Wyss InstituteImaging – Wyss Institute

Starting a fluorescent biosensor revolution

Mariel Schoen — Thu, 05 Sep 2024 09:00:00 +0000

By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — Biosensors – devices that use biological molecules to detect the presence of a target substance – have enormous potential for detecting disease biomarkers, molecules-in-action in diverse biological processes, or toxins and other harmful substances in the environment. One of the more common types, fluorescent biosensors, consists of a target-binding biomolecule…

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ACE-ing protein detection in single cells

Jessica Leff — Tue, 30 Jul 2024 14:55:40 +0000

By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — Since the 1950s, researchers have used a famous method invented by Wallace Coulter known as “flow cytometry” to characterize different types of immune cells in research studies and in blood samples from human individuals. This has enabled a much deeper understanding of immune cell development as well as new ways to assess human health and diagnose various blood…

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Human cervix modeled in microfluidic organ chip fills key women’s health gap

Jessica Leff — Fri, 31 May 2024 14:55:29 +0000

By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — Bacterial Vaginosis (BV) has been identified as one of the many unmet needs in women’s health and affects more than 25% of reproductive-aged women. It is caused by pathogenic bacteria that push the healthy microbiomes in the female vagina and cervix – the small gatekeeper canal that connects the uteruns and vagina – into a state of imbalance known as dysbiosis.

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Evolving how we use DNA through nanotechnological innovations

Jessica Leff — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 13:51:37 +0000

By Jessica Leff On April 25, 1953, a group of researchers published papers in Nature detailing the molecular structure of DNA, the building block of the genetic code of all organisms, for the first time. Since then, our understanding of DNA, genes, and genetics has blossomed, enabling the creation of genetic testing, gene therapies, and synthetic DNA. In 2018, four Wyss faculty members…

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Helena de Puig on Rapidly Sensing Proteins with Project Sparkle

Jessica Leff — Wed, 07 Dec 2022 15:58:32 +0000

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. After watching Formula 1 racing when she was younger, Helena de Puig was inspired to become an engineer and build the fastest car in the world. Though she now focuses on synthetic biology…

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Sparkle: Instant Biosensors for Real-Time Imaging

Jessica Leff — Wed, 07 Dec 2022 15:45:37 +0000

While science has made great advances in developing methods to identify biomolecules from small samples, these techniques are currently expensive, time-consuming, and don’t work for all molecules of interest. These problems are limiting the performance of existing technologies and slowing the pace of scientific innovation to create new solutions in the future. Sparkle is addressing this…

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Light-Seq: Light-Directed In Situ Barcoding of Biomolecules

Jessica Leff — Fri, 14 Oct 2022 20:26:31 +0000

This animation explains how the Light-Seq technology works to barcode and deep-sequence selected cell populations in tissue samples, and how the team applied it to the analysis of distinct and rare cells in the mouse retina. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University.

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Illuminating Biological Context with Josie Kishi – Translation by Fifty Years

Jessica Leff — Thu, 13 Oct 2022 15:47:03 +0000

Technologies like next-generation sequencing allow us to understand which RNA transcripts and proteins are expressed in biological tissues. However, it’s often equally important to understand how cells or molecules are positioned relative to one another! Whether it be a cell changing its shape, an organelle ramping up a metabolic process, or a DNA molecule traveling across the nucleus…

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Turning the spotlight on cells in tissues so RNA can tell their story

Jessica Leff — Mon, 10 Oct 2022 14:55:23 +0000

By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — Under the microscope, researchers often observe different cell types organizing themselves in peculiar patterns within tissues, or sometimes a rare cell type that stands out by occupying a unique position, exhibiting an unusual shape, or expressing a specific biomarker molecule. To determine the deeper meaning of their observations, they have developed approaches…

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Sukanya Punthambaker on Multidisciplinary Collaboration

Jessica Leff — Wed, 25 Aug 2021 14:54:55 +0000

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. Sukanya Punthambaker has always had diverse interests – as a child she mixed her artistic talents with her fascination with nature to win a drawing and painting contest held by the Indian Space…

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