MIT CSB PhD Program

Capturing the complete process of embryonic development

MIT researchers created a detailed lineage map of cell divisions and fates in a developing mouse embryo. This map of mammalian development could have broad implications for understanding birth...

AI model decodes the language cells use to communicate

Researchers at the MIT Whitehead Institute developed a powerful computational approach to understand how cells communicate with each other to assemble into tissues and organs. Their framework has the...

MIT biologists discover a new type of control over RNA splicing

MIT biologists discovered a new type of RNA-splicing regulation that helps to determine which protein-coding exons will be included in messenger RNA transcripts.

Spotlight: DNA origami

Atlas of human brain blood vessels highlights changes in Alzheimer’s disease

MIT researchers created an atlas of human brain blood vessels that highlights changes in Alzheimer’s disease. They characterized gene expression patterns for 22,500 vascular cells across 428 donors,...

Chemists’ technique reveals whether antibodies neutralize SARS-CoV-2

MIT chemists have come up with a new way to identify neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in a blood sample, by analyzing how the antibodies interact with sugar molecules found on the surface...

An unprecedented view of gene regulation

Using a new technique, MIT researchers have shown that they can map interactions between gene promoters and enhancers with 100 times higher resolution than has previously been possible.

Neuroscientists identify cells especially vulnerable to Alzheimer’s

MIT researchers identified neurons in the brain that may contribute to some of the earliest symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, making it a good target for potential new drugs to treat the disease.

Scientists track evolution of microbes on the skin’s surface

MIT researchers find Staphylococcus aureus can rapidly evolve within a single person’s microbiome. In people with eczema, S. aureus tends to evolve to a variant with a mutation in a specific gene...

Uncovering how cells control their protein output

Gene-Wei Li, an MIT associate professor of biology, uses genome-wide measurements and biophysical modeling to quantify cells’ protein production and discover how they achieve such precise control of...