New, noninvasive blood-plasma based methods to follow the genetic and molecular evolution of solid tumors in patients are emerging. These technologies detect mutations in circulating tumor DNA, allowing monitoring of tumor changes over time. George D. Demetri, HMS professor of medicine at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, is one of the lead researchers.

A Boston psychiatrist wants the brain of slain marathon bomb suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev studied like a crime scene to look for evidence that his boxing career may have left his brain damaged and possibly prone to depression and aggression. In an op-ed published in The Boston Globe, Michael Craig Miller, HMS assistant professor of psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, argued that neuroscientists should be given the chance to examine Tsarnaev's brain.

While doctors and nurses can make mistakes with medications in hospitals, a new study says drug errors often happen at home and can lead to harm. Christopher Landrigan, HMS associate professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, wrote a commentary accompanying the new study.