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Complex invokes executive privilege over protein production
May 1, 2008 - Your cells do something akin to editing a major motion picture every day. They take raw footage in the form of genes and turn it into sophisticated proteins with lots of bells and whistles. Many different professionals play a role in this process, including the exon junction complex (EJC), which resembles a movie studio executive. HMS researchers recently turned the spotlight on the EJC.
Sickest
patients still struggle under new Medicare Part D benefit
April 22, 2008 - While the new Medicare
Part D drug benefit has produced positive outcomes, the sickest patients
still skip medications for financial reasons.
Young Students Celebrate Science & Health at HMS Social Justice Event
That Event Honors Massachusetts
Department of Public Health Commissioner John M. Auerbach
April 15, 2008 - In front of an audience of hundreds of schoolchildren, John M. Auerbach, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, received this year's Ruth M. Batson Social Justice Award.
Genetic test offers clues about cardiac hypertrophy in children
April 9, 2008 - Some children with unexplained cardiac hypertrophy—a thickening of the heart muscle—harbor mutations in the same 10 genes responsible for the condition in many adults. Regardless of the age at which symptoms appear, cardiac hypertrophy can share common genetic roots.
Less sleep, more TV leads to overweight infants and toddlers
April 7, 2008 - Infants and toddlers who sleep less than 12
hours a day and who watch two or more hours of television
per day are twice as likely to become overweight by age 3
than children who sleep longer.
Restrictive
drug policies often cause schizophrenic patients to discontinue
medication, study finds
April 1, 2008 - Schizophrenic patients in Maine’s Medicaid program
experienced more frequent interruptions in treatment when the state began
requiring physicians to seek prior authorization for medications not on
the programs’ preferred drug list.
Researchers help transgenes fit in
April 1, 2008 - A new technique promises to improve the quality of organisms that contain genes manufactured in a lab. Often times, an organism's endogenous DNA unexpectedly switches off these transgenes. Working in flies, researchers developed a technique for sandwiching these transgenes between protective stretches of DNA, thus insulating the foreign genes from their surroundings.
Gender Differences Revealed in Grant Applications and Funding of HMS Faculty
March, 2008 - When a faculty subcommittee of the HMS/HSDM Joint Committee on the Status of Women looked at grant applications and funding for HMS faculty, they found that gender disparities in academic rank play a key role in funding disparities overall.
Harvard medical school reduces financial burden for middle-income families
March 21, 2008 - Harvard Medical School (HMS) Dean Jeffrey Flier today announced that the school is taking steps to reduce the cost of a four-year medical education by up to $50,000 for families with incomes of $120,000 or less.
Neuronal regulators offer potential targets for cancer
March 19, 2008 - Researchers at
Harvard Medical School have identified some of the cellular
switches that control a cell's cancerous transformation, providing
promising new therapeutic targets.
Their results appear in the March 20 issue of Nature.
Life expectancy rises for the educated; the less-educated reap no benefit
March 11, 2008 - While life-expectancy has increased significantly for educated people over the last twenty years, it has plateaued for less educated people. In other words, those whose education level does not exceed high school have not been sharing the benefits of prolonged lifespan.
Total Smoking Ban at Medical School by Spring 2009
March 10, 2008 - Dean Jeffrey Flier has announced that HMS is extending its ban on smoking in conjunction with the Dental School and School of Public Health. In preparation for the total smoking ban on the entire campus, the schools will offer free, voluntary smoking-cessation programs.
New chemical toolkit manipulates mitochondria, reveals insight into drug toxicity
February 24, 2008 - Researchers have developed a chemical toolkit
for manipulating mitochondria in its normal cellular environment.
After introducing nearly 2,500 compounds to this platform—many of
which are FDA-approved—the
researchers immediately discerned new insights into basic mitochondrial
function, which in turn revealed why some commonly used drugs
have particular adverse effects.
Gene
plays “Jekyll and Hyde” in brain cancer
February 6, 2008 - Researchers have found that a particular
gene is central to the brain cancer glioblastoma and will either fight
the tumor or, conversely, help the tumor advance, depending on the tumor’s
genetic makeup.
Interactive
Website Helps Fill Education Void on Sleep
January 31, 2008 - Harvard Medical School’s Division of Sleep Medicine
has launched a “Healthy Sleep” website in collaboration with
WGBH Educational Foundation to help the general public understand sleep.
Visitors to the site will learn about the science of sleep, why sleep matters,
and how to get the sleep they need.
Study
Analyzes Best Approach for Treating Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms in the Elderly
January 30, 2008 - The largest study to date of over 45,000
Medicare recipients who had been treated for abdominal aortic
aneurysms (AAA) shows that endovascular repair, a less invasive
way to treat the condition compared with open surgery, has
the best health outcomes for patients.
Genomic Screen Nets Hundreds of Proteins Exploited by HIV
January 10, 2008 - Using a technique called RNA interference
to screen thousands of genes, researchers identified 273
human proteins required for HIV propagation. The vast majority
had not been connected to the virus by previous studies.
Higher Medicare Spending Yields Mixed Bag for Patients
January 8, 2008 - A large-scale study of over 55,000 colorectal cancer patients
found that Medicare beneficiaries in “high spending” areas get
better care in some circumstances, but worse care in others. On net, they
do no better than their peers in lower spending areas
Oral Osteoporosis Meds Appear to Reduce the Risk of Jaw Degradation
January 2, 2008 - Contrary to recent reports, oral osteoporosis medications that
inhibit bone breakdown reduce the risk of jaw problems, based on an analysis
of medical claims.
Health
Coverage Improves Health and Reduces Major Heart Complications
December 25, 2007 - A 12-year study of over 7,000 Americans shows that individuals
without health insurance experience a dramatic improvement in their subsequent
health trends when they become eligible for Medicare at age 65.