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Updates from campus: Read the latest from MIT and its leaders regarding events on campus.

3 rows show a tumor responding to types of treatment. Columns are labeled “DMSO, 5-FU, 5-FUR, 5-FdUR.” Top shows grey microscopic image of tumor. Middle row is stained blue and shows blue lumps. Bottom row is stained green and shows smaller bits.
In the two middle panels on the bottom row, the ribosomes (green) of patient-derived organoids are broken down by a version of 5-fluorouracil that targets RNA.

Spotlight: Oct 8, 2024

It’s long been thought that the cancer drug 5-fluorouracil works by damaging DNA, but researchers now show that in certain cancers, it interferes with RNA synthesis instead. The findings may influence how doctors treat many cancer patients.

Oct 8, 2024

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MORE FROM THE MIT COMMUNITY
Tomás Orellana
MIT IN THE WORLD

A Chilean teen used pharmacology learned via MIT OpenCourseWare to study the medicinal properties of plants: Inspired by traditional medicine, 17-year-old Tomás Orellana is on a mission to identify plants that can help treat students’ health issues.
Victor Ambros, and Gary Ruvkun
ALUMNI IN ACTION

Victor Ambros ’75, PhD ’79 and Gary Ruvkun share this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. The pair, who worked together as postdocs at MIT, were honored for their discovery of microRNA, a class of molecules critical for gene regulation.
Justin Reich outside with MIT Medical in background
COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT

Justin Reich is an advocate for technology in schools, but with a realistic perspective. “You can absolutely improve schools,” he says. “And we improve schools all the time. It’s just a long, slow process, and everything is kind of incremental.”
Julian Shun outside Stata and leaning on railing
COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT

Julian Shun leverages parallel computing to build algorithms for analyzing networks with billions or even trillions of data points. “The goal of parallel computing is to speed things up in real life, so if your algorithms aren’t fast in practice, then they aren’t that useful,” he says.
3 people pose with MIT merch and Tim plushies in front of MIT Alumni banner.
#THISISMIT

Via @mitalumni on Instagram: “More scenes from the MIT Alumni Leadership Conference.”
A bulky polygonal-shaped device has a cup that measures the direction of solar wind
MIT IN THE WORLD

Built by MIT researchers, the Plasma Science Experiment aboard the Voyager 2 spacecraft took measurements for the last 47 years and 15 billion miles, before shutting down on Sept. 26. “It is very sad to lose this instrument and data,” John Richardson says.