Many of the world’s most common or deadly human pathogens are RNA-based viruses — Ebola, Zika and flu, for example — and most have no FDA-approved treatments. A team led by researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard has now turned a CRISPR RNA-cutting enzyme into an antiviral that can be programmed to detect and destroy RNA-based viruses…
The mTORC1 protein kinase regulates growth in response to nutrients and growth factors. Nutrients promote its translocation to the lysosomal surface, where its Raptor subunit interacts with the Rag GTPase-Ragulator complex. Nutrients switch the heterodimeric Rag GTPases between four different nucleotide binding states, only one of which (RagA/B•GTP–RagC/D•GDP) permits mTORC1 association. We determined the structure of the supercomplex of Raptor…
Ra Pharmaceuticals Inc., which is in late-stage trials of a drug to treat a rare muscle disease, has been acquired by Belgium-based UCB for $2.1 billion, immediately doubling the market value of the Cambridge biotech. Ra Pharma (Nasdaq: RARX), which was founded in 2008, saw its shares skyrocket, as of 2 p.m. Thursday, after the deal was announced. UCB has…
The Schizophrenia and Related Disorders Alliance of America (SARDAA) will present Deborah L. Levy, PhD, director of the Psychology Research Laboratory at McLean Hospital, with its 2019 Valiant Researcher Award. Established in 2018, the Valiant Researcher award recognizes an individual “who has designed and implemented studies to enhance the diagnoses and/or care of those affected with a neuropsychiatric illness.” The award’s first recipient…
We developed an ingestible system capable of applying small micro-needle patches in the small intestine to deliver biologics (like insulin) orally. In this body of work we have made 2 significant advances: (1) a capsule which a) senses the pH of the small intestine and releases the device contained in it. b) the capsule breaks down into small pieces and transits out of the gastrointestinal tract (2) a multi-armed microneedle patch system that unfolds once released from the capsule, applying microneedles loaded with insulin to the intestinal wall and then the system dissolves within a few minutes ensuring passage through the gastrointestinal tract Putting these two areas together we developed the luminal unfolding microneedle injector or LUMI and demonstrated our capacity to deliver insulin through in the small intestine in pigs.
Using a fluorescent probe that lights up when brain cells are electrically active, MIT and Boston University researchers have shown that they can image the activity of many neurons at once, in the brains of mice. This technique, which can be performed using a simple light microscope, could allow neuroscientists to visualize the activity of circuits within the brain and…
Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless gas that can cause severe illness and death after inhalation. After entering the bloodstream, CO replaces oxygen on hemoglobin, reducing oxygenation to peripheral tissues. When CO poisoning is associated with lung injury, treatment with 100% oxygen might not be effective. Leveraging previous studies showing that visible light was able to dissociate hemoglobin from…
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive, neurodegenerative dementia with no cure. Prominent hypotheses suggest accumulation of beta-amyloid (Aβ) contributes to neurodegeneration and memory loss, however identifying brain regions with early susceptibility to Aβ remains elusive. Using SWITCH to immunolabel intact brain, we created a spatiotemporal map of Aβ deposition in the 5XFAD mouse. We report that subcortical memory structures show…
As part of its efforts to reverse the opioid crisis that continues to grip the nation, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has named McLean Hospital as a recipient of a grant through the Helping to End Addiction Long-Term Initiative (NIH HEAL Initiative). McLean’s award is one of 375 grant awards across 41 states—totaling nearly $1 billion—made by the NIH in fiscal…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) awarded $15 million in grants to fund 12 new clinical trials over the next four years to foster the development of rare disease treatments. The grants were awarded through the FDA’s Orphan Products Clinical Trials Grants Program that was provided by Congress to specifically encourage the development of treatments for rare diseases. The grants are intended to…
