Health

All Health

  • Deadliest form of malaria is younger than previously believed

    Malaria kills more people than any other communicable disease except for tuberculosis. It is the world’s most serious parasitic tropical disease, resulting in 1 million to 3 million deaths annually.…

  • Adult stem cells effect a cure

    Using stem cells from the unborn to treat adult diseases has created an anguished public debate. Now research news from Harvard Medical School scientists may help to end that debate…

  • An alternate take on Alzheimer’s

    Much of Alzheimer’s research has focused on the role of a protein, amyloid-beta, found at high levels in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients and which coagulates into plaques. Researcher Ashley…

  • Fireflies seen in a new light

    Anyone who has ever seen fireflies do their luminescent mating dance on a summer’s night has wondered: How do they light up like that? Now, two researchers, Sara Lewis from…

  • A familiar drug gives surprising hope against diabetic blindness

    A common complication of diabetes is diabetic retinopathy, which can lead to blindness. Diabetic retinopathy is caused by changes in the blood vessels of the retina. This form of retinopathy…

  • Green vegetables and fruits rich in vitamin C reduces risk of heart disease

    Regularly eating fruits and vegetables, in particular green leafy vegetables and fruits that contain vitamin C, reduces the risk of coronary heart disease, according to researchers from the Harvard School…

  • Gene found for rare bone disorder

    Cherubism may sound angelic, but it certainly is not. The rare bone disorder afflicts children starting at about age 3 or 4, causing them to develop chubby cheeks and upward-looking…

  • Breathing new life into asthma therapy

    Asthma attacks have lasting effects because the lungs’ most delicate airways can become scarred. This makes future attacks all the worse. Researchers at Harvard Medical School have looked at what…

  • Introducing baby to the right bacteria

    Developing a symbiotic relationship with the right bacteria is essential for a baby’s health and development. W. Allan Walker, a researcher at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, has…

  • Breast-feeding may limit teenage obesity

    Infants who were breast-fed more than formula-fed, or who were breast-fed for longer periods, had approximately 20 percent lower risk of being overweight in their preteen and teen years, according…

  • New drug dissolves stomach tumors

    Since July 2000, Harvard and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researcher George Demetri and his colleagues have treated 148 patients with a rare, lethal stomach cancer known as GIST (Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor).…

  • A potential new anthrax therapy

    A vaccine to protect humans against anthrax already exists, but since infection is rare, a widespread vaccination program is not practical. To be effective against anthrax, antibiotics must be given…

  • Caffeine linked to protection from Parkinson’s disease

    Parkinson’s disease is a progressive nervous disease occurring generally after age 50. It destroys brain cells that produce dopamine and is characterized by muscular tremor, slowing of movement, weakness and…

  • Medicare rules restrict good care for dying patients

    Many health care providers believe that Medicare regulations block them from providing good care to dying patients. Researchers from Harvard Medical School, the Harvard School of Public Health, and RAND…

  • Nurse staffing levels directly impact patient health and survival

    Researchers who looked at hospital discharge data for more than 5 million patients found consistent relationships between nurse staffing levels and five adverse patient outcomes: urinary tract infections, pneumonia, shock,…

  • Women’s menstrual cycle holds clue to cocaine response

    During the first half of their menstrual cycles, when their estrogen levels are high, women are protected from the brain-damaging effects of cocaine use, according to a research study conducted…

  • Circadian rhythms may distinguish Alzheimer’s disease

    Researcher David Harper and his colleagues monitored two key components of the circadian system — the rise and fall of core body temperature and the waxing and waning of spontaneous…

  • First domino falls in research on sense of touch

    Unlike the other four senses, touch is ubiquitous, involving sensory terminals dispersed over the outside and on the inside of the body. This system encodes a variety of sensations in…

  • Scientists look people in the ‘I’

    Harvard researchers seek a scientific answer to a question posed by 16th century philosopher René Descartes: “What is this ‘I’ that I know?” “Understanding the brain essence of self-awareness helps…

  • Pain promoter plays unexpected role in central nervous system

    Despite all the attention it draws in patients, pain has only in recent years been deemed a subject worthy of scientific scrutiny.

  • Accomplice fingered in cholera toxicity

    A study published in March 2001 revealed one of the ways that cholera toxin hijacks some of the cell’s own machinery. In uncovering part of the toxin’s trail, a team…

  • Non-smoking bar and restaurant workers inhale as much as active smokers

    Working in a bar or restaurant can expose you to as much tobacco smoke as if you were an active smoker, a researcher based at the Harvard School of Public…

  • Strict enforcement of lead-exposure-prevention policies shows clear benefits

    Even at low levels, lead poisoning in children can cause IQ deficiencies, reading and learning disabilities, impaired hearing, reduced attention spans, hyperactivity and other behavior problems. Children who live in…

  • Cancer cells’ immortality may depend on longevity protein

    A team of Harvard Medical School researchers has identified a protein that 10 percent of tumor cells use to attain an immortal state. By blocking the molecule, it may be…

  • Human genome tally: Is recount in order?

    The surprising finding that humans have fewer genes than expected led to endless speculations and editorial comments. Would biotech stocks be threatened? Should humans be more humble? Were entirely new…

  • Nonsmoking college students 40 percent less likely to take up smoking when they live in smoke-free dorms

    Although 81 percent of colleges prohibit smoking in all public areas, only 27 percent prohibit smoking in students’ dormitories. Harvard School of Public Health researchers say the finding sends a…

  • Rules for music wired into the brain

    “Music is in our genes,” says Mark Jude Tramo, a musician, prolific songwriter, and neuroscientist at Harvard Medical School. “Many researchers like myself are trying to understand melody, harmony, rhythm,…

  • Testing to identify drug-resistant AIDS strains is cost-effective

    A new study led by the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine in March 2001, finds that testing people with HIV to determine whether…

  • Surgery without scalpels

    Paul Simmons, a 29-year-old Maine farmer, suffered from a lung tumor. In February 2001, at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, a probe containing a long needle was inserted…

  • Medicare patients give higher overall marks to nonprofit health plans

    The first large-scale national study that examines the relationship between health plan characteristics and patient ratings of their plan found that Medicare patients prefer not-for-profit or local plans over for-profit…