Researchers say they have finally managed to use cloning technology to make human embryos and grow stem cells from them in the hopes of making perfectly matched grow-your-own tissue transplants. George Daley, HMS professor of biological chemistry and molecular pharmacology at Boston Children’s Hospital, is quoted.
Actress Angelina Jolie made a wrenching choice after a blood test detected a genetic defect that made breast cancer all but certain in her lifetime: She opted to have her breasts surgically removed. Her decision starkly highlights the less-than-ideal options available to women confronting a similar diagnosis. Eric Winer, HMS professor of medicine at the Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center, and Sharon Bober, HMS assistant professor of psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, are quoted.
Nurse practitioners are staffing retail health clinics, diagnosing and treating ills from strep throat to conjunctivitis. They’re giving flu shots and prescribing drugs. A new survey shows a huge gap between what nurse practitioners think they can and should do, and what doctors think. Karen Donelan, HMS assistant professor of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, led the research.
The massive legal action brought by former players against the National Football League has been known as a concussion lawsuit. William Meehan, HMS assistant professor of pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital, is quoted. The Harvard-NFLPA research partnership is mentioned.
Advanced genetic engineering is already changing vaccine development and could make inroads into other branches of medicine. Pam Silver, the Elliott T. and Onie H. Adams Professor of Biochemistry and Systems Biology at HMS, presented at a meeting on synthetic biology at MIT over the weekend. Research by Douglas Melton, the Xander University Professor of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology and co-director of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, is also featured.
When it comes to approving new medical treatments, the Food and Drug Administration is balancing the need for patient safety against the urgency of making important new treatments available as quickly as possible. A team of experts recently faced off for an Intelligence Squared U.S. debate on the motion “The FDA’s Caution Is Hazardous to Our Health.” Jerry Avorn, HMS professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, was one of the participants.
An unusual medical brawl erupted on Tuesday when the influential Institute of Medicine issued a report questioning the basis of years of advice for Americans to cut their salt intake in half. Elliott Antman, HMS professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and associate dean for clinical and translational research, is quoted.
Judy Garber, director of the Center for Cancer Genetics and Prevention at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, was a guest on NPR’s On Point with Tom Ashbrook to discuss Angelina Jolie’s decision to undergo a preventative double mastectomy.
For the first time in nearly a year, Google Chief Executive Officer Larry Page is publicly addressing a question about his personal health: why he lost his voice and continues to speak more hoarsely than is normal. Page announced that he will be funding a research program on vocal cord nerve function that will be led by Steven Zeitels, the Eugene B. Casey Professor of Laryngeal Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Over a two-and-a-half-year period, device and drug companies shelled out over $76 million just to physicians licensed in Massachusetts, according to a new study. Aaron S. Kesselheim, HMS assistant professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, is the lead author.
When a national organization of genetic specialists took a stab at clarifying one of the biggest issues facing the integration of DNA sequencing into medicine in March, the bold guidelines seemed destined to stir up a hornet’s nest of controversy. Robert C. Green, HMS associate professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, is quoted.
