The largest-yet analysis of ancient DNA in Africa, which includes the first ancient DNA recovered from members of the medieval Swahili civilization, has now broken the stalemate about the extent to which people from outside Africa contributed to Swahili culture and ancestry.
In a step forward for genetic engineering and synthetic biology, researchers have modified a strain of Escherichia coli bacteria to be immune to natural viral infections while also minimizing the potential for the bacteria or their modified genes to escape into the wild.
Now, in a surprising new discovery, Harvard Medical School researchers have found that a class of regulatory T cells (Tregs) made in the gut play a role in repairing injured muscles and mending damaged livers.
In an even more unexpected twist, the researchers found that gut microbes fuel the production of Tregs, which act as immune healers that go on patrol around the body and respond to distress signals from distant sites of injury.
Research in mice shows bacteria hijack communication between nerve and immune cells in the meninges — the protective layers that shield the brain from infection.
Face blindness, a mystifying condition that can trick us into believing we recognize people we’ve never met or make us fail to recognize those we have, has been previously estimated to affect between 2 and 2.5 percent of people in the world.
Now, a new study by researchers at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and the VA Boston Healthcare System is providing fresh insights into the disorder, suggesting it may be more common than currently believed.
Swiss biotech executive, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Ernesto Bertarelli has pledged $75 million through the Bertarelli Foundation to advance basic scientific discovery, therapeutic science, and a culture of entrepreneurship at Harvard Medical School.
New research links history of concussions to elevated risk for high blood pressure among former NFL players . The link between concussion and high blood pressure persisted even after controlling for known hypertension risk factors.
Nationwide study shows integrated health systems yield marginal increases in quality of care with higher costs for medical services, compared with care delivered by independent hospitals and physician practices. Proponents of health system mergers have argued that consolidation brings higher value care.
A $50 million gift from Woburn, Mass.-based Cummings Foundation will build upon and amplify the work of the late Paul Farmer, a champion of global health.
The gift establishes the Paul Farmer Collaborative of Harvard Medical School and the University of Global Health Equity (UGHE) in Rwanda. It will be divided equally between the two institutions.
Patients under the care of specialists who trained with the patients’ primary care physicians (PCPs) reported being treated with a more concerned manner, receiving clearer explanations, and experiencing greater engagement in shared decision-making, among other benefits, the study found.
New research suggests that former professional football players may face accelerated aging, despite past research showing they have life spans similar or longer than the general population
In the new study, retired football players reported shorter health spans — defined as years free of disease – than men in the general population
Two age-related diseases — arthritis and dementia — were found more commonly among former football players, compared with men of the same age in the general population
Additionally, hypertension and diabetes were more common among younger former players, those ages 25 to 29, compared with same-age men from the general population.
The results warrant further study to define the biochemical, cellular, and physiologic mechanisms behind premature aging in former football players
Analysis shows steep increases in organ donations, transplantations during large motorcycle rallies. The increase in organ donations and transplantations appears to be driven by well-documented increases in crash-related deaths during large motorcycle rallies.
At a glance:
New open-source data science platform aims to optimize AI-driven drug discovery
Platform can help alleviate challenges of drug discovery, overcome common hurdles in machine-learning design and performance
Platform serves as bridge for computer scientists and life sciences researchers
Those who gathered on Thursday, Oct. 27, for the grand opening of the Blavatnik Harvard Life Lab Longwood were there not just to admire a new state-of-the art research facility but to celebrate the promise of biomedical science to transform health and well-being for all.
The Harvard Medical School-led Massachusetts Consortium on Pathogen Readiness will play a central role in genomic surveillance and education on emerging and novel pathogens under a new $25 million CDC grant awarded to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to establish the New England Pathogen Genomics Center of Excellence (PGCoE).
The classic view of pain is that it protects by detecting and signaling the presence of harmful agents, but new research shows pain can shield the gut more directly.
Experiments in mice show that activated pain neurons induce intestinal cells to release mucus that coats and protects the intestine both under normal conditions and during inflammation.
The findings raise concerns about long-term use of certain medications that suppress protective pain signaling in conditions such as colitis and migraine.
While gun violence in the United States continues to claim lives at an alarming rate, it is also taking a quiet toll on the U.S. economy, according to new research by Zirui Song, associate professor of health care policy in the Blavatnik Institute at Harvard Medical School and associate professor of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Handheld computer vision and machine learning tool for identifying surgical wound infections debuts in rural Rwanda, enabling crucial care for women recovering from c-section in their homes. Project named first-prize winner in NIH Technology Accelerator Challenge for Maternal Health.
The study findings suggest possibilities for developing new drugs that replicate or build on A. muciniphila’s immuno-modulatory activity.
The work provides a model for using traditional techniques to pinpoint how other members of the gut microbiome act on the body.
The work of the award recipients altered the trajectory of the pandemic and has saved countless lives
The discoveries made by the five scientists have opened the door for an array of mRNA-based therapies and vaccines for a range of diseases, including cancer, heart disease, bleeding disorders, and more
Analysis shows substantial differences in treatment, outcomes, and efficiency in heart attack care across six high-income countries despite well-established international guidelines
U.S. heart attack death rate was among the highest, even with adherence to recommended treatments and faring well on other measures
All countries excelled in some measures, but none excelled in all, even though well-established international guidelines are readily available
Scientists pinpoint the molecular epicenter of deep-sleep regulation.
The findings, based on research in mice, identify a gene that makes a protein that regulates delta waves—electrical signals between neurons that occur during the deepest phases of relaxation and are a hallmark of restorative sleep.
Gunshot survivors experience serious increases in mental health disorders, substance use disorders, and pain in the year following a firearm injury
Survivors’ family members also experience a rise in mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD in the year after loved ones’ injuries