Health

A discovery by scientists at Harvard-affiliated Dana-Farber Cancer Institute may lead to an effective way of operating the immune system’s internal “control panel,” improving therapies for a variety of diseases.

In a new study, Harvard researchers looked at the effects of the 2006 Massachusetts Health Reform and found that the legislation has led to improvements in insurance coverage as well…

A new exhibit at the Harvard Museum of Natural History highlights the enormous diversity of antlers and horns and examines how they came into being and what they’re used for.

A new paper suggests that the mutually beneficial relationships that species create are maintained mostly because of simple self-interest.

Harvard scientists say natural selection alone can explain “eusociality,” the cooperative social structure in many of Earth’s dominant species.

In a new study, Harvard scientists find that humans can make difficult moral decisions using the same brain circuits as those used on more mundane choices such as money or food.

Once thought to be a problem primarily in the developed world, cancer is now a leading cause of death and disability in poorer countries. Almost two-thirds of the 7.6 million cancer deaths in the world occur in low- and middle-income countries.

Researchers at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital have determined that hearing loss in adolescents has increased over the past 15 years.

Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and the University of Michigan analyzed a program of full disclosure and compensation for medical errors and found a decrease in new claims for compensation (including lawsuits) and liability costs.

Emre Basar seeks to understand how small interfering RNA (siRNA) can be harnessed and integrated into cells with the goal of silencing the expression of certain proteins that allow diseases like breast cancer and HIV to proliferate inside the body.

A new Harvard study shows that ratios between males and females affect human longevity.

Expectant mothers who gain large amounts of weight tend to give birth to heavier infants who are at higher risk for obesity later in life. But it’s never been proven that this tendency results from the weight gain itself, rather than genetic or other factors that mother and baby share.

New research from Harvard scientists shows that exercise and caloric restriction rejuvenate synapses in laboratory mice, illuminating a reason for the beneficial effects of these regimens on aging.

Harvard researchers have uncovered a mechanism in mice through which caloric restriction and exercise delay some of the debilitating effects of aging by rejuvenating the connections between nerves and the muscles that they control.

Small increases in vaccine costs can cause large gaps in protection, study finds. Also, vaccine “scares” may do more harm than previously believed to a population’s “herd immunity.”

Two powerful new tests developed by Harvard psychologists show great promise in predicting patients’ risk of attempting suicide, researchers say. These tests may help clinicians to overcome their reliance on…

Two Harvard professors will receive awards from the American Society of Hematology for their “significant contributions to the understanding and treatment of hematologic diseases.” David Scadden, who is co-director of the…

Harvard Medical School (HMS) released a series of revisions to its conflict of interest (COI) policy today that strengthens its commitment to transparency and financial disclosure while recognizing the School’s commitment…

New paper answers the long-standing scientific question about cause of tropics’ stunning biodiversity.

Two groups of Harvard Stem Cell Institute researchers have independently made similar discoveries about the characteristics of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), but they have reached somewhat different conclusions about the implications…

Test could predict which children with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia are best candidates for clinical trials of new therapies, research finds.

A rare and curious plant from Sumatra’s rainforest has bloomed at Harvard.

Implementing a program of universal HIV testing and immediate antiretroviral treatment (ART) for infected individuals could have a major impact on the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Washington, DC, but a new study by led by…

Study finds that maternal genes in mice predominate in the developing brain, while paternal genes gain the upper hand in adulthood. Researchers also find 1,300 imprinted genes in the brain, far more than previously known.

Genome-wide analysis of mice brains has found that maternally inherited genes are expressed preferentially in the developing brain, while the pattern shifts decisively in favor of paternal influence by adulthood.…

Users of erectile dysfunction (ED) drugs have higher rates of sexually transmitted disease (STD) than do non-users, Harvard researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital have found after analyzing insurance records of…

More than two billion people worldwide do not have adequate access to surgical treatment, according to a new study from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH). The Harvard researchers…

Rare variants in the gene coding of an enzyme that controls the activity of a key immune cell occur more often in people with autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis and…

Fasting helps cause an enzyme with several important roles in energy metabolism to turn off the body’s generation of fats and cholesterol, Harvard researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital have found. …

Harvard and Brigham and Women’s Hospital researchers have devised a method that may allow clinicians to use higher doses of a powerful chemotherapy drug that has been limited because it is toxic not only to tumors but to patients’ kidneys.