Science & Tech

New research by theorists at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) shows that we could spot the fingerprints of certain pollutants under ideal conditions. This would offer a new approach in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI).

Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard, a free and open portal for the University’s peer-reviewed literature, is drawing more worldwide downloads than ever.

A new report says many Americans are feeling high levels of stress, and a forum addressed how they might deal with it.

Heat is a byproduct of nearly all electronic devices, yet most of it goes wasted. In an effort to recapture some of that energy and transform it into electricity, a team of Harvard and University of Sannio researchers have developed computer simulations to control the flow of heat and electrical current independently.

A study by Harvard researchers and colleagues tested ways to encourage decisions mindful of future generations.

Harvard Professor David Edwards and a former engineering student, Rachel Field, added another sense to digital communications, sending a smell across the Atlantic, where a scent generator called an oPhone reproduced it.

Forest growth is starting to show the effects of climate change, new research finds.

Harvard physicists have suggested that a disk of dark matter may lie along the center line of the galaxy.

A conference co-hosted by Harvard looked at the future of sustainability efforts at universities and other large institutions.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s release of draft regulations that would reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants by 30 percent from 2005 levels by 2030 will have a significant impact on human health, Harvard analysts say.

Astronomers announced Monday that they have discovered a new type of planet — a rocky world weighing 17 times as much as Earth. This planet is all solids and much bigger than previously discovered “super-Earths,” making it a “mega-Earth.”

The Graduate School of Design’s Natalia Gaerlan, a world-class athlete who has earned a master’s in urban planning, studies how green infrastructure can protect coastal cities.

Researchers face steep challenges in trying to pinpoint the long-term effects of pesticides in the food supply, said panelists at HSPH.

Beginning this fall, Harvard undergraduates will be able to select a secondary field of study in energy and environment, which will allow students in an array of concentrations to gain exposure to issues such as climate change.

The Arnold Arboretum celebrates a successful collaboration with the U.S. government to prevent tree destruction by the invasive Asian longhorned beetle.

A Dutch water expert with a federal role in rebuilding after Hurricane Sandy brought his wisdom to Harvard this semester.

Astronomers have created the first realistic virtual universe using a computer simulation called Illustris. Illustris can re-create 13 billion years of cosmic evolution in a cube 350 million light-years on a side with unprecedented resolution.

Two widely used neonicotinoids — a class of insecticide — appear to significantly harm honeybee colonies over the winter, particularly during colder winters, according to a new study from Harvard School of Public Health.

Music blared, LEDs blinked, and jaws dropped Tuesday at the SEAS Design and Project Fair, a celebration of creative problem-solving by students at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences…

Climate specialists came together at the Geological Lecture Hall to consider a dangerous milestone in carbon dioxide levels.

At the elevated levels of atmospheric CO2 anticipated by around 2050, crops that provide a large share of the global population with most of its dietary zinc and iron will have significantly reduced concentrations