Medicine

When cells suffer DNA damage, there are several different pathways that can kick in to help repair it, depending on the type of damage. Cells from different people and different tumors vary greatly in their ability to repair DNA damage, and scientists have been pursuing measurements of this ability as a way to predict how patients will respond to DNA-damaging chemotherapy.

Predicting cancer cells’ response to chemotherapy

Measuring DNA repair capability can reveal tumors’ sensitivity to drugs.

November 2, 2016

“The process of how the neural circuits come back online following anesthesia has not really been studied in depth, and this is something that interested us from a clinical standpoint, because we are investigating ways to rapidly reverse anesthesia,” says Ken Solt, a research affiliate in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT and an anesthesiologist at Massachusetts General Hos...

Study suggests approach to waking patients after surgery

Activating certain brain neurons may spur recovery from general anesthesia.

October 24, 2016

A team led by Polina Golland’s group at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory has made a new algorithm for identifying organs in fetal MRI scans, which should make MRI monitoring much more useful. Pictured is a stock image of a fetal MRI.

MRIs for fetal health

Algorithm could help analyze fetal scans to determine whether interventions are warranted.

October 21, 2016

Molecular fMRI data showing signal changes from serotonin sensors in the absence (left) and presence (right) of the antidepressant Prozac, with each square denoting an individual brain voxel. Red squares indicate the signal has increased, as more serotonin is absorbed into neurons; blue squares indicate the signal has decreased, as less serotonin is absorbed into neurons. Dotted and solid lines gr...

Mapping serotonin dynamics in the living brain

Imaging technique that creates 3-D video of serotonin transport could aid antidepressant development.

October 20, 2016

Paula Hammond, the David H. Koch Professor in Engineering and head of MIT’s Department of Chemical Engineering, has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine in recognition of her distinguished contributions to medicine and health.

Paula Hammond elected to the National Academy of Medicine

Chemical engineer recognized for her contributions to medicine and health.

October 17, 2016

Researchers have developed a novel way to test tumors for drug susceptibility. They successfully tested this approach with a very aggressive type of brain cancer called glioblastoma multiforme and a type of blood cancer, pictured here in dark purple, known as acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

A new strategy for choosing cancer drugs

Device can predict tumor responses by measuring cell growth after drug exposure.

October 10, 2016

A new study of rural India shows that modest levels of medical training can improve the quality of health care furnished by informal health care providers. The study was co-authored by Abhijit Banerjee, the Ford International Professor of Economics at MIT and a co-author of the study, pictured here on the right during a visit to India.

Provider, improve thyself

Study shows unlicensed health care practitioners in India improve with modest training.

October 6, 2016

MIT shares $75 million grant to fight heart disease

One Brave Idea Research Award will support the search for new biomarkers and treatments.

October 5, 2016

Monitoring Parkinson’s symptoms at home

Keyboard-monitoring technique can detect motor difficulties as patients type.

October 5, 2016

Nanosensors could help determine tumors’ ability to remodel tissue

Measuring enzyme levels could help doctors select appropriate treatments.

September 29, 2016

3Q: Berhardt Trout on spurring innovation in drug manufacturing

From EpiPen pricing to government oversight, the making of medicine impacts all aspects of modern health care.

September 23, 2016

Researchers at MIT and other institutions have created tiny freeze-dried pellets that include all of the molecular machinery needed to translate DNA into proteins, which could form the basis for on-demand production of drugs and vaccines.

To produce biopharmaceuticals on demand, just add water

Freeze-dried cellular components can be rehydrated to churn out useful proteins.

September 22, 2016

A new gene therapy technique being developed by researchers at MIT uses microRNAs — small noncoding RNA molecules that regulate gene expression — to control breast cancer metastasis.

Gene therapy technique may help prevent cancer metastasis

Gene-regulating RNA molecules could help treat early-stage breast cancer tumors before they spread.

September 19, 2016

High-capacity nanoparticle

Particles that carry three or more drugs hold potential for targeted cancer therapy.

September 14, 2016

PhD student Anasuya Mandal arrived on campus with a clear goal for her research. “I wanted to do something that would impact human health at the end of the day, and to make a product that somebody would have in their hands that they would use,” she says.

Benefiting human health through engineering

PhD student Anasuya Mandal’s microneedle device could painlessly monitor the immune system.

September 12, 2016

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