Biology

AP reporter Seth Borenstein writes about how President-elect Joe Biden is nominating Prof. Eric Lander of the Broad Institute to serve as his chief science officer and lead the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and has selected Maria Zuber, vice president for research at MIT, to co-chair the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Francis Collins, director of the NIH, called Lander, “brilliant, visionary, exceptionally creative and highly effective in aspiring others. I predict he will have a profound transformational effect on American science.”

New York Times reporter Carl Zimmer writes that Prof. Eric Lander, president and founding director of the Broad Institute, has been nominated to serve as director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy and to serve as a presidential science advisor. MIT Vice President for Research Maria Zuber will co-chair the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

Prof. Eric Lander, president and founding director of the Broad Institute, has been nominated by President-elect Joe Biden to lead the Office of Science and Technology Policy, which Biden will make a Cabinet-level position, reports Sarah Kaplan for The Washington Post. Maria Zuber, MIT’s vice president for research, will co-chair the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

TechCrunch reporter Jonathan Shieber spotlights Senti Biosciences, an MIT startup, which is developing cancer therapies using a new programmable biology platform. “The company’s technology uses new computational biological techniques to manufacture cell and gene therapies that can more precisely target specific cells in the body,” Shieber explains.

MIT researchers have discovered the molecular structure of a protein that plays a key role in the coronavirus’ ability to replicate itself and stimulate the host cell’s inflammation response, reports Travis Anderson for The Boston Globe. “If researchers can find a way to ‘block this channel,’” writes Anderson, “then they might be able to reduce the ‘pathogenicity of the virus’ and also obstruct viral replication.”

Professor Angelika Amon, an award-winning cell biologist and “an advocate for the kinds of studies that grind away outside of the limelight,” died on Oct. 29, reports Bryan Marquard for The Boston Globe. Amon’s daughter, Clara Weis, noted that Amon “was pretty much the best role model there is. She was very caring and understanding. She always knew what was happening and how to deal with it the right way.”

Times Higher Ed reporter Matthew Reisz memorializes the life and work of Prof. Angelika Amon, a “trailblazing” scientist known for her research into the life cycle of cells. “Angelika existed in a league of her own,” says Whitehead fellow Kristin Knouse. “She had the energy and excitement of someone who picked up a pipette for the first time, but the brilliance and wisdom of someone who had been doing it for decades.”

Writing for The Boston Globe, Prof. Eric Lander, president and founding director of the Broad Institute, argues that the U.S. needs to take steps to ensure that "science benefits society and society trusts science…In the 2020s, the decision-making must include a much wider range of people, who will need to be prepared to grapple thoughtfully with hard choices.”

Writing for The Washington Post, Prof. Harvey Lodish emphasizes the importance of foreign workers and immigrants to the U.S. economy. “Without students and workers from outside the U.S., it’s difficult to see how the current successes of U.S. scientific research and innovation could continue,” writes Lodish.

A new study by MIT researchers explores how cellular guides in planarians appear to provide a roadmap for regeneration, reports Veronique Greenwood for The New York Times. Greenwood notes that the findings “may someday help scientists interested in helping humans regenerate injured neurons.”

MIT researchers have developed a new technique to synthesize the feel-good molecules in the Kava plant root, reports Carey Goldberg for WBUR. “What we do in our lab is to actually start from plants that have thousands of years of use in traditional medicine," says Prof. Jing-Ke Weng. "We already know there's something in that plant that works to treat some illness."

A new study by MIT researchers finds that there are differences in how genes are used in men and women, reports Angus Chen for WBUR. “I think we are at present missing a lot because we operate with what is essentially a unisex model in biomedical research,” explains Prof. David Page.

Diana Kwon highlights the research of Prof. Katharina Ribbeck in an article for Scientific American about the biological benefits of mucus. “I like to call [mucus] the unsung hero of the body — it’s something that has such powerful effects over our health,” says Ribbeck.

Broad Institute postdoctoral associate Joshua Weinstein has developed a DNA microscope that allows researchers to investigate the locations and identity of DNA molecules, reports Sharon Begley for STAT. “Weinstein has so far used it to image human cancer cell lines and plans to apply the technology to tumors and the immune cells that infiltrate them,” writes Begley, “which might one day guide immunotherapy.”

STAT reporter Sharon Begley writes that Prof. Feng Zhang and his colleagues have turned “a jumping gene — aka a transposon, or mobile genetic element — into a mini TaskRabbit gig worker: With an assist from CRISPR enzymes, it zips over to the part of the genome whose address it is given and delivers a package of DNA, pronto.”