Features

The Neuroscience of Cancer

Scientists are making surprising discoveries about the connections between cancer and the nervous system

• Cancer
• Neuroscience
• Discovery

Tracing the Path from Basic Research to Transformative Therapies

Decades of federal funding for science have yielded enormous returns for human health

• Discovery
• Research Funding

A Brief History of Federal Funding for Basic Science

The partnership that transformed American biomedical research

• Discovery
• History
• Research Funding

Solving Medicine’s Most Elusive Mysteries

The Undiagnosed Diseases Network identifies the rarest of diseases and discovers new ones

• Discovery
• Research Funding

Empowering Communities to Address Climate Health Risks

As the climate crisis deepens, HMS researchers are working with local communities to promote health and well-being

• Environment and Health
• Global Health

How Generative AI Is Transforming Medical Education

Harvard Medical School is building artificial intelligence into the curriculum to train the next generation of doctors

• Medical Education
• AI

Did AI Solve the Protein-Folding Problem?

Now that AlphaFold has tackled biology’s greatest challenge, scientists can turn to even bigger questions

• AI

Designing Brain-Computer Interfaces That Connect Neurons to the Digital World

Twenty years after meeting at HMS, two alumni are at the leading edge of efforts to use minimally invasive neural implants to improve human health

• Neuroscience
• AI

What a Polygenic Risk Score Can and Can’t Tell You

Scientists have made great strides in predicting the genetic risk of common diseases. Figuring out what to do with that information may be just as hard.

• Genetics
• Clinical Practice

Navigating the Uncertainties of Medicine

Embracing the unknown isn’t easy for either patients or doctors. HMS researchers are trying to help.

• Clinical Practice

Making Sense of Interoception

How we perceive what’s happening inside our bodies and what that means for our health

• Neuroscience
• Discovery

The Limits of Computer Vision, and of Our Own

In fields such as radiology, AI models can help compensate for the shortcomings of human vision but have weaknesses of their own

• AI
• Neuroscience

The Connections Between Smell, Memory, and Health

The ability of odors to bring to mind past experiences has intriguing scientific and therapeutic implications

• Neuroscience
• Mental Health

How Music Resonates in the Brain

Scientists tune in to the brain’s emotional response to music

• Art and Medicine
• Neuroscience

Shared Identity and the Doctor-Patient Relationship

Patients with demographically similar physicians tend to report increased satisfaction. Do they also have better health outcomes?

• Health Equity
• Clinical Practice