3 Questions: Ram Sasisekharan on hastening vaccines and treatments
Biological engineer discusses condensing the time taken to develop therapeutics down from many years to a matter of months.
Did our early ancestors boil their food in hot springs?
Scientists have found evidence of hot springs near sites where ancient hominids settled, long before the control of fire.
A new way to make bacteria more sensitive to antibiotics
SMART researchers find exposing bacteria to hydrogen sulfide can increase antimicrobial sensitivity in bacteria that do not produce H2S.
Scientists discover new rules about “runaway” transcription
Findings related to bacterial gene expression overturn fundamental assumptions about basic biological pathways.
A new tool for modeling the human gut microbiome
Bacteria linked to Crohn’s disease are difficult to grow in the lab, but MIT engineers have found a way.
![“The biology [around gut bacteria’s influence on health] is fairly complex, and we’re still in the early days of unravelling it, but there have been a number of clinical studies that have reported benefits to restoring gut health, and that’s our north star: the clinical data,” Finch co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Mark Smith PhD ’14 says.](/sites/default/files/styles/term_page__news_article/public/images/202007/MIT-Finch-01.jpg?itok=-8olXqg-)
Finch Therapeutics unleashes the power of the gut
The company is developing treatments that restore gut bacteria in people struggling with a range of diseases.
SMART researchers uncover new anti-phage defense mechanisms
Discovery explains why some bacteria have been able to defend against phage therapy, opens new ways to overcome existing challenges.
Study: Life might survive, and thrive, in a hydrogen world
When searching for extraterrestrial life, astronomers may want to look at planets with hydrogen-rich atmospheres.
Study analyzes contamination in drug manufacturing plants
Report offers guidelines to help prevent viruses from tainting biopharmaceutical drugs.
Engineers develop precision injection system for plants
Microneedles made of silk-based material can target plant tissues for delivery of micronutrients, hormones, or genes.
Researchers explore ocean microbes’ role in climate effects
When they encounter nutrient oases in the marine desert, marine bacteria release a gas involved in climate regulation.
Professor Emeritus Arnold Demain, a pioneer in the development of antibiotics, dies at 92
An eminent microbiologist, Demain conducted groundbreaking antibiotics research and mentored hundreds of young scientists.
3Q: Robert Macfarlane on cleaning your smartphone screen
Materials scientist explores why some household cleaners could harm the protective coating on a smartphone screen.
Using “organs-on-a-chip” to model complicated diseases
A new approach reveals how different tissues contribute to inflammatory diseases such as ulcerative colitis.
Covid-19 diagnostic based on MIT technology might be tested on patient samples soon
A variety of MIT research projects could aid efforts to detect and prevent the spread of coronavirus.