People living in the Ganges Delta, where cholera is an ancient, endemic and often lethal disease, have adapted genetically to the scourge through variations in about 300 genes, say researchers who have scanned their genomes for the fingerprints of evolution. Regina C. LaRocque, HMS assistant professor of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, is an author of the study. John Mekalanos, chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunobiology and the Adele Lehman Professor of Microbiology at HMS, is also quoted.
Bluntly challenged by a combative conference attendee to tell him a single thing that would make him find science interesting, Ting Wu talked about inventors. A professor of genetics at HMS, Wu explained that biologists have long been teasing out the complicated details of how biological systems work. But now they are applying that knowledge to create biological machines capable of all kinds of unforeseen functions. Brian Beliveau, one of Wu’s graduate students, is also quoted.
The author wrote about giving patients access to their medical records. Research by Tom Delbanco, the Richard A. and Florence Koplow-James L. Tullis Professor of General Medicine and Primary Care at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; and Jan Walker, principal associate in medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, is cited.
A new study authored by an unusual combination of Harvard mathematicians and oncologists from leading cancer centers uses modeling to predict how tumors mutate to foil the onslaught of targeted drugs.
Brown fat cells convert chemical energy into heat in response to cool temperatures—a form of thermogenesis that is induced indirectly via the sensory nervous system and a well-known signaling pathway. But certain white and beige fat cells can sense temperature directly to activate the suite of genes involved in heat generation, according to a new study. Bruce Spiegelman, the Stanley J. Korsmeyer Professor of Cell Biology and Medicine at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, led the study.
For more than a century, American parents have prodded their kids to drink three daily glasses of milk, but now the tide may be turning against this once seemingly essential beverage. A commentary published Monday questions the value of three servings of milk daily and whether the harm outweighs the benefits when people drink reduced-fat milk instead of whole milk. David Ludwig, HMS professor of pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital and Walter Willett, chair of the Department of Nutrition at HSPH, co-authored the commentary.
Expectations can make you ill. Fear can make you fragile. Understanding the nocebo effect may help prevent this painful phenomenon. Research by Ted Kaptchuk, HMS associate professor of medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, is cited.
An aspirin-like drug appears to lower blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes, according to new research. Steven Shoelson, HMS professor of medicine at Joslin Diabetes Center, is the senior author of the study.
One by one they came to the microphone, sharing fond memories and opinions on the state of health care. Sixty years earlier, the speakers had graduated from Harvard Medical School, and tonight, in suits and tuxedoes, the Class of 1953 gathered at the Longwood campus, in Gordon Hall, for a reunion dinner. Granville Coggs, the only African-American in his 1953 HMS class, is featured.
Lee M. Kaplan, HMS associate professor of medicine and director of the Obesity, Metabolism and Nutrition Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital, authored this article about obesity.
