MIT Department of Biology

Within the past decade, biologists have discovered that one strategy cells use to keep their contents organized is a phenomenon known as phase separation. Similar to the way oil forms droplets that float in a vinegar solution, proteins inside cells can phase separate to form highly concentrated droplets that keep them organized within the cell. […] The post Enzymes that assemble into droplets can…

Seeds like wheat, rice, and corn are at the center of the global food supply and provide most of the daily calories consumed worldwide. But despite their importance, scientists still do not fully understand many of the basic biological processes that allow these seeds to grow, transport nutrients, and develop traits that determine crop resiliency. […] The post Scientists map which genes are activ…

Barrier organs that form boundaries between the body and the outside environment, such as the lungs, skin, and intestines, face a difficult balancing act. They must respond quickly to threats such as infection, but they also need to avoid triggering unnecessary inflammation that can damage the tissue. A new study led by Whitehead Institute member […] The post How tissues tune immune responses to …

MIT scientists Sven Dorkenwald and Whitney Henry have been named 2026 Searle Scholars, an award given annually to 15 exceptional early-career researchers in the fields of biomedical sciences and chemistry. Dorkenwald is an assistant professor of brain and cognitive sciences and an investigator at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research. Henry is the Robert A. Swanson (1969) Career […] The post …

Ribosomes, the cellular machines that assemble proteins, are made from dozens of proteins and RNA molecules. Putting all of those pieces together is a complex puzzle — one that MIT Associate Professor Joey Davis PhD ’10 revels in trying to solve. Understanding how these structures form and later break down could help researchers learn more […] The post Biologist Joey Davis explores how cells buil…

Symptoms such as fatigue, loss of appetite, altered sleep, and social withdrawal are often treated as inconvenient side effects of infection. While some scientists have suggested that they may serve a protective function, it is widely assumed that they’re byproducts of being sick. Now, in a new perspective published in Trends in Immunology on April 30, Whitehead […] The post Q&A: Why feeling sick…

Brenda Schafer Kennedy SM ’93 knows that sometimes the best medicine comes with four legs and fur. Kennedy is the chief veterinary and research officer for Canine Companions, a California-based, nationwide organization that provides assistance dogs at no cost to children, veterans, and adults with disabilities. “The need is enormous: One in four people in […] The post Alumni Spotlight: Caring for…

Stem cells are the body’s ultimate shape-shifters, sustaining tissues by balancing two competing demands: maintaining their own population and generating specialized descendants. In many tissues, some early descendants can revert to a stem cell state through a process known as dedifferentiation. This ability can help replenish the stem cell pool when stem cells are lost. In […] The post How stem …

MIT Professor Michael T. Laub as well as 21 MIT alumni have been elected as fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The 2025 class of AAAS Fellows includes 449 scientists, engineers, and innovators, spanning all 24 of AAAS disciplinary sections, who are recognized for their scientific achievements. Laub, the Salvador […] The post Professor Michael Laub named 202…

What if the Trojan horse had been pulled to pieces, revealing the ruse and fending off the invasion, just as it entered the gates of Troy? That’s an apt description of a newly characterized bacterial defense system that chops up foreign DNA. Bacteria and the viruses that infect them, bacteriophages — phages for short — […] The post Slice and dice appeared first on MIT Department of Biology .

Just as Darwin’s finches evolved in response to natural selection in order to endure, the cells that make up a cancerous tumor similarly counter selective pressures in order to survive, evolve, and spread. Tumors are, in fact, complex sets of cells with their own unique structure and ability to change.  Today, artificial Intelligence and machine […] The post 3 Questions with new faculty member Ma…