Search Stories

Photograph of the microwell CARMEN chip.

CRISPR-based diagnostic chips perform thousands of tests simultaneously to detect viruses

Diagnostic platform CARMEN combines microfluidics with CRISPR-based detection technology SHERLOCK, and could one day be used for public health efforts.

April 29, 2020

Mounting evidence suggests that the SARS-CoV-2 virus affects the brain, as well as the lungs.

How could Covid-19 and the body’s immune response affect the brain?

Picower Institute researchers are embarking on experiments to learn the mechanisms by which coronavirus might affect mental health.

April 28, 2020

McGovern Institute scientists Jonathan Gootenberg (left) and Omar Abuddayeh in the lab

3 Questions: How Covid-19 tests work and why they’re in short supply

MIT scientists Omar Abudayyeh and Jonathan Gootenberg explain the current state of Covid-19 testing, and how a CRISPR tool may help solve the supply problem.

April 10, 2020

Speakers at MIT's virtual town hall included, from top to bottom, left to right, Rick Danheiser, Martin Schmidt, Maria T. Zuber, Cynthia Barnhart, Ramona Allen, Suzy Nelson, Sanjay Sarma, Ian Waitz, Alfred Ironside, Cecilia Stuopis, Elazer Edelman, Martin L. Culpepper, and L. Rafael Reif.

In virtual town hall, MIT leadership updates community on Covid-19 responses

Critical research continues, students and staff are receiving support, and contingency planning proceeds for eventual phased reopening.

April 9, 2020

Pioneering researcher Jonathan Weissman joins Whitehead Institute and MIT

Globally respected cell biologist will be the Whitehead Institute’s inaugural Landon T. Clay Professor of Biology and a professor of biology at MIT.

March 16, 2020

A genome-wide analysis has revealed genes that are essential for neuron survival, as well as genes that protect against the effects of Huntington’s disease.

Genetic screen offers new drug targets for Huntington’s disease

Neuroscientists identify genes that modulate the disease’s toxic effects.

January 30, 2020

Experiments identified one gene, which the researchers named Bradyzoite-Formation Deficient 1 (BFD1), as the only gene both sufficient and necessary to prevent the transition from tachyzoite to bradyzoite stages of T. gondii infection. The findings may inform research into potential therapies for toxoplasmosis, or even a vaccine.

Putting a finger on the switch of a chronic parasite infection

Researchers find master regulator needed for Toxoplasma gondii parasite to chronically infect host; promising step toward infection treatment, prevention.

January 21, 2020

Small cell lung cancer (red) metastasizes to the liver in a genetically-engineered mouse model.

New pathway for lung cancer treatment

MIT researchers identify pyrimidine biosynthesis as a target for the treatment of small cell lung cancer.

November 6, 2019

American Physical Society honorees (left to right): Richard Milner and Pablo Jarillo-Herrero, professors of physics, and James Collins, professor of biological engineering.

American Physical Society honors three MIT professors for physics research

James Collins, Pablo Jarillo-Herrero, and Richard Milner have won top prizes for their work.

October 24, 2019

“The major research directions and technology platforms that [my] lab is known for today came out of this process where the students or I had a crazy idea, and then the lab executed on it, with all the twists and turns along the way,” says Paul Blainey, associate professor of biological engineering.

Biological engineer Paul Blainey creates new tools to advance biomedical research

His technology platforms have benefited genomics, diagnostics, and drug screening.

October 19, 2019

The MIT Horizon learning platform contains bite-sized articles, videos, and podcasts on emerging technologies, with early topics including additive manufacturing, artificial intelligence, blockchain technology, and robotics.

MIT launches digital content library for workforce learning on emerging technologies

New learning platform contains bite-sized articles, videos, and podcasts designed to keep workers apprised of the latest developments in AI, robotics, and more.

October 8, 2019

MIT engineers created a DNA-acrylamide gel that can be degraded by DNA-editing enzymes. At right, the gel is broken down after two hours of exposure to a DNA "trigger sequence." At left, the gel is exposed to DNA that doesn't contain the trigger sequence, so it remains intact.

Using CRISPR to program gels with new functions

Smart materials change properties in response to specific DNA sequences; could be used in a variety of devices.

August 22, 2019

MIT biological engineers have developed a new way to encode complex memories in the DNA of living cells.

High-precision technique stores cellular “memory” in DNA

Engineers program human and bacterial cells to keep a record of complex molecular events.

August 22, 2019

Speeding up drug discovery for brain diseases

Whitehead Institute team finds drugs that activate a key brain gene; initial tests in cells and mice show promise for rare, untreatable neurodevelopmental disorder.

July 31, 2019

The CRISPR family enzyme Cas13 (pink) is at the heart of the RESCUE platform, where it uses a special guide (red) to target RNAs in the cell (blue).

New CRISPR platform expands RNA editing capabilities

The new system, dubbed RESCUE, allows RNA edits to be made that were not previously possible.

July 11, 2019

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Browse By

Topics

Departments

Centers, Labs, & Programs

Schools