MIT study finds targets for a new tuberculosis vaccine
Using these antigens, researchers plan to develop vaccine candidates that they hope would stimulate a strong immune response against the world’s deadliest pathogen.
A new way to understand and predict gene splicing
The KATMAP model, developed by researchers in the Department of Biology, can predict alternative cell splicing, which allows cells to create endless diversity from the same sets of genetic blueprints.
Turning on an immune pathway in tumors could lead to their destruction
MIT researchers show they can use messenger RNA to activate the pathway and trigger the immune system to attack tumors.
New RNA tool to advance cancer and infectious disease research and treatment
Advance from SMART will help to better identify disease markers and develop targeted therapies and personalized treatment for diseases such as cancer and antibiotic-resistant infection.
Remembering David Baltimore, influential biologist and founding director of the Whitehead Institute
The longtime MIT professor and Nobel laureate was a globally respected researcher, academic leader, and science policy visionary who guided the careers of generations of scientists.
Locally produced proteins help mitochondria function
Researchers developed an approach to study where proteins get made, and characterized proteins produced near mitochondria, gaining potential insights into mitochondrial function and disease.
How AI could speed the development of RNA vaccines and other RNA therapies
MIT engineers used a machine-learning model to design nanoparticles that can deliver RNA to cells more efficiently.
Rationale engineering generates a compact new tool for gene therapy
Researchers redesign a compact RNA-guided enzyme from bacteria, making it an efficient editor of human DNA.
A brief history of expansion microscopy
Since an MIT team introduced expansion microscopy in 2015, the technique has powered the science behind kidney disease, plant seeds, the microbiome, Alzheimer’s, viruses, and more.
New study reveals how cleft lip and cleft palate can arise
MIT biologists have found that defects in some transfer RNA molecules can lead to the formation of these common conditions.
Restoring healthy gene expression with programmable therapeutics
CAMP4 Therapeutics is targeting regulatory RNA, whose role in gene expression was first described by co-founder and MIT Professor Richard Young.
At the core of problem-solving
Stuart Levine ’97, director of MIT’s BioMicro Center, keeps departmental researchers at the forefront of systems biology.
An ancient RNA-guided system could simplify delivery of gene editing therapies
The programmable proteins are compact, modular, and can be directed to modify DNA in human cells.
A protein from tiny tardigrades may help cancer patients tolerate radiation therapy
When scientists stimulated cells to produce a protein that helps “water bears” survive extreme environments, the tissue showed much less DNA damage after radiation treatment.
MIT biologists discover a new type of control over RNA splicing
They identified proteins that influence splicing of about half of all human introns, allowing for more complex types of gene regulation.