Health sciences and technology

Engineering a new way to study hepatitis CTissue engineers have successfully infected liver cells in the laboratory, allowing a better way to test new drugs.

New ‘nanoburrs’ could help fight heart diseaseTargeted nanoparticles can home in on damaged vascular tissue and may be used to deliver drugs that help clear arteries

Human immune cells — in miceMIT team engineers mice with human immune cells, which could be used to test vaccines for HIV and other diseases.

Silencing the brain with lightMIT neuroengineers find a new way to quickly and reversibly shut off neurons with multiple colors of light, which could lead to new treatments for epilepsy and chronic pain.

Biology professor Hidde Ploegh on global pandemics

New and improved RNA interferenceResearchers use RNA interference to silence multiple genes at once. The advance, which one expert calls a ‘substantial breakthrough,’ could lead to new treatments for liver diseases.

HHMI lists Tsai team’s advance among 10 biggest stories of 2009Howard Hughes Medical Institute honors discovery of gene protein that could lead to safer drug treatments for Alzheimer’s and other diseases.

New evidence links sirtuins and life extensionStudy from Leonard Guarente shows how sirtuins act in the brain during calorie restriction to potentially lengthen lifespan.

Reporter’s Notebook: Breaking the silenceActress Padma Lakshmi comes to MIT to raise awareness of endometriosis and help launch the new Center for Gynepathology.

Engineering a cureBiological engineering professor Linda Griffith launches a new center to study endometriosis and other gynecological diseases.

New computer model could lead to safer stentsStudy by HST scientists shows that location of arterial stents is critical to efficient and safe drug delivery.

Explained: RNA interferenceExploiting the recently discovered mechanism could allow biologists to develop disease treatments by shutting down specific genes.

When Signals Cross: Medical Systems at CSAILProfessor John Guttag and his team of graduate students are working in partnership with clinicians to produce technological solutions for medical problems.

3 Questions: Jeffrey Harris on why we still don't have an HIV vaccineThe MIT economist blames inadequate incentives for the failure to develop a vaccine against the virus that causes AIDS. He argues governments should help industry create an HIV vaccine by sharing risk.

Remembering David SchauerProfessor’s ‘academic family’ recalls the life and work of the infectious disease expert.

More jabs neededStudy suggests that vaccinating many more people could slow the seasonal influenza virus's ability to evade vaccines.

A new way to measure muscleMIT engineer Joel Dawson and colleagues built a handheld probe that could help doctors monitor muscle atrophy in patients with Lou Gehrig's Disease and similar ailments.

Cancer research gets physical5-year grant from the National Cancer Institute will fund projects by physicists that give a new view of cancer cells.

Protein is linked to lung cancer developmentDrugs that inhibit the protein, which normally helps defend cells from infection, could target tumors in certain lung cancer patients.

MIT Center for Engineering Systems Fundamentals presents new 'Flu 101' web site

Of Note: MIT professors win NIH grants aimed at spurring innovative research

In Profile: Leonard GuarenteBiology professor discovered a gene at the center of aging. Now that research is yielding therapies that target the diseases of old age.

Taking aim at aggressive cancer cellsResearchers use novel stem-cell method to discover chemical with potency against breast tumors in mice

Tiny rifts create fragility of brittle bone disease

MIT team aims to tailor surgical glues for specific applicationsResearchers look to match material to tissue properties