Health

Pandemics are political, and the spread of disease is a common consequence of global conflict. In a lecture titled “Conflict and the Global Threat of Pandemics,” Michele Barry of Stanford University examined the relationship between unrest and health crises.

A new study finds financial incentives for cholesterol management may help contain the costs associated with cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of death and health care costs in the U.S.

Death, imperfection, and rock ’n’ roll were all part of surgeon-author Atul Gawande’s conversation with Dean David Hempton at HDS convocation.

Study finds that inducing production of new neurons can improve cognitive function in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease.

Genetic engineering allows different species of bacteria to communicate with each other in the gut of a living mouse, setting the stage for a synthetic microbiome.

Harvard’s Class of 2022 will have taken ‘Sleep 101,’ an online module on sleep health, before they even hit campus on Aug. 27.

Scientists have identified the sensor protein responsible for hearing and balance, putting an end to a 40-year quest.

Harvard Chan School researcher Anne Lusk discusses the progress and potential of bike-sharing systems.

Harvard Chan School researchers recruited 30 commercial airline pilots for a study exploring whether carbon dioxide levels affect cockpit performance.

Thought to be genetically stable and identical, cancer cell lines harbor significant levels of genetic variation, which may help explain why it can be hard to reproduce findings in cell line-based research.

Kimmie Ng, a Dana-Farber physician-researcher, answers questions on possible factors driving an increase in colon cancer among young adults.

Pregnant women with the lowest plasma levels of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids — the kind found in fish oil — were at 10 times increased risk of early preterm birth as pregnant women with the highest levels.

Researchers have found cells that appear to be the primary source of activity of the gene responsible for cystic fibrosis, a serious, multiorgan disease.

A Harvard research team has now produced a system that includes neuroinflammation, the key biological response that leads to the death of brain cells and later produces cognitive impairment, which can result in dementia.

A Q&A with ethicist Robert Truog to mark the 50-year anniversary of a Harvard Medical School panel’s landmark report on brain death.

A study shows that congressional districts in the Southeastern U.S., Appalachia, and the rural West have some of the highest opioid prescribing rates, while those near urban centers, including D.C., New York, and Boston, have some of the lowest.

Researchers set out to develop a system that could help prevent nanoparticles from being cleared from the blood before they get to their target tissues. Called the “hitchhiking method,” and it’s found to work in human lungs, where a full 41 percent of the nanoparticles introduced into blood were deposited into the lung.

Harvard Business School hosted a weeklong leadership workshop supporting global efforts to eradicate malaria.

The Bertarelli Foundation is redoubling its investment in Harvard Medical School’s research on sensory disorders.

Harvard study reveals how the neurobiology of fruit fly courtship can help illuminate understanding of human disorders of motivation.

“Epidemiologic, Physiologic, and Policy Considerations of the Sugar Epidemic” brought health and science experts together at Harvard Medical School to discuss sugar’s effects on health and public policy.

A new Harvard study finds that children are 75 percent less likely to become obese when their mothers followed five healthy habits as compared with children whose mothers did not follow any such habit.

U.S. flight attendants have a higher prevalence of several forms of cancer, including breast, uterine, and cervical, when compared with the general public, according to research from the Harvard Chan School.

A Harvard study shows mindfulness meditation and “The Relaxation Response” provide distinct effects on brain areas associated with awareness and with deliberate relaxation.

Psychologist Jean Twenge examines how smartphones affect teenagers’ happiness, and advises on the healthiest ways for children and adults to use smartphones.

While most of the psychological literature calls mind wandering a detrimental “failure of executive control” or a “dysfunctional cognitive state,” a new study led by Paul Seli, a Banting Postdoctoral Fellow working in the lab of Dan Schacter, suggests that in some cases there’s no harm in it.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf shared her experiences as president of Liberia in a session of the Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program.

Harvard Medical School symposium examines the role of big data in fighting drug-resistant microbes.

Harvard psychiatrist Ilana Braun found a knowledge gap on medical marijuana in a survey of oncologists nationwide.

Aaron Bernstein, associate director for Harvard’s Center for Health and the Global Environment, studies how changes in transportation, diet, and energy can immediately benefit health.