Health

All Health

  • 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.
  • Probiotic hydrogels heal gut wounds that other treatments can’t reach

    Harvard researchers have developed hydrogels that can be produced from bacterial cultures and applied to intestinal surfaces for faster wound healing.

    Microscopic image of bacterial hydrogel at work.
  • At the corner of med and tech

    Undergraduate Michael Chen, who created an extraordinary program to help treat TB, also works with a student program to treat ordinary patients.

    Michael Chen.
  • What fuels prejudice?

    A postdoctoral fellow working in the lab of Psychology Professor Matt Nock,Brian O’Shea is the lead author of a study that suggests racial tension may stem not from different groups being exposed to each other, but fear of a different sort of exposure — exposure to infectious diseases. The study is described in a July 15 paper published in Social Psychological and Personality Science.

    Brian O'Shea
  • CBD rollout shines light on Wild West of supplements

    A marijuana derivative called cannabidiol, or CBD, has begun making its way into supplements and even into foods, a use that runs afoul of an FDA designation of the compound as a prescription drug. A Harvard Medical School associate professor says CBD’s tangled legal status may provide an opportunity not only to clear up its status, but to bring clarity to the entire supplements industry.

    Pieter Cohen sitting in front of a laptop
  • How biology affects behavioral decisions

    Researchers have found that when making decisions that are important to the species’ survival, zebrafish choose to mate rather than to flee from a threat.

    Zebrafish
  • Want to quit smoking? There’s the e-cigarette

    A new study provides critical population-level evidence demonstrating that using e-cigarettes daily helps U.S. smokers to quit smoking cigarettes.

    Man smoking a cigarette
  • Growing support for plant-based diet

    A new meta-analysis shows that people who follow predominantly plant-based diets with greater adherence have a 23 percent lower risk of developing Type 2 diabetes than those who follow these diets with lower adherence.

    Plant-based food on table
  • It takes a community to make compost

    Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum partners with local businesses on environmentally responsible composting program.

    Hand holding dirt
  • 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