Health

To look at him, Griffin doesn’t seem like he’d be smarter than your typical 4-year-old — he’s a bird, after all. But the African grey parrot can easily outperform young children on certain tests, including one that measures understanding of volume.

Researchers discovered hundreds of genetic “switches” that influence height, then performed tests that demonstrated how one such switch altered the function of a key gene involved in height difference.

When fill-in physicians take over care in hospitals temporarily, mortality levels remain stable, a new study says.

Surgeons at MassGeneral Hospital for Children faced a wrenching decision in a procedure to separate twins conjoined at the abdomen and pelvis.

McLean Hospital researchers have found energy dysfunction in the cells of late-onset Alzheimer’s patients, which may be a piece of the disease’s complex puzzle.

A collection of 150,000 beetle specimens, donated by businessman and longtime Harvard benefactor David Rockefeller, arrives at the Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology.

If current trends continue, more than 57 percent of U.S. children will be obese at age 35, according to a new study from the Harvard Chan School.

Harvard scientists are among those who will receive more than $150 million in funding over the next five years through the National Institutes of Health’s Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative.

New research on the immune system suggests that the molecule interferon plays an important role in activating antiviral genes across many tissues, helping against infection.

A new study has shown that — under certain conditions — gut microbes can consume enough of a key nutrient to cause a deficiency in their hosts.

Experts gathered at the Harvard Chan School to discuss recent developments in the fight against the country’s diabetes epidemic.

Scientists from Harvard and Woods Hole are collaborating on deep-sea technologies that could be a model for exploring oceans on the moons of Jupiter and Saturn.

Harvard professors hosted a “virtual dinner” at the Harvard Ed Portal to explain the microbial processes involved in food production, preparation, and consumption.

A festival at the Harvard Museum of Natural History will feature these photos capturing an “invisible” world in all its glory.

A new study finds that physical activity has an even larger health benefit than thought in reducing the risk of death in women.

Manipulating mitochondrial networks inside cells may increase lifespan and promote health, according to a new study.

The Harvard Chan School welcomed Lawrence Appel of Johns Hopkins to discuss his work testing the DASH diet.

A Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study symposium looked at epidemics and emerging ways to contain contagion, both biological and societal.

Harvard Museum of Natural History brings art and science together as two Harvard scientists capture the “invisible,” and stunningly beautiful, life force that is everywhere: microbes.

Harvard study reveals underlying genetic basis for halictid bee communication and social behavior.

Scientists at Harvard University and the Broad Institute have developed a new class of DNA base editor that can repair the type of mutations that account for half of human disease-associated point mutations. These single-letter mutations are associated with disorders ranging from genetic blindness to sickle-cell anemia to metabolic disorders to cystic fibrosis.

Antibiotic resistance has the potential to take millions of lives by 2050 if nothing is done to address the problem, Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institutes of Health’s Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said at Harvard Business School.

Flour Bakery owner Joanne Chang ’91 explained for 500 listeners the uses of sugar in a “Science and Cooking” lecture.

Systems aren’t sexy, but they save lives, says Harvard Medical School Professor and author Atul Gawande during HUBweek events in Boston.

A Harvard-sponsored HUBweek panel discussed recent developments in cancer treatment, including advances in immuno-oncology.

A study by BIDMC has found that long-standing concerns on the effects of epidurals on the second stage of labor may be misguided and out of date.

Harvard biologist Jonathan Losos talks about his new book, “Improbable Destinies: Fate, Chance, and the Future of Evolution.”

Experts trace the fingerprints of climate change in the world’s mass migration crises, saying that the effects of shifting norma appear to play a role.

Harvard and MIT researchers have developed smart tattoo ink capable of monitoring health by changing color to tell an athlete if she is dehydrated or a diabetic if his blood sugar rises.

The new Fatigue Cost Calculator demonstrates the physical and financial tolls of sleep deficiency in the U.S.