Wyss InstituteSelf Assembly – Wyss Institute https://wyss.stage.a17.io Wyss Institute at Harvard Thu, 30 Jul 2026 21:38:59 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.6 Attivare licenses Wyss Institute’s immune-modulating biomaterial technology to advance immunotherapies https://wyss.stage.a17.io/news/attivare-licenses-wyss-institutes-immune-modulating-biomaterial-technology-to-advance-immunotherapies/ Wed, 02 Oct 2024 13:20:13 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?p=41088 The startup is leveraging the biomaterial-based technology to develop novel therapies able to program anti-cancer immunity and prevent infectious diseases 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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]]> https://wyss.stage.a17.io/news/attivare-licenses-wyss-institutes-immune-modulating-biomaterial-technology-to-advance-immunotherapies/ The OMNIVAX infection vaccine approach incorporates pathogen-derived antigens into an injectable biomaterial scaffold which presents them together with immune cell attracting and activating factors to dendritic immune cells that then go on to orchestrate multi-faceted immune responses against the pathogen in nearby lymph nodes. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University https://wyss-stage.imgix.net/app/uploads/2020/05/20143742/MPS-Scaffold-SEM-001-e1590000157764.jpeg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=b22cd283948c2a998b8ada8474c9e03f"/> Crisscross Nanoseed Detection: Nanotechnology-Powered Infectious Disease Diagnostics https://wyss.stage.a17.io/technology/crisscross-nanoseed-detection-nanotechnology-powered-infectious-disease-diagnostics/ Wed, 01 May 2024 09:34:25 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?post_type=technology&p=29591 Speed, accuracy, and affordability are of the essence in the detection of established and newly emerging pathogens to provide timely care, mitigate transmission, and help lower the financial burden on healthcare systems. Among them, those causing sexually transmitted diseases (STIs), including HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C, cause a major global burden on health care systems. In the U.S. alone…

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]]> https://wyss.stage.a17.io/technology/crisscross-nanoseed-detection-nanotechnology-powered-infectious-disease-diagnostics/ https://wyss-stage.imgix.net/app/uploads/2021/08/17153819/Crisscross_Featured-image-002.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=e3f54f5341d8898e9d8903bf29d81763"/> DNA Nanostructures for Drug Delivery https://wyss.stage.a17.io/technology/dna-nanostructures-for-drug-delivery/ Mon, 29 Apr 2024 05:58:48 +0000 https://wyss.prod.a17.io/?post_type=technology&p=5342 Researchers at the Wyss Institute have developed two methods for building arbitrarily shaped nanostructures using DNA, with a focus on translating the technology towards nanofabrication and drug delivery applications. One proprietary nanofabrication technique, called “DNA-brick self-assembly,” uses short, synthetic strands of DNA that work like interlocking Lego® bricks. It capitalizes on the…

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]]> https://wyss.stage.a17.io/technology/dna-nanostructures-for-drug-delivery/ Self-assembling nanocages built from strands of DNA (above) could one day deliver drugs, or house tiny bioreactors or photonic devices; a superresolution microscopy method developed at the Wyss Institute, DNA-PAINT (below) visualizes structures using short strands of DNA (yellow) labeled with a fluorescent chemical (green) to bind and release partner strands on the cages’ corners, causing them to blink. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University https://wyss-stage.imgix.net/app/uploads/2016/09/16222604/DNA-origami-polyhedra-featured-image.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=5df8df2a1ef47171a8fe54a970c74603"/> DNA origami-based vaccines toward safe and highly-effective precision cancer immunotherapy https://wyss.stage.a17.io/news/dna-origami-based-vaccines-toward-safe-and-highly-effective-precision-cancer-immunotherapy/ Fri, 15 Mar 2024 11:00:37 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?p=39256 Broadly applicable vaccine platform enables enhanced anti-tumor responses through nanometer-precise spacing of adjuvant molecules and a variety of antigens By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — Therapeutic cancer vaccines are a form of immunotherapy in the making that could not only destroy cancer cells in patients, but keep a cancer from coming back and spreading. Multiple therapeutic cancer vaccines are being studied in clinical trials, but despite their promise, they are not routinely used yet by clinical oncologists to treat their patients.

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]]> https://wyss.stage.a17.io/news/dna-origami-based-vaccines-toward-safe-and-highly-effective-precision-cancer-immunotherapy/ Due to their nanoprecise spacing of adjuvant molecules (shown as green ribbons on one face of their squareblock structures), DoriVac vaccines, after being taken up by antigen-presenting immune cells, can more effectively engage the cells’ activation machinery (shown in purple) in intracellular compartments than free and unorganized adjuvant molecules. Credit: Ju Hee/KIST https://wyss-stage.imgix.net/app/uploads/2024/02/22114149/draft-for-cover-image3_white5.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=5d103ea98ff2b4ad70bb36cd3cdf2a97"/> What is the future of Engineering with Bioengineering Pioneer Donald E Ingber – Museum of Science https://wyss.stage.a17.io/media-post/what-is-the-future-of-engineering-with-bioengineering-pioneer-donald-e-ingber-museum-of-science/ Mon, 11 Mar 2024 17:32:32 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?post_type=media_post&p=39388 Is biological inspiration the key to the future of engineering? Bioethicist Insoo Hyun sits down with Donald E. Ingber, Founding Director of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and Professor of Bioengineering at Harvard’s School of Engineering & Applied Sciences. Together they explore the profound impact of Nature on engineering beyond the realms of cold, hard mathematics.

