Researchers have answered a longstanding question about how certain non-enveloped viruses punch through the cell membrane to deliver their genetic material. The findings deepen understanding of virology and could aid the biotech industry’s search for ways to deliver relatively large therapeutic agents into cells to treat or prevent disease. Work was made possible by an advanced imaging technique known as cryo-electron tomography, or cryo-ET, at HMS.

Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) researcher Zhenglun “Alan” Wei is aiming to improve prenatal diagnosis of the most common cardiac birth defect by going with the flow … of blood in tiny hearts. Wei, an assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, is leading a four-year project funded with $2,915,519 from the National Institutes of Health to develop a personalized model that will use detailed blood flow information collected from noninvasive tests to detect obstructions of the aorta in fetuses.

A new study from the University of Missouri offers hope for those who are at significantly higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease later in life, further establishing Mizzou as a leader in research on the most common cause of dementia.

A U.S. federal agency is investing $38 million in a provocative and potentially transformative project: AI-powered medical "digital twins" to help doctors personalize treatments for critical ill patients in hospitals. The project, led by a U. of Vermont surgeon and researcher, will help doctors treat the most challenging illnesses in the ICU—sepsis, burns, severe trauma, and disordered immune responses. The funding is from ARPA-H in the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services and is the largest research award in UVM's history.