MIT researchers have developed a new robotic system that uses a UV-C light fixture to disinfect surfaces at the Greater Boston Food Bank’s warehouse staging area, reports Matt Reed for WCVB. Research scientist Alyssa Pierson explains that the ultraviolet light "breaks apart the kind of outer incasing or shell of these pathogens."
MIT researchers have developed a skin patch that could be used to fight melanoma, reports Berkeley Lovelace Jr. for CNBC. “Our patch technology could be used to deliver vaccines to combat different infectious diseases,” explains Prof. Paula Hammond. “But we are excited by the possibility that the patch is another tool in the oncologists’ arsenal against cancer, specifically melanoma.”
A sensor developed by MIT researchers could make diagnosing sepsis easier, quicker and more affordable, reports Darrell Etherington for TechCrunch. Etherington explains that the sensor, which “employs microfluidics to detect the presence of key proteins in the blood,” could have “a huge potential impact, as sepsis is one of the leading causes of death in hospitals.”
The Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) has launched an initiative aimed at advancing cell therapy research, reports Shabana Begum for The Straits Times. “Imagine providing the right living cells…to each patient as quickly and safely as possible,” explains Prof. Krystyn Van Vliet. "Delivering on that promise requires exciting changes in the way we understand, engineer, measure and select cells."
Diana Kwon highlights the research of Prof. Katharina Ribbeck in an article for Scientific American about the biological benefits of mucus. “I like to call [mucus] the unsung hero of the body — it’s something that has such powerful effects over our health,” says Ribbeck.
Broad Institute postdoctoral associate Joshua Weinstein has developed a DNA microscope that allows researchers to investigate the locations and identity of DNA molecules, reports Sharon Begley for STAT. “Weinstein has so far used it to image human cancer cell lines and plans to apply the technology to tumors and the immune cells that infiltrate them,” writes Begley, “which might one day guide immunotherapy.”
President Emerita Susan Hockfield discusses her new book, “The Age of Living Machines,” her work as a neuroscientist, and the future of science and technology during a curated lunch conversation with HUBweek and Boston.com. Hockfield explains that a revolution spurred by the convergence of biology with engineering will lead to new technologies built by biology.
In an excerpt from her new book published in The Wall Street Journal, President Emerita Susan Hockfield explores how the convergence between biology and engineering is driving the development of new tools to tackle pressing human problems. Hockfield writes that for these world-changing technologies to be realized requires “not only funding and institutional support but, more fundamentally, a commitment to collaboration among unlikely partners.”
President Emerita Susan Hockfield speaks with Jim Braude of WGBH’s Greater Boston about her book, “The Age of Living Machines.” “We are looking at a population of over 9.7 billion by 2050,” explains Hockfield. “We are not going to get there without war or epidemics or starvation if we don’t develop technologies that will allow us to provide energy, food, water, health and health care sustainably.”
MIT researchers have found that tracking specific changes in the number of chromosomes inside prostate cancer cells might help determine whether tumors should be treated, reports Robert Preidt for HealthDay News. “Besides giving new insights into how prostate tumors form and spread, the chromosomal data might someday be employed clinically to inform risk stratification and treatment decisions,” Preidt explains.
Financial Times reporter Hugo Cox highlights how MIT researchers have developed robots that can be used to detect disease in specific regions by sampling sewage. “A local robot takes days to identify an outbreak of flu; the surge in attendance at local hospitals and surgeries typically takes weeks to register,” Cox explains. “And because the information is local, the response can be too.”
MIT researchers have found that some inactive ingredients in medications could play a role in triggering irritation or allergic reactions, reports Bob McDonald for CBC Radio. The researchers hope that, “pharmaceutical companies provide more information to doctors, and that alternative drug formulas can be developed for people with allergies or sensitivities.”
Prof. Giovanni Traverso speaks with STAT reporter Shraddha Chakradhar about a study examining how the inactive substances in most medications could trigger a patient’s allergies and intolerances. “As you start taking more and more tablets, then you are also taking more and more of some of these ingredients,” says Traverso. “We want to raise awareness that these ingredients are there.”
NBC News reporter Linda Caroll writes about a new study by MIT researchers showing that inactive ingredients in medications could lead to adverse reactions in some patients. The researchers found that some of the inactive ingredients “can worsen symptoms in people with conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS.”
MIT researchers have developed a new drug-releasing coil that could be used to help treat tuberculosis, reports Ruby Prosser Scully for New Scientist. Scully explains that the coil is “too large to leave the stomach, so it stays there, and the medicines threaded onto it leach out at a rate depending on the type of drug and the polymer the developers use to make the pills.”