3 Questions: Using AI to accelerate the discovery and design of therapeutic drugs
Professor James Collins discusses how collaboration has been central to his research into combining computational predictions with new experimental platforms.
Bryan Bryson: Engineering solutions to the tough problem of tuberculosis
By analyzing how Myobacterium tuberculosis interacts with the immune system, the associate professor hopes to find new vaccine targets to help eliminate the disease.
3 Questions: Using computation to study the world’s best single-celled chemists
Assistant Professor Yunha Hwang utilizes microbial genomes to examine the language of biology. Her appointment reflects MIT’s commitment to exploring the intersection of genetics research and AI.
MIT study finds targets for a new tuberculosis vaccine
Using these antigens, researchers plan to develop vaccine candidates that they hope would stimulate a strong immune response against the world’s deadliest pathogen.
AI maps how a new antibiotic targets gut bacteria
MIT CSAIL and McMaster researchers used a generative AI model to reveal how a narrow-spectrum antibiotic attacks disease-causing bacteria, speeding up a process that normally takes years.
Using generative AI, researchers design compounds that can kill drug-resistant bacteria
The team used two different AI approaches to design novel antibiotics, including one that showed promise against MRSA.
Tiny organisms, huge implications for people
A new book by Thomas Levenson examines how germ theory arose, launched modern medicine, and helped us limit fatal infectious diseases.
Engineered bacteria emit signals that can be spotted from a distance
These bacteria, which could be designed to detect pollution or nutrients, could act as sensors to help farmers monitor their crops.
Drawing inspiration from ancient chemical reactions
By studying cellular enzymes that perform difficult reactions, MIT chemist Dan Suess hopes to find new solutions to global energy challenges.
High-speed videos show what happens when a droplet splashes into a pool
Findings may help predict how rain and irrigation systems launch particles and pathogens from watery surfaces, with implications for industry, agriculture, and public health.
AI system predicts protein fragments that can bind to or inhibit a target
FragFold, developed by MIT Biology researchers, is a computational method with potential for impact on biological research and therapeutic applications.
Seeking climate connections among the oceans’ smallest organisms
MIT oceanographer and biogeochemist Andrew Babbin has voyaged around the globe to investigate marine microbes and their influence on ocean health.
Kingdoms collide as bacteria and cells form captivating connections
Studying the pathogen R. parkeri, researchers discovered the first evidence of extensive and stable interkingdom contacts between a pathogen and a eukaryotic organelle.
A new way to determine whether a species will successfully invade an ecosystem
MIT physicists develop a predictive formula, based on bacterial communities, that may also apply to other types of ecosystems, including the human GI tract.
An abundant phytoplankton feeds a global network of marine microbes
New findings illuminate how Prochlorococcus’ nightly “cross-feeding” plays a role in regulating the ocean’s capacity to cycle and store carbon.