Behind the Screens: Dropping in on Combinatorial Biology

Behind the Screens: Dropping in on Combinatorial Biology

Collections: Image Award Winners

2019 Award Winner

Jared Kehe, Tony Kulesa, Paul Blainey

Koch Institute at MIT, Broad Institute, MIT Department of Biological Engineering

Biology is combinatorial by nature. Complex biological challenges, such as those in agricultural ecology or cancer therapy, may require solutions with multiple components. The Blainey Lab builds soft plastic chips, each the size of a credit card, to rapidly screen thousands of microbes or compounds for “hit” combinations that promote health or defeat disease.

Seven droplets, each containing one component, are merged within a single hexagonal well. Researchers examine images of the resulting pool to identify desirable interactions. In this particular experiment, green means go—a promising hit ready for further testing.

Video

Jared Kehe shares the story behind his image at the exhibit opening ceremony on March 20, 2019.

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