Bioengineering and biotechnology

Kevin Esvelt directs the Sculpting Evolution Group at MIT Media Lab

Taming “information hazards” in synthetic biology research

Cryptography techniques to screen synthetic DNA could help prevent the creation of dangerous pathogens, argues Professor Kevin Esvelt.

October 4, 2018

“If you have a problem, and you look into the problem in nature and see how animals or plants deal with these kinds of problems and extract those design principles, you can try to replicate [them] using engineering approaches,” saysZijay Tang, a PhD candidate in MIT’s Department of Biological Engineering.

Inspired by nature, reaching across disciplines

PhD student Zijay Tang is developing a living material that can sense and filter water contaminants.

September 17, 2018

Therepi’s reservoir, which would attach directly to the damaged heart tissue, is placed on a dime for size reference and connected to a self-sealing subcutaneous port.

A new way to mend a broken heart

“Therepi” device attaches directly to damaged heart, enabling delivery of medicine from a port under a patient’s skin to augment cardiac function.

June 12, 2018

Aceil Halaby of Bloomer Tech presents their technology at the IDEA² Global workshop.

MIT linQ welcomes IDEA² Global teams for 2018

Seven-month program includes 14 international groups, who are convening at the Institute to develop new biomedical technologies.

June 4, 2018

Since joining the MIT faculty in 2011, Brad Pentelute has continued working on anthrax, hoping to develop it as a possible vehicle for delivering drugs across not only cell membranes but also the blood-brain barrier.

Brad Pentelute: In search of novel proteins

Chemistry professor builds on nature to design new drugs and engineer better ways to deliver them.

April 29, 2018

At Michigan State University’s W. K. Kellogg Biological Station, Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center researchers are evaluating the performance of a variety of novel bioenergy crop production systems for crop yield and quality, impacts on microbial-plant interactions, biogeochemical and biodiversity responses and water use.

Gauging the effects of water scarcity on an irrigated planet

Study projects likely impacts on food prices, bioenergy production, and deforestation.

April 19, 2018

A fascination with magic leads MIT Professor Robert Langer to solve world problems using the marvels of chemical engineering.

Featured video: Magical Bob

A fascination with magic leads Institute Professor Robert Langer to solve world problems using the marvels of chemical engineering.

March 27, 2018

June Y. Park '16 will be working to develop a biomimetic, 3-D-printable scaffold for development of lung stem cell-derived artificial trachea and organoids.

June Park ’16 is a 2018 Gates Cambridge Scholar

Chemical engineering alumna will pursue an advanced degree in engineering at Cambridge University in the U.K.

March 20, 2018

Graduate student James Hermus demonstrates a production robot based on the original MIT-MANUS design in the Eric P. and Evelyn E. Newman Laboratory for Biomechanics and Human Rehabilitation. The robot, which helps stroke victims recover and regain mobility, represents one of the many ways MIT's mechanical engineering researchers are working to improve health care.

Understanding and treating disease

Mechanical engineering researchers are developing new and innovative ways to improve health care.

February 2, 2018

“Robin’s research will not only deepen our understanding of the development of the biotech industry in Greater Boston,” said Melissa Nobles, the Kenan Sahin Dean of MIT’s School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. “It will also reveal insights into the ways that human values, community action, and public policy converge to shape technological innovation more generally.”

Historian Robin Scheffler awarded 2018 Levitan Prize

Prestigious award in the humanities includes a $30,000 grant that will support his research into the factors that influenced the development of Boston’s booming biotech industry.

February 1, 2018

Clipart of someone with laptop and lab equipment

Startup makes labs smarter

Platform connects individual pieces of lab equipment, compiles data in the cloud for speedier, more accurate research.

January 25, 2018

A Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research study has revealed how an enzyme first isolated in bacteria and introduced into plants such as corn and soybeans in the 1990s can sometimes act imprecisely, and how it can be successfully re-engineered to be more precise.

Revealing an imperfect actor in plant biotechnology

Whitehead Institute researchers detect the chemical mistakes of a common herbicide-resistance enzyme, then successfully re-engineer it for enhanced precision.

November 29, 2017

Ritu Raman is one five U.S. scientists who have received the 2017 L’Oréal USA For Women in Science Fellowship.

Ritu Raman named L’Oréal Women in Science Fellow

Postdoc in the Langer Lab is honored for her contributions to the advancement of STEM fields and for her support of women and girls in science.

October 17, 2017

Arup K. Chakraborty, the Robert T. Haslam Professor of Chemical Engineering, professor of physics, chemistry, and biological engineering, and a core faculty member at the Institute for Medical Engineering & Science has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine in recognition of his distinguished contributions to medicine and health.

Arup Chakraborty elected to National Academy of Medicine

Recognized for his contributions to health, the distinguished professor is now a member of the national academies of medicine, science, and engineering.

October 16, 2017

$“If we want to be able to deliver mRNA, then we need a mechanism to be more effective at it because everything that’s been used so far gives you a very small fraction of what would be the optimal efficiency,” says professor Paula Hammond.$

Bio-inspired approach to RNA delivery

New technique could make it easier to use mRNA to treat disease or deliver vaccines.

September 19, 2017

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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