Latest news from Harvard Medical School on º£½ÇÉçÇø en-us Copyright 2025 º£½ÇÉçÇø 115 31 / /images/newswise-logo-rss.gif /articles/study-finds-three-new-safe-effective-ways-to-treat-drug-resistant-tuberculosis/?sc=rsin /articles/study-finds-three-new-safe-effective-ways-to-treat-drug-resistant-tuberculosis/?sc=rsin Wed, 29 Jan 2025 17:00:00 EST * Study finds three new safe and effective drug regimens to fight multidrug-resistant TB * The treatments, which include recently discovered TB drugs, give new options for shorter, personalized treatment and are cleared for use for more people than ever Harvard Medical School /articles/special-class-of-immune-cells-found-to-safeguard-brain-health-memory-formation/?sc=rsin /articles/special-class-of-immune-cells-found-to-safeguard-brain-health-memory-formation/?sc=rsin Tue, 28 Jan 2025 10:00:00 EST Harvard Medical School research reveals highly specialized regulatory T cells that curb inflammation and act as gatekeepers to protect the inner regions of the brain. Harvard Medical School /articles/scientists-uncover-structure-of-critical-component-in-deadly-nipah-virus/?sc=rsin /articles/scientists-uncover-structure-of-critical-component-in-deadly-nipah-virus/?sc=rsin Mon, 20 Jan 2025 11:00:00 EST Researchers have profiled the molecular structure and features of a key part of the deadly Nipah virus. Experiments in cells showed how changes in the viral polymerase -- a protein involved in viral replication -- can alter the virus's ability to make copies of itself and infect cells. Further analysis revealed parts of the Nipah virus polymerase that may render the pathogen susceptible to drugs. Harvard Medical School /articles/how-good-are-ai-doctors-at-medical-conversations/?sc=rsin /articles/how-good-are-ai-doctors-at-medical-conversations/?sc=rsin Thu, 02 Jan 2025 05:00:00 EST Researchers design a new way to more reliably evaluate AI models' ability to make clinical decisions in realistic scenarios that closely mimic real-life interactions. The analysis finds that large-language models excel at making diagnoses from exam-style questions but struggle to do so from conversational notes. The researchers propose set of guidelines to optimize AI tools' performance and align them with real-world practice before integrating them into the clinic. Harvard Medical School /articles/how-sound-and-vibration-converge-in-the-brain-to-enhance-sensory-experience/?sc=rsin /articles/how-sound-and-vibration-converge-in-the-brain-to-enhance-sensory-experience/?sc=rsin Wed, 18 Dec 2024 11:00:00 EST Study in mice reveals high-frequency mechanical vibrations detected by nerve endings on the skin are processed in a brain region deemed to be involved primarily in sound perception. Neurons in this brain region respond more strongly to sound and mechanical vibrations combined than to either one alone, resulting in an enhanced sensory experience. Harvard Medical School /articles/how-hiv-research-reshaped-modern-medicine/?sc=rsin /articles/how-hiv-research-reshaped-modern-medicine/?sc=rsin Fri, 29 Nov 2024 09:00:03 EST Decades of scientific work turned the tide on a fatal disease and yielded insights into immunity, vaccines, and more Harvard Medical School /articles/how-cells-get-used-to-the-familiar/?sc=rsin /articles/how-cells-get-used-to-the-familiar/?sc=rsin Tue, 19 Nov 2024 11:00:00 EST Up until recently, habituation -- a simple form of learning -- was deemed the exclusive domain of complex organisms with brains and nervous systems, such as worms, insects, birds, and mammals. But a new study, published Nov. 19 in Current Biology, offers compelling evidence that even tiny single-cell creatures such as ciliates and amoebae, as well as the cells in our own bodies, could exhibit habituation akin to that seen in more complex organisms with brains. Harvard Medical School /articles/study-sheds-light-on-how-brca1-gene-mutations-fuel-breast-cancer/?sc=rsin /articles/study-sheds-light-on-how-brca1-gene-mutations-fuel-breast-cancer/?sc=rsin Mon, 11 Nov 2024 18:00:54 EST At a glance: A new study in mice explains how even a single faulty copy of the BRCA1 gene can fuel tumor growth. The findings suggest the dominant "two-hit" hypothesis of cancer development may not tell the full story behind how cancer arises. Study identifies cellular changes that prime cancer-related genes for action and render cells vulnerable to tumor growth. The findings can inform new treatments that block the priming effect to prevent breast cancer formation. Harvard Medical School /articles/ancient-dna-challenges-stories-told-about-pompeii-victims/?sc=rsin /articles/ancient-dna-challenges-stories-told-about-pompeii-victims/?sc=rsin Thu, 07 Nov 2024 15:45:02 EST An international team led by scientists at Harvard Medical School, the University of Florence, and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology analyzed DNA from the remains of five people who died in the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE and were cast in plaster nearly two millennia later. Researchers retrieved the DNA in conjunction with the Archaeological Park of Pompeii during restoration of 86 damaged casts in 2015. Harvard Medical School /articles/challenging-current-understanding-study-reveals-rapid-release-of-dopamine-not-needed-for-initiating-movement/?sc=rsin /articles/challenging-current-understanding-study-reveals-rapid-release-of-dopamine-not-needed-for-initiating-movement/?sc=rsin