MIT researchers have uncovered a potential link between a high-fat diet and increased risk of many types of cancer, reports Chukwuma Muanya for The Guardian. Muanya explains that the study “reveals the effect that a high-fat diet has on the biology of stem cells… and how this might make cancer more likely.”
A new study by MIT researchers suggests that sea sponges may have been the first animal on Earth, CBS Boston reports. “Based on new genetic tests, researchers can say with confidence that molecules produced by sea sponges have been found in 640 million-year-old rocks.”
Prof. Michael Yaffe speaks with Scott Kirsner of WBUR’s Radio Boston about Vice President Joe Biden’s new cancer initiative. Prof. Yaffe says that the announcement comes at a “golden era for cancer research. We’ve laid the groundwork and we’re poised with incredible technologies, knowledge and understanding of the disease.”
In an article for Stat, Andrew Joseph writes that the Commonwealth Foundation for Cancer Research is committing $20 million to the Bridge Project, which funds research at the Koch Institute and Dana-Farber. “We’re looking for the best people, regardless of where they are, to tackle these very important problems,” explains Tyler Jacks, director of the Koch Institute.
In a testimonial for U.S. News & World Report, MIT graduate Yiping Xing shares why MIT was the right school for her. “MIT doesn't simply teach you science or knowledge; it trains you to be a scientist and problem-solver, giving you many opportunities to apply what you learn,” says Xing.
Prof. Robert Horvitz speaks with Bloomberg TV’s Caroline Hyde about new developments in creating more effective treatments for cancer. Horvitz explains that “biologists have figured out what it is that keeps the immune system from, in general, attacking cancer cells and have learned to unleash that innate ability and attack a cancer in a patient.”
Huffington Post contributor Derrick Crowe writes about a new MIT study that examines how increasing ocean acidification is impacting phytoplankton populations. The study showed how ocean acidification, “can throw off the balance of the plankton population, causing significant changes with profound implications for other species that depend on them.”
Prof. Kenneth Oye speaks with NPR’s Michaeleen Doucleff about the need for government regulation for bioengineered microbes that could be used to produce drugs like heroin. "Once a robust, easy-to-grow, heroin-producing yeast strain is out there, its control would be, in my view, virtually possible," Oye says.
MIT researchers have found that increasing ocean acidification will impact phytoplankton species worldwide, reports Michelle Toh for The Christian Science Monitor. Toh explains that the researchers found, “the balance of various plankton species will radically change as the world’s oceans increase in acidity over the next 85 years.”
MIT biologists have developed a genetically modified version of a common gut bacteria that could be used to treat disease, reports Catherine Woods for the PBS NewsHour. “You could engineer a Bacteroides to live in the gut and detect when inflammation is just starting…so that you can seek treatment right away,” explains Prof. Timothy Lu.
Researchers at MIT have developed tools that could one day allow intestinal bacteria to monitor, diagnose and treat diseases, writes Eryn Brown for The Los Angeles Times. "Just as you'd program computers, we're starting to learn how to program cells by modifying their DNA," says Prof. Timothy Lu.
Professor Kenneth Oye co-authored a commentary that urges regulators to work to prevent abuse following a study that finds that opioids can be home-manufactured by genetically engineering yeast, reports Eryn Brown for The Los Angeles Times. “[A]ll of these technical steps should be done beforehand,” says Oye. “Afterwards, it's too late."
Jessica Hamzelou writes for New Scientist that MIT researchers have been able to recover memories using light. The technique could eventually be used to help people with Alzheimer’s or amnesia. Hamzelou writes that Prof. Susumu Tonegawa, hopes to “develop a way to reactivate forgotten memories in people before the brain tissue itself is damaged, as is often the case in dementia.”
Washington Post reporter Rachel Feltman writes that MIT researchers have used optogenetics to reactive lost memories. The research indicates that, “retrograde amnesia -- where memories are lost after brain trauma -- may be more of a memory retrieval problem than an actual loss of data.”
According to AFP, MIT researchers were able to use a technology called optogenetics to retrieve lost memories. Professor Susumu Tonegawa explains that the research showed, “past memories may not be erased, but could simply be lost and inaccessible for recall."