Medicine

A patient receives an ultrasound at MDaaS Global's clinic in Ibadan, Nigeria. MDaaS provides diagnostic services to low-income communities that were previously inaccessible.

World-class diagnostics for low-income communities in sub-Saharan Africa

MDaaS Global works to transform health care in Africa by bringing high-end medical diagnostics to low-income communities.

July 11, 2019

Top: A cell undergoing normal cell division (mitosis). Bottom row: Defects in the mitotic spindle produced by two drugs that interfere with cancer cell division. These defects can lead to cell death.

Cancer biologists identify new drug combo

Two drugs that block cell division synergize to kill tumor cells.

July 10, 2019

"The efficacy and success of medical advances must always be evaluated within a larger social context,” says Ankita Reddy ’19, who aims to be a physician-anthropologist. “In order to do the most good for individual patients and to slow the spread of disease, our interventions need to take into consideration the public health capacity of communities as well as local ideas of health and sickne...

Ankita Reddy ’19 blends anthropology and biology to improve public health

Recent graduate says culturally-aware approaches lead to more-effective medical interventions.

July 3, 2019

For years, researchers from MIT and Brown University have been developing an interactive system that lets users drag-and-drop and manipulate data on any touchscreen, including smartphones and interactive whiteboards. Now, they’ve included a tool that instantly and automatically generates machine-learning models to run prediction tasks on that data.

Drag-and-drop data analytics

System lets nonspecialists use machine-learning models to make predictions for medical research, sales, and more.

June 27, 2019

A new technique prevents cell-killing proteins called cytokines from escaping once they have been injected into a tumor.

Confining cell-killing treatments to tumors

Attaching a Velcro-like molecule may prevent immune proteins called cytokines from leaking out of cancerous tissue after injection.

June 26, 2019

A new study by researchers from MIT, Boston Children’s Hospital, and elsewhere shows that a “social robot,” named Huggable (pictured), can be used in support sessions to boost positive emotions in hospitalized children.

Study: Social robots can benefit hospitalized children

Interacting with a robotic teddy bear invented at MIT boosted young patients’ positive emotions, engagement, and activity level.

June 26, 2019

MIT engineers have devised a way to incorporate crystallized immunosuppressant drugs into devices carrying encapsulated islet cells, which could allow them to be implanted as a long-term treatment for diabetes.

A better way to encapsulate islet cells for diabetes treatment

Crystallized drug prevents immune system rejection of transplanted pancreatic islet cells.

June 24, 2019

MIT chemists have determined the structure of the amyloid fibers formed by the hormone glucagon when it is dissolved in liquid. Each fibril is made of sheets of peptides that run antiparallel to each other.

Chemists discover structure of glucagon fibrils

Study may be a step toward shelf-stable versions of the hormone, which is used to control diabetes.

June 24, 2019

MIT chemical engineers have devised a way to convert liquid nanoemulsions into solid gels. These gels (red) form almost instantaneously when drops of the liquid emulsion enter warm water.

“Nanoemulsion” gels offer new way to deliver drugs through the skin

Novel materials made with FDA-approved components could deliver large payloads of active ingredients.

June 21, 2019

MIT researchers have developed a system that gleans far more labeled training data from unlabeled data, which could help machine-learning models better detect structural patterns in brain scans associated with neurological diseases. The system learns structural and appearance variations in unlabeled scans, and uses that information to shape and mold one labeled scan into thousands of new, distinct...

From one brain scan, more information for medical artificial intelligence

System helps machine-learning models glean training information for diagnosing and treating brain conditions.

June 19, 2019

MIT biologists have identified a drug that blocks a DNA repair pathway used by cancer cells, making them more susceptible to chemotherapy drugs that damage DNA.

Drug makes tumors more susceptible to chemo

Compound that knocks out a DNA repair pathway enhances cisplatin treatment and helps prevent drug-resistance.

June 6, 2019

Selecta Biosciences hopes its technology can be used to mitigate the unwanted immune responses of hundreds of drugs.

Biotech startup uses nanoparticles to induce immune tolerance

Selecta Bioscience’s ImmTOR platform could improve gene therapies and prevent some drug side effects.

May 23, 2019

Merging machine learning and the life sciences

Through computing, senior and Marshall Scholar Anna Sappington seeks answers to biological questions.

May 18, 2019

Aneuploid cells, such as this one, have too few or too many chromosomes. A new study has revealed that highly aneuploid prostate tumors carry a higher risk of lethality.

Measuring chromosome imbalance could clarify cancer prognosis

A study of prostate cancer finds “aneuploid” tumors are more likely to be lethal than tumors with normal chromosome numbers.

May 13, 2019

Structure-based network analysis transforms HIV proteins into networks used to identify T cell targets resistant to mutation.

Structure of T cell epitopes a decisive factor in natural HIV control, study finds

Researchers apply network theory to HIV protein structure, uncovering a vital link between connectivity and protective immune response.