National Institutes of Health (NIH)

MIT researchers have analyzed how epigenomic modifications change as tumors evolve. This image shows a lung with tumors that researchers collected with multiplexed immunohistochemistry.

Gene-controlling mechanisms play key role in cancer progression

Study finds “epigenomic” alterations evolve as lung tumors become more aggressive and metastasize.

July 23, 2020

Thermoset polymers, found in car parts and electrical appliances, have to be durable and heat-resistant, but typically cannot be easily recycled or broken down after use. MIT chemists have now developed a way to modify thermoset plastics that allows them to be more easily broken down without compromising their mechanical strength.

Chemists make tough plastics recyclable

New method for producing thermoset plastics allows them to be broken down more easily after use.

July 22, 2020

These cross-sections of the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) show two distinct populations of neurons, labeled in purple and green. A team of researchers from MIT and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard has now mapped the TRN in unprecedented detail.

Mapping the brain’s sensory gatekeeper

New analysis could help uncover potential drug targets for attention deficits and sensory hypersensitivity.

July 22, 2020

3M is collaborating with the lab of MIT Associate Professor Hadley Sikes to jointly develop a rapid Covid-19 test. Here, 3M Covid-19 test team members work in a pilot lab facility.

MIT team collaborates with 3M to develop rapid Covid-19 test

Company working with Sikes Lab to test feasibility of low-cost diagnostic that could be manufactured by the millions each day.

July 14, 2020

Researchers at MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital have designed a new silicone rubber face mask that they believe could stop viral particles as effectively as N95 masks. Unlike N95 masks, the new masks can be easily sterilized and used many times.

Engineers design a reusable, silicone rubber face mask

The prototype mask, which includes an N95 filter, can be easily sterilized and worn many times.

July 9, 2020

Using a new kind of microscope that closely tracks every movement, researchers seeking to study how organisms coordinate movement behaviors compiled a compendium of 100 reference postures that encompass the range of typical C. elegans poses.

How worms move: Dopamine helps nematodes coordinate motor behaviors

To spy on worms for days on end, Picower Institute scientists invent a new open-source microscopy platform.

June 30, 2020

By folding DNA into a virus-like structure, MIT researchers have designed HIV-like particles that provoke a strong immune response from human immune cells grown in a lab dish.

Engineers use “DNA origami” to identify vaccine design rules

In lab tests, virus-like DNA structures coated with viral proteins provoke a strong immune response in human B cells.

June 29, 2020

Using a new calcium indicator that accumulates in the cell bodies of neurons (boxes at right), MIT neuroscientists are able to more accurately image neuron activity. Traditional calcium indicators (boxes at left) can generate crosstalk that blurs the images.

A focused approach to imaging neural activity in the brain

New molecule for imaging calcium in neurons reduces crosstalk from neighboring neurons.

June 26, 2020

An MIT-led research team has discovered evidence that a classic visual illusion called simultaneous brightness contrast, such as the one seen here, relies on brightness estimation that takes place in the retina, not the brain’s visual cortex. In this image, the two small discs appear to have different brightness despite having identical luminance.

Study sheds light on a classic visual illusion

Neuroscientists delve into how background brightness influences our perception of an object.

June 16, 2020

An image captured through transmission electron microscopy shows the nanoparticles used to further stimulate the immune system to fight cancer.

A boost for cancer immunotherapy

Engineers design nanoparticles that stimulate the immune system, helping it to attack tumors.

June 1, 2020

A new technology called ELAST transforms tissues, such as this slab of human brain, to make them reversibly stretchable or compressible, as well as much more durable. This allows them to be repeatedly stretched out or squished down thin for much faster infusion of labeling probes, which labs use to highlight cells or molecules under the microscope.

Making tissue stretchable, compressible, and nearly indestructible

Chemical process called ELAST allows labeling probes to infuse more quickly, and makes samples tough enough for repeated handling.

May 20, 2020

In this figure, neurons in the bottom row, which are missing the HDAC1 gene, show higher levels of DNA damage (green) than normal neurons.

Study finds that aging neurons accumulate DNA damage

Reactivating an enzyme that promotes DNA repair can help to reverse age-related cognitive decline in mice.

May 18, 2020

MIT researchers have found that a protein called SYT7 appears to limit activity at neural connections called synapses. Here, synapses glowing light green are engaged in neurotransmitter release.

Study finds “volume dial” for turning neural communication up or down

The protein Synaptotagmin 7 limits supply of neurotransmitter-containing vesicles for release at synapses.

May 13, 2020

MIT engineers have developed a new system for rapidly analyzing drug absorption in intestinal tissue. Here, a robotic arm picks up a plate with gastrointestinal tissue from the storage unit for an experiment.

New model of the GI tract could speed drug development

Studies of drug absorption in the small intestine could help researchers identify medicines that can be taken orally.

April 27, 2020

This scanning electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2 (orange)—also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus that causes COVID-19—isolated from a patient in the U.S., emerging from the surface of cells (green) cultured in the lab.

Researchers identify cells likely targeted by Covid-19 virus

Study finds specific cells in the lungs, nasal passages, and intestines that are more susceptible to infection.

April 22, 2020

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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