National Institutes of Health (NIH)

MIT engineers have developed a sensor that can be used to measure optical and electrical signals in the brain, using MRI.

Monitoring electromagnetic signals in the brain with MRI

Technique could be used to detect light or electrical fields in living tissue.

October 22, 2018

MIT neuroscientists can now record electrical activity from the dendrites of human neurons.

Electrical properties of dendrites help explain our brain’s unique computing power

Neurons in human and rat brains carry electrical signals in different ways, scientists find.

October 18, 2018

MIT biological engineers have devised a way to regulate the expression of RNA once it gets into cells, giving them precise control over the dose of protein that a patient receives, as shown in this conceptual image.

This RNA-based technique could make gene therapy more effective

Biological engineers design RNA circuits that enable precise control over the dose of therapeutic protein a patient receives.

October 16, 2018

Using a computer modeling approach that they developed, MIT biologists identified three different proteins that can bind selectively to each of three similar targets, all members of the Bcl-2 family of proteins.

Computer model offers more control over protein design

New approach generates a wider variety of protein sequences optimized to bind to drug targets.

October 15, 2018

A new study has found that the protein SAP102 plays a unique role in transmission across neural connections, or synapses.

Protein has unique effects on information processing

Picower Institute researchers find that a key protein linked to intellectual disability shapes electrical currents in neural connections.

October 15, 2018

MIT researchers have shown that some of the atoms in an enzyme called carbon monoxide dehydrogenase can rearrange themselves when oxygen levels are low. A nickel atom (green) leaves the cube-like structure, displacing an iron atom (orange). One sulfur atom (yellow) also moves out of the cube.

Chemists discover unexpected enzyme structure

Metal cluster in enzyme that breaks down carbon dioxide can switch between two different shapes.

October 2, 2018

MIT chemical engineers have devised a new desktop machine that can be easily reconfigured to manufacture small amounts of different biopharmaceutical drugs.

A new way to manufacture small batches of biopharmaceuticals on demand

System can be rapidly reconfigured to produce a variety of protein drugs.

October 1, 2018

Four GapR subunits assemble as a dimer-of-dimer complex, forming a clamp around overtwisted DNA, which arises during DNA replication and transcription.

Detangling DNA replication

Researchers identify an essential protein that helps enzymes relax overtwisted DNA so each strand can be copied during cell division.

September 17, 2018

MIT neuroscientists have devised a way to measure dopamine in the brain for more than a year, using microfabricated sensors that are so tiny they don’t lead to the formation of scar tissue.

New sensors track dopamine in the brain for more than a year

Tiny probes could be useful for monitoring patients with Parkinson’s and other diseases.

September 12, 2018

MIT researchers have developed a machine-learning model that groups patients into subpopulations by health status to better predict a patient’s risk of dying during their stay in the ICU. This technique outperforms "global" mortality-prediction models and reveals performance disparities of those models across specific patient subpopulations.

Model improves prediction of mortality risk in ICU patients

By training on patients grouped by health status, neural network can better estimate if patients will die in the hospital.

August 29, 2018

Research reveals that the external environment of epithelial cells influences the fidelity of chromosome segregation. Hepatocytes proliferating in regenerating livers, such as the mitotic cell shown here with a mitotic spindle (green) capturing chromosomes (blue), are able to accurately segregate chromosomes, whereas hepatocytes dividing in culture have high levels of chromosome missegregation.

Tissue architecture affects chromosome segregation

Biologists discover that the environment surrounding a cell plays an integral role in its ability to accurately segregate its chromosomes.

August 23, 2018

Chronic rhinosinusitis causes the sinuses to become inflamed and swollen for months to years at a time, leading to difficulty breathing and other symptoms.

Study: Cellular changes lead to chronic allergic inflammation in the sinus

Findings suggest mechanisms for the persistence of nasal polyps and possible new treatment strategies.

August 22, 2018

A new study from MIT and Massachusetts Eye and Ear has found that glaucoma may in fact be an autoimmune disorder.

Study suggests glaucoma may be an autoimmune disease

Unexpected findings show that the body’s own immune system destroys retinal cells.

August 10, 2018

Neuroscientists are debating the nature and meaning of neural activity during the critical moment of working memory when people must hold information in mind.

The debate over how working memory works

Scientists present dueling theories in the high-stakes quest to understand how we hold and juggle multiple pieces of information in mind.

August 9, 2018

New findings may help scientists better understand how some of the crippling effects of depression and anxiety arise, and guide them in developing new treatments.

Neuroscientists get at the roots of pessimism

Stimulating the brain’s caudate nucleus generates a negative outlook that clouds decision-making.