Biological engineering

Each year through the Siebel Scholars program, a formidable group brings together their diverse perspectives from business, science, and engineering to influence the technologies, policies, and economic and social decisions that shape the future.

Sixteen MIT grad students named Siebel Scholars for 2017

MIT graduate students from bioengineering, business, computer science, and energy fields are honored.

September 15, 2016

A new technique invented at MIT can precisely measure the growth of many individual cells simultaneously. “The device provides new insights into how cells grow and respond to drugs,” MIT professor Scott Manalis says.

Microchip enables fast, precise measurement of single-cell growth

Device that measures growth of many individual cells simultaneously could lead to rapid tests for antibiotics.

September 5, 2016

Accelerometers around patients' necks capture data about the motions of their vocal folds to determine if their vocal behavior was normal or abnormal.

How machine learning can help with voice disorders

By detecting signs of vocal misuse, system from CSAIL and Mass General could eventually be used to help diagnose voice disorders.

August 29, 2016

Ginkgo Bioworks staff members Ramya Prathuri (left) and Nate Tedford work at the mass spectrometer in the Ginkgo foundry.

Hacking microbes

Startup’s engineered yeast helps clients produce fragrances and flavors more efficiently.

August 25, 2016

Clownfish fight off predators of anemones that in turn provide habitats for the clownfish, an example of mutualism. But mutualistic relationships aren’t always set in stone; depending on environmental conditions, once-simpatico species can become competitors.

A mutual breakdown

Species relationships devolve from jointly beneficial to competitive in benign environments.

August 24, 2016

MIT biological engineers have devised a memory storage system illustrated here as a DNA-embedded meter that is recording the activity of a signaling pathway in a human cell.

Recording analog memories in human cells

Engineers program human cells to store complex histories in their DNA.

August 18, 2016

Membrane structures in plant xylem from different species are being investigated for use in water filtration.

J-WAFS Solutions program awards $750,000 in commercialization grants

Four new projects and one renewal receive $150,000 in funding for 2016-2017.

August 12, 2016

Researchers designed and tested several types of optical sensors that could be placed at the tip of an epidural needle and determined that the best is one that relies on Raman spectroscopy. This technique, which uses light to measure energy shifts in molecular vibrations, offers detailed information about the chemical composition of tissue.

Needles that hit the right mark

New sensor could help anesthesiologists place needles for epidurals and other medical procedures.

August 11, 2016

A new microfluidic device that replicates the neuromuscular junction — the vital connection where nerve meets muscle — contains a small cluster of neurons (green) and a single muscle fiber (red). A fluorescence image, bottom, shows the motor neurons sending out axons toward a muscle strip over a distance of about 1 millimeter.

Replicating the connection between muscles and nerves

New chip could help test drugs for ALS, other neuromuscular disorders.

August 3, 2016

“I love to work on new ideas and develop new kinds of tools to tackle basic questions,” says PhD student Tim Wang.

Targeting genes by the thousands

PhD student Tim Wang uses CRISPR to take a big-picture approach to cancer research.

August 2, 2016

A new, portable production system is designed to manufacture a range of biopharmaceuticals on demand. The principal component of the microbioreactor is a plastic chip with microfluidic circuits (green), optical sensors (red and blue circles) for monitoring oxygen and acidity, and a filter to retain the cells while the therapeutic protein is extracted (white circle).

Portable device produces biopharmaceuticals on demand

System would use microbes for manufacturing small amounts of vaccines and other therapies.

July 29, 2016

“You can build very complex computing systems if you integrate the element of memory together with computation,” says Timothy Lu, an associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science and of biological engineering, and head of the Synthetic Biology Group at MIT’s Research Laboratory of Electronics.

Scientists program cells to remember and respond to series of stimuli

New approach to biological circuit design enables scientists to track cell histories.

July 21, 2016

MIT and Broad Institute postdoc Ilana Brito sampled not only the human microbiome in the remote villages in Fiji she studied, but also the reservoirs of microbes in the community.

Microbiome genes on the move

Largest metagenomic view of the developing world uncovers “mobile genes” that reveal how culture shapes the human microbiome.

July 14, 2016

Michael Mitchell has been recognized with a Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award at the Scientific Interface for his research on developing a new class of materials and devices that detect and treat bone marrow disorders.

Michael Mitchell wins Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award at the Scientific Interface

MIT postdoc is among 10 scientists honored for combining biology with the physical sciences and engineering toward medical breakthroughs.

July 5, 2016

Mapping molecular neighborhoods

Associate Professor Ernest Fraenkel uses biological network modeling to identify new targets for disease.