Tag: Blavatnik Institute at Harvard Medical School

  • Nation & World

    Study finds significant variations in care between physicians

    Some physicians are far more likely to deliver appropriate care than others in the same geographic area or health care system, according to a new study.

    5 minutes
    doctors meeting.
  • Nation & World

    Breaking down boosters

    A Harvard expert shares insight on the science and history of vaccine boosters and why we need them, speculating on a future that includes periodic COVID boosters.

    3 minutes
    Vials of booster vaccine
  • Nation & World

    Telemedicine for stroke patients improves outcomes

    The first national analysis shows patients at hospitals that offer remote stroke consults fare and were more likely to survive than patients who presented at hospitals without stroke telecare.

    3 minutes
    Male doctor in white coat hand holding and using modern digital tablet.
  • Nation & World

    How cells sort themselves

    Researchers have discovered a key control mechanism that cells use to self-organize in early embryonic development.

    8 minutes
    Spinal cord development.
  • Nation & World

    Antioxidant reverses most BPA-induced fertility damage in worms

    Treatment with a naturally occurring antioxidant, CoQ10, restores many aspects of fertility in C. elegans worms following exposure to BPA. The findings offer a possible path toward undoing BPA-induced reproductive harms in people.

    5 minutes
    Spilled bottle of yellow capsules.
  • Nation & World

    The power of positive phrasing

    Analysis of more than 6 million clinical and life-science papers shows articles with male lead authors are up to 21 percent more likely than those with female lead authors to use language that frames their research positively, which could contribute to persistent gender gaps in pay and career advancement in life sciences and medicine.

    6 minutes
    Words alphabets in scattered wood letters on the table.
  • Nation & World

    More than a watchdog

    A study in mice shows the nervous system not only detects the presence of Salmonella in the gut but actively stops the organism from infecting the body by shutting the cellular gates that allow bacteria to invade the intestine and spread beyond it.

    7 minutes
    Salmonella magnified.
  • Nation & World

    Where we get our sense of direction

    Using virtual reality experiments, Harvard neuroscientists have decoded how fruit fly brains integrate visual cues for navigation. Study also sheds light on a form of short-term memory known as unsupervised learning.

    7 minutes
    Fruit fly up close.
  • Nation & World

    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.

    8 minutes
    Measles virus shown enlarged.
  • Nation & World

    Scientists pinpoint neural activity’s role in human longevity

    The brain’s neural activity, long implicated in disorders ranging from dementia to epilepsy, also plays a role in human aging and life span, according to research led by scientists in the Blavatnik Institute.

    6 minutes
    Mice lacking the protein REST (bottom) showed much higher neural activity in the brain than normal mice.
  • Nation & World

    Single letter speaks volumes

    Scientists have used an optimized version of the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing system to prevent hearing loss in so-called Beethoven mice, which carry a genetic mutation that causes profound hearing loss in humans and mice alike.

    9 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Weighing in on workplace wellness programs

    In the first major multisite randomized controlled trial of workplace wellness programs, researchers found that while they may help people change certain behaviors, they do little to improve overall health or lower health care spending.

    7 minutes
    Workout equipment for wellness program.
  • Nation & World

    Nerve-signaling pathway that drives sustained pain found

    Harvard researchers have identified in mice a set of neurons responsible for sustained pain and pain-coping behaviors. The new study is the first one to map out how these responses arise outside the brain.

    6 minutes
    3D Illustration of shoulder painful,
  • Nation & World

    The difference a year makes

    A Harvard study has found that children born in August in states with a Sept. 1 cutoff birth date for school enrollment have a 30 percent higher risk for ADHD diagnosis than peers born in September, which may reflect overdiagnosis.

    6 minutes
    Little boy is doing handprint