This series looks at the Oxford Martin School's academics and how their research is making a difference to our global future. The series will be of interest to people who are concerned about the future for the planet, how civilisation will adapt to emerging problems and issues such as climate change, over population, increased urbanisation of populations and the creation of vaccines to fight against future pandemics. The Oxford Martin School academics explain their various research topics in an accessible and thoughtful way and try to find practical solutions to these issues.

This graduate and advanced undergraduate level lecture and literature discussion course covers the current understanding of the molecular mechanisms that regulate animal development. Evolutionary mechanisms are emphasized as well as the discussion of relevant diseases. Vertebrate (mouse, chick, frog, fish) and invertebrate (fly, worm) models are covered. Specific topics include formation of early body plan, cell type determination, organogenesis, morphogenesis, stem cells, cloning, and issues in human development.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Scientists have uncovered new details about endothelial cell differentiation that could lead to better management of vascular disease. Endothelial cells are often damaged in conditions like coronary artery disease. This damage can be repaired through the transplantation of healthy endothelial cells. But acquiring these cells at the quantities and purity needed for therapeutic transplantation is no easy task. To help solve this problem, the researchers took a closer look at the molecular factors that direct stem cells to adopt an endothelial phenotype. The team started by isolating mononuclear cells from just 1 mL of blood. They later reprogrammed these cells into induced pluripotent stem cells. To accomplish this, they used an optimized, non-integrating protocol – with very good results. The stem cells were then differentiated into endothelial cells, and the researchers tracked gene expression throughout the process..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Sound waves. They bring music to our ears, help doctors peer inside our bodies, and even allow us to “see” underwater. Now, scientists are using these versatile packets of vibrating energy for a new application: growing functional, transplantable blood vessels right on the benchtop. These engineered tissues can be used to repair injuries caused by diminished blood flow from blood clots or other blockages. But there’s a lot to consider when fabricating therapeutic blood vessels. There are biological and mechanical attributes that are tricky to get right. The body’s vasculature is complex and multiscale, and a precise geometric arrangement is needed for efficient perfusion. Vessels are also composed of multiple cell types, which need to be well integrated to function. To engineer tissues that meet these requirements, scientists developed a new acoustophoretic cell patterning technique. The method uses sound waves to precisely align cells into user-defined patterns..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

During development a single totipotent cell gives rise to the vast array of cell types present in the adult human body, yet each cell has essentially the same DNA sequence. As cells differentiate, distinct sets of genes must be coordinately activated and repressed, ultimately leading to a cell-type specific pattern of gene expression and a particular cell fate. In eukaryotic organisms, DNA is packaged in a complex protein super structure known as chromatin. Modification and reorganization of chromatin play a critical role in coordinating the cell-type specific gene expression programs that are required as a cell transitions from a pluripotent stem cell to a fully differentiated cell type. Epigenetics refers to such heritable changes that occur in chromatin without altering the primary DNA sequence. This class will focus on the role of epigenetic regulation with respect to developmental fate and also consider the fact that the epigenetic mechanisms discussed have broad implications, including how seemingly normal cells can be transformed into cancerous cells.
This course is one of many Advanced Undergraduate Seminars offered by the Biology Department at MIT. These seminars are tailored for students with an interest in using primary research literature to discuss and learn about current biological research in a highly interactive setting. Many instructors of the Advanced Undergraduate Seminars are postdoctoral scientists with a strong interest in teaching.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Stem cells are usually thought of as possible treatments for diseases like spinal cord injuries or type I diabetes, in which cells need to be replaced. But increasing evidence suggests they may be able to help with sepsis -- a life-threatening complication of infection. Sepsis is one of the most deadly and expensive syndromes, killing a quarter of a million people and incurring 20 billion dollars in hospital costs every year in the United States alone. Classically, sepsis has been thought of as a problem of an overactive immune system. As immune cells respond to infection, they unleash a torrent of inflammatory cytokines, or what’s called a cytokine storm, which can lead to organ failure. But recently, doctors have discovered that sepsis is more complicated, and if someone survives this early hyper-inflammatory stage, they are still at risk of succumbing later, when the syndrome switches over to being immune suppressive..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This course will focus on understanding aspects of modern technology displaying exponential growth curves and the impact on global quality of life through a weekly updated class project integrating knowledge and providing practical tools for political and business decision-making concerning new aspects of bioengineering, personalized medicine, genetically modified organisms, and stem cells. Interplays of economic, ethical, ecological, and biophysical modeling will be explored through multi-disciplinary teams of students, and individual brief reports.

