Science & Tech
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What happened when a meteorite the size of four Mount Everests hit Earth?
Giant impact had silver lining for life, according to new study
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When we say ‘smart,’ what do we mean?
Computer scientist says we should shift focus to ‘educability’
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How to apply cool-headed reason to red-hot topics
Michael J. Sandel brings back wildly popular ‘Justice’ course amid time of strained discourse on college campuses
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Big discovery about microscopic ‘water bears’
Bit of happenstance, second look at ancient fossils leads to new insights into evolution of tardigrade, one of most indestructible life forms on planet
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The making of the gut
Studies connect genetics, physics in embryonic development
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How whales and dolphins adapted for life on the water
Backbones of ocean-dwelling mammals evolved differently than those of species living closer to shore, study finds
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Natural barcodes enable better cell tracking
A group of Harvard researchers has developed a new genetic-analysis technique that harnesses “natural barcodes” to create what happens to cells when they are exposed to any kind of experimental condition, enabling large pools of cells from multiple people to be analyzed for personalized medicine.
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Cells like we’ve never seen them before
“This is the miracle of being able to see what we have never been able to see before,” said Harvard Medical School professor and study co-author Tomas Kirchhausen.
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Global power for global powers
Liu Zhenya, chairman of the Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization, gave a talk titled “The Art of Energy Revolution” at Harvard Law School.
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Developing micron-sized magnetic resonance
Harvard scientists have developed a system that uses nitrogen-vacancy centers — atomic-scale impurities in diamonds — to read the nuclear magnetic resonance signals produced by samples as small as a single cell — and they did it on a shoestring budget using a 53-year-old, donated electromagnet.
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Applied mathematicians in Namibia
What can termites teach us about designing green buildings? As it turns out, a lot.
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A decade on, a goal met; now, next targets
The University-wide Sustainability Celebration marked more than a decade of the Harvard community’s collective achievements in holistically addressing sustainability to build a healthier campus community less dependent on fossil fuels.
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How fast can we run?
Harvard Professor Daniel Lieberman offers evolutionary perspective on Roger Bannister’s four-minute mile, today’s marathoners.
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Ph.D. with ADHD brings can-do focus to science, life
Diagnosed with ADHD, Ph.D. candidate Jennifer Kotler uses clinical and genetic studies to reinterpret how humans think.
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Two atoms combined in dipolar molecule
Harvard Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology Kang-Kuen Ni and colleagues have combined two atoms for the first time into what researchers call a dipolar molecule.
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Before cancer kills, it cheats
Evolutionary biologist Athena Aktipis of Arizona State University delivered a lecture titled “Why Cancer is Everywhere” at the Harvard Museum of Natural History.
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The ruse of ‘fake news’
In a recently published study, Harvard Kennedy School Professor Matthew Baum and Northeastern University Professor David Lazer, an associate of the Harvard Institute for Quantitative Social Science, argue that a multidisciplinary effort is needed to understand better how the Internet spreads content and how citizens process the news and information they consume.
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Radcliffe’s ‘jellyfish guy’ follows the light
Seeking new biomedical tools and treatments, marine biologist David Gruber plumbs the potential of an oceanic enigma.
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A ‘moon shot’ to protect Earth’s species
Biologist E.O. Wilson suggests conserving half of the Earth to save species. He and former National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis discuss how to do that.
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TESS to search the sky for new worlds
Following NASA’s launch of TESS, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics will provide follow-up observations of the satellite’s targets.
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Microbes by the mile
Exhibit at the Harvard Museum of Natural History shows the beauty and utility of microbes.
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Novel cancer treatment gets major boost
The Wyss Institute and Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences announced Novartis will have access to commercially develop their therapeutic, biomaterial-based cancer vaccine technology.
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Drawing inspiration from plants, animals to restore skin tissue
Harvard researchers have developed new wound dressings that dramatically accelerate healing and improve tissue regeneration.
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A role for cyanide in recipe for life
New Harvard findings show that a mixture of cyanide and copper, when irradiated with UV light, could have helped form the building blocks of life on early Earth.
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Startup points toward minimally invasive heart repair
Harvard has established a licensing agreement with HoliStick Medical to allow commercial development of a specialized catheter device that can repair holes in the heart, or tissue defects in other organs, using deployable soft structures.
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Butterfly wings inspire air-purification improvements
The Wyss Institute is developing a new type of coating for catalytic converters that, inspired by the nanoscale structure of a butterfly’s wing, can dramatically reduce the cost and improve the performance of air-purification technologies, making them more accessible.
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Learning to find ‘quiet’ earthquakes
Assistant Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences Marine Denolle is one of several co-authors of a study that used computer-learning algorithms to identify small earthquakes buried in seismic noise.
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In plant tug-of-war, mom wins
Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum researchers examining how the battle of the sexes is waged in plants have found a maternal path to victory.
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Public lands ‘a priceless legacy’ for future
Public lands owned and managed by the federal government are not a land grab, as some activists claim, but rather the result of a practice that goes back to the nation’s founding, a former Interior Department official says.
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Adhesives that can seal wounds
Wyss Institute researchers have developed a new super-strong hydrogel adhesive that can stick to dynamically moving tissues — such as a beating heart — even in the presence of blood.
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A power boost for mobile technologies
Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences doctoral student Simon Chaput developed the crucial low-power electronics needed for haptic technology, known for its high energy demands.
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Personal cancer vaccines show promise
Researchers have found that an injectable scaffold that incorporates tumor-specific peptides can be personalized, stimulating a patient’s immune system to destroy his or her unique cancer tumors.
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Transforming the ‘coastal squeeze’ from climate change
One certainty about America’s coasts is that they will change in the coming decades as sea levels rise. Visiting Professor Steven Handel said landscape design, married with knowledge of native plants, can ensure that both human and natural needs are met.
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A new view of the moon
Harvard grad student Simon Lock is the lead author of a study that challenges conventional wisdom on how the moon formed.
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For this flower, it’s ready, set, launch
Harvard researchers used high-speed video to not only quantify how fast the filaments in mountain laurel flowers move, but how they target likely pollinators.
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An exosuit tailored to fit
Based on an algorithm, researchers can quickly direct the exosuit when and where to deliver its assistive force to improve hip extension.