Study details a link between inflammation and cancer

Details: Parent Category: Cancer; Category: News

Timing of inflammation determines whether potentially cancerous mutations may arise.

A new study from MIT reveals one reason why people who suffer from chronic inflammatory diseases such as colitis have a higher risk of mutations that cause cancer. The researchers also found that exposure to DNA-damaging chemicals after a bout of inflammation boosts these mutations even more, further increasing cancer risk. The findings confirm a longstanding theory about why inflammation and cancer are linked, and offer possible ways to help prevent and treat cancer, says Bevin Engelward, an MIT professor of biological engineering and senior author of a Jan. 15 PLoS Genetics paper describing the findings.

MIT team enlarges brain samples, making them easier to image

Details: Parent Category: Imaging; Category: Techniques

New technique enables nanoscale-resolution microscopy of large biological specimens.

Beginning with the invention of the first microscope in the late 1500s, scientists have been trying to peer into preserved cells and tissues with ever-greater magnification. The latest generation of so-called “super-resolution” microscopes can see inside cells with resolution better than 250 nanometers.

A team of researchers from MIT has now taken a novel approach to gaining such high-resolution images: Instead of making their microscopes more powerful, they have discovered a method that enlarges tissue samples by embedding them in a polymer that swells when water is added. This allows specimens to be physically magnified, and then imaged at a much higher resolution.

Engineered insulin could offer better diabetes control

Details: Parent Category: Chemistry; Category: Medicinal

Molecule stays in the bloodstream and is turned on when blood sugar levels are too high.

For patients with diabetes, insulin is critical to maintaining good health and normal blood-sugar levels. However, it’s not an ideal solution because it can be difficult for patients to determine exactly how much insulin they need to prevent their blood sugar from swinging too high or too low.

MIT engineers hope to improve treatment for diabetes patients with a new type of engineered insulin. In tests in mice, the researchers showed that their modified insulin can circulate in the bloodstream for at least 10 hours, and that it responds rapidly to changes in blood-sugar levels. This could eliminate the need for patients to repeatedly monitor their blood sugar levels and inject insulin throughout the day.

The Challenges that Inspire and Compel Our Work

Details: Parent Category: Engineering; Category: News

In December 2007, the Grand Challenges subcommittee of the Department of Energy’s Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee (BESAC) published a report, “Directing Matter and Energy: Five Challenges for Science and the Imagination.” The subcommittee identified 5 “Grand Challenges”. We have reproduced the challenges as quoted from the report’s Executive Summary.

Because these challenges inspire and compel our work, we feel they are important to share with you on our web site:

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