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Researchers from Harvard Medical School and the ӳý of MIT and Harvard have uncovered unexpectedly complex patterns in the T lymphocyte responses that individual people mount, reflecting environmental influences as well as a genetic component. The study lays the groundwork for further explorations into the relative contributions of genes and their environment on immunological processes, the scientists said, which could illuminate autoimmune disease and its genetic underpinnings.

Bhatia headshot

ӳý senior associate member Sangeeta Bhatia has been named the 2014 recipient of the $500,000 . The honor, which is celebrating its 20th year, recognizes outstanding, mid-career inventors who are improving the world through technological invention, and demonstrating a commitment to mentorship in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Rabbit comparison

By all accounts, Pope Gregory I was quite the innovator. Along with his many liturgical accomplishments, he’s credited (somewhat apocryphally) with popularizing Gregorian chant, coining the phrase ‘bless you’ after someone sneezes, and perhaps, most unwittingly, creating one of the best experimental models for studying the evolution of domesticated animals.