Science
Former U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter Remembered as ‘Laser Smart’ and Devoted Public Servant
A lifelong academic and public servant who would go on to serve as the 25th Defense secretary under President Barack Obama, Ashton B. Carter died on Oct. 24 in Boston after suffering a heart attack. He was 68.
Panelists Discuss Ethics of Biotechnology at Science, Technology, and Society Symposium
Medical and legal authorities spoke about the ethics and future of biotechnology at a Friday panel hosted by the Program on Science, Technology, and Society at the Harvard Kennedy School.
Arundhati Roy Talks Indian Politics, Development in Keynote at HKS Science, Technology, and the Human Future Symposium
Indian author Arundhati Roy, who wrote “The God of Small Things,” spoke about the political and social effects of India’s development in her keynote lecture Thursday for a symposium hosted by the Harvard Kennedy School.
Harvard Astrophysicists Confirm Existing Theories of Composition, Expansion of the Universe
Researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics found that dark energy makes up two-thirds of the universe, according to a study published in a special issue of The Astrophysical Journal last month.
Educators and Scholars Stress Collaboration, Urgency in Confronting Climate Change at HGSE Conference
Education officials and sustainability experts discussed how students and educators can “engage creatively and intelligently” on climate change at a Harvard Graduate School of Education conference Thursday.
Experts Discuss Neuroscience and the Death Penalty at Harvard Law School Panel
A pair of psychology and legal experts discussed the role neuroscience plays in legal decisions about the death penalty at a panel hosted Thursday by the Petrie-Flom Center at Harvard Law School.
HSPH Panel Envisions the Future of Public Health
A panel of health practitioners convened at the Harvard School of Public Health on Wednesday to discuss potential solutions to challenges facing public health.
Radcliffe Launches Five-Year Focus on Climate Change with Symposium of Interdisciplinary Scholars
A panel of activists, scientists, and journalists discussed the human impacts of climate change at an event hosted last Friday by the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study.
Harvard Astrophysicists Discover Black Hole With Delayed Stellar Burp
In October 2018, Sebastian Gomez, then a Harvard PhD student, observed a black hole tear apart and engulf a small star in a galaxy located 665 million light years away from Earth. Almost three years later, he and a team of researchers noticed that the same black hole had begun ejecting stellar material.
Harvard Researchers Receive NIH Funding for Biomedical, Behavioral, and Social Sciences Research
Nine Harvard researchers are set to receive a total of more than $200 million in grants over the next five years through a National Institutes of Health program that funds “high-risk, high-reward” research.
Harvard Researchers Debunk Popular Sleep Myths in New Study
A Harvard-led team of researchers debunked popular myths parents and caregivers believe about adolescent sleep habits in a study published last month.
Harvard Researchers Identify First Ever Proof of Sea Level Fingerprints
A new study conducted by Harvard researchers appears to have detected the first-ever proof of changes in ocean levels due to glacial melting, known as sea level fingerprints.
Harvard Medical School Professor Frederick W. Alt to be Awarded One of Germany’s Highest Medical Honors
Harvard Medical School professor Frederick W. Alt will be awarded the 2023 Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize, one of Germany’s highest medical honors, at an award ceremony held at St. Paul’s Church in Frankfurt, Germany next March.
Harvard Astrophysicist Avi Loeb Set to Explore Pacific Ocean for Potential ‘Alien’ Meteor Fragments
Harvard professor and astrophysicist Abraham “Avi” Loeb is preparing to search the Pacific Ocean floor for fragments of an interstellar meteor and potential alien technology.
Helium Shortage Forces Harvard Physics Labs to Shut Down Equipment, Suspend Projects
Harvard is running out of helium — and it is no laughing matter. Harvard labs impacted by the helium shortage have been forced to shut down equipment that uses liquid helium and suspend entire research projects. Without the ability to continue their experiments, some Ph.D. candidates could even have their graduation delayed.
HMS and Broad Institute Researchers Discover First Strong Genetic Link to Bipolar Disorder
A research team including scientists at Harvard Medical School and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard reported the first strong genetic risk factor for bipolar disorder in a study published in the journal Nature Genetics on April 1.
Harvard-led Research Team Receives Department of Defense Award
The Department of Defense awarded its Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative prize to a team of researchers led by Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences professor Katia Bertoldi for the team’s work studying origami structures.
Harvard Kennedy School Professor Sheila Jasanoff ’64 Awarded Prestigious Holberg Prize
Harvard Kennedy School professor Sheila S. Jasanoff received the 2022 Holberg Prize, which is described by some as the “Nobel Prize for social science and humanities.” Jasanoff will be officially presented with the award on June 9 during a ceremony in Norway.
HSPH Researchers Determine Epstein-Barr Virus to be Primary Cause of Multiple Sclerosis
In a longitudinal study over two decades in the making, researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that Multiple Sclerosis (MS), a chronic inflammatory disease that affects the central nervous system, is “likely caused” by infection with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV).
Harvard Researchers Verify Existence of New State of Matter, Opens Doors for Quantum Science
The state of matter, known as quantum spin liquid, has special properties that produce long-range quantum entanglement — a phenomenon in which particles’ states are connected despite spatial separation.
BWH Researchers Launch First-Ever Human Trial for Alzheimer’s Nasal Vaccine
Brigham and Women’s Hospital will begin treating patients this week in the first human trial for a nasal vaccine to prevent and slow Alzheimer’s disease.
HSPH Announces Collaboration with Tsinghua Vanke School of Public Health in China
Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health announced a new academic and research collaboration with Tsinghua University’s Vanke School of Public Health in Beijing in a press release on Wednesday.
Visitors Laud Science and Culture Museums’ Public Reopening
After an extended shutdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Harvard Museums of Science and Culture and its programs reopened to both Harvard affiliates and the general public last week.
Patients, Physicians Discuss Challenges of Long Covid in HSPH Panel
Medical experts and patients discussed the challenges associated with treating and studying long Covid in an event hosted by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health on Friday afternoon.
Whole Grain Intake Linked to Lower Liver Cancer Risk, Harvard Researchers Discover
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health researchers found an association between high whole grain and fiber intake and a lower risk of liver cancer and chronic liver disease mortality.