Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering

This scanning electron microscope image shows drug-loaded nanoparticles bound to mouse erythrocytes (red blood cells).

A better candidate for chemo delivery

Drug-loaded nanoparticles bound to circulating red blood cells inhibit lung cancer metastasis

Science|

DateNovember 13, 2019November 13, 2019

A timely triage test for TB

New blood monitoring could be used to help people infected with tuberculosis

Health|

DateOctober 23, 2019October 23, 2019

To achieve untethered flight, the latest iteration of the Robobee underwent several important changes, including the addition of a second pair of wings.

The RoboBee flies solo

Cutting the power cord for the first untethered flight

Science|

DateJune 26, 2019November 1, 2019

Study finds performance-enhancing bacteria in human microbiome

Discovery may open door to probiotics that enhance results from exercise and athletics

Health|

DateJune 24, 2019June 28, 2019

Engineered mini-kidneys come of age

Growing organoids under flow increases their potential for drug testing, regenerative medicine

Health|

DateFebruary 11, 2019February 27, 2019

Printing with sound

Researchers use acoustic forces to print droplets that couldn’t be printed before

Science|

DateAugust 31, 2018January 23, 2019

Soft multifunctional robots get really small

Fabricating soft materials at the millimeter scale paves way for medical and environmental tasks

Science|

DateAugust 6, 2018August 8, 2018

Cambridge biotech startup eGenesis, co-founded by Luhan Yang, Ph.D. '13, and George Church (not pictured), will seek to develop methods to modify animal organs to be safe for human transplantation.

Pig organs for human patients: A challenge fit for CRISPR

Through a new license, Harvard lab’s innovations in genome engineering might help to solve the shortage of organs for transplant

Health|

DateMay 30, 2018May 29, 2018

Drawing inspiration from plants, animals to restore skin tissue

Nanofiber dressings heal wounds, promote regeneration

Science|

DateMarch 19, 2018January 23, 2019

This view of the ankle-assisting exosuit shows its soft robotic elements and the cable that transfers mechanical power from actuators operated from the hip to the ankle joint.

Robotic suit promotes normal walking in stroke patients

Wyss technology opens new approaches to gait retraining and rehabilitation

Science|

DateJuly 27, 2017March 4, 2019

“Our goal is to get people who have remarkable memory traits and engage them in the PGP. If you are exceptional in any way, you should share it, not hoard it,” said Harvard Medical School Professor George Church. Church and his team plan to begin recruitment for the study this month.

Brain-training app creators join in the genetics game

Harvard collaborates with makers of Lumosity to study genetics, memory, attention

Health|

DateMarch 9, 2017March 11, 2019

The soft robotic sleeve twists and compresses in synch with a beating heart, augmenting cardiovascular functions weakened by heart failure. Unlike currently available devices that assist heart function, Harvard’s soft robotic sleeve does not directly contact blood.

Soft robot helps the heart beat

Sleeve attaches directly around the heart

Science|

DateJanuary 20, 2017October 23, 2017

Researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering have developed a robot, known as "Root," aimed at teaching children to code.

Root, the code-teaching robot

Wyss Institute creation is designed to instruct anyone from a 5-year-old to an intermediate programmer

Science|

DateApril 18, 2016December 19, 2017

Final OK for Science and Engineering Complex in Allston

BRA approval clears path for work to begin this summer

Campus|

DateApril 14, 2016March 15, 2019

Researchers at the Harvard Paulson School have demonstrated a flying, swimming, insectlike robot, easing the way to create future aerial-aquatic robotic vehicles.

The tiny flying submarine

Harvard lab develops first insect-size robots capable of flight and swimming

Science|

DateOctober 21, 2015

New biosensors developed by Wyss Institute core faculty member George Church enable complex genetic reprogramming of common bacteria like E. coli (pictured). The process could be leveraged for sustainable biomanufacturing, using the metabolic processes of bacterial cells to generate valuable chemicals and fuels.

How new biosensors turn E. coli into something valuable

Wyss reprograms engineered bacteria into source of natural energy for pharmaceuticals, plastics, fuel

Health|

DateAugust 4, 2015

In the field, the robot’s hopping motion could be an effective way to move quickly and easily around obstacles. Also, with no sliding parts or traditional joints, the robot isn’t victim to dirt or debris like its more intricate cousins, making it a good candidate for use in harsh terrains.

And now, the hopping robot

Using a 3-D printer, Harvard researchers create an autonomous soft machine

Science|

DateJuly 9, 2015

The soft robotic glove could help patients suffering from muscular dystrophy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, incomplete spinal cord injury, or other hand impairments regain some independence and control of their environment.

A new grasp on robotic glove

Soft, lightweight robotic glove assists with grasping objects independently

Science|

DateJune 5, 2015March 8, 2019

In the Wyss Institute's new podcast, "Disruptive," Harvard professors and Wyss core faculty members Pamela Silver and George Church explore the changes that can be made to an organism's genome.

Changing the way genomes work

Wyss Institute’s inaugural podcast explores impact of Harvard researchers' synthetic biology work

Health|

DateMay 14, 2015

"We’re in the mode of exploring the other options for stuff we could make," said Robert Wood, the Charles River Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences, who, with a team of colleagues, created a self-made robot.

‘It was sort of a eureka moment’

Professor explains creation of self-assembling robot, looks to future

Science|

DateAugust 8, 2014

“Getting a robot to assemble itself autonomously and actually perform a function has been a milestone we’ve been chasing for many years,” said Robert J. Wood, Charles River Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and a core faculty member at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard.

Robot folds up, walks away

Harvard, MIT project shows potential for sophisticated machines that build themselves

Science|

DateAugust 7, 2014

The Wyss Institute’s human organs-on-chips team has used the lung-on-a-chip (pictured) to study drug toxicity and potential new therapies. The technology will be commercialized to accelerate development of pharmaceutical, chemical, cosmetic, and personalized medicine products.

