A paper-based test that can detect the Zika virus, developed by Prof. James Collins and his research team, is featured in a list of the year’s most important health innovations compiled Alyssa Favreau and Claire Maldarelli for Popular Science. Unlike conventional lab tests, the paper-based test can provide results within three hours.
MIT researchers have developed a stretchy, biocompatible material that could be implanted in a patient’s body and used to stimulate cells or detect disease, according to FOX News. The hydrogel “could bend and twist in a patient’s body without breaking down.”
Guardian reporter Amy Fleming spotlights Prof. Robert Langer’s work revolutionizing medicine. Fleming notes that “Langer’s trailblazing research in nanotechnology, which ranges from haircare to cancer treatments, has already improved the lives of at least 2 billion people.”
MIT researchers have developed a new technique to stop the spread of cancer cells through the body by delivering microRNAs to the site of the primary tumor, reports Hallie Smith for Boston Magazine. The technique “may correct gene disruptions that put a patient at risk of metastatic cancer,” Smith explains.
STAT reporter Sharon Begley writes that MIT will share the One Brave Idea research award, which is focused on supporting research aimed at fighting heart disease. The award recipients plan “to hunt down so-far unrecognized signals marking the transition from a healthy heart to one on the road to disease.”
Popular Science reporter Sarah Chodosh writes that MIT researchers have developed a strategy to deliver beneficial bacteria to the GI tract. The researchers used layers of different sugars "to coat individual cells of Bacillus coagulans, which is used to treat irritable bowel syndrome."
In an article for U.S. News & World Report, Robert Preidt writes that researchers from MIT and the University of Oxford have found that atrial fibrillation is tied to a wider range of conditions than initially thought. The researchers found that the disorder was associated with “heart disease, heart failure, kidney disease, sudden cardiac death and death from all causes.”
Natasha Hinde writes for The Huffington Post about a new study co-authored by MIT examining people with irregular heartbeats. The researchers found that “atrial fibrillation was associated with an increased risk of ischaemic heart disease (coronary artery disease), chronic kidney disease, heart failure and sudden cardiac death.”
MIT researchers have developed a new way to record the activities of human cells, reports Kevin Hartnett for The Boston Globe. “Most of the studies we do to understand diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s involve studying cells in a dish. We’re interested in understanding how cells function in their natural environments,” explains Prof. Timothy Lu.
Boston Magazine reporter Dana Guth writes that MIT researchers are programming harmless strains of E. coli bacteria to destroy tumor cells. Guth explains that the programmed bacteria could be ingested or injected and “could offer a new way to stave off liver cancer.”
In an article for The Huffington Post, Susan Blumenthal highlights how researchers from MIT have developed a paper-based test for diagnosing the Zika virus. Blumenthal writes that “the test consists of a paper covered with yellow dots that turns purple in the presence of the RNA of the virus.”
CNN’s Jareen Imam writes that MIT researchers have developed a new topical solution that can make wrinkles invisible and could potentially deliver medications to the skin. "We hope this can be used for many different things," explains Prof. Daniel Anderson. "For example, if you need it for a large area of skin you might put it on like sunscreen."
CBS This Morning highlights the “second skin” material developed by MIT researchers that can help tighten wrinkles and protect the skin. CBS News medical contributor Dr. David Agus says that the material is “really an amazing work in chemical engineering,” highlighting how the material could be used to deliver medication to the skin.
A new material developed by MIT researchers could assist with everything from tightening wrinkles to delivering medication to the skin, reports Enjoli Francis for ABC News. Prof. Robert Langer explains that the material is invisible and “conforms to the skin. You can use it to deliver a drug, if you want, and it's mechanically quite strong."
FOX 25 reports on the new polymer developed by MIT researchers that can smooth wrinkles and could one day potentially deliver medications to the skin. The material is a “‘silicone-based polymer’ that acts as a kind of ‘second skin,’ and could be used to provide protection from the sun.”