Biology

Competency exam certificate now available for MITx Introduction to Biology course

New option for online learners tests subject mastery and provides meaningful certificates for one of the most popular MITx courses.

January 3, 2017

Green Labs contest: A certified success

A contest spurred several MIT labs to reduce waste and hazardous materials and conserve energy and water.

December 19, 2016

Four proposals from six MIT faculty members, pictured here, have been awarded Professor Amar G. Bose Research Grants. Left to right: Angela Belcher, Amy Keating, Karl Berggren, Betar Gallant, Domitilla Del Vecchio, and Ron Weiss.

Bold research visions recognized and rewarded

Four proposals from six MIT faculty members to receive Professor Amar G. Bose Research Grants.

December 1, 2016

This image shows triple-negative breast cancer cells with high levels of “Mena invasive” protein and treated with Paclitaxel. The cell cytoskeleton is shown in blue, the dynamic microtubules are shown in green, and the stable microtubules are shown in red.

Biomarker could help guide cancer therapy, avoid drug resistance

Biologists link levels of Mena protein to breast cancer cells’ sensitivity to chemotherapy.

November 22, 2016

Creating new treatments for amblyopia

Study finds decreasing activity in the eye can help overcome visual impairment.

November 21, 2016

2016 MIT AAAS Fellows: (clockwise from top left) William Green, Wolfgang Ketterle, Howard Shrobe, and Elly Nedivi.

Four MIT faculty elected 2016 AAAS Fellows

Green, Ketterle, Nedivi, and Shrobe are among those recognized for their efforts toward advancing science.

November 21, 2016

MIT chemists have determined the structure of a bacterial enzyme that can produce biodegradable plastics, an advance that could help chemical engineers tweak the enzyme to make it even more industrially useful.

A step toward biodegradable plastics

Chemists discover structure of bacterial enzyme that generates useful polymers.

November 11, 2016

The term “wild,” is receiving renewed attention from academics and popular authors alike. MIT historian Harriet Ritvo notes that even those who are critical of the term employ it frequently, and that most of us remain uncertain of the word's conceptual parameters.

3Q: Historian Harriet Ritvo on what it means to be "wild"

Scientists, social scientists, and humanists heed the call of the wild at MIT workshop.

November 4, 2016

When cells suffer DNA damage, there are several different pathways that can kick in to help repair it, depending on the type of damage. Cells from different people and different tumors vary greatly in their ability to repair DNA damage, and scientists have been pursuing measurements of this ability as a way to predict how patients will respond to DNA-damaging chemotherapy.

Predicting cancer cells’ response to chemotherapy

Measuring DNA repair capability can reveal tumors’ sensitivity to drugs.

November 2, 2016

Susan Lindquist, pioneering biologist and former director of Whitehead Institute, dies at 67

Biology professor and mentor to many investigated protein folding and its role in disease.

October 28, 2016

Scientists have identified two key groups of neurons within the hypothalamus that help regulate appetite.

A new player in appetite control

Brain cells that provide structural support also influence feeding behavior, study shows.

October 18, 2016

2016 MassJAS presenters: (left to right) Alex Jayyosi, Aarushi Pendharkar, Christine Schremp, Tal Usvyatsky, Emma Kelly, Mary Zgurzynski, Evan Mizerak, and Natasha Garland.

From MIT to the national stage

MassJAS Symposium at MIT selects talented high school students to showcase their science research at the 2017 AAAS annual meeting.

October 13, 2016

MIT scientists have identified a way to enhance the long-term benefit of exposure therapy in rats, offering a way to improve the therapy in people suffering from phobias and more complicated conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Pinpointing a brain circuit that can keep fears at bay

Study suggests path to prolonging treatment effectiveness for phobias or post-traumatic stress disorder.

September 26, 2016

Eight School of Science faculty appointed to named professorships

September 22, 2016

Manoshi Datta, a postdoc in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, pipettes bacterial samples in the lab.

MIT researchers prove fast microbial evolutionary bursts exist

Study reveals closely related microbes can diversify rapidly via horizontal gene transfer.