Texas Medical Center

Bacteria have sensors to shut toxin down

Researchers at Rice University and the University of Idaho helped identify a protein that senses and binds to formaldehyde to tell cells that toxic formaldehyde is building up.

Engineered organism could diagnose Crohn's disease flareups

Rice University researchers have engineered a bacterium capable of diagnosing a human disease, a milestone in the field of synthetic biology.

Feds back probe of understudied gut nervous system

Rice University neurobiologist Rosa Uribe has won a five-year, $2 million R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health to study how the enteric nervous system develops.

Wearable glucose monitors shed light on progression of Type 2 diabetes in Hispanic/Latino adults

In one of the first studies of its kind, medical and engineering researchers have shown wearable devices that continuously monitor blood sugar provide new insights into the progression of Type 2 diabetes among at-risk Hispanic/Latino adults.

Rice, Baylor part of research effort to advance genome editing

Researchers from Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine are part of a national effort to accelerate genome-editing research and develop gene-editing technologies and therapies.

Houston Methodist, Rice U. launch neuroprosthetic collaboration

Rice and Houston Methodist are partnering to solve clinical problems with neurorobotics at the new Center for Translational Neural Prosthetics and Interfaces, a collaboration that brings together scientists, clinicians, engineers and surgeons.

Cancer ‘guardian’ breaks bad with one switch

A mutation that replaces a single amino acid in a potent tumor-suppressing protein makes it prone to nucleating amyloid fibrils implicated in many cancers as well as neurological diseases.

Study could explain tuberculosis bacteria paradox

Tuberculosis bacteria have evolved to remember stressful encounters and react quickly to future stress, according to a study by computational bioengineers at Rice University and infectious disease experts at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.

Kennedy Institute adds data scientist for COVID-19 research

Rice's Ken Kennedy Institute is collaborating with the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center on data science research into long-term outcomes and improved treatment methods for COVID-19.

Brain-to-brain communication demo receives DARPA funding

Wireless linkage of brains may soon go to human testing with $8 million for preclinical demonstrations.

Light flips genetic switch in bacteria inside transparent worms

Researchers from Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine have shown that colored light can both activate and deactivate genes of gut bacteria in the intestines of worms. The research shows how optogenetic technology can be used to investigate the health impacts of gut bacteria.

AI-powered microscope could check cancer margins in minutes

Researchers from Rice University and MD Anderson Cancer Center have created a microscope that uses artificial intelligence to quickly and inexpensively image large tissue sections at high resolution with minimal preparation. If clinically validated, the DeepDOF microscope could allow surgeons to inspect tumor margins within minutes.

Hidden structure found in essential metabolic machinery

Rice University biochemists have discovered membrane-divided subcompartments within organelles called peroxisomes, essential pieces of metabolic machinery for all higher order life from yeast to humans. The research appears this week in Nature Communications.

AI helps scientists understand brain activity behind thoughts

Researchers from Baylor College of Medicine and Rice University have developed artificial intelligence models that help them better understand the brain computations that underlie thoughts.

Study: Early, late stages of degenerative diseases are distinct

Rice University biochemists have proposed that degenerative diseases as varied as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and muscle atrophy occur in two distinct phases marked by protein signaling changes that could result in patients responding differently to the same treatment.