Biology

When gender isn’t written all over one’s faceNeuroscientists find that the same face may look male or female, depending on where it appears in a person’s field of view.

Timing is everything for cancer protein p53Biologists find that restoring the gene for p53 can slow the spread of advanced lung tumors, but doesn’t help early-stage cancers.

Lindquist receives National Medal of SciencePresident Obama presents nation’s top science awards at White House ceremony Wednesday.

Turning off cancer genesRNA interference holds much promise as a cancer treatment, but technical challenges remain.

A better way to target tumorsIn spite of slow progress toward targeting cancer drugs to individual patients, hope remains.

Tuning in to a new hearing mechanismFindings from MIT scientists could lead to hearing aids that mimic the ear’s ability to focus on particular frequencies.

A new target for cancer drugsShutting down an enzyme that responds to DNA damage could boost the effects of traditional chemotherapy.

7 win presidential early career honorsMIT has greatest number of recipients from a single institution.

Cancer’s hiding spots revealedDiscovery that tumor cells can escape from chemotherapy could lead to new treatments that prevent relapse.

Force of habitNew study shows that costs and rewards of behavior help the brain form optimal habits.

Going nature one betterMIT researchers aim to learn biology’s secrets for making tough, resilient materials out of simple components, and then improve on them.

Fueling up for 26.2 milesHST student develops model that can help marathon runners pace themselves to a strong finish.

Younger brains are easier to rewireStudy of blind patients supports the idea that there is a period early in a person’s development when brain regions can switch functions.

Teasing out malaria’s genetic secretsBiological engineer’s new approach to studying gene control could lead to new drug targets.

Susan Lindquist wins National Medal of ScienceThe Whitehead Institute member and MIT biology professor is one of 10 chosen to receive the top U.S. science honor.

Nerve-cell regeneration quest is fast trackedMicrochip technology rapidly identifies compounds for regrowing nerves, in live animals.

Surprising similarities between human and zebrafish tumorsNew finding that tumor cells in both species have too many chromosomes could help pinpoint genes that drive cancer development.

5 from MIT win NIH awardsThe grants are designed to promote risky, innovative research with the potential to transform a field of study.

Making stem-cell therapy a realityIn Killian Award lecture, Rudolf Jaenisch outlines progress and possibilities for treating human disease with stem cells.

An unexpected twist in cancer metabolismA cancer-cell quirk could be exploited to develop new drugs that starve tumors.

Solar cell, heal thyselfNew self-assembling photovoltaic technology can keep repairing itself to avoid any loss in performance.

A better way to grow stem cellsNew synthetic surfaces overcome challenges posed by existing methods for cultivating stem cells.

Lunch with a Laureate: Robert HorvitzPresented by the MIT Museum and the Cambridge Science Festival

Super-sizing a cancer drug minimizes side effectsResearchers design a new version of cisplatin that spares the kidneys, letting doctors use higher doses.

Proteins linked to longevity also linked to Alzheimer’sSirtuins appear to control production of the devastating protein fragments that form plaques in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients.

RNA offers a safer way to reprogram cellsNew technique holds promise to revert cells to an immature state that can develop into any cell type.

Lunch with a Laureate: Jack SzostakPresented by the MIT Museum and the Cambridge Science Festival

Imaging fish on the flyNew MIT technology allows high-speed study of zebrafish larvae, often used to model human diseases.

Gerald Fink awarded 2010 Gruber Genetics PrizeWill receive $500,000 prize in November