Wed, 16 Oct 2024 11:00:00 EST At a glance: Study in mice reveals rapid release of dopamine is not needed for initiating movement but is important for activities related to reward-seeking and motivation. The findings help explain why the widely used Parkinson's drug levodopa improves movement-related symptoms but often fails to ameliorate some cognitive ones. The work may inform the development of new therapies that restore both slow and fast dopamine action to treat multiple symptoms. Harvard Medical School /articles/researchers-harness-ai-to-repurpose-existing-drugs-for-treatment-of-rare-diseases/?sc=rsin /articles/researchers-harness-ai-to-repurpose-existing-drugs-for-treatment-of-rare-diseases/?sc=rsin Wed, 25 Sep 2024 05:00:00 EST New AI model identifies possible therapies from existing medicines for thousands of diseases, including rare ones with no current treatments. The AI tool generates new insights on its own, applies them to conditions it was not trained for, and offers explanations for its predictions. Harvard Medical School /articles/studies-deepen-understanding-of-lgbtq-health-disparities/?sc=rsin /articles/studies-deepen-understanding-of-lgbtq-health-disparities/?sc=rsin Tue, 17 Sep 2024 20:05:04 EST Three new studies pinpoint challenges and opportunities for closing health disparities for LGBTQ+ people, showing how the convergence of political and social environments, structural inequities, and implicit and explicit bias within the medical system erode LGBTQ+ well-being. Harvard Medical School /articles/a-new-artificial-intelligence-tool-for-cancer/?sc=rsin /articles/a-new-artificial-intelligence-tool-for-cancer/?sc=rsin Wed, 04 Sep 2024 11:00:00 EST The new approach marks a major step forward in the design of AI tools to support clinical decisions in cancer diagnosis, therapy. The model uses features of a tumor's microenvironment to forecast how a patient might respond to therapy and to help inform individualized treatments. Harvard Medical School /articles/interview-with-harvard-medical-school-expert-on-eastern-equine-encephalitis-virus-jonathan-abraham-has-studied-the-virus-in-detail-in-research-published-in-nature-in-2022-and-2024-abraham-and-team-mapped-the-structure-and-behavior-of-the-cell-receptors-th/?sc=rsin /articles/interview-with-harvard-medical-school-expert-on-eastern-equine-encephalitis-virus-jonathan-abraham-has-studied-the-virus-in-detail-in-research-published-in-nature-in-2022-and-2024-abraham-and-team-mapped-the-structure-and-behavior-of-the-cell-receptors-th/?sc=rsin Thu, 29 Aug 2024 12:30:54 EST Harvard Medical School virologist Jonathan Abraham has studied EEE virus in detail. In research published in Nature in 2022 and 2024, Abraham and team mapped the structure and behavior of the cell receptors -- the entryways on the surfaces of cells -- that allow EEE virus and similar viruses to infect their hosts and cause mischief. Harvard Medical School /articles/what-enables-herpes-simplex-virus-to-become-impervious-to-drugs/?sc=rsin /articles/what-enables-herpes-simplex-virus-to-become-impervious-to-drugs/?sc=rsin Tue, 27 Aug 2024 11:00:00 EST At a glance: New research explains how herpes simplex virus can develop resistance to antiviral medicines. Study shows that movements in specific parts of a protein that enable viral replication can alter susceptibility to drugs The findings answer long-standing questions about viral drug resistance and can inform new approaches to designing more effective therapies. Harvard Medical School /articles/how-thyroid-hormone-fuels-the-drive-to-explore/?sc=rsin /articles/how-thyroid-hormone-fuels-the-drive-to-explore/?sc=rsin Thu, 22 Aug 2024 11:00:00 EST Research in mice sheds light on how thyroid hormone alters wiring in the brain. Findings reveal that thyroid hormone syncs up the brain and body to drive exploratory behavior. Researchers say their work could illuminate new treatments for certain psychiatric conditions. Harvard Medical School /articles/new-ai-tool-captures-how-proteins-behave-in-context/?sc=rsin /articles/new-ai-tool-captures-how-proteins-behave-in-context/?sc=rsin Mon, 19 Aug 2024 08:00:32 EST In a marked advance over current AI models, the new approach captures how proteins act not in isolation but in their cellular and tissue environments. Harvard Medical School /articles/the-risks-of-artificial-intelligence-in-weapons-design/?sc=rsin /articles/the-risks-of-artificial-intelligence-in-weapons-design/?sc=rsin Mon, 12 Aug 2024 12:05:25 EST Researchers outline dangers of developing AI-powered autonomous weapons Harvard Medical School /articles/which-strains-of-tuberculosis-are-the-most-infectious/?sc=rsin /articles/which-strains-of-tuberculosis-are-the-most-infectious/?sc=rsin Thu, 01 Aug 2024 05:00:00 EST Highly localized TB strains are less infectious in cosmopolitan cities and more likely to infect people from the geographic area that is the strain's natural habitat. Harvard Medical School /articles/what-will-the-new-cardiovascular-risk-calculator-mean-for-patients/?sc=rsin /articles/what-will-the-new-cardiovascular-risk-calculator-mean-for-patients/?sc=rsin Mon, 29 Jul 2024 11:00:00 EST If current guidelines for cholesterol and high blood pressure treatment remain unchanged, a newly unveiled heart risk calculator would render 16 million people ineligible for preventive therapy. Harvard Medical School