Small intestinal neuroendocrine tumors (SI-NETs) are the most common neoplasms of the small bowel. The majority of tumors are located in the distal ileum with a high incidence of multiple synchronous primary tumors. Even though up to 50% of SI-NET patients are diagnosed with multifocal disease, the mechanisms underlying multiple synchronous lesions remain elusive.
Though often mild, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection can cause babies to be hospitalized with bronchiolitis or pneumonia. Globally, it is the leading cause of death in children under 5. Several vaccines against RSV are being tested in adults. But there has been no progress on an RSV vaccine for children since 1966 — the year a candidate vaccine failed…
Using an innovative microscopy method, scientists at The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT observed how newborn neurons struggle to reach their proper places in advanced human brain tissue models of Rett syndrome, producing new insight into how developmental deficits observed in the brains of patients with the devastating disorder may emerge. Rett syndrome, which is characterized by…
Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering Founding Director and Core Faculty Member Don Ingber, M.D., Ph.D., has been named a recipient of the 2022 NIMS Award from The National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) in Japan. Selected as one of three scientists to receive the award this year, NIMS will present the honor to those scientists who have demonstrated outstanding…
More than 2 years in the making, a massive bill that Congress completed this week aims high: It envisions a 5-year, $280 billion investment to keep the United States ahead of China in a global competition for technological preeminence. The CHIPS and Science Act, passed yesterday by the House of Representatives and on Wednesday by the Senate, will result in…
In a new study, researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and UMass Chan Medical School mapped the expression and maturation of the protein alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) with unprecedented clarity. The results, which detail the molecular folding of the protein, were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and will help to develop specific therapies to treat an inherited…
The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN), a leading nonprofit in the fight against pancreatic cancer, announced today the recipients of its 2022 research grants program. This year, $10.5 million will be awarded for 16 new grants and PanCAN will extend funding to nine past grantees to continue their highly promising research projects. Three Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers are among the recipients. This research investment…
Scientists have learned a lot about human biology by looking at cells under a microscope, but they might not notice tiny differences between cells or even know what they’re looking for. Researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, in the laboratories of Anne Carpenter and Stuart Schreiber, first started developing Cell Painting 13 years ago to take cell imaging to the…
Only weeks after announcing a new chief executive officer and chief medical officer, Editas Medicine reported promising early data for its Phase I/II RUBY trial of EDIT-301 for severe sickle cell disease (SCD). The dosing of the first patient was the first time the company’s engineered AsCas12a enzyme has been used to edit human cells in a trial. EDIT-301 is a cell therapy being developed…
During cell division, chromosomes are replicated into two copies — one for each daughter cell. These copies, called sister chromatids, are usually considered identical. In fact, it’s the two pairs of sister chromatids that make up the symmetrical X shape usually shown when visualizing chromosomes. A 2013 paper from the lab of Whitehead Institute Member Yukiko Yamashita showed that in…
