3 Questions: Using AI to accelerate the discovery and design of therapeutic drugs
Professor James Collins discusses how collaboration has been central to his research into combining computational predictions with new experimental platforms.
New tissue models could help researchers develop drugs for liver disease
Two models more accurately replicate the physiology of the liver, offering a new way to test treatments for fat buildup.
Bryan Bryson: Engineering solutions to the tough problem of tuberculosis
By analyzing how Myobacterium tuberculosis interacts with the immune system, the associate professor hopes to find new vaccine targets to help eliminate the disease.
Celebrating worm science
Time and again, an unassuming roundworm has illuminated aspects of biology with major consequences for human health.
Study: High-fat diets make liver cells more likely to become cancerous
New research suggests liver cells exposed to too much fat revert to an immature state that is more susceptible to cancer-causing mutations.
MIT researchers find new immunotherapeutic targets for glioblastoma
A study profiling antigens presented on immune and tumor cells in co-culture points to new strategies for attacking a treatment-resistant and deadly brain cancer.
MIT study shows how vision can be rebooted in adults with amblyopia
Temporarily anesthetizing the retina briefly reverts the activity of the visual system to that observed in early development and enables growth of responses to the amblyopic (“lazy”) eye.
Too sick to socialize: How the brain and immune system promote staying in bed
MIT researchers discover how an immune system molecule triggers neurons to shut down social behavior in mice modeling infection.
Alternate proteins from the same gene contribute differently to health and rare disease
New findings may help researchers identify genetic mutations that contribute to rare diseases, by studying when and how single genes produce multiple versions of proteins.
MIT study finds targets for a new tuberculosis vaccine
Using these antigens, researchers plan to develop vaccine candidates that they hope would stimulate a strong immune response against the world’s deadliest pathogen.
A new way to understand and predict gene splicing
The KATMAP model, developed by researchers in the Department of Biology, can predict alternative cell splicing, which allows cells to create endless diversity from the same sets of genetic blueprints.
Five with MIT ties elected to National Academy of Medicine for 2025
Professors Facundo Batista and Dina Katabi, along with three additional MIT alumni, are honored for their outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service.
Helping scientists run complex data analyses without writing code
Co-founded by an MIT alumnus, Watershed Bio offers researchers who aren’t software engineers a way to run large-scale analyses to accelerate biology.
New MIT initiative seeks to transform rare brain disorders research
The Rare Brain Disorders Nexus aims to accelerate the development of novel therapies for a spectrum of uncommon brain diseases.
AI maps how a new antibiotic targets gut bacteria
MIT CSAIL and McMaster researchers used a generative AI model to reveal how a narrow-spectrum antibiotic attacks disease-causing bacteria, speeding up a process that normally takes years.