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]]> https://wyss.stage.a17.io/media-post/what-is-the-future-of-engineering-with-bioengineering-pioneer-donald-e-ingber-museum-of-science/ Founding Director Donald Ingber. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University https://wyss-stage.imgix.net/app/uploads/2016/08/05095242/Donald_Ingber_headshot_1500x1000.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=2eb1f5f4d60b7385b81bdd2ae01f2917"/> Seed-dependent crisscross DNA-origami slats https://wyss.stage.a17.io/media-post/seed-dependent-crisscross-dna-origami-slats/ Wed, 21 Dec 2022 20:30:26 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?post_type=media_post&p=35178 This animation explains how the newly invented crisscross origami method can be used to build functionalized micron-scale DNA megastructures composed of many unique DNA origami “slats,” each with their own complexity and interactive properties. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University…

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]]> https://wyss.stage.a17.io/media-post/seed-dependent-crisscross-dna-origami-slats/ https://wyss-stage.imgix.net/app/uploads/2022/12/21151738/Crisscross-DNA-Origami_Title-slidege.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=77af037090de1ab3393133a334fea2a5"/> DNA nanostructures grow up to become micron-scale megastructures https://wyss.stage.a17.io/news/dna-nanostructures-grow-up-to-become-micron-scale-megastructures/ Wed, 21 Dec 2022 20:28:54 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?p=34954 New DNA nanofabrication approach enables high-yielding assembly of complex multi-origami megastructures, with potential for many biological and non-biological applications By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — DNA nanostructures assembled from shorter DNA sequences as building blocks have long sparked the imagination of bioengineers because their precisely programable size, shape, and functions could open up a plethora of non-biological and biological possibilities. If they could be built to be sufficiently large and complex, we could harness them to create highly…

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]]> https://wyss.stage.a17.io/news/dna-nanostructures-grow-up-to-become-micron-scale-megastructures/ https://wyss-stage.imgix.net/app/uploads/2022/12/14094834/Crisscross-DNA-Origami_Listing-Image.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=3f4e64f8ee3966c67cb1133f5c012b54"/> Nanotechnology enables visualization of RNA structures at near-atomic resolution https://wyss.stage.a17.io/news/nanotechnology-enables-visualization-of-rna-structures-at-near-atomic-resolution/ Mon, 02 May 2022 14:56:49 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?p=32372 Combination of nucleic acid nanotechnology and cryo-EM gives unprecedented insights into the structures of large and small RNAs, enabling fundamental advances in RNA biology and drug design By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — We live in a world made and run by RNA, the equally important sibling of the genetic molecule DNA. In fact, evolutionary biologists hypothesize that RNA existed and self-replicated even before the appearance of DNA. Fast forward to modern day humans: science has revealed that less than 3% of the human genome is transcribed into messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules…

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]]> https://wyss.stage.a17.io/news/nanotechnology-enables-visualization-of-rna-structures-at-near-atomic-resolution/ This illustration is inspired by the Paleolithic rock painting in the Lascaux cave, signifying the acronym of our method, ROCK. Figuratively, the patterns of the rock art in the background (brown) are the 2D projections of the engineered dimeric construct of the Tetrahymena group I intron, while the main object in the front (blue) is the reconstructed 3D cryo-EM map of the dimer, with one monomer in focus and refined to the high resolution that allowed the collaborators to build an atomic model of the RNA. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University https://wyss-stage.imgix.net/app/uploads/2022/04/29171705/ROCK-Cover.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=06df98dc2e823ba46a7b3a5d50a8a5ed"/> Turning Science Fiction into Science Reality with Crisscross Nanotechnology https://wyss.stage.a17.io/news/turning-science-fiction-into-science-reality-with-crisscross-nanotechnology/ Mon, 01 Nov 2021 20:09:39 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?p=30549 Using DNA to build a physical platform that transforms molecular diagnostics Despite the current widespread availability of tests that can diagnose COVID-19, diagnostics is an industry that is ripe for improvement: diagnostic errors and other inefficiencies cost the U.S. economy $750 billion each year, even without a pandemic to deal with. The Wyss Institute’s Crisscross Nanoseed Detection is an enzyme-free DNA nanotechnology that can be used for rapid, ultrasensitive…

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]]> https://wyss.stage.a17.io/news/turning-science-fiction-into-science-reality-with-crisscross-nanotechnology/ Caption: Dionis Minev (left) and Anastasia Ershova (right) are developing the Crisscross Nanoseed Detection technology at the Wyss Institute. Credit: Wyss Institute. https://wyss-stage.imgix.net/app/uploads/2021/11/02134355/Anastasia-and-Dionis-Crisscross-Start-up-0268.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=86afe6603f0e438c62c7bb59afd13162"/> DNA: From blueprint to blank slate https://wyss.stage.a17.io/news/dna-from-blueprint-to-blank-slate/ Fri, 23 Apr 2021 14:03:24 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?p=28219 In the half-century since its structure was identified, DNA has become one of the most powerful and versatile tools in biotechnology By Lindsay Brownell DNA has come a long way since it was first described in 1869 by Swiss chemist Friedrich Miescher. So much so, in fact, that in 2003 the US Congress designated April 25th National DNA Day to commemorate the successful completion of the Human Genome Project that year, and the discovery of DNA’s double helix structure in 1953. Since then, DNA has become an incredibly valuable…

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]]> https://wyss.stage.a17.io/news/dna-from-blueprint-to-blank-slate/ Sequencing molecules of DNA to determine the order of As, Gs, Cs, and Ts along their length was time-consuming and expensive when the Human Genome Project began in 1984. Now, thanks to innovations created by Wyss Core Faculty members George Church and David Walt, it's cheap and commonplace. Credit: Shutterstock https://wyss-stage.imgix.net/app/uploads/2021/04/21165818/DNA-Sequence_shutterstock_218141077.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=c7234639f9fb1320290927947f771734"/>