Within the brain, neurons compute by generating electrical impulses. These signals travel throughout neurons, which are in turn connected in vast networks that control brain functions such as sensory perception, memory formation, and contro…
A physician and neuroscientist who studies how anesthesia affects the brain; a leader in aerospace engineering, policy, and education; and the founding head of MIT’s Department of Biological Engineering have been awarded MIT’s highest facul…
Tissue engineers are finding ways to grow living organs and tissues from cells, with the aim of replacing diseased and damaged counterparts in the body. Scientists have successfully grown artificial muscles, livers, kidneys, skin, and other…
Tissue engineering aims to assemble functional constructs that restore, maintain, or improve damaged tissues or whole organs. This research area combines principles from materials science, engineering, biology, and medicine to create new ti…
When doctors and scientists want to see inside a body, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a powerful tool. MRI can noninvasively capture detailed images of the body’s muscles, organs, and bones. It can monitor blood flow to generate a map
This research area involves the design and development of sensors, instruments, and measurement systems that can accurately and reliably measure the biological parameters of biomolecules, cells, tissues, and organisms. Researchers in this f…
Ten MIT affiliates — including undergraduates, graduate students, and alumni — have accepted Fulbright grants to conduct research in countries across the world. Five other students declined their awards to pursue other opportunities, and an…
Using a new technique that can create vacancies at any site across a material and then shrink it to about 1/2,000 of its original volume, MIT researchers have designed nanotechnology devices that could be used for optical computing and othe…
Gene expression is controlled, in part, by the interactions between genes and regulatory elements located along the genome. Those interactions depend on the ability of chromatin — a mix of DNA and proteins — to move around within a crowded
Computational systems biology uses computational and mathematical modeling to study complex biological systems at the molecular, cellular, and tissue levels. It combines techniques from biology, computer science, mathematics, and physics to…
Researchers in the environmental health field probe molecular mechanisms of exposure-induced disease. Practical goals include development of early-onset mechanism-inspired biomarkers for early detection of disease, development of disease-mi…
Patterns of molecular activity in the blood may hold clues not only to how fit someone is, but also to the biological processes that support physical performance. Researchers at MIT, GE HealthCare, and the U.S. Military Academy at West Poin…