Join Stuart Lipton of The Burnham Institute and discover important anti-aging strategies, the latest drugs for degenerative disorders such as AlzheimerŐs disease and the potential use of human stem cells for neurological conditions. (57 minutes)

During the past decade, there have been dramatic advancements in the brain and cognitive sciences. For the first time, understanding how the brain works has become a scientifically achievable goal. In this new lecture series, Grey Matters: Molecules to Mind, San Diego's leading Neuroscientists explore the human brain. The first lecture in this series addresses an issue that has often been absent in these discussions: what role do stem cells play in development of the brain? (59 minutes)

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Cholesteatoma is abnormal skin growth in the middle section of the ear. The resulting damage can lead to hearing loss and even facial paralysis. Unfortunately, no medical cure for cholesteatoma currently exists, and while surgical removal of excess tissue can be effective, 12 to 30% of patients show a recurrence of cholesteatoma. To understand how this abnormality forms and returns in some cases, researchers examined cholesteatoma tissue in the lab. Experiments showed that inflammatory signaling caused overactive skin cell growth. That signaling was largely mediated by the transmembrane protein TLR4, a molecule that helps orchestrate the innate immune response during infection and injury. Signs of cholesteatoma were effectively reduced by suppressing TLR4 activity with LPS-RS, a TLR4 antagonist and toxin derived from photosynthetic bacteria..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

In this course, we will explore how animals determine and maintain cell fate. We will discuss changes to DNA structure and packaging, special proteins (known as “master regulators”) with the ability to alter cell fate via transcription, cell-cell signaling, and RNA localization.
This course is one of many Advanced Undergraduate Seminars offered by the Biology Department at MIT. These seminars are tailored for students with an interest in using primary research literature to discuss and learn about current biological research in a highly interactive setting. Many instructors of the Advanced Undergraduate Seminars are postdoctoral scientists with a strong interest in teaching.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Organoids are 3-dimensional structures built in the laboratory from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) to mimic human tissues and organs and have paved the way for research into new disease treatments that would never have been possible with traditional approaches. One field that is notably benefiting from the use of organoids is cancer research, particularly the study of glioma, the most common type of tumor originating in the brain. Poor outcomes are often associated with glioma because of its rapid growth and resistance to chemotherapy, but cerebral organoids hold promise for the development of novel treatments for this type of cancer, as they can be used as valuable tools to track tumor development and screen new drugs. Human cerebral organoids can also be grown from a patient’s own tissues for the creation of personalized cancer treatments, and they can be genetically engineered to study how common gene mutations affect tumor cells..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

The MIT Biology Department core courses, 7.012, 7.013, and 7.014, all cover the same core material, which includes the fundamental principles of biochemistry, genetics, molecular biology, and cell biology. Biological function at the molecular level is particularly emphasized and covers the structure and regulation of genes, as well as, the structure and synthesis of proteins, how these molecules are integrated into cells, and how these cells are integrated into multicellular systems and organisms. In addition, each version of the subject has its own distinctive material.
7.012 focuses on the exploration of current research in cell biology, immunology, neurobiology, genomics, and molecular medicine.
Acknowledgments
The study materials, problem sets, and quiz materials used during Fall 2004 for 7.012 include contributions from past instructors, teaching assistants, and other members of the MIT Biology Department affiliated with course #7.012. Since the following works have evolved over a period of many years, no single source can be attributed.

The MIT Biology Department core Introductory Biology courses, 7.012, 7.013, 7.014, 7.015, and 7.016 all cover the same core material, which includes the fundamental principles of biochemistry, genetics, molecular biology, and cell biology. The focus of 7.013 is on genomic approaches to human biology, including neuroscience, development, immunology, tissue repair and stem cells, tissue engineering, and infectious and inherited diseases, including cancer.

