Analysis knocks down theory on origin of cell structure
Genomic tools show cilia probably did not originate as separate organism
David Chandler, MIT News Office
Understanding how living cells originated and evolved into their present forms remains a fundamental research area in biology, one boosted in recent years by the introduction of new tools for genomic analysis. Now, researchers at MIT and Boston University have used such tools to put what they say is "the last nail in the coffin" for one theory about the origin of a basic structure in the cell.
How you feel the world impacts how you see it
Motion illusions reveal new insights into perception
Cathryn M. Delude, McGovern Institute
In the classic waterfall illusion, if you stare at the downward motion of a waterfall for some period of time, stationary objects -- such as rocks -- appear to drift upward. MIT neuroscientists have found that this phenomenon, called motion aftereffect, occurs not only in our visual perception but also in our tactile perception, and that these senses actually influence one another. Put another way, how you feel the world can actually change how you see it -- and vice versa.
The games microbes play
Game theory study in yeast shows how cooperative behavior meshes with evolutionary theory
Anne Trafton, News Office
One of the perplexing questions raised by evolutionary theory is how cooperative behavior, which benefits other members of a species at a cost to the individual, came to exist.
Novel needle could cut medical complications
Device borrows from oil industry to keep jabs on target
Elizabeth A. Thomson, News Office
Each year, hundreds of thousands of people suffer medical complications from hypodermic needles that penetrate too far under their skin. A new device developed by MIT engineers and colleagues aims to prevent this from happening by keeping needles on target.
New gel offers controlled drug delivery
Self-assembling hydrogel could help treat cancer and diabetes, among other diseases
Anne Trafton, News Office
MIT researchers have demonstrated that a gel composed of small, woven protein fragments can successfully carry and release proteins of different sizes, potentially enabling delivery of drugs such as insulin and trastuzumab (Herceptin).
Potential cancer-causing genes removed from engineered stem cells Whitehead work involved reprogrammed skin cells from Parkinson's patient
Whitehead Institute researchers have developed a novel method of removing potential cancer-causing genes during the reprogramming of skin cells from Parkinson's disease patients into an embryonic-stem-cell-like state. Scientists were then able to use the resulting induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells to derive dopamine-producing neurons, the cell type that degenerates in Parkinson's disease patients.
What drives brain changes in macular degeneration?
MIT study sheds light on underlying neural mechanism
Cathryn M. Delude, McGovern Institute
In macular degeneration, the most common form of adult blindness, patients progressively lose vision in the center of their visual field, thereby depriving the corresponding part of the visual cortex of input. Previously, researchers discovered that the deprived neurons begin responding to visual input from another spot on the retina -- evidence of plasticity in the adult cortex.
