Slice and dice
SNIPE, a newly characterized biological defense system, directly protects bacteria by chopping up invading viral DNA.
Study finds key role for non-neural brain cells in processing vision
MIT researchers employed a novel application of tools and analysis to show that astrocytes ensure neural information processing by maintaining ambient levels of the neurotransmitter chemical GABA.
A more precise way to edit the genome
MIT researchers have dramatically lowered the error rate of prime editing, a technique that holds potential for treating many genetic disorders.
3 Questions: On biology and medicine’s “data revolution”
Professor Caroline Uhler discusses her work at the Schmidt Center, thorny problems in math, and the ongoing quest to understand some of the most complex interactions in biology.
A boost for the precision of genome editing
Researchers develop a fast-acting, cell-permeable protein system to control CRISPR-Cas9, reducing off-target effects and advancing gene therapy.
Scientists apply optical pooled CRISPR screening to identify potential new Ebola drug targets
Combining powerful imaging, perturbational screening, and machine learning, researchers uncover new human host factors that alter Ebola’s ability to infect.
MIT engineers develop electrochemical sensors for cheap, disposable diagnostics
Electrodes coated with DNA could enable inexpensive tests with a long shelf-life, which could detect many diseases and be deployed in the doctor’s office or at home.
Rationale engineering generates a compact new tool for gene therapy
Researchers redesign a compact RNA-guided enzyme from bacteria, making it an efficient editor of human DNA.
Lighting up biology’s basement lab
Senior Technical Instructor Vanessa Cheung ’02 brings the energy, experience, and excitement needed to educate students in the biology teaching lab.
MIT’s McGovern Institute is shaping brain science and improving human lives on a global scale
A quarter century after its founding, the McGovern Institute reflects on its discoveries in the areas of neuroscience, neurotechnology, artificial intelligence, brain-body connections, and therapeutics.
An ancient RNA-guided system could simplify delivery of gene editing therapies
The programmable proteins are compact, modular, and can be directed to modify DNA in human cells.
MIT affiliates awarded 2024 National Medals of Science, Technology
Four professors and an additional alumnus honored with nation’s highest awards for scientists and engineers; Moderna, with deep MIT roots, also recognized.
Bacteria in the human gut rarely update their CRISPR defense systems
A new study of the microbiome finds intestinal bacterial interact much less often with viruses that trigger immunity updates than bacteria in the lab.
When a cell protector collaborates with a killer
New research reveals what it takes for a protein that is best known for protecting cells against death to take on the opposite role.
License plates of MIT
Custom plates display expressions of scholarship, creativity, and MIT pride among Institute affiliates.