A step toward “living biotherapeutics”

Chemical engineers created a coating for microbes that could make it easier to deploy the organisms to treat gastrointestinal disease.

Anne Trafton | MIT News Office • mit
Dec. 10, 2021 ~5 min

Research finds potential mechanism linking autism, intestinal inflammation

Infection during pregnancy with elevated levels of the cytokine IL-17a may yield microbiome alterations that prime offspring for aberrant immune responses, mouse study suggests.

David Orenstein | Picower Institute for Learning and Memory • mit
Dec. 9, 2021 ~8 min


Deep biosphere holds secrets to evolutionary history

"Understanding the history of the deep biosphere can provide insight into the evolution of life on Earth."

Daniel Stolte-Arizona • futurity
Nov. 11, 2021 ~7 min

Mutant microbe produces carbon-neutral biofuel

Researchers have modified a microbe so it can make a biofuel using only three ingredients: carbon dioxide, solar panel-generated electricity, and light.

Talia Ogliore-WUSTL • futurity
Nov. 4, 2021 ~6 min

Antibiotic resistance is at a crisis point – government support for academia and Big Pharma to find new drugs could help defeat superbugs

If no action is taken to address antibiotic resistance, infections from multidrug-resistant bacteria could cause 10 million deaths each year by 2050.

Andre Hudson, Professor and Head of the Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences, Rochester Institute of Technology • conversation
Oct. 29, 2021 ~9 min

Zeroing in on the origins of Earth’s “single most important evolutionary innovation”

A new study shows oxygenic photosynthesis likely evolved between 3.4 and 2.9 billion years ago.

Jennifer Chu | MIT News Office • mit
Sept. 28, 2021 ~7 min

COVID-19 has spurred investments in air filtration for K-12 schools – but these technologies aren't an instant fix

Air-ventilation upgrades have been badly needed in U.S. classroooms since long before the pandemic. Low-tech filtration systems that cost about the same as a textbook per student can make a big difference.

Mark Thomas Hernandez, S. J. Archuleta Professor of Environmental Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder • conversation
Aug. 24, 2021 ~9 min

Some starved bacteria may survive for 100,000 years

Scientists starved 100 populations of different bacteria, giving them no access to external food for 1,000 days. Almost all of them survived.

Terri Greene-Indiana U. • futurity
Aug. 16, 2021 ~6 min


New method opens the door to efficient genome writing in bacteria

Technique for editing bacterial genomes can record interactions between cells, may offer a way to edit genes in the human microbiome.

Anne Trafton | MIT News Office • mit
Aug. 5, 2021 ~8 min

Mapping the cellular circuits behind spitting

Roundworms change the flow of material in and out of their mouths in response to bright light, revealing a new way for neurons to control muscle cells.

Raleigh McElvery | Department of Biology • mit
Aug. 3, 2021 ~6 min

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