Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Jellyfish inspire scientists to invent a device that can detect, capture and release rare cancer cells

Tumor cells circulating in a patient's bloodstream can yield a great deal of information on how a tumor is responding to treatment and what drugs might be more effective against it. But first, these rare ...

Cancer created Nov 12, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Neuroscientists identify a brain region that can switch between new and old habits

Habits are behaviors wired so deeply in our brains that we perform them automatically. This allows you to follow the same route to work every day without thinking about it, liberating your brain to ponder ...

Neuroscience created Oct 30, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

An expanded Heathrow Airport would lead to 100 more pollution-related early deaths annually in the U.K. by 2030

According to the U.K.'s Department for Transport, demand for air travel in the country will more than double by 2030, from 127 million to 300 million passengers per year. A debate over how to accommodate ...

Health created Oct 19, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Calcium reveals connections between neurons

A team led by MIT neuroscientists has developed a way to monitor how brain cells coordinate with each other to control specific behaviors, such as initiating movement or detecting an odor.

Neuroscience created Oct 17, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Neuroscientists find Broca's area is really two subunits, each with its own function

A century and a half ago, French physician Pierre Paul Broca found that patients with damage to part of the brain's frontal lobe were unable to speak more than a few words. Later dubbed Broca's area, this ...

Neuroscience created Oct 16, 2012 | popularity 3.8 / 5 (5) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Applying information theory to linguistics suggests 'functional design' in cross-language variations

The majority of languages—roughly 85 percent of them—can be sorted into two categories: those, like English, in which the basic sentence form is subject-verb-object ("the girl kicks the ball"), and those, ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created Oct 10, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Study identifies adhesion molecules key to cancer's spread through the body

Although tumor metastasis causes about 90 percent of cancer deaths, the exact mechanism that allows cancer cells to spread from one part of the body to another is not well understood. One key question is ...

Cancer created Oct 09, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

How attention helps you remember

A new study from MIT neuroscientists sheds light on a neural circuit that makes us likelier to remember what we're seeing when our brains are in a more attentive state.

Neuroscience created Sep 27, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Getting (drugs) under your skin

Using ultrasound waves, MIT engineers have found a way to enhance the permeability of skin to drugs, making transdermal drug delivery more efficient. This technology could pave the way for noninvasive drug ...

Medical research created Sep 14, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Brain scans could help doctors choose treatments for people with social anxiety disorder

A new study led by MIT neuroscientists has found that brain scans of patients with social anxiety disorder can help predict whether they will benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy.

Psychology & Psychiatry created Sep 06, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Gambling addiction—working to understand

Odds are that you imagine gamblers as people simply trying to get lucky and win a big payoff. But when Natasha Schull, an associate professor in MIT's Program in Science, Technology, and Society (STS), began ...

Addiction created Sep 04, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Protein impedes microcirculation of malaria-infected red blood cells

(Medical Xpress)—When the parasite responsible for malaria infects human red blood cells, it launches a 48-hour remodeling of the host cells. During the first 24 hours of this cycle, a protein called RESA undertakes the ...

Medical research created Aug 30, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Stroke disrupts how brain controls muscle synergies

(Medical Xpress) -- The simple act of picking up a pencil requires the coordination of dozens of muscles: The eyes and head must turn toward the object as the hand reaches forward and the fingers grasp it. ...

Neuroscience created Aug 20, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

New nanoparticles that shut off cancer genes shrink tumors in mice

By sequencing cancer-cell genomes, scientists have discovered vast numbers of genes that are mutated, deleted or copied in cancer cells. This treasure trove is a boon for researchers seeking new drug targets, but it is nearly ...

Cancer created Aug 15, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (7) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Success of engineered tissue depends on where it's grown

Tissue implants made of cells grown on a sponge-like scaffold have been shown in clinical trials to help heal arteries scarred by atherosclerosis and other vascular diseases. However, it has been unclear why some implants ...

Medical research created Aug 14, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast