Health

All Health

  • Inflammatory processes may play role in ALS

    Accumulating evidence suggests that inflammatory processes may play a role in the initiation and progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

    3d illustration of nervous network and nerve cells in blue.
  • CAGEs lock up fats to treat obesity

    Harvard researchers have found an orally administered liquid salt — choline and geranate — that can reduce the absorption of fats from food with no discernable side effects in rats, lowering total body weight by about 12 percent.

    Portrait of a rat.
  • A gateway to eating disorders

    Young women’s use of diet pills, laxatives for weight control linked with later eating disorder diagnosis.

    A blue measuring tape wrapped around a medicine bottle, with loose pills scattered around the open lid.
  • A push to aid healthy aging

    The National Academy of Medicine is mounting a Healthy Longevity Global Grand Challenge that seeks to boost innovation on healthier aging.

    Sharon Inouye
  • Harvard Chan School, Apple, and NIH launch women’s health study

    Harvard Chan School, Apple, and NIH have officially launched a groundbreaking study that has potential to become the largest-ever study of women’s health.

    Abstract Blurred Group of People
  • Faster testing for illicit drugs

    The landscape of the illegal drug trade changes constantly, particularly amid the current opioid crisis. Law-enforcement officers regularly find or confiscate pills, powders, and other substances and need to know…

    Christoffer Abrahamsson holding a small device
  • Is eating red meat OK, after all? Probably not

    Red meat recommendations and meat from plants: Chan School Nutrition Department head Frank Hu talks about recent developments in diet.

    Plant based burger on plate
  • Exercise reduces chronic inflammation, protects heart, study says

    A new study identifies a molecular connection between exercise and inflammation that takes place in the bone marrow and highlights a previously unappreciated role of leptin in exercise-mediated cardiovascular protection.

    Blood vessel with white blood cells
  • Lower risk of depression with elevated exercise

    After mining millions of electronic health record data points, researchers found people who were more physically active at baseline were less likely to develop depression, even after accounting for genetic risks.

    Two men running.
  • Why some people are resistant to Alzheimer’s

    A new study provides insights on why some people may be more resistant to Alzheimer’s disease than others.

    Hand holding old photographs
  • Racial disparities found in culturally competent cancer care

    A new study from Harvard-affiliated Dana-Farber Cancer Institute finds that non-white minority survivors are less likely than non-Hispanic whites to be seen by cancer specialists who share or understand their culture.

    Doctor performing surgery, nurse in head a hijab or headscarf.
  • How a doctor learned to become a caregiver

    Harvard Professor Arthur Kleinman’s wife, Joan, began to struggle with a rare form of early Alzheimer’s disease at 59.

    Arthur Kleinman and his wife
  • Study suggests how measles depletes body’s immune memory

    A new Harvard study shows measles wipes out 11 percent to 73 percent of antibodies against an array of viruses and bacteria, depleting a child’s previous immunity, which underscores the importance of measles vaccination.

    Measles virus shown enlarged.
  • Bringing the Bone Box back to life

    Countway Library is looking to revive the Bone Box program, which originally let anatomy students check out real human bones.

    Three 3D printed skulls lined up against a black background
  • Power and pitfalls of gene editing

    CRISPR gene-editing technology has conquered the lab and is poised to lead to new treatments for human disease. Experts consider the promise and peril at Radcliffe.

    Panelists at Racliffe discussing gene editing.
  • A timely triage test for TB

    A team of researchers has developed a point-of-care TB test that costs only $2 and gives results in about 30 minutes, lowering the barrier to care in low-resource settings and potentially saving millions of lives.

    Looking at blood samples in test tubes
  • The speed of discovery

    One year after the Blavatnik Family Foundation announced a $200 million commitment to Harvard Medical School, philanthropist Len Blavatnik spent the day at HMS visiting with scientists to learn more about research taking place on campus.

    Len Blavatnik and Harvard Corporation member David Rubenstein
  • Learning not to fear

    A study using mindfulness meditation showed changes over time in neural responses to pain and fear. The researchers found that changes in the hippocampus after mindfulness training were associated with enhanced ability to recall a safety memory, and thus respond in a more adaptive way.

    Illustration of meditator with fear shadow
  • Stigma of opioids a hurdle to solving crisis

    “Can you think of all the tax dollars it’s cost for you to go to detox?” the doctor asked Raina McMahan when she arrived at the clinic in Revere seeking…

    Raina McMahan and Dr. Sarah Wakeman at the confernce
  • Bringing women to the forefront of global health

    A Harvard panel on women in the global health workforce examines ways to keep pushing for gender equity.

    Panelists
  • Harvard to launch center for autism research

    Created with $20 million gift, the Hock E. Tan and K. Lisa Yang Center for Autism Research at Harvard Medical School will aim to unravel the basic biology of autism and related disorders.

  • Specialists take on opioid crisis

    A conference sponsored by Harvard and the University of Michigan will examine the role that stigma plays in the nation’s opioid crisis and ways it slows and alters responses.

    Mary Bassett
  • Michael Pollan wants to change your mind

    Author and Harvard professor Michael Pollan talks about his new book on psychedelic drugs, “How To Change Your Mind,” at HubWeek.

    Michael Pollan
  • You are what you eat — and how you cook it

    Scientists have recently discovered that different diets — say, high-fat versus low-fat, or plant-based versus animal-based — can rapidly and reproducibly alter the composition and activity of the gut microbiome, where differences in the composition and activity can affect everything from metabolism to immunity to behavior.

    Professor Rachel Carmody
  • Omega-3 fish oil rises to top in analysis of studies

    Harvard study finds that greater cardiovascular benefits may be achieved at higher doses of omega-3 fish oil supplementation.

    Capsules of fish oil
  • Expressing genes

    Harvard University staff member Marnie Gelbart is the director of programs for the Personal Genetics Education Project (pgEd) at Harvard Medical School, and is a co-principal investigator of Building Awareness, Respect, and Confidence through Genetics (ARC), a five-year NIH-funded project through which pgEd is developing curricula on identity and inclusion working with teachers in urban Massachusetts and rural South Dakota communities.

    Marnie smiling out a window
  • Trust, belonging, keys to mental health of students of color

    Experts gathered at the Harvard Chan School said despite progress at making college student bodies more diverse, work still needs to be done to make students of all backgrounds feel welcome, a key step in heading off increased rates of mental illness such students experience on campus.

    Panel for mental health for people of color at Chan School
  • Protein, fat, or carbs?

    Researchers applied new techniques to old samples from a 2005 dietary study to show that a focus on eating healthy rather than obsessing over a single nutrient can improve heart health.

    Stephen Juraschek
  • PTSD linked to increased risk of ovarian cancer

    A new study finds that women who have greater numbers of PTSD symptoms are at an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer.

    PTSD marked in book
  • Mental health as a diversity issue

    Faculty of Arts and Sciences Diversity Summer Panel focuses on the impacts of mental illness in the workplace and what can be done about it.

    WGBH host Callie Crossley leads a panel on mental health in discussion at Harvard.