news 2024

Stories on tamper-proof ID tags, sound-suppressing silk, and generative AI's understanding of the world were some of the most popular topics on MIT News. MIT's research community had another year full of scientific and technological advances in 2024. To celebrate the achievements of the past twelve months, highlights some of our most popular stories from this year.

From new surgical techniques and treatments to studies on neurodegenerative disease, here are five of the top brain science stories from this year. Liraglutide slowing Alzheimer's Liraglutide, popularly known as Ozempic, has been trending as the latest weight loss drug in Hollywood, but researchers at Imperial have discovered a new possible use for it.

A new study of the microbiome finds intestinal bacterial interact much less often with viruses that trigger immunity updates than bacteria in the lab. Within the human digestive tract are trillions of bacteria from thousands of different species. These bacteria form communities that help digest food, fend off harmful microbes, and play many other roles in maintaining human health.

Researchers develop a way to test the ability of red blood cells to deliver oxygen by measuring their shape Scientists have developed a way of assessing the ability of red blood cells to deliver oxygen by measuring their shape. This test could improve specialist transplant and transfusion practice as well as blood banking.

A recent study conducted on melon plants has revealed a defense mechanism that certain plants activate to deal with insect pests. It is a system of signaling molecules that, distributed through extracellular vesicles - including exosomes - allow plants to adapt their defenses according to the level of stress they are under.

As part of a high-resolution biosensing device without wires, the antennas could help researchers decode intricate electrical signals sent by cells. Monitoring electrical signals in biological systems helps scientists understand how cells communicate, which can aid in the diagnosis and treatment of conditions like arrhythmia and Alzheimer's.

After migrating to their wintering grounds, the animals move as little as possible to conserve energy In the fall, reindeer migrate from their northern grazing areas to the south.

Opening new doors for the development of nanotechnologies in medicine, UdeM scientists recreate two natural mechanisms to better program the timescale of molecular communication and functionality. Living organisms monitor time - and react to it - in many different ways, from detecting light and sound in microseconds to responding physiologically in pre-programmed ways, via their daily sleep cycle, monthly menstrual cycle, or to changes in the seasons.

A University of Queensland study has found no link between exposure to water fluoridation as a young child and negative cognitive development. Professor Loc Do from UQ's School of Dentistry said the IQ scores of 357 people who had participated in the 2012-2014 National Child Oral Health Study were assessed by registered psychologists to see if their exposure to fluoride as a young child impacted their brain development.

Researchers describe the relationship between facial morphology and cerebral cortex measurements in patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder A study published in Psychiatry Research identifies subtle differences in facial shapes that may be linked to the diagnosis of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Bonn researchers show how disease-relevant genes can be identified more easily The identification of genes involved in diseases is one of the major challenges of biomedical research. Researchers at the University of Bonn and the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) have developed a method that makes their identification much easier and faster: they light up genome sequences in the cell nucleus.

MIT engineers developed AI frameworks to identify evidence-driven hypotheses that could advance biologically inspired materials. Crafting a unique and promising research hypothesis is a fundamental skill for any scientist. It can also be time consuming: New PhD candidates might spend the first year of their program trying to decide exactly what to explore in their experiments.

Neural implants contain integrated circuits (ICs) - commonly called chips - built on silicon. These implants need to be small and flexible to mimic circumstances inside the human body. However, the environment within the body is corrosive, which raises concerns about the durability of implantable silicon ICs.

Caltech's John O'Doherty is on a quest to understand how human brains make decisions: how they gather evidence about their environments and their own impacts on these environments and then apply this information to their decision-making. Researchers in his lab examine subjects to find how brains learn from positive and negative feedback, and why some brains learn more easily and effectively than others.

Caltech researchers have developed a new method to map the positions of hundreds of DNA-associated proteins within cell nuclei all'at the same time. The method, called ChIP-DIP (Chromatin ImmunoPrecipitation Done In Parallel), is a versatile tool for understanding the inner workings of the nucleus during different contexts, such as disease or development.

Diffuse hemispheric glioma (DHG) is a brain tumor in children, adolescents and young adults with an average survival prognosis of less than two years and limited treatment options. A research team from MedUni Vienna and University Hospital Vienna has identified increased stress through targeted DNA breaks with simultaneous inhibition of DNA repair in the tumor cell as a promising therapeutic approach.

SFU study sheds new light on what causes long-term disability after a stroke and offers new path toward possible treatment A recent study from Simon Fraser researchers has revealed how an overlooked type of indirect brain damage contributes to ongoing disability after a stroke.

A team of scientists has discovered that an ancient medicinal clay known as Lemnian Earth (LE) could inspire new understanding of how to support present-day gut health. The team also think that that LE was probably the prototype for the modern medicinal pill as far back as the 1st millennium, before the Common Era (BCE), since it was shaped into a small pellet, stamped with a seal and taken with liquids such as wine.

As 2024 draws to a close, we look back at some of the Caltech-led discoveries and innovations from throughout the past year. This research extends our understanding of the natural world, enhances researchers ability to probe ever further the mysteries of the universe, and advances new technologies and approaches aimed at diagnosing and treating diseases, building a more sustainable world, and harnessing technologies to benefit society.

Endocannabinoids in the brain play a key role in food intake and energy use. Modulating the action of these molecules could help fight obesity, say researchers at the CRCHUM. For years, Université de Montréal medical professor Stephanie Fulton and her team have been unravelling the mechanisms in the human nervous system that control people's need to eat and to engage in physical activity, and how their metabolism affects their mood.