HarvardScience (BREAKING_NEWS)

What's Out There:

404132862 — Thu, 07 May 2009 15:35:35 -0400

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"A Pearl Harbor of schizophrenia research?"

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Human cardiac master stem cells identified

404132862 — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:59:00 -0400

Harvard Stem Cell Institute researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital have identified the earliest master human heart stem cell from human embryonic stem cells - ISL1+ progenitors - that give rise to a family of cells that form the essential portions of the human heart.

Spinal fusion protein associated with complications, higher costs

50443248 — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:55:36 -0400

In the United States, back pain continues to be a leading cause of disability and one of the most common reasons to see a physician for evaluation. Among various treatment options is spinal fusion surgery, which may use a biological agent known as bone-morphogenetic protein (BMP).

Low blood sugar in hospital linked to higher death risk

50443248 — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:58:07 -0400

Harvard researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) found that diabetics hospitalized for noncritical illnesses who develop hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) during hospitalization have an increased likelihood of remaining hospitalized longer and a greater risk of mortality both during and after hospitalization.

Massachusetts Lt. Governor tours Harvard research facilities

404132862 — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:43:08 -0400

Massachusetts Lt. Governor Timothy Murray on Wednesday toured Harvard labs in both Cambridge and Boston.

"The Patrick Administration has been very supportive of the university research sector in Massachusetts and we welcomed the opportunity to show him the range of projects ongoing at Harvard, in both Cambridge and Longwood, that are cutting-edge, multidisciplinary and often involve collaboration with partners from other institutions, including the University of Massachusetts, and industry," Casey said.

Safer stem cells for therapy

50443248 — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:20:53 -0400

When stem cell researchers in Japan and the United States announced in 2007 that they had developed long-sought methods to return fully developed adult human cells to an embryonic-like state, the world of stem cell research was turned upside down.

Harvard Medical School fetes scholar, names chair

50443248 — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:01:27 -0400

Harvard Medical School (HMS) will endow a new chair named for child psychiatrist Leon Eisenberg, the School’s longtime Maude and Lillian Presley Professor of Social Medicine, starting July 1.

Emeritus since 1993, Eisenberg has taught and mentored generations of physicians at Harvard (since 1967) and elsewhere (since 1947).

At 86, Eisenberg is still an active medical scholar and writer. Most recently, he has pressed for a rigorous ethical code to avoid conflicts of interest in medical practice – and for screenings for depression in the primary care setting.

Study pinpoints novel cancer gene and biomarker

50443248 — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:25:01 -0400

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists’ discovery of a cancer-causing gene – the first in its family to be linked to cancer – demonstrates how the panoramic view of genomics and the close-up perspective of molecular biology are needed to determine which genes are involved in cancer and which are mere bystanders. The findings are reported in the June 25 issue of the journal Nature.

A urine test for appendicitis?

50443248 — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:18:17 -0400

Harvard researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston have identified a protein in the urine of appendicitis patients that they believe may provide the basis of a quick, noninvasive, accurate, and inexpensive test for the common condition.

Acute inflammation of the vermiform appendix, commonly known as appendicitis, is one of the oldest emergencies in the annals of medicine, but its diagnosis still can be challenging, leading to delays and mistakes that can result in complications and death. But all that may be changing.

Common ECG finding may indicate serious cardiac problems

50443248 — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:33:58 -0400

A common electrocardiogram (ECG) finding that has largely been considered insignificant may actually signal an increased risk of atrial fibrillation (a chronic heart rhythm disturbance), the future need for a permanent pacemaker, and an increased risk for premature death.

Study: Women more likely than men to reject unattractive babies

50443248 — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 22:58:01 -0400

Women are more likely than men to reject unattractive-looking babies, according to a study by researchers at Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital, possibly reflecting an evolutionary-derived need for diverting limited resources towards the nurturing of healthy offspring. The findings also challenge the idea of unconditional maternal love.

D. Mark Hegsted, national force in science of human nutrition, dies

50443248 — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 13:16:52 -0400

D. Mark Hegsted, who was instrumental in the development of the federal "Dietary Guidelines for Americans," died Tuesday, June 16, 2009, at the age of 95 at a nursing center in Westwood, Mass.

Hegsted was a founding member of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), among the first such departments in a medical or public health school in the world.

Visitors will gravitate to 'Black Holes' exhibit

50443248 — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 09:27:12 -0400

On Sunday, June 21, a new exhibit developed by educators and scientists at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) will open at the Boston Museum of Science.

Computer scientists model cell division

50443248 — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:36:48 -0400

Computer scientists at Harvard have developed a framework for studying the arrangement of tissue networks created by cell division across a diverse set of organisms, including fruit flies, tadpoles, and plants.

The finding, published in the June 2009 issue of PLoS Computational Biology, could lead to insights about how multicellular systems achieve (or fail to achieve) robustness from the seemingly random behavior of groups of cells, and provide a road map for researchers seeking to artificially emulate complex biological behavior.

Individual primates display variation in general intelligence

50443248 — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:57:23 -0400

Scientists at Harvard University have shown, for the first time, that intelligence varies among individual monkeys within a species – in this case, the cotton-top tamarin.

Testing for broad cognitive ability, the researchers identified high-, middle-, and low-performing monkeys, determined by a general intelligence score. General intelligence, or g, is a hallmark of human cognition, often described as similar to IQ. The effect of g in primates may offer insights into the evolution of human general intelligence.

Radcliffe’s Fay Prize awarded to Norman Yao for pioneering research

50443248 — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:25:41 -0400

The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University has named Harvard math and physics concentrator Norman Yao ’09 the winner of its 2009 Captain Jonathan Fay Prize. Yao was selected for the quality and potential impact of his senior thesis, which describes a breakthrough scientific technique he developed to measure the properties of neurofilaments, a family of proteins found in the neurons that constitute mammalian nervous tissue.

‘Water guy’ John Briscoe stays in motion

50443248 — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:55:22 -0400

For someone who deep-sixed his BlackBerry (instant e-mail was taking over his life) and traded the local newspaper for a good book (“What do I need to know about Celtics’ scores?”), John Briscoe ’76 is as worldly a person as you are ever likely to meet.

An expert on water and economic development who most recently served as the World Bank’s senior water adviser and the country director for Brazil, Briscoe has lived in his native South Africa as well as Bangladesh, Mozambique, India, and Brazil.

Search for new tuberculosis drugs outlined

50443248 — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:01:16 -0400

A new drug candidate that attacks the cell walls of tuberculosis bacteria offers a promising alternative in the fight against a disease that has been resurgent in the global age of AIDS, according to findings highlighted by a key researcher Friday (June 12) at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT.

Peculiar, junior-sized supernova discovered by New York teen

50443248 — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 15:20:44 -0400

In November 2008, Caroline Moore, a 14-year-old student from upstate New York, discovered a supernova in a nearby galaxy, making her the youngest person ever to do so. Additional observations determined that the object, called SN 2008ha, is a new type of stellar explosion, 1,000 times more powerful than a nova but 1,000 times less powerful than a supernova. Astronomers say that it may be the weakest supernova ever seen.

Physics for the musical masses

50443248 — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 11:34:34 -0400

Harvard physicist Lisa Randall is taking Paris’ opera-going public to the fifth dimension this month, working with a composer and artist to present an opera that incorporates Randall’s theories about extra dimensions of space.