Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard

Collagens are fundamental structural elements of a wide variety of tissues and organs. They are generally heterotrimeric — consisting of two different procollagen peptides that assemble in threes — and the mechanisms controlling their proper assembly aren't fully understood. Kathryn Yammine, Rasia Li, Matthew Shoulders, and colleagues show both the critical C-Pro domain and amino acid sequences present at the C-terminal end of procollagens' triple-helical domain drive proper assembly. These C-terminal sequences help stabilize peptides as they come together, and help ensure that three of the same peptide are unable to associate with each other. Learn more in PNAS. https://lnkd.in/eqREaCjg #BroadInstitute #Science #ScienceNews #Research #ScientificResearch

Congratulations to Kate Therapeutics co-founder Sharif Tabebordbar, a former Broad postdoc in Pardis Sabeti's lab!

One challenge in mining All of Us data for disease insights is accurately identifying affected individuals. Lukasz Szczerbinski MD, PhD, Ravi Mandla, Philip Schroeder, Josep M Mercader, Miriam Udler, MD, PhD, Alisa Manning, and colleagues developed new algorithms for identifying type 1 (T1D) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) cases and compared them to diabetes polygenic scores for individuals in the cohort. They validated their electronic health record (EHR)-based T1D algorithm, and showed that their EHR and survey data-based T2D algorithm improved upon the biobank’s existing definition of the disease. These freely available algorithms can help standardize diabetes research. Read more in Scientific Reports. #BroadInstitute #Science #ScienceNews #Research #ScientificResearch

We are thrilled to share news about a publication collection in Nature Portfolio and associated journals. The 40+ peer reviewed Human Cell Atlas papers cover human development, organ specific integrations, analytical methods, ethics and equity.? See the Nature collection Landing page: https://lnkd.in/eCNeb7-Y The collection marks significant progress in our understanding of the human body. They also provide a foundation towards the first draft Human Cell Atlas which is being created by 18 HCA Biological Networks. Draft Lung, Brain and Retina HCA Atlases have already been created, and are on the HCA Data Portal, with more to come. Link to HCA Data Portal: https://lnkd.in/eppKiQsZ The Atlas will have far-reaching implications for medicine and will equip healthcare professionals and drug developers with a high resolution view of a healthy human body and how it is impacted by disease. The Collection is a huge milestone and we could not have reached this point without the contributions of thousands of experts and the incredible support of funders. Learn more here https://lnkd.in/eycRBtX5? #HCA2024NatureCollection? #HumanCellAtlas

Congratulations to the universities and colleges that are creating the conditions needed for boundary-breaking science! The Interdisciplinary Science Ranking, released today by Times Higher Education and Schmidt Science Fellows, includes a surprising mix of institutions—old and new, Western and Eastern—that are prioritizing a new way to teach and conduct science. Eric Lander of Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and I discuss the power of interdisciplinary science to address the challenges of the future—and what we can do today to prepare. https://lnkd.in/gERZA-72

Gliomas, the most common brain tumors, often transition from slow-growing, low-grade tumors to fast, aggressive, high-grade forms. But how does this happen? A new study from JINGYI WU, L. Nicolas Gonzalez Castro, Bradley Bernstein and colleagues sheds light on this deadly shift. They found that these tumors, often initiated by IDH mutations, gain additional cancer-driving mutations over time, leading to more aggressive growth. This process also involves a change in the tumor's cellular identity. These insights underscore the importance of early detection and points to promising directions for future therapies. #BroadInstitute #Science #ScienceNews #Research #ScientificResearch #Cancer #CancerResearch

The intestine maintains a delicate balance in the body. This equilibrium is disrupted in parts of the intestine in some diseases, but scientists don’t fully understand why. ? Now, researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital have created a blueprint of the gut by analyzing the entire mouse intestine, mapping gene expression and cell states and location in the healthy gut and in response to perturbations such as the circadian rhythm, changes in the microbiome, and inflammation. The map reveals the surprising adaptability and resilience of the organ, as well as a region of the mouse gut tightly regulated by the immune system. #BroadInstitute #Science #ScienceNews #Research #ScientificResearch

Pregnant women are more likely to develop severe COVID-19 than ones who are not, and the immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy are not well understood. In a study comparing pregnant and non-pregnant women with COVID-19, Rachelly Normand, Alexandra-Chloé Villani, and colleagues including Dong Sun Oh, Eunha Kim, and Jun Huh, and Andrea Edlow illuminate how pregnancy influences maternal immune responses against viral infection. They found that pregnant women had altered T cell responses — including increased exhaustion — and cytokine levels, as well as heightened function of monocytes, a kind of white blood cell. Read more in Cell Reports. #BroadInstitute #Science #ScienceNews #Research #ScientificResearch #COVID19 #SARSCoV2

Engineered virus-like particles (eVLPs) are a promising way to deliver RNA and proteins to cells. Using directed evolution, Aditya Raguram, David R. Liu, and colleagues have developed a fifth-generation (v5) eVLP with improved delivery efficiency and production properties. The team built a library of uniquely barcoded eVLP variants and developed a system that mutated and selected variants with desirable properties. Their v5 particles were two to four times more efficient at delivering cargo to cultured mammalian cells than v4, and they found that key v5 mutations both altered the particles’ capsid structure and optimized packaging and delivery of ribonucleoprotein cargos. Read more in Nature Biotechnology. #BroadInstitute #Science #ScienceNews #Research #ScientificResearch

Nominations are open for the 2025 Merkin Prize in Biomedical Technology! This international prize recognizes pathbreaking technologies that have improved human health through treatment, diagnosis, or prevention of disease. The prize comes with a $400,000 award for the researchers who, by pioneering a transformative technology, have made a profound impact on medicine. Learn more about the prize and submit a nomination: https://merkinprize.org/ Nominations close Friday, December 6, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. ET. #MerkinPrize #Biomedicine #BiomedicalTechnology #Science #SciencePrize #ScienceAward