Latest News from: Harvard Medical School

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Newswise:Video Embedded raising-the-bar-for-medical-ai
VIDEO
Released: 23-Feb-2024 12:05 PM EST
Raising the Bar for Medical AI
Harvard Medical School

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.

Newswise: How Does the Brain Make Decisions?
15-Feb-2024 4:05 PM EST
How Does the Brain Make Decisions?
Harvard Medical School

Mouse study provides insights into communication between neurons during decision-making

Newswise: How the Brain’s Internal Compass Guides the Body
7-Feb-2024 10:05 AM EST
How the Brain’s Internal Compass Guides the Body
Harvard Medical School

A study in fruit flies reveals how the brain’s compass and steering regions make course corrections

Newswise:Video Embedded worm-study-raises-concern-about-deet-s-effect-on-reproduction
VIDEO
27-Dec-2023 11:00 AM EST
Worm Study Raises Concern About DEET’s Effect on Reproduction
Harvard Medical School

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.

Newswise:Video Embedded what-the-pandemic-is-teaching-us-about-the-immune-system
VIDEO
Released: 3-Jan-2024 10:05 AM EST
What the Pandemic Is Teaching Us About the Immune System
Harvard Medical School

Novel insights from the pandemic may be propelling the field of immunology into a new golden age.

20-Dec-2023 2:05 PM EST
Quality of Care Declines After Private Equity Takes Over Hospitals
Harvard Medical School

Patients are more likely to fall, get new infections, or experience other harms in a hospital after it is acquired by private equity.

Released: 15-Dec-2023 9:30 AM EST
How the Immune System Fights to Keep Herpes at Bay
Harvard Medical School

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.

Newswise: What Happens in the Brain While Daydreaming?
11-Dec-2023 10:05 AM EST
What Happens in the Brain While Daydreaming?
Harvard Medical School

Observations in mice hint at role of daydreams in remodeling the brain

Released: 12-Dec-2023 8:05 AM EST
Preapproval Requirement for Oral Anticancer Drugs May Interfere with Treatment
Harvard Medical School

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.

Newswise: Building Models of the Brain to Take Them Apart
Released: 6-Dec-2023 3:05 PM EST
Building Models of the Brain to Take Them Apart
Harvard Medical School

Computational neuroscientist probes how the brain learns, remembers, and decides

Newswise:Video Embedded new-clues-into-the-head-scratching-mystery-of-itch
VIDEO
20-Nov-2023 2:30 PM EST
New Clues Into the Head-Scratching Mystery of Itch
Harvard Medical School

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.

Released: 17-Nov-2023 9:00 AM EST
Annual Awards at Harvard Medical School to Propel Basic Discoveries Into Clinic
Harvard Medical School

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.

Newswise: What Human Diseases Can Teach Us About the Immune System
Released: 9-Nov-2023 1:05 PM EST
What Human Diseases Can Teach Us About the Immune System
Harvard Medical School

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

2-Nov-2023 4:00 PM EDT
The Health and Economic Toll of Gun Violence in Youth
Harvard Medical School

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.

Newswise: Some Benefits of Exercise Stem from the Immune System
1-Nov-2023 8:00 PM EDT
Some Benefits of Exercise Stem from the Immune System
Harvard Medical School

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.

Newswise:Video Embedded pursuing-three-gene-therapies-for-rare-inherited-disease
VIDEO
Released: 19-Oct-2023 3:05 PM EDT
Pursuing Three Gene Therapies for Rare Inherited Disease
Harvard Medical School

Researchers hope at least one will treat progressive blindness caused by Usher syndrome type 1F

Newswise: An AI Tool That Can Help Forecast Viral Outbreaks
10-Oct-2023 1:05 PM EDT
An AI Tool That Can Help Forecast Viral Outbreaks
Harvard Medical School

EVEscape predicts future viral mutations, new variants using evolutionary, biological information

Newswise: HMS Researcher to Lead $104 Million Federal Project Tackling Antibiotic Resistance
Released: 27-Sep-2023 3:05 PM EDT
HMS Researcher to Lead $104 Million Federal Project Tackling Antibiotic Resistance
Harvard Medical School

Multi-institutional effort aims to develop technology to transform diagnosis, treatment of bacterial infections

Newswise: How the Heart Starts Beating
21-Sep-2023 3:05 PM EDT
How the Heart Starts Beating
Harvard Medical School

Researchers discover that heart cells in developing zebrafish start beating suddenly and all at once

12-Sep-2023 9:00 AM EDT
A Fourth of U.S. Health Visits Now Delivered by Non-Physicians
Harvard Medical School

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.

