Exploring Our Sense of Touch from Every Angle
Harvard Medical SchoolHarvard Medical School researchers are studying one of the most mysterious — and most essential — senses
Harvard Medical School researchers are studying one of the most mysterious — and most essential — senses
At a glance: The four scientists developed genetically engineered immune cells to combat several blood cancers. CAR T-cell therapy has redefined the treatment of blood cancers, saving the lives of tens of thousands of people.
Concerns over medical misinformation are not new, but the COVID-19 pandemic magnified long-simmering tensions over two fundamental concepts: Freedom of speech and the federal government’s responsibility to protect people from what it considers false and dangerous claims.
The World Health Organization’s governing body is scheduled to meet on May 27 to discuss a critically needed plan for global pandemic preparedness.
Race-based assessments of lung function have historically assumed different levels of “normal” for different patient groups. New analysis shows that removing from lung function estimates would increase the number of Black patients diagnosed with serious disease.Greater estimated disease severity would change a patient’s diagnosis, disability compensation, eligibility for certain jobs.
Survey reveals nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults support using emerging technology to screen embryos during IVF for risk of developing certain health conditions or traits that arise from more than one gene. Only about one-third of respondents approved of using the technology to predict traits unrelated to disease. Nearly all expressed concerns about potential negative outcomes for individuals or society. Findings underscore need for public education about benefits, limitations, ethical hazards of polygenic risk scores for embryos.
Understanding the human exposome — a person’s myriad health exposures over a lifetime — can reveal unknowns about diseases not explained fully by our DNA. Artificial intelligence will be indispensable in efforts to understand the role of biology and environment in disease and health.
How well a newly minted doctor scores on their medical board exam appears linked to patients’ odds of dying or being readmitted to the hospital. Findings offer reassurance that certification exams, which aim to demonstrate the competence of physicians, capture critical knowledge and clinical judgment skills for physicians.
Experts say pandemic-era rules that promoted telemedicine should be made permanent to protect gains in quality of care and greater access for millions of patients. New analysis shows enhanced telemedicine services led to higher quality of care and better access and only a modest increase in spending.
Study shows AI improves performance for some radiologists but worsens it for others. Understanding who might benefit from AI and who would not is critical for designing tools that boost human performance.
Study in mice reveals novel gasping reflex triggered by cells in the lungs when the airway is restricted
Harvard Medical School scientists develop new CRISPR-based tool to study the immune function of genes. New gene-editing approach could optimize how scientists study the immune system’s role in cancer and other immune-mediated diseases.
From the invention of the wheel to the advent of the printing press to the splitting of the atom, history is replete with cautionary tales of new technologies emerging before humanity was ready to cope with them.
Mouse study provides insights into communication between neurons during decision-making
A study in fruit flies reveals how the brain’s compass and steering regions make course corrections
Researchers have uncovered evidence hinting that the most common bug spray ingredient, DEET, might cause reproductive problems by affecting the formation of egg cells during pregnancy.
Novel insights from the pandemic may be propelling the field of immunology into a new golden age.
Patients are more likely to fall, get new infections, or experience other harms in a hospital after it is acquired by private equity.
Using lab-made cells, Harvard Med researchers identify how the immune system neutralizes herpesvirus. Study maps, for the first time, the maneuvers used by virus and host in the cell nucleus. Findings could inform design of new treatments for herpes and other viruses that replicate in the same way.
Observations in mice hint at role of daydreams in remodeling the brain
The use of prior authorizations by insurance companies for certain oral cancer drugs can lead to significant delays in patients’ obtaining the medication and make it more likely that some would discontinue the drug, according to a new study from Harvard Medical School researchers.
Computational neuroscientist probes how the brain learns, remembers, and decides
Scientists show for the first time that bacteria can cause itch by activating nerve cells in the skin. The findings can inform new therapies to treat itch that occurs in inflammatory skin conditions like eczema and dermatitis.
The Harvard Medical School’s Blavatnik Therapeutics Challenge Awards, now in their fourth year, have been bestowed to five research projects that promise to push promising early discoveries toward clinic.
Jennifer Oyler-Yaniv is studying human diseases to learn about the immune system. She hopes that diseases such as cancer will reveal fundamental principles of how immune cells communicate
Firearm deaths, injuries among young people exert massive physical, mental health burden on survivors and families. Financial costs also high; survivor health spending up by $35,000 in the year following injury, according to the analysis. Deaths and injuries likely to grow in coming years.
Research in mice shows that the anti-inflammatory properties of exercise may arise from immune cells mobilized to counter exercise-induced inflammation. Immune cells prevent muscle damage by lowering levels of interferon, a key driver of chronic inflammation, inflammatory diseases, and aging.
Researchers hope at least one will treat progressive blindness caused by Usher syndrome type 1F
EVEscape predicts future viral mutations, new variants using evolutionary, biological information
Multi-institutional effort aims to develop technology to transform diagnosis, treatment of bacterial infections
Researchers discover that heart cells in developing zebrafish start beating suddenly and all at once
From 2013 to 2019 the share of U.S. health care visits delivered by non-physicians such as nurse practitioners or physician assistants increased from 14 to 26 percent.
Short-lived proteins control gene expression in cells to carry out a number of vital tasks, from helping the brain form connections to helping the body mount an immune defense. These proteins are made in the nucleus and are quickly destroyed once they’ve done their job.
Neurons that sense different types of touch are “born” unspecialized but develop specific features based on the skin type they end up innervating.
Artificial intelligence's impact goes beyond clinical medicine. It is reshaping science in more profound ways.
What causes long COVID? More than three years after the start of the pandemic, this remains the most bedeviling question about a mystifying syndrome estimated to affect some 65 million people globally — an epidemic in its own right with no clear end in sight.
New study identifies concerning gaps between how human radiologists score the accuracy of AI-generated radiology reports and how automated systems score them.
A first-of-its-kind analysis of historical DNA ties tens of thousands of living people to enslaved and free African Americans who labored at an iron forge in Maryland known as Catoctin Furnace soon after the founding of the United States. The study, spurred by groups seeking to restore ancestry knowledge to African American communities, provides a new way to complement genealogical, historical, bioarchaeological, and biochemical efforts to reconstruct the life histories of people omitted from written records and identify their present-day relatives.
In a first, scientists define five types of colon neurons specialized for sending different signals to the brain.
Neurons become active when mice exploring a maze correct after making a wrong turn.
What makes the vital layer of protective cells around the brain and spinal cord — the blood-brain barrier — more or less permeable has been one of the more mystifying questions in neuroscience.
The number of young people in the United States visiting hospital emergency departments for mental health crises increased sharply during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study led by researchers from the Department of Health Care Policy in the Blavatnik Institute at Harvard Medical School.
New AI tool enables in-surgery genomic profiling of gliomas, the most aggressive and most common brain tumors.
Research in mice shows gut bacteria feed on common fatty acids, and the byproduct of this process stimulates the rise of immune cells in the gut.
A team led by researchers at Harvard Medical School has developed a new tool that promises to improve the way pathologists see and evaluate a tumor by providing detailed clues about the cancer.
The 2023 Warren Alpert Foundation Prize has been awarded to scientist David J. Lipman for his visionary work in the conception, design, and implementation of computational tools, databases, and infrastructure that transformed the way biological information is analyzed and accessed freely and rapidly around the world.
Study suggests person-to-person transmission may not be the dominant mode of infection for an aggressive lung pathogen. Findings shed light on the behavior and mutation tendencies of a little-known microbe. The results should ease fears that the lung bacterium poses a grave threat for spread between individuals with compromised lung function who are waiting for lung transplants.
Living in a low-oxygen environment extended life spans, preserved neurologic function in mice.
At a glance: Researchers trace the origin of certain breast cancers to genomic reshuffling — rearrangement of chromosomes — that activates cancer genes and ignites disease. The finding offers a long-missing explanation for many cases of the disease that remain unexplained by the classical model of breast cancer development. The study shows the sex hormone estrogen — thus far thought to be only a fuel for breast cancer growth — can directly cause tumor-driving genomic rearrangements.