Recent research demonstrates today’s toys are divided by gender at historically unprecedented levels. Campaigns such as Let Toys Be Toys and No Gender December have made international headlines for championing desegregated toy aisles, recommending reorganization by theme or interest. Susan Linn, instructor in psychiatry at Boston Children’s Hospital, is quoted.
Nancy Rappaport, associate professor of psychiatry at Cambridge Health Alliance, participated in an interview about the effectiveness of online chat as tool for suicide prevention.
All our social interactions require us to anticipate another person’s undecided intentions and actions. Now, researchers have discovered specific brain cells that allow monkeys to do this. It is likely that the cells do the same job in humans. Keren Haroush, instructor in neurosurgery and Ziv Williams, associate professor of neurosurgery, both of Massachusetts General Hospital, led the study.
According to the Dyslexia Research Institute, up to 15 percent of Americans are affected by this neurological difference, resulting in language, perceptual and processing difficulties. The percentage of dyslexic doctors is difficult to measure, as many fear that disclosure could thwart professional development and compromise the trust of patients. Beryl Benacerraf, professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, is quoted.
There is a delicate balance between preserving individual rights and protecting public health when it comes to vaccines, experts argued at a panel discussion at Harvard Law School on Wednesday. Nir Eyal, associate professor of global health and social medicine, is mentioned.
Pretreating human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) with a small molecule called Ro-31-8425, researchers can increase the expression of the surface receptor CD11a to improve the cells’ ability to target to inflamed tissue, according to a recent study. Such improved homing of MSCs could improve the efficacy of the more than 400 MSC-based treatments currently in clinical trials. Jeffrey Karp, associate professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, is senior author; Charles Lin associate professor of dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital, is a co-author.
In 2004, out of the 302 Harvard applicants to medical school, about 40 percent were seniors aiming to continue schooling directly after graduation. The remaining 60 percent were alumni who had taken at least one year off, opting to pursue projects such as a travel fellowship, a different graduate degree like a Master’s or Ph.D., a research project, a teaching or community service experience, or paid employment. Robert J. Mayer, Stephen B. Kay Family Professor of Medicine and faculty associate dean for admissions, is quoted.
Faced with mounting evidence that general anesthesia may impair brain development in babies and young children, experts said Wednesday that more research is greatly needed and that when planning surgery for a child, parents and doctors should consider how urgently it is required, particularly in children younger than 3 years. Charles Berde, professor of anaesthesia (ediatrics)at Boston Children’s Hospital, is quoted.
