Happiness & Health. The biology of emotion – and what it may teach us about helping people to live longer. Could a sunny outlook mean fewer colds and less heart disease? Do hope and curiosity somehow protect against hypertension, diabetes, and respiratory tract infections? Do happier people live longer—and, if so, why? These are the kinds […]

How imaginary friends benefit children Since she was a toddler, my five-year-old has been utterly devoted to a mint-green stuffed hippo named, appropriately, Hippo. He/she (the toy’s gender remains undecided) has been a faithful companion to my daughter, accompanying her on vacations, snuggling up with her at naps and bedtime, and serving as a playmate when my […]

A call for a new way to classify gluten-related disorders After a lifelong battle with eczema, I went gluten-free about a year ago on the suggestion of a nutritionist – and my skin condition immediately cleared up. So I was interested to read a Wall Street Journal article on gluten and a panel of experts’ work to develop a new […]

Video: An in-depth (pun intended) look at two meals Here’s an interesting video from Stefani Bardin, a TEDxManhattan 2011 fellow, and Braden Kuo, MD, a gastroenterology instructor at Harvard. According to their description, the video uses “the M2A and SmartPill devices to look at how the human body responds to processed versus whole foods.” While I’m by no means […]

In case involving Kenyan abuse, scholarship must fit legal rubric. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer/Caroline Elkins, a Harvard history professor who studies colonial rule in East Africa, has spent the past few years as an “expert witness” testifying on the Mau Mau, a nationalist movement that liberated Kenya from British rule. What can historians learn by […]

HealthCare.gov helps same-sex couples find coverage by adding new details Website also expands information on plan benefits Americans are now able to use HealthCare.gov to search specifically for insurance plans that include coverage for domestic partners, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today. The Health Plan Finder tool on HealthCare.gov allows consumers to compare the cost […]

Students show off science projects at the White House Today, President Obama welcomed more than 100 students from across the country for the second annual White House Science Fair, an opportunity that gave the students a chance to show off their research projects. Angela Zhang, a local high school senior who took the top prize at the Siemens […]

In the end, Somali famine preventable. Panel cites man-made factors in making natural disaster wors. Photos by Jon Chase/Harvard Staff Photographer/Ken Menkhaus, professor of political science at Davidson College, said it was profoundly disappointing to be discussing another Somali famine, after he worked in the country during the 1991-92 one. Each famine, he said, has […]

Duncan urges experiments in education. Education secretary offers proposals to aid nation’s students. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer/ “It’s a stain on our nation that today one in four American students fails to finish high school on time or drops out … that is absolutely morally unacceptable and economically unsustainable,” U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan […]

We can’t wait: Administration announces new steps to fight Alzheimer’s disease The Obama Administration today announced new efforts to fight Alzheimer’s disease, including immediately making an additional $50 million available for cutting-edge Alzheimer’s research. In addition, the administration announced that its Fiscal Year 2013 budget will boost funding for Alzheimer’s research by $80 million.  Today’s […]