Disease

“There are very few specific or targeted inhibitors that are used in the treatment of brain cancer. There’s really a dire need for new therapies and new ideas,” says MIT Associate Professor Michael Hemann. The background of this image shows nanoparticles (red) being taken up in the brain with glioblastoma (in green). Nuclear DNA is in blue; tumor-associated macrophages in white.

Biologists identify possible new strategy for halting brain tumors

Cutting off a process that cancerous cells rely on can force them to stop growing.

September 28, 2017

“It’s important to have a single test that can differentiate between the four serotypes of Dengue and Zika, because they co-circulate. They’re spread by the same mosquito,” says Kimberly Hamad-Schifferli, an associate professor of engineering at the University of Massachusetts at Boston and a visiting scientist in MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering.

New test rapidly diagnoses Zika

Paper-based diagnostic avoids false positives from Dengue fever and other related viruses.

September 27, 2017

The MIT Department of Biology welcomes new assistant professors Joey Davis (left) and Rebecca Lamason.

New faculty welcomed to Department of Biology

Assistant professors Joey Davis and Rebecca Lamason will spearhead research initiatives into fundamental cellular processes.

September 11, 2017

A new method allows scientists to learn more about how existing antibiotics work and potentially help them to develop new drugs.

New way to test antibiotics could lead to better drugs

Study finds bacterial response to drugs varies in different environments.

August 31, 2017

MIT startup Podimetrics has developed a smart mat that can detect early warning signs before foot ulcers form, which may drastically reduce amputations and cut medical costs.

Smart mat detects early warning signs of foot ulcers

Conceived at an MIT hackathon, system could reduce amputations, cut medical costs for diabetics.

August 15, 2017

MIT researchers have demonstrated a new way to reverse memory loss by blocking an enzyme known as HDAC2.

Blocking a key enzyme may reverse memory loss

MIT study suggests a new approach to developing treatments for Alzheimer’s disease.

August 8, 2017

MIT engineers have devised a way to assess a cell’s mechanical properties simply by observation. The researchers use standard confocal microscopy to zero in on the constant, jiggling motions of a cell’s particles.

Fast, noninvasive technique for probing cells may reveal disease

Researchers gauge a cell’s stiffness, which can reflect cancer or other conditions, simply by watching it.

August 3, 2017

Jinyao Liu, left, and Giovanni Traverso stretch a new hydrogel. To help ensure patients receive their full course of treatment, researchers have developed a new set of drug delivery materials made of the hydrogel. The material can reside in the stomach for up to nine days and slowly release its dosage of medication.

Ingestible drug-delivery materials may help patients comply with treatment regimens

Hydrogel-based capsules could expand and reside in the GI tract for days, slowly releasing medication.

July 25, 2017

Twine has developed a platform that lets users build customized disease-management and care plans on an app, which then sends alerts about when to take medications, tracks the patient’s various health goals, and offers key analytics, among other features.

Coaching platform improves health outcomes, lowers medical costs

New app lets patients work alone or with others to prevent, monitor, and reverse chronic disease.

July 21, 2017

Graduate student Anthony McDougal has developed a model that predicts a single heart cell’s response to dwindling supplies of oxygen.

Study predicts heart cells’ response to dwindling oxygen

Results may help surgeons determine when and how to treat heart attacks.

July 20, 2017

Ram Sasisekharan wins Agilent Thought Leader Award

Honor recognizes bioengineer’s advance of analytical techniques for characterization of biopharmaceuticals.

July 18, 2017

A new technique for imaging biopsy samples relies on an approach known as expansion microscopy, in which the researchers expand a tissue sample to 100 times its original volume before imaging it.

Microscopy technique could enable more informative biopsies

Expanding tissue samples before imaging offers detailed information about disease.

July 17, 2017

About30 gear icons in rainbow color assortment. Six of them have graphic of a person.

STEX event showcases innovations in fitness technology and science

Entrepreneurs, researchers, and industry experts build connections at workshop.

June 26, 2017

mSurvey uses text message-based surveys to gather purchasing behavior of people living in previously hard-to-reach communities in Kenya, the Philippines, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and other locations in Africa and the Caribbean. In return for their feedback, participants receive mobile money.

Illuminating the developing world’s “invisible” consumers

Texting-based surveys capture purchasing and behavior data from people living in remote areas.

June 21, 2017

“Investing in clean energy, for instance, can create jobs, help the environment, and reduce health costs for a broader range of the population,” says MIT professor Mariana Arcaya.

3 Questions: Mariana Arcaya on the drivers of health inequality

MIT professor wants public health advocates to think big about future trends.

June 6, 2017

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