Wyss InstituteWyss Institute

Ultrasensitive test detects biomarkers for specific form of dementia

Mariel Schoen — Tue, 05 May 2026 13:55:08 +0000

By MGB Communications (BOSTON) — Dementia affects over 57 million people worldwide, a number expected to nearly double in the next 20 years. This permanent loss of cognitive abilities affects daily function and can be caused by multiple brain pathologies, including well known ones like Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Right now, biomarkers permit diagnosis of AD but not rarer pathologies like…

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Alex Li on enabling technology translation

Jessica Leff — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 12:50:55 +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. Alex Li has always been fascinated by the idea of using living systems to make a positive impact. He initially pursued his interest in science, but after working at a venture capital firm…

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Bioengineering a world beyond plastics

Jessica Leff — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 15:00:06 +0000

By Seth Kroll (BOSTON) — In fewer than 200 years, plastic has become so deeply embedded in everyday life that it is impossible to envision society without it. Inexpensive, adaptable, and durable, plastics are indispensable from food packaging and textiles to medical and electronic devices. But this durability and ubiquity have made plastic dependency a growing global challenge…

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Growing liver tissue on demand directly in the body

Jessica Leff — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 17:55:10 +0000

By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — In patients developing end-stage liver disease, the damage has become too severe for the liver’s normally extraordinary regenerative capacity to repair or compensate for it. Once this “point of no return” has been reached, the only option is an organ transplant. However, getting a liver transplant is extremely difficult due to high demand and limited supply…

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Wyss Institute technologies enable breakthrough in astronaut health research aboard NASA’s Artemis II mission

Jessica Leff — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 14:55:20 +0000

By Alexandra Jirstrand (BOSTON) – Launched on April 1, 2026, Artemis II is a historic, approximately 10-day lunar flyby mission that is sending four astronauts farther into space than any humans have traveled since the Apollo era, marking a critical step toward sustained lunar exploration and future missions to Mars. The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard…

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Help Advance Women’s Health Research

Jessica Leff — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 19:40:42 +0000

Endometriosis affects millions worldwide. Diagnosis can take 7 to 10 years and often relies on invasive surgery. The FemSmaht Research Team at the Wyss Institute is working to change that. We are conducting a study to develop a non-invasive method for detecting endometriosis and we are looking for menstruating individuals (endometriosis-positive and those without endometriosis) to help move this…

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Synthetic biology makes fateful decisions

Jessica Leff — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 13:30:09 +0000

By Jia LIU, Chinese Academy of Sciences Edited by Karen Pepper (BEIJING) – Cellular differentiation and a division of labor are essential to living systems as distinct cell types performing specialized functions arise in defined proportions and spatial arrangements. A central challenge in synthetic biology has therefore been how to program cells to autonomously diversify into multiple…

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Katharina Meyer on improving our understanding and treatment of bipolar disorder

Jessica Leff — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 15:10:58 +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. Katharina Meyer is exceptionally welcoming in both her personal and professional life. At home, this takes the form of studying and improving hosting skills by experimenting with cooking and…

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Breaking barriers in brain health

Mariel Schoen — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 22:28:15 +0000

For decades, some of the most urgent challenges in brain health have resisted progress across both academia and the pharmaceutical industry. At the Wyss Institute, we are tackling them head-on. A central focus is overcoming one of the field’s biggest obstacles: delivering drugs effectively to the brain and central nervous system. Today, this process remains inefficient…

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BeWonderNow brings hope to the fight against brain cancer

Mariel Schoen — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 16:00:42 +0000

In contrast to advances made in other types of cancer, brain cancer survival rates remain little-changed despite years of research. Only a handful of treatments have been approved for the more than 100 types of brain tumors, none of which extend survival more than two years on average or are considered to be curative. Surgical removal and radiation remain the standard of care for many brain tumors…

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