Altered states of consciousness through yoga, mindfulness more common than thought and mostly beneficial, study finds — though clinicians ill-equipped to help those who struggle
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Study led by Harvard researchers finds that a long-term trial of a capped-payment system encouraged preventative care and discouraged unnecessary spending
A new study reports that although the number has decreased, women taking isotretinoin — an acne medication known to cause birth defects — have continued to get pregnant even after the implementation of special distribution restrictions.
Massachusetts General Hospital researchers have identified markers that can distinguish between major subtypes of lung cancer and accurately identify lung cancer stage. Their work could eventually help physicians decide whether lung cancer patients need standard treatment or more aggressive therapy.
A two-day symposium organized by Professor of Medicine Steven Grinspoon of Harvard Medical School examined the scientific, nutritional, and health-related aspects of aging.
Physician burnout is costing the U.S. health care system an estimated $4.6 billion annually, according to new research from an international team led by a Harvard Business School researcher.
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.
Crashes caused by distracted drivers are believed to have been the biggest cause of a 14 percent rise in traffic fatalities since 2014. The Harvard Chan School’s Center for Health Communication is mounting an anti-distracted driving campaign this fall to make headway against a problem that has proven resistant to change despite efforts by government, insurance companies, carmakers and others. The Gazette spoke to the center’s director, Jay Winsten.
With the Trump administration halting fetal tissue research at two prominent scientific institutions and new plans to review such research elsewhere, Harvard Medical School Dean George Daley discussed the importance of research using these tissues, which would otherwise be discarded, in creating vaccines and treatments and enhancing our understanding of human biology.
A single microbe accumulating in the microbiome of elite athletes can enhance exercise performance in mice, paving the way to highly validated performance-enhancing probiotics.
In a recent online report, researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health have compiled 36 expert tips to help make your home a healthier place to live. Happily, most of them are quick fixes that can have a major impact on well-being.
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