The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University is a cross-disciplinary research institute known for developing bioinspired materials and devices aimed at solving complex societal problems through technology innovation. Founded in 2009 through a generous gift from entrepreneur Hansjörg Wyss, the institute seeks to uncover nature’s design principles and apply them to create new materials and devices that can interface with living systems. The Wyss Institute’s work spans a wide array of fields, including biologically inspired engineering, robotic systems, regenerative medicine, and diagnostic technology. Among its many innovations are organs-on-chips, robotic exosuits, and programmable DNA nanorobots for use in medicine. The Institute emphasizes a collaborative approach, bringing together researchers from various scientific, engineering, and medical disciplines to innovate and accelerate translation of technologies from the lab to the marketplace.
A new study reveals that enhanced lymph node expansion from biomaterial vaccines could boost tumor vaccine efficacy, potentially revolutionizing future vaccine developments. The human body…
The multicellular bots move around and help heal “wounds” created in cultured neurons. Researchers at Tufts University and Harvard University’s Wyss Institute have created tiny…
Drugs that might be used to treat infections in mammals by causing pathogen tolerance have been discovered through research on frog embryos. Why do some…
Combination of nucleic acid nanotechnology and cryo-EM gives unprecedented insights into the structures of large and small RNAs, advancing RNA biology and drug design. We…
Protecting the Human Intestinal Microbiome With Synthetic Biology An engineered live biotherapeutic protects the intestinal microbiome against unwanted consequences of antibiotic therapies and could be…
Human Lung Chip reveals the effects of breathing motions on lung immune responses and leads to repurposing of potential therapeutics for respiratory diseases, including COVID-19….
eToeholds are engineered control elements that could make RNA therapeutics safer, cell therapies more effective, and enable novel forms of biodetection. RNAs are best known…
Study in mice confirms link between mechanotherapy and immunotherapy in muscle regeneration. Massage has been used to treat sore, injured muscles for more than 3,000…
STAMPScreen Pipeline Helps Streamline Genetic Studies in Mammalian Cells Today’s genetic engineers have a plethora of resources at their disposal: an ever-increasing number of massive…
Studies in brainless slime molds reveal that they use physical cues to decide where to grow. If you didn’t have a brain, could you still…
Revealing details of the internal structure of ‘mini-brains’ could help accelerate drug studies and may offer alternatives to some animal testing. ‘Mini-brains’ are pin-head-sized collections…
DNA and RNA have been compared to “instruction manuals” containing the information needed for living “machines” to operate. But while electronic machines like computers and…
New platform technology uses red blood cells to generate targeted immune responses in mice. Red blood cells do more than shuttle oxygen from our lungs…
Genetic oscillator records changes in microbiome growth patterns in vivo. For all the attention the human microbiome has been getting over the last few years,…
Sacrificial ink-writing technique allows 3D printing of large, vascularized human organ building blocks. Twenty people die every day waiting for an organ transplant in the…
Providing a gentle grip on gelatinous creatures, a new ultra-soft underwater gripper safely catches and releases jellyfish without damage. Jellyfish are about 95% water, making…
Filtering and treating water, both for human consumption and to clean industrial and municipal wastewater, accounts for about 13 percent of all electricity consumed in…
Harvard University researchers have developed a new printing method that uses soundwaves to generate droplets from liquids with an unprecedented range of composition and viscosity….