Tag: Blavatnik Institute

  • Health

    Research shows working out gets inflammation-fighting T cells moving

    Activated by regular exercise, immune cells in muscles found to fend off inflammation, enhance endurance in mice

    People running.
  • Science & Tech

    Why we need female mice in neuroscience research

    Researchers found that female mice, despite ongoing hormonal fluctuations, exhibit exploratory behavior that is more stable than that of their male peers, countering the belief that the hormone cycle in females causes behavioral variation that could throw off results.

    Lab mouse on top of test tubes.
  • Science & Tech

    Making memories

    A Harvard Medical School study in mice reveals how memory neurons reorganize after new experiences.

    Neuronal network.
  • Science & Tech

    On the clock

    Researchers have built two machine learning models that gauge biological age and predict remaining lifespan in mice.

    Two people going up stairs.
  • Nation & World

    Community contact tracing

    An initiative to accelerate the Massachusetts’ efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 by dramatically scaling up the state’s capacity for contact tracing is being done through a new collaboration with Partners In Health in which Harvard Medical School faculty will play key leadership roles.

    Coronavirus pandemic reported on the map of Massachusetts.
  • Health

    Organized to fight the pandemic

    The newly formed Massachusetts Consortium on Pathogen Readiness aims to address both the immediate and long-term implications of the coronavirus crisis. The effort, led by Harvard Medical School, will work to stem the tide of COVID-19 but, more importantly, to lay the groundwork for dealing with future pandemics.

    Cell imaging.
  • Health

    Treating runaway health costs

    Study led by Harvard researchers finds that a long-term trial of a capped-payment system encouraged preventative care and discouraged unnecessary spending

    Hospital beds
  • Health

    Spare the medical resident and spoil nothing

    Hours of medical residents were capped at 80 per week in 2003 after a string of patient injuries and deaths, spurring fears that doctors-in-training would be less prepared for independent practice than before. A new study suggests their warnings were largely unjustified.

    Doctor and assistant looking at a clipboard
  • Health

    Catch a virus by the tail

    Scientists uncover a key mechanism that allows some of the deadliest human RNA viruses to replicate, and it resides in the tail end of the viruses. The findings identify new targets to inhibit viral replication and may inform the development of a new class of antiviral drugs.

    Influenza virus
  • Science & Tech

    Easy on the eyes

    New computer program uses artificial intelligence to determine what visual neurons like to see. The approach could shed light on learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, and other neurologic conditions.

    Photo manip of a person in profile, over clouds
  • Science & Tech

    AI model predicts TB resistance

    A Harvard undergrad, working with Harvard Medical School scientists, has designed an artificial intelligence model that predicts tuberculosis resistance to 10 most commonly used drugs. The new model outperforms previous machine-learning tools, and incorporating it into clinical tests could dramatically enhance early detection and prompt treatment of drug-resistant TB.

    Secondary tuberculosis in lungs and close-up view of Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria, 3D illustration
  • Health

    Detecting DNA defects

    A new algorithm designed by HMS scientists can be incorporated into standard genetic tests to successfully identify patients harboring a tumor-fueling DNA repair defect found in multiple cancers treatable with existing drugs.

    DNA strand and Cancer Cell
  • Science & Tech

    Building a better med student

    Researchers at Harvard Medical School’s Blavatnik Institute are developing an algorithm with information that is so complex, it will understand everything a first-year medical student knows.

    virtual human 3dillustration on blue circuit board background represent artificial intelligence AI
  • Health

    Exercise, fasting help cells shed defective proteins

    A new study from the Blavatnik Institute finds that intense exercise and fasting activate hormones that boost cells’ capacity to dispose of defective proteins, which clog up the cell, interfere with its functions, and, over time, precipitate diseases including neurodegenerative conditions such as ALS and Alzheimer’s.

    cells fasting
  • Health

    ZIP code or genetic code?

    In the largest study of U.S. twins to date, researchers use insurance records to tease out the effects of genes and the environment in 560 diseases.