Programmable CRISPR-responsive smart materials could open the door to novel tissue engineering, bioelectronic, and diagnostic applications By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — The CRISPR-Cas system has become the go-to tool for researchers who study genes in an ever-growing list of organisms, and is being used to develop new gene therapies that can potentially correct a defect …
Engineering multiple bacterial strains reverses antagonistic interactions and results in more balanced consortia By Lindsay Brownell (BOSTON) — Bacteria, like people, have complicated relationships: they can either be friendly, neutral, or antagonistic toward each other, and those relationships can change depending on the situations in which they find themselves. As interest in identifying the bacterial …
3D-printed active hinges change shape in response to heat By Leah Burrows, SEAS Communications (CAMBRIDGE, Mass.) — The majority of soft robots today rely on external power and control, keeping them tethered to off-board systems or rigged with hard components. Now, researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) …
A simple and robust DNA-based signal amplification method to simultaneously visualize multiple proteins in tissues has the potential to accelerate many large-scale protein mapping and biomarker discovery projects By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — To better understand how tissues and organs develop, fail to function, and regenerate over time, researchers would like to visualize their constituent …
A versatile, portable exosuit that assists both walking and running highlights the potential for lightweight and non-restrictive wearable robots outside the lab By Benjamin Boettner (CAMBRIDGE, Mass.) – Between walking at a leisurely pace and running for your life, human gaits can cover a wide range of speeds. Typically, we choose the gait that allows …
By Eriona Hysolli (BOSTON) – A team at Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and Harvard Medical School (HMS) has developed a low-cost DNA storage technique that enables encoding digital information at large scale. The approach was published recently in Nature Communications. Information storage has gone through different evolutions from stone to parchment, paper… …
Former Wyss entrepreneur-in-residence named Female Executive of the Year By Lindsay Brownell (BOSTON) — Tina Liu, M.B.A. has been honored as a Gold Winner of the Women World Awards in the category of Female Executive of the Year for her contributions to developing a novel technology to make gene therapies safer and more effective. The …
Self-regenerating bacterial hydrogels could open the door to new intestinal wound healing strategies By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — External wounds such as skin cuts or abrasions can often be easily covered with a simple Band-Aid® or a larger wound patch to protect them and facilitate their healing. When it comes to some internal surfaces like …
The Humans of the Wyss (HOW) series features members of the Wyss community discussing their work, the influences that shape them as scientists, and their collaborations at the Wyss Institute and beyond. Adam Maley enjoyed doing fundamental research, but when he saw an opportunity to work on diagnostics that would have near-term and real-world impact, he could …
Innovations in CRISPR technology and genome engineering, DNA-based microscopic imaging, new functional materials, robotics for rehabilitation, and more. To realize its overarching goal to invent and commercialize disruptive solutions for healthcare, energy, architecture, robotics, and manufacturing, the Wyss Institute is creating a patent portfolio in relevant areas that are or can become an essential basis …