Faster drug discovery through machine learning
New technique speeds up calculations of drug molecules’ binding affinity to proteins.
Chemists boost boron’s utility
A strategy for preventing boron-containing compounds from breaking down could help medicinal chemists design new drugs.
A machine-learning approach to finding treatment options for Covid-19
Researchers develop a system to identify drugs that might be repurposed to fight the coronavirus in elderly patients.
RNA molecules are masters of their own destiny
Research suggests the products of transcription — RNA molecules — regulate their own production through a feedback loop.
Turning microbiome research into a force for health
A diverse group of researchers is working to turn new discoveries about the trillions of microbes in the body into treatments for a range of diseases.
Explained: Why RNA vaccines for Covid-19 raced to the front of the pack
Many years of research have enabled scientists to quickly synthesize RNA vaccines and deliver them inside cells.
SMART researchers use lysins to selectively target bacteria
The discovery can help to cure bacterial infections without inducing resistance or causing harm to good bacteria.
MIT launches Center for Multi-Cellular Engineered Living Systems
M-CELS are purpose-driven living systems with multiple interacting living components.
Small molecule, big potential for treating prostate cancer
MIT researchers identify a molecule that could target advanced prostate cancer as well as a variety of other cancers.
Silencing gene expression to cure complex diseases
Immuneering uses bioinformatics to develop new medicines while also helping large pharmaceutical companies improve their treatments.
3 Questions: Ram Sasisekharan on hastening vaccines and treatments
Biological engineer discusses condensing the time taken to develop therapeutics down from many years to a matter of months.
SMART researchers develop fast and efficient method to produce red blood cells
New technology cuts cell culture time by half and uses more targeted cell sorting and purification methods.
Rapid antibody development yields possible treatment for yellow fever
The experimental drug has shown promise in early-stage clinical trials conducted in Singapore.
![“The biology [around gut bacteria’s influence on health] is fairly complex, and we’re still in the early days of unravelling it, but there have been a number of clinical studies that have reported benefits to restoring gut health, and that’s our north star: the clinical data,” Finch co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Mark Smith PhD ’14 says.](/sites/default/files/styles/term_page__news_article/public/images/202007/MIT-Finch-01.jpg?itok=-8olXqg-)
Finch Therapeutics unleashes the power of the gut
The company is developing treatments that restore gut bacteria in people struggling with a range of diseases.
How cancer drugs find their targets
Certain cancer therapeutics concentrate within cells — a finding that could change the way scientists think about drug design.