Biology

Exploring cancer metabolism

Matthew Vander Heiden seeks new cancer treatments that exploit tumor cells’ abnormal metabolism.

August 28, 2018

Postdoc Rui Qing and Principal Research Scientist Shuguang Zhang led the effort to find a simple way to make membrane-bound proteins water-soluble.

Scientists alter membrane proteins to make them easier to study

By making hydrophobic sections water-soluble, researchers hope to learn more about protein structures.

August 27, 2018

Research reveals that the external environment of epithelial cells influences the fidelity of chromosome segregation. Hepatocytes proliferating in regenerating livers, such as the mitotic cell shown here with a mitotic spindle (green) capturing chromosomes (blue), are able to accurately segregate chromosomes, whereas hepatocytes dividing in culture have high levels of chromosome missegregation.

Tissue architecture affects chromosome segregation

Biologists discover that the environment surrounding a cell plays an integral role in its ability to accurately segregate its chromosomes.

August 23, 2018

A new study from MIT and Massachusetts Eye and Ear has found that glaucoma may in fact be an autoimmune disorder.

Study suggests glaucoma may be an autoimmune disease

Unexpected findings show that the body’s own immune system destroys retinal cells.

August 10, 2018

To help students gain a better grasp of biological concepts, MIT and Northwestern University researchers have designed new educational kits that can be used to perform experiments that produce glowing proteins, scents, or other easily observed phenomena, through the engineering of DNA.

Inexpensive biology kits offer hands-on experience with DNA

Using freeze-dried, shelf-stable cellular components, students can learn about key biological concepts.

August 1, 2018

This illustration shows the embedding of a cell lineage tree on a convex equilateral polygon with 16 vertices. Cell connections are shown in red.

A mathematical view on cell packing

Joint research from MIT and Princeton shows the mathematics behind biological cell positioning.

July 23, 2018

Clockwise from top left: Eliezer Calo, Steven Flavell, Pablo Jarillo-Herrero, Becky Lamason, Rebecca Saxe, Omer Yilmaz, Yufei Zhao, and Martin Zwierlein.

School of Science appoints eight faculty members to named professorships

July 23, 2018

Professor Kristala Jones Prather leads a discussion at MITEI about the future of biofuels — and whether the prime window of time for their deployment has already passed or has not yet come. Prather argued for the latter. “I think it’s too early,” she told the undergraduates. “We just haven’t spent enough time on the problem yet.”

Kristala Prather: Advancing energy-efficient biochemistry

Associate professor of chemical engineering talks about the future of biochemistry and the next generation of scientists and engineers.

July 16, 2018

Findings from the Whitehead Institute at MIT not only help illuminate the biology of a well-known cancer chemotherapy, but also suggest a simple dietary supplement that could help broaden its therapeutic window and reduce its toxicity.

Scientists sharpen the edges of cancer chemotherapy

Whitehead team deploys CRISPR tools to better understand and uncover ways of improving methotrexate, a popular chemotherapy drug.

July 12, 2018

A computer simulation shows ecological provinces of the marine global ecosystems developed in the Follows Group at MIT. Each color represents a different combination of the most dominant phytoplankton function types (as shown in the Venn diagram at top right). Opacity indicates the total concentration of phytoplankton biomass: The darker the color, the less phytoplankton.

Collaboration to expand the study of microbial oceanography

Simons Foundation-backed CBIOMES brings together researchers in oceanography, statistics, data science, ecology, biogeochemistry, and remote sensing.

July 10, 2018

Calcium channels (labeled green at top) denote active zones along a fly neuron. Their brightness correlates well, for instance at white arrows, with higher synaptic strength (denoted by warmer colors at bottom).

What separates the strong from weak among connections in the brain

MIT study finds synapses develop strength with calcium, maturation.

July 10, 2018

Nancy Hopkins (center) stands with Salvador Luria (left) and David Baltimore at the MIT Cancer Center in the 1980s.

Institute Archives spotlights pioneering women at MIT

Initiative is building collections highlighting the contributions of female faculty.

July 6, 2018

This osteosarcoma cell appears with DNA in blue, mitochondria in yellow, and actin filaments in purple.

Restricting a key cellular nutrient could slow tumor growth

Researchers identify the amino acid aspartate as a metabolic limitation in certain cancers.

June 28, 2018

Left to right: Laurie Boyer, Matt Shoulders, and Feng Zhang.

Advancing knowledge in medical and genetic sciences

Three MIT faculty members selected for funding from the G. Harold and Leila Y. Mathers Foundation.

June 26, 2018

Great progress has been made in reducing the cancer death toll through better prevention and screening, according to a new article by MIT Professor Emerita Nancy Hopkins and colleagues.

3Q: Nancy Hopkins on the impact and potential of cancer prevention

Mechanism-based cancer prevention is poised to further decrease the numbers of U.S. cancer deaths, says MIT professor emerita.

June 25, 2018

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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