Science
Fellow Wins Research Prize
Erez Lieberman-Aiden, a fellow at the Harvard Society of Fellows, has won the GE & Science Prize for Young Scientists for his dissertation research developing a new method of determining the three-dimensional structure of nuclear DNA.
Legal Experts Weigh In On LPSA Incident
Potential legal action against the University by the families of students injured in a lab for Life and Physical Sciences A last week would likely involve proving the negligence of university employees.
Eye Injuries From LPSA Incident Likely Minor
Students who were exposed to ultraviolet radiation in a lab for Life and Physical Sciences A last week can expect temporary burning, irritation, and minor vision loss, but no lasting harmful effects.
Radiation Sickness Therapy Developed
A treatment regimen using a combination of two established drugs may alleviate radiation sickness, with potential application in nuclear emergencies, according to a study led by Harvard-affiliated researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Children’s Hospital of Boston.
Ferran Adrià speaks at Science and Cooking
Internationally renowned chef Ferran Adrià speaks at the final public Science and Cooking lecture. Adrià's El Bulli Foundation will promote creativity in cuisine.
Harvard Launches Review of Lab Mishap
Harvard has launched a review to investigate an incident which sent at least five students to the hospital for treatment of eye injuries suffered in a Life and Physical Sciences A: “Foundational Chemistry and Biology” lab session on Tuesday, according to a statement from Faculty of Arts and Sciences spokesperson Jeff Neal.
Neuronal Transplants Help Rebuild Diseased Brains
Scientists from Harvard University, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center successfully rebuilt diseased brain circuitry in mice by transplanting new neurons. The research, which was published in the November 25 issue of “Science,” indicates that the right type of neuron could successfully integrate and partially restore functionality to areas of the brain that naturally do not regenerate neurons themselves.
Randall Receives New York Times Book Award
Last month, Physics Professor Lisa J. Randall ’84 experienced a thrill unusual for scientists: she saw her name in lights on the marquee of a 2000-person theater. Randall was speaking in Portland, Oregon while on tour for her new book, “Knocking on Heaven’s Door: How Physics and Scientific Thinking Illuminate the Universe and the Modern World.” The book, which was published on Sept. 20, was recently named one of the New York Times’s 100 Notable Books of 2011.
Explosive Speciation of Columbine Flowers Examined
Researchers at Harvard and the University of California, Santa Barbara have discovered the driving force behind the rapid radiation of columbine flowers—the explosive speciation from a single recent floral ancestor.
Steven Chu Discusses U.S. Energy Challenges
U.S. Secretary of Energy and Nobel laureate, Steven Chu, entered an auditorium at Northwest Labs to a flurry of applause yesterday afternoon. Chu spoke at this year’s Konrad Bloch Lecture, delivering a talk titled “The Role of Science, Technology and Innovation in Solving the Energy Challenge.”
SEAS Develops Inexpensive Swarm of Robots
Harvard researchers have developed a swarm of inexpensive robots, called Kilobots, that can be used to test collective algorithms on a large scale. These robots, designed by members of the Self-Organizing Systems Research Group at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, can be programmed and controlled as a group rather than individually.
In Modern Research, A Botanist’s Legacy
The ideas espoused by influential botanist Asa Gray bear fruit to this day in the Harvard University Herbaria, where scientists glean new knowledge from centuries-old specimens.
World-renowned Chefs Explore Food and Science
The evening event, sponsored by the Office of Faculty Development and Diversity, aimed to offer Harvard professors—from a range of disciplines and affiliations—the opportunity to explore an interest that does not demand a common academic background: dinner.
Robot Mimics Squid Movement
A team of Harvard scientists led by chemistry professor George M. Whitesides ’60 has developed a flexible robot inspired by animals without skeletons.
