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A new technique for imaging biopsy samples relies on an approach known as expansion microscopy, in which the researchers expand a tissue sample to 100 times its original volume before imaging it.

Microscopy technique could enable more informative biopsies

Expanding tissue samples before imaging offers detailed information about disease.

July 17, 2017

“My training at MIT gave me an empathy for microbes,” says Emily Greenhagen. “It’s an approach that a lot of chemical engineers don’t necessarily think about and has been key to my success.”

A rose by any other name would smell as yeast

Emily Havens Greenhagen ’05 leads a team of scientists brewing perfume from yeast.

July 14, 2017

Researchers have developed a metal-free contrast agent for MRI scans, which could be safer for certain patients.

Metal-free MRI contrast agent could be safer for some patients

New agent could be used for certain high-risk groups and may enable longer-term tumor imaging.

July 12, 2017

At MIT graduate student Reginald Avery has been conducting research on a biomaterial that could stop wounded soldiers from dying from shock due to severe blood loss. “I wanted to do something related to the military because I grew up around that environment,” he says. “The people, the uniformed soldiers, and the well-controlled atmosphere created a good environment to grow up in, and I wante...

Preventing severe blood loss on the battlefield or in the clinic

PhD student Reginald Avery is developing an injectable material that patches ruptured blood vessels.

July 11, 2017

Angela Belcher (left) and Kristala Prather

3 Questions: Angela Belcher and Kristala Prather on the promise of energy bioscience

Engineers and co-directors of MITEI's Energy Bioscience Low-Carbon Energy Center discuss their vision for transforming the energy system.

July 10, 2017

Robert Griffin awarded Richard R. Ernst Prize in Magnetic Resonance

Griffin honored for pioneering contributions to high-resolution solid state nuclear magnetic resonance and its applications to biological systems.

July 7, 2017

The Marble Center for Cancer Nanomedicine’s faculty is made up of Koch Institute members who are committed to fighting cancer with nanomedicine through research, education, and collaboration. Top row (l-r) Sangeeta Bhatia, director; Daniel Anderson; and Angela Belcher. Bottom row: Paula Hammond; Darrell Irvine; and Robert Langer.

Converging on cancer at the nanoscale

Marking its first anniversary, the Koch Institute’s Marble Center for Cancer Nanomedicine goes full steam ahead.

July 7, 2017

Researchers have created in simulations the first system in which can be manipulated by a beam of ordinary light rather than the expensive specialized light sources required by other systems.

Tiny “motors” are driven by light

Researchers demonstrate nanoscale particles that ordinary light sources can set spinning.

June 30, 2017

1) Graphene, grown on copper foil, is pressed against a supporting sheet of polycarbonate. 2) The polycarbonate acts to peel the graphene from the copper. 3) Using interfacial polymerization, researchers seal large tears and defects in graphene. 4) Next, they use oxygen plasma to etch pores of specific sizes in graphene.

Scientists produce dialysis membrane made from graphene

Material can filter nanometer-sized molecules at 10 to 100 times the rate of commercial membranes.

June 28, 2017

The School of Science newly-tenured professors for 2017 include (clockwise from top left): Mircea Dincă, Liang Fu, Jeff Gore, Jeremiah Johnson, Bradley Pentelute, Jesse Thaler, and Matthew Vander Heiden.

School of Science professors granted tenure

Seven award-winning faculty members represent the departments of Physics, Chemistry, and Biology.

June 28, 2017

About30 gear icons in rainbow color assortment. Six of them have graphic of a person.

STEX event showcases innovations in fitness technology and science

Entrepreneurs, researchers, and industry experts build connections at workshop.

June 26, 2017

Researchers have developed a way to label neurons when they become active, essentially providing a snapshot of their activity at a moment in time.

New tool offers snapshots of neuron activity

FLARE technique can reveal which cells respond during different tasks.

June 26, 2017

Rising junior Jessie Wang, the AR Coordinator for The Borderline Mural Project, paints a section of the wall.

Uncovering art under MIT

Collaborative student mural project beautifies Institute tunnels.

June 25, 2017

Researchers have discovered that Prochlorococcus varieties can each produce more than two dozen different peptides (molecules that are similar to proteins, but smaller).

Microbe generates extraordinarily diverse array of peptides

In marine bacteria, evolution of new specialized molecules follows a previously unknown path.

June 22, 2017

More than 140 students from five School of Engineering departments completed intensive SuperUROP research projects in the 2016-2017 academic year.

A deep dive into research

SuperUROP gives undergraduates the chance to immerse themselves in a year-long research project with supportive mentors to guide the way.