Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (IMES)

Scientific American reporter Mark Fischetti examines a new MIT study that found that raindrops can spread certain crop diseases. Fischetti explains that the research could be useful in helping farmers develop new techniques for preventing the spread of disease among crops.

Nidhi Subbaraman reports for BetaBoston that Professor Robert Langer has been named the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering for his research on tissue engineering and drug delivery. “It’s a real thrill, a real honor,” says Langer. “I feel incredible lucky.”

MIT engineers are developing a paper test that can identify Ebola, writes BetaBoston reporter Nidhi Subbaraman. Prof. Lee Gehrke’s goal is to develop a “cheap, disposable front-line detector for this disease that many people can get their hands on — and fast,” Subbaraman reports. 

WBUR’s Deborah Becker and Lynn Jolicoeur report on the new MIT-MGH partnership aimed at developing better tools to treat disease. Prof. Arup Chakraborty hopes the collaboration will allow researchers to take risks. “Safe ideas are often not the transformative ones,” he says. 

Prof. Robert Langer speaks with Trisha Gura of Science about his work as an engineer and entrepreneur.  Says Langer of how he became an entrepreneur, “I could see that by having these little companies, you could make an enormous impact.”

Boston Globe reporter Callum Borchers writes about how MIT researchers have developed a new coating that could reduce the risk posed by ingesting batteries. The battery has “been shown in lab tests to deactivate an ingested battery without compromising its performance in electronic devices,” writes Borchers. 

Nature highlights the top science news of the week, including the new interdisciplinary center at MIT aimed at examining the microbiome. “The center will initially focus on inflammatory bowel disease, but organizers hope to eventually broaden the scope to diseases such as multiple sclerosis, arthritis and autism,” Nature reports. 

In a piece for The Atlantic, Sarah Laskow writes about how MIT researchers have developed a new drug-delivery capsule that could serve as an alternative to injections. The new drug capsule would make it possible to “deliver drugs that would otherwise break down in the digestive tract.”

Reporting for Scientific American, Cynthia Graber examines how MIT researchers have developed a battery coating that reduces the risk of injury if swallowed. Inside the coating, “microparticles of conductive metal are suspended in an insulating layer,” Graber explains. 

BBC News reporter Jonathan Webb writes that researchers from MIT have created child-safe batteries by developing a coating that allows batteries to conduct electricity only when squeezed. The “pressure-sensitive design makes use of a property called quantum tunneling, which is also used in touch pads and screens,” writes Webb. 

Alison Bruzek of NPR reports that MIT researchers have developed a shield that can prevent the electrical currents in a battery from damaging the esophagus. The material used to create the shield is already commercially available, NPR reports, making the coating a cheap solution to the issue of children swallowing batteries. 

Melissa Malamut of Boston Magazine writes that MIT and MGH are forming a new partnership aimed at tackling challenges in clinical medicine. The new collaboration will address three specific areas: disease diagnosis, the prevention and treatment of infectious and autoimmune diseases, and the diagnosis and treatment of major neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases.

Atlantic reporter Cari Romm reports on how MIT researchers have devised an alternative drug-delivery method: A pill covered with tiny needles. The researchers plan to improve their current design by creating a “fully biodegradable version of the pill.”

WCVB reports that researchers from MIT and Massachusetts General Hospital have developed a pill coated with tiny needles that can deliver drugs directly into the digestive tract. The pill was found to deliver insulin more efficiently than current methods, WCVB reports.  

“Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a pill-like capsule that injects medication into the stomach lining after being swallowed,” reports Sky News. The new capsule could allow for oral delivery of drugs that currently must be injected.