Year: 2008

  • Science & Tech

    Scientists may have identified new target for HIV vaccine

    By coaxing the HIV-1 protein to reveal a hidden portion of its protein coat, scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School have provided a newly detailed picture of how protective, or so-called broadly neutralizing, antibodies block HIV-1 infection.    In a study in the January issue of Immunity, the investigators report that the discovery…

    2–3 minutes
  • Campus & Community

    Harvard announces coordinated academic calendar

    Harvard President Drew Faust announced today the adoption of a coordinated academic calendar that synchronizes the academic schedules of Harvard’s 13 Schools.

    3–5 minutes
  • Health

    M. Judah Folkman, biomedical pioneer, dies at 74

    One of Harvard Medical School’s (HMS) most forward-looking and innovative physician-scientists, M. Judah Folkman, died suddenly Monday (Jan. 14) after suffering a heart attack at the Denver International Airport in Denver. He was 74. Folkman is widely known as a pioneer in the study of angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels. His findings in…

    10–15 minutes
  • Health

    Dramatic increase in ER waiting time for seriously ill patients

    Patients of all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic status are facing ever-increasing waits for care in emergency rooms, according to a study published online today  by the journal Health Affairs. The problem is particularly acute for those who are severely ill, Harvard Medical School researchers at Cambridge Health Alliance found. The study, which analyzed the time…

    3–4 minutes
  • Health

    Peter Black named President-Elect of World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies

    Peter Black, MD, PhD, Franc D. Ingraham Professor of Neurosurgery at Harvard Medical School and founding chair of the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Department of Neurosurgery has been elected President-Elect of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS), a professional and scientific nongovernmental organization composed of five continental associations, 89 national neurosurgical societies and six…

    1–2 minutes
  • Health

    Chromosomal abnormality linked to autism disorders

    Researchers have fitted another piece into the complex genetic puzzle that is autism, finding DNA deletions and duplications on a specific chromosome that they say explains one to two percent of the 1.5 million cases of autism and related disorders in the United States today. The genetic changes were discovered in DNA scans of more…

    4–6 minutes
  • Campus & Community

    Harvard statement on misuse of IDs

    An investigation by law enforcement has identified a Harvard College student who had produced counterfeit state driver’s licenses and Harvard University identification cards that, in some cases, used actual Harvard identification numbers. There has been no indication of further activity of this nature. The student is no longer on the Harvard campus.

    1–2 minutes
  • Science & Tech

    Neuroimaging fails to demonstrate ESP is real

    Psychologists at Harvard University have developed a new method to study extrasensory perception that, they argue, can resolve the century-old debate over its existence. According to the authors, their study not only illustrates a new method for studying such phenomena, but also provides the strongest evidence yetobtained against the existence of extrasensory perception, or ESP.…

    3–4 minutes
  • Science & Tech

    E. O. Wilson receives Linean Society Tercentenary Medal

    The Linnean Society of London has awarded Edward O. Wilson, Pelegrino University Research Professor, Emeritus, one of three specially-commissioned Tercentenary Medals to honor his outstanding contribution to the world’s understanding of natural history and the environment.  HRH The Princess Royal presented the award Wilson and to Sir David Attenborough, and Steve Jones, the other two…

    2–3 minutes
  • Health

    Those least needy most likely to get free drug samples

    Most free drug  samples are  not used to ease  the burden of the poor or the uninsured, but rather go to those most able to pay for their prescriptions, according to a  study by  physicians from Cambridge Health Alliance and Harvard Medical   School. The study, which is the first to look at the free drug…

    2–3 minutes