The MIT Biology Department core courses, 7.012, 7.013, and 7.014, all cover the same core material, which includes the fundamental principles of biochemistry, genetics, molecular biology, and cell biology. 7.013 focuses on the application of the fundamental principles toward an understanding of human biology. Topics include genetics, cell biology, molecular biology, disease (infectious agents, inherited diseases and cancer), developmental biology, neurobiology and evolution.
Biological function at the molecular level is particularly emphasized in all courses and covers the structure and regulation of genes, as well as, the structure and synthesis of proteins, how these molecules are integrated into cells, and how these cells are integrated into multicellular systems and organisms. In addition, each version of the subject has its own distinctive material.

The MIT Biology Department core courses, 7.012, 7.013, and 7.014, all cover the same core material, which includes the fundamental principles of biochemistry, genetics, molecular biology, and cell biology. Biological function at the molecular level is particularly emphasized and covers the structure and regulation of genes, as well as, the structure and synthesis of proteins, how these molecules are integrated into cells, and how these cells are integrated into multicellular systems and organisms. In addition, each version of the subject has its own distinctive material.
7.014 focuses on the application of these fundamental principles, toward an understanding of microorganisms as geochemical agents responsible for the evolution and renewal of the biosphere and of their role in human health and disease.
Acknowledgements
The study materials, problem sets, and quiz materials used during Spring 2005 for 7.014 include contributions from past instructors, teaching assistants, and other members of the MIT Biology Department affiliated with course 7.014. Since the following works have evolved over a period of many years, no single source can be attributed.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Osteoarthritis is a painful degradation of joint cartilage. Therapies that boost cartilage's limited ability to repair using adipose tissue-derived stem cells (ASCs) have shown promise in cell culture and animal studies, but that success has not carried over to clinical trials. This variability in clinical trials may come down to how the cells are cultured prior to implantation. To test this, a recent study examined a co-culture system combining ASCs taken from the fat pad behind the patella and cartilage cells (chondrocytes). Co-cultured ASCs and chondrocytes had higher expression of cartilage-associated genes than expected, and the effect was larger in cultures with a lower ratio of ASCs to chondrocytes. This gene expression change likely reflects changes in the ASCs and would suggest that the ASCs are starting to make the molecular changes needed to repair damaged cartilage, but increased expression in the chondrocytes, rather than the ASCs, cannot be ruled out without further experiments..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"The trafficking of proteins into and out of the nucleus is central to cell function In fruit flies, the process also seems to determine the fate of neural stem cells in the larval central brain Neural stem cells are essential to neurogenesis, a two-step process in Drosophila The cells first form during embryogenesis At the end of neurogenesis, the cells divide terminally and exit the cell cycle, producing new neurons A build up of the protein Prospero in the nucleus initiates this exit But what causes this accumulation? Researchers report that Prospero uses RanGAP to shuttle across the nuclear envelope Eliminating RanGAP function doesn’t affect the nuclear import of Prospero, but rather its export out of the nucleus This suggests a drop in RanGAP levels could entrap Prospero in the nucleus, hinting that an intrinsic mechanism determines the fate of neural stem cells in Drosophila and perhaps other organisms as well Wu, D., et al..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Our lungs use very fine tissues to exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide between the air and our blood. About 95% of this tissue is made up of a single kind of cell, called type-1 pneumocytes, or AT1 cells. Because they’re so delicate and thin, these cells are vulnerable to damage by pollutants, viruses, and bacteria. Fortunately, lung tissues also have specialized stem cells called AT2 cells that can replace damaged AT1 cells. But exactly how these cube-shaped AT2 cells generate large, flat AT1 cells has remained something of a mystery. To study this problem, the Tata lab in Cell Biology at Duke University has created “mini lungs” inside Petri dishes. They found that inside these “organoids”, the blocky stem cells enter an intermediate state on their way to generating the thin AT1 cells. The stem cells stretch considerably while passing through this transitional state, making them vulnerable to DNA damage. Cells normally pass through that transition within days..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.