Science
SEAS Profs Heat Up Science Courses
Several professors at Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have taken a novel approach to teaching physics—cooking in class.
Computer Science at Harvard Sees Large Gender Imbalance
When Jean Yang ’08 arrived at Harvard in the fall of 2004, she was in many ways a typical, undecided freshman, contemplating concentrations ranging from economics to biology.
Harvard Researchers Say Use of Electronic Medical Record Systems Has Little Impact
Electronic medical record systems alone may not be enough to improve the quality of care and drive down medical costs, Harvard researchers say.
EPA Grants Go to Harvard, MIT
Harvard and MIT researchers received $2.1 million in grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last Thursday to study the effects of climate change on public health and local ecosystems.
Risk Factors Affect Life Expectancy Disparities, HSPH Researchers Say
Life expectancy disparities among people of different socio-economic, geographic, and racial backgrounds can be explained by different modifiable habits and health issues, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health reported last month.
Harvard To Institute Research Ethics Training
Harvard has instituted a new policy that requires all science students conducting research to receive ethics training, University officials say.
Lab Rat of the Week: Vijay Jain '11
Vijay Jain ’11 has found a medium in which he can combine his two loves, chemistry and physics.
Accidental Discovery of Black Silicon Holds Practical Applications
A treatment accidentally discovered in the laboratory of physics professor Eric Mazur has the potential to vastly increase the effectiveness of silicon.
Lab Rat of the Week: Vijay Jain '11
Vijay Jain ’11 has found a medium in which he can combine his two loves, chemistry and physics—he researches the effect of magnets on chemicals on the nano scale, looking to see how physical forces can influence chemical reactivity.
Science and Music
Physicist Lisa Randall and science journalist Marcia Bartusiak spoke at the First Parish Church about how creativity bridges the gap between scientific theories and artistic expressions.
Harvard Overseer Launches into Space
Stephanie D. Wilson ’88, a member of the Harvard Board of Overseers, launched into space for the third time yesterday ...
MIT Professor Honored As Scientist of the Year
MIT Professor Paula T. Hammond was honored as Scientist of the Year at the Harvard Foundation’s Albert Einstein Science Conference last Friday.
Early Weight Gain Tied to Obesity
Parents may need to monitor their newborn baby’s weight gain carefully, as part of an ongoing Harvard Medical School study found that significant weight gain during the first six months of life may put a child at risk for obesity by age three.
Harvard Designs Earthquake Portal
With up-to-date geographic data on Haiti after the devastating earthquake of January 12, 2010 scattered around different Web sites and agencies, relief workers in Haiti may find themselves with a headache when trying to find a central Web site containing comprehensive geographic information.
SEAS Attracts Undergraduates
Over the past few years, the number of undergraduates concentrators in engineering has seen a significant increase, largely due to the University’s concerted efforts to increase visibility and outreach for the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
Star Nearly As Old As Universe Found
The discovery of a dwarf galaxy star nearly as old as the universe has provided a missing link in supporting the “cannibalistic” theory of galaxy formation, according to a study led by Harvard researcher Anna Frebel that was published in the journal “Nature” this month.
Lighting Up the Laboratory
Molecular and Cellular Biology concentrator Amy Guan ’12 is taking the research world by storm
Bacteria Patterns Aid Carbon Fixation
Harvard Medical School researchers have discovered that the organelles responsible for carbon fixation within cyanobacteria organize themselves in predictable patterns—a finding that could help researchers engineer more efficient designer bacteria.
Lighting Up the Laboratory: Lab Rat of the Week
Amy Guan '12 works in the lab of David Liu performing research on GFP.
Today in Photos (03/26/10)
Members of the Student Labor Action Movement and Harvard employees rally outside of the Holyoke Center yesterday encouraging the University to stop employee layoffs.
Study Recommends Limiting Saturated Fats
A study published yesterday in PLoS Medicine and led by Dariush Mozaffarian, an assistant professor of epidemiology at HSPH, showed that replacing saturated fats with a higher than previously recommended percentage of polyunsaturated fats was associated with a significantly decreased risk of coronary heart disease, the leading killer of adults in developing countries.
Leukemia May Start in Marrow
Certain blood cancers may be caused by the surrounding bone marrow in which blood is produced, according to recent findings from researchers at Harvard’s Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology department.
New Role Found For Disease Protein
A recent study co-authored by Harvard Medical School Professor Rudolph E. Tanzi has found that a protein once believed to have no other function except playing a key role in Alzheimer’s disease may actually be beneficial to the immune system.