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Michael Laub

Michael Laub

MIT biologist and co-discoverer of the SNIPE defense system

Appears in 1 story

Notable Quotes

We have been 'massively underestimating the number of defence systems' — this research 'brings to light how many systems are out there still to be characterized.' — quoted in Nature, April 2026

Stories

Machine learning reveals bacteria carry far more antiviral defenses than scientists assumed

New Capabilities

Professor at MIT; lab characterized the SNIPE membrane-bound defense system

Every major tool in genetic engineering — from the enzymes that cut DNA in the 1970s to CRISPR gene editing — started as a defense weapon bacteria use against viruses. Two research teams just revealed that bacteria carry roughly three times more of these weapons than anyone realized, identifying millions of antiviral proteins across tens of thousands of genomes using machine-learning models that can flag a new defense system in five minutes.

Updated 3 hours ago