Artificial jellyfish swims in a heartbeat
Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
July 22, 2012
Astronomy: Dark matter filament illuminated
Devin Powell, Science News, August 11, 2012
After observing light distortion between clusters of galaxies, scientists now believe that a massive filament of dark matter connects galaxy clusters.
Cartilage creation
Nathan Seppa, Science News, August 11, 2012
Bioengineers are getting closer to cartilage regeneration as they discover naturally occurring proteins that can help turn a patient’s stem cells into cartilage.
Delivering on a promise
Elizabeth Cooney, Broad Institute blog, August 22, 2012
See also below: MIT News Office, “New nanoparticles shrink tumors in mice”
New nanoparticles shrink tumors in mice
Anne Trafton, MIT News Office, August 16, 2012
See also above: Broad Institute blog, “Delivering on a promise”
Simple mathematical computations underlie brain circuits
Anne Trafton, MIT News Office, August 9, 2012
To explore what mathematical predictions apply to neuron functioning in the brain, scientists:
- Made two types of inhibitory neurons light sensitive.
- Used calcium levels to measure activity in the target neurons.
When they shone light on the inhibitory neurons, the target cells were inhibited at rates that correspond to mathematical predictions.
Success of engineering tissue depends on where it’s grown
Anne Trafton, MIT News Office, August 15, 2012
Artificial tissue grown on 3D scaffolding for use as implants arranges itself throughout target cells and generates fewer inflammatory responses than if grown on 2D flat scaffolds.
Mostly life science 
Doug Shattuck said
Janet,
Great selection of articles. It reminds me of the highlight column of the Globe or Journal. Easy to start the day with over coffee. Keep it coming.
Doug