Wyss InstituteBiotechnology – Wyss Institute

David Walt named as laureate for National Medal of Technology and Innovation

Jessica Leff — Tue, 07 Jan 2025 14:52:56 +0000

By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — On January 3, Wyss Institute Core Faculty member David Walt, Ph.D., who also is a Professor of Pathology at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), the Hansjörg Wyss Professor of Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard Medical School (HMS), an Associate member at the Broad Institute, and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor…

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Researchers call for global discussion about possible risks from “mirror bacteria”

Jessica Leff — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 14:27:15 +0000

A group of researchers including Wyss Core Faculty member George Church, Ph.D. has published new findings in Science on potential risks from the development of mirror bacteria — synthetic organisms in which all molecules have reversed chirality (i.e. are ‘mirrored’). Scientists had begun early work toward creating mirror bacteria, and while the capability is at least a decade away…

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Innovative tissue engineering: ESCAPE, a pioneering new method explained

Jessica Leff — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 16:00:31 +0000

By Boston University Communications (BOSTON) — When it comes to the human body, form and function work together. The shape and structure of our hands enable us to hold and manipulate things. Tiny air sacs in our lungs called alveoli allow for air exchange and help us breath in and out. And tree-like blood vessels branch throughout our body, delivering oxygen from our head to our toes.

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ESCAPE Bioengineering

Jessica Leff — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 16:00:06 +0000

A research team at the Wyss Institute and Boston University has developed ESCAPE, the first method that enables the engineering of tissues across multiple length scales, ranging from the diameter of a cell to the cm scale of a heart valve. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University…

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Closing in on Parkinson’s Disease proteins in extracellular vesicles in the blood

Jessica Leff — Fri, 01 Nov 2024 13:20:38 +0000

By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — Brain disorders like Parkinson’s (PD) or Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) start to develop in patients much earlier than when their first clinical symptoms appear. Treating patients at these early stages could slow or even stop their disease, but there is currently no way to diagnose brain disorders at those pre-symptomatic stages. Thus far, the specific brain lesions…

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CRISPR’s Impact, Today

Mariel Schoen — Mon, 21 Oct 2024 12:00:08 +0000

By Seth Kroll (BOSTON) — In the not-so-distant past, CRISPR, the revolutionary gene-editing technology, was discovered as a defense system protecting bacteria against viruses. Today, with the persistence and ingenuity of many scientists, it is no longer just the subject of fascinating academic research papers and speculative discussions on its future usefulness for medicine.

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Attivare licenses Wyss Institute’s immune-modulating biomaterial technology to advance immunotherapies

Jessica Leff — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 13:20:13 +0000

By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — Today, the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University and Attivare Therapeutics Inc. announced that Attivare has licensed a portfolio of immune-modulating biomaterial technologies from Harvard University that was created at the Wyss Institute, John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS)…

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Eliz Amar Lewis on Using Many Tools to Fight a Sophisticated Disease

Jessica Leff — Tue, 24 Sep 2024 14:50:19 +0000

The Humans of the Wyss (HOW) series features members of the Wyss community discussing their work, the influences that shape them as professionals, and their collaborations at the Wyss Institute and beyond. Eliz Amar Lewis has always been fascinated by biology. But when she saw her grandmother bravely battle breast cancer, she was inspired to use her passion to develop a smart and sophisticated…

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Preventing pollution with bioinspired solutions

Jessica Leff — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 21:14:47 +0000

By Lindsay Brownell In honor of Pollution Prevention Week, we’re highlighting three Wyss projects that are taking on the formidable problems of PFAS and plastic – persistent and toxic pollutants that threaten the health of humans, animals, and ecosystems. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), or “forever chemicals,” are toxic substances that increase the risk of many health…

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3D-printed blood vessels bring artificial organs closer to reality

Jessica Leff — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 16:55:18 +0000

By Lindsay Brownell (BOSTON) — Growing functional human organs outside the body is a long-sought “holy grail” of organ transplantation medicine that remains elusive. New research from Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) brings that quest one big step closer to completion. A team of scientists…

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