human cell. Bin Zhang wants to know how gene expression works in this minuscule space.
New molecular label could lead to simpler, faster tuberculosis tests
MIT chemists found a way to identify a complex sugar molecule in the cell walls of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the world’s deadliest pathogen.
MIT physicists snap the first images of “free-range” atoms
The results will help scientists visualize never-before-seen quantum phenomena in real space.
In kids, EEG monitoring of consciousness safely reduces anesthetic use
Clinical trial finds several outcomes improved for young children when an anesthesiologist observed their brain waves to guide dosing of sevoflurane during surgery.
Lighting up biology’s basement lab
Senior Technical Instructor Vanessa Cheung ’02 brings the energy, experience, and excitement needed to educate students in the biology teaching lab.
Response to infection highlights the nervous system’s surprising degrees of flexibility
Upon infection, the C. elegans worm reshuffles the roles of brain cells and flips the functions of some of the chemicals it uses to regulate behavior.
Always looking to home
Mingmar Sherpa, a researcher in the Martin Lab in the Department of Biology, has remained connected to his home in Nepal at every step of his career.
A new computational framework illuminates the hidden ecology of diseased tissues
The MESA method uses ecological theory to map cellular diversity and spatial patterns in tissues, offering new insights into disease progression.
The chemistry of creativity
Senior Madison Wang blends science, history, and art to probe how the world works and the tools we use to explore and understand it.
A brief history of expansion microscopy
Since an MIT team introduced expansion microscopy in 2015, the technique has powered the science behind kidney disease, plant seeds, the microbiome, Alzheimer’s, viruses, and more.
New model predicts a chemical reaction’s point of no return
Chemists could use this quick computational method to design more efficient reactions that yield useful compounds, from fuels to pharmaceuticals.
Astronomers discover a planet that’s rapidly disintegrating, producing a comet-like tail
The small and rocky lava world sheds an amount of material equivalent to the mass of Mount Everest every 30.5 hours.