Wyss Institute’s organs-on-chips develops into new company

Creation of startup follows Wyss mission of ‘benchtop to marketplace’

Science|

DateJuly 29, 2014

“One of the very important ways in which we engage the world … is through the sense of smell. It is essential to some experiences — eating — and also interacting with friends and enemies and nature. Coffee, wine, chocolate are fundamentally aromatic experiences,” said Harvard's David Edwards. “The ability to bring scents to electronic communications enlarges the richness of communications online.”

Now available on the Web? Smells

Harvard team develops oPhone, trades scents between New York, Paris

Science|

DateJune 18, 2014

Turning shrimp shells into plastic: Harvard's Wyss Institute comes up with fully degradable bioplastic.

Promising solution to plastic pollution

Harvard's Wyss Institute creates bioplastic made from shrimp shells

Science|

DateMay 5, 2014

A Harvard research team led by Kevin Kit Parker, a Harvard Stem Cell Institute principal faculty member, has identified a set of 64 crucial parameters by which to judge stem cell-derived cardiac myocytes, making it possible for scientists and pharmaceutical companies to quantitatively judge and compare the value of stem cells.

Quality control

Harvard researchers develop long-needed standards for gauging ‘good’ stem cells

Health|

DateMarch 6, 2014July 26, 2019

The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study hosted a symposium that examined recent advances in “smart clothes.” Speakers at the event were experts in biology, design, materials science, engineering, medicine, and nanotechnology, including Babak Parviz (photo 2), the developer of Google eyewear.

Technically, you are what you wear

Symposium touts ‘smart clothes’ that do far more than just cover

Science|

DateNovember 18, 2013April 8, 2019

This disk-shaped, biodegradable sponge contains growth factors and components of each patient’s tumors. Researchers at the Wyss Institute and clinicians at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute hope that when it’s implanted under the patient’s skin, it will spur the patient’s immune system to attack and destroy the patient’s tumors. Photo by Amos Chan

Cancer vaccine begins Phase I clinical trials

Designed to target skin cancer, implantable vaccine opens door to treating many cancers, inflammatory diseases

Health|

DateSeptember 6, 2013April 3, 2019

Researchers create the ultraslippery coating by making a glass honeycomb-like structure with craters (left) and coating it with a Teflon-like chemical (purple) that binds to the honeycomb cells to form a stable liquid film. That film repels droplets of both water and oily liquids (right). Because it’s a liquid, it flows, which helps the coating repair itself when damaged.

New coating creates ‘superglass’

Resilient, ultraslippery glass could lead to self-cleaning, scratch-resistant windows, lenses, and solar panels

Science|

DateAugust 2, 2013

Inspired by the biology of a fly, with submillimeter-scale anatomy and two wafer-thin wings that flap almost invisibly, 120 times per second, the tiny device not only represents the absolute cutting edge of micromanufacturing and control systems, but is an aspiration that has impelled innovation in these fields by dozens of researchers across Harvard for years.

Robotic insects make first controlled flight

In culmination of a decade’s work, RoboBees achieve vertical takeoff, hovering, and steering

Science|

DateMay 2, 2013February 13, 2018

An intact cucumber tendril (top) and a fiber ribbon (bottom) that has been extracted from a tendril both coil in the same, predictable way. Studying the cellular structure of these tendrils has helped researchers to understand a new type of spring.

Clues in the cucumber’s climb

Study of creeping plant’s tendrils leads researchers to unusual spring

Science|

DateAugust 30, 2012June 19, 2019

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Drug-loaded nanoparticles bound to circulating red blood cells inhibit lung cancer metastasis

New blood monitoring could be used to help people infected with tuberculosis

Cutting the power cord for the first untethered flight

Discovery may open door to probiotics that enhance results from exercise and athletics

Growing organoids under flow increases their potential for drug testing, regenerative medicine

Researchers use acoustic forces to print droplets that couldn’t be printed before

Fabricating soft materials at the millimeter scale paves way for medical and environmental tasks

Through a new license, Harvard lab’s innovations in genome engineering might help to solve the shortage of organs for transplant

Nanofiber dressings heal wounds, promote regeneration

Wyss technology opens new approaches to gait retraining and rehabilitation

Harvard collaborates with makers of Lumosity to study genetics, memory, attention

Sleeve attaches directly around the heart

Wyss Institute creation is designed to instruct anyone from a 5-year-old to an intermediate programmer

BRA approval clears path for work to begin this summer

Harvard lab develops first insect-size robots capable of flight and swimming

Wyss reprograms engineered bacteria into source of natural energy for pharmaceuticals, plastics, fuel

Using a 3-D printer, Harvard researchers create an autonomous soft machine

Soft, lightweight robotic glove assists with grasping objects independently

Wyss Institute’s inaugural podcast explores impact of Harvard researchers' synthetic biology work

Professor explains creation of self-assembling robot, looks to future

Harvard, MIT project shows potential for sophisticated machines that build themselves

Creation of startup follows Wyss mission of ‘benchtop to marketplace’

Harvard team develops oPhone, trades scents between New York, Paris

Harvard's Wyss Institute creates bioplastic made from shrimp shells

Harvard researchers develop long-needed standards for gauging ‘good’ stem cells

Symposium touts ‘smart clothes’ that do far more than just cover

Designed to target skin cancer, implantable vaccine opens door to treating many cancers, inflammatory diseases

Resilient, ultraslippery glass could lead to self-cleaning, scratch-resistant windows, lenses, and solar panels

In culmination of a decade’s work, RoboBees achieve vertical takeoff, hovering, and steering

Study of creeping plant’s tendrils leads researchers to unusual spring

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