18-Aug-2023 10:50 AM EDT
Scientists discover a previously unknown way cells break down proteins
Harvard Medical School

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.

Newswise: How Neurons Grow Comfortable in Their Own Skin
Released: 23-Aug-2023 6:30 PM EDT
How Neurons Grow Comfortable in Their Own Skin
Harvard Medical School

Neurons that sense different types of touch are “born” unspecialized but develop specific features based on the skin type they end up innervating.

Newswise: Artificial Intelligence Beyond the Clinic
Released: 21-Aug-2023 8:00 AM EDT
Artificial Intelligence Beyond the Clinic
Harvard Medical School

Artificial intelligence's impact goes beyond clinical medicine. It is reshaping science in more profound ways.

   
Newswise: The Most Important Question About Long COVID
Released: 10-Aug-2023 6:05 PM EDT
The Most Important Question About Long COVID
Harvard Medical School

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.

Newswise:Video Embedded how-good-is-that-ai-penned-radiology-report
VIDEO
Released: 4-Aug-2023 8:55 AM EDT
How Good Is That AI-Penned Radiology Report? 
Harvard Medical School

New study identifies concerning gaps between how human radiologists score the accuracy of AI-generated radiology reports and how automated systems score them.

   
Newswise: Historical DNA Study Connects Living People to Enslaved and Free African Americans at Early Ironworks
31-Jul-2023 11:30 AM EDT
Historical DNA Study Connects Living People to Enslaved and Free African Americans at Early Ironworks
Harvard Medical School

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.

   
Newswise: How the Gut Signals to the Brain
27-Jul-2023 2:25 PM EDT
How the Gut Signals to the Brain
Harvard Medical School

In a first, scientists define five types of colon neurons specialized for sending different signals to the brain.

Newswise:Video Embedded scientists-id-cells-involved-in-correcting-errors-during-spatial-navigation
VIDEO
17-Jul-2023 4:50 PM EDT
Scientists ID Cells Involved in Correcting Errors During Spatial Navigation
Harvard Medical School

Neurons become active when mice exploring a maze correct after making a wrong turn.

Newswise: Researchers Uncover Signal Needed for Blood-Brain Barrier
Released: 12-Jul-2023 11:45 AM EDT
Researchers Uncover Signal Needed for Blood-Brain Barrier
Harvard Medical School

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.

11-Jul-2023 11:45 AM EDT
Second Year of COVID Pandemic Brought Spike in Child Mental Health Visits to ED
Harvard Medical School

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.

Newswise: AI Tool Decodes Brain Cancer’s Genome During Surgery
5-Jul-2023 8:00 AM EDT
AI Tool Decodes Brain Cancer’s Genome During Surgery
Harvard Medical School

New AI tool enables in-surgery genomic profiling of gliomas, the most aggressive and most common brain tumors.

Newswise: When It Comes to Immunity, You Are What You Eat
Released: 28-Jun-2023 2:00 PM EDT
When It Comes to Immunity, You Are What You Eat
Harvard Medical School

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.

Newswise: A New Tool for Diagnosing Cancer
15-Jun-2023 3:40 PM EDT
A New Tool for Diagnosing Cancer
Harvard Medical School

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.

Newswise: 2023 Warren Alpert Foundation Prize Honors Pioneer in Computational Biology
Released: 20-Jun-2023 8:00 AM EDT
2023 Warren Alpert Foundation Prize Honors Pioneer in Computational Biology
Harvard Medical School

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.

Newswise: Lung infection may be less transmissible than thought
Released: 30-May-2023 5:05 PM EDT
Lung infection may be less transmissible than thought
Harvard Medical School

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.

Newswise: Decrease Oxygen to Boost Longevity?
Released: 24-May-2023 5:00 PM EDT
Decrease Oxygen to Boost Longevity?
Harvard Medical School

Living in a low-oxygen environment extended life spans, preserved neurologic function in mice.

Newswise: How Breast Cancer Arises
15-May-2023 7:45 PM EDT
How Breast Cancer Arises
Harvard Medical School

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.

Newswise: AI Tool Predicts Future Pancreatic Cancer
6-May-2023 9:00 AM EDT
AI Tool Predicts Future Pancreatic Cancer
Harvard Medical School

An AI tool identified people at the highest risk for pancreatic cancer up to three years before actual diagnosis.

Newswise: To Boost Cancer Immunotherapy’s Fighting Power, Look to the Gut
1-May-2023 5:30 PM EDT
To Boost Cancer Immunotherapy’s Fighting Power, Look to the Gut
Harvard Medical School

Immunotherapy has redefined cancer treatment, but not all patients experience the same benefit when treated.

26-Apr-2023 3:05 PM EDT
How Dormant Bacteria Come Back to Life
Harvard Medical School

Bacterial spores can survive for years, even centuries, without nutrients, resisting heat, UV radiation, and antibiotics. How inert, sleeping bacteria — or spores — spring back to life has been a century-long mystery.

Newswise: Can Jack-Of-All-Trades AI Reshape Medicine?
Released: 26-Apr-2023 6:15 PM EDT
Can Jack-Of-All-Trades AI Reshape Medicine?
Harvard Medical School

Most medical AI models in use today are trained to perform one or two specific tasks and have limited utility.

Newswise: Toward a Therapy for a Rare Genetic Disease
Released: 26-Apr-2023 1:05 PM EDT
Toward a Therapy for a Rare Genetic Disease
Harvard Medical School

Researchers design “mini gene” therapy for severe syndrome that causes blindness and deafness

Newswise: AI Tool Predicts Colon Cancer Survival, Treatment Response
Released: 13-Apr-2023 6:25 PM EDT
AI Tool Predicts Colon Cancer Survival, Treatment Response
Harvard Medical School

New AI tool accurately predicts both overall survival and disease-free survival after colorectal cancer diagnosis. The model uses visual markers on pathology images to glean insights into a tumor’s genomic profile and predicts tumor behavior, disease progression, treatment response. The new model could help augment clinical decision-making. Because the AI tool relies on images alone, it could be particularly valuable for hospitals lacking the technology or expertise to perform sophisticated genomic profiling of tumor tissues.

Newswise: Untangling the Mystery of Sleep
Released: 11-Apr-2023 12:40 PM EDT
Untangling the Mystery of Sleep
Harvard Medical School

Sleep is one of the most essential human activities — so essential, in fact, that if we don’t get enough sleep for even one night, we may struggle to think, react, and otherwise make it through the day. Yet, despite its importance for function and survival, scientists still don’t fully understand how sleep works.

Newswise: How a Lowly Immune Cell Helps the Immune System Fight Cancer
28-Mar-2023 10:05 AM EDT
How a Lowly Immune Cell Helps the Immune System Fight Cancer
Harvard Medical School

New research reveals that long-underestimated neutrophils play key role in determining success of cancer immunotherapy

27-Mar-2023 3:45 PM EDT
Ancient DNA Reveals Asian Ancestry Introduced to East Africa in Early Modern Times
Harvard Medical School

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.

20-Mar-2023 3:55 PM EDT
Harvard Medical School Neurobiologist Wins Major Neuroscience Award
Harvard Medical School

Michael Greenberg shares The Brain Prize with two neuroscientists for critical insights into brain plasticity

   
Newswise:Video Embedded designing-more-useful-bacteria
VIDEO
14-Mar-2023 4:40 PM EDT
Designing More Useful Bacteria
Harvard Medical School

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.

Newswise:Video Embedded collaboration-propels-research-on-untreatable-neurodegenerative-disease
VIDEO
Released: 14-Mar-2023 3:55 PM EDT
Collaboration Propels Research on Untreatable Neurodegenerative Disease
Harvard Medical School

It started with a hunt for lab space and ended with a collaboration born out of what the researchers call a “cosmic coincidence.”

6-Mar-2023 6:10 PM EST
How the Brain Senses Infection
Harvard Medical School

A new study led by researchers at Harvard Medical School illuminates how the brain becomes aware that there is an infection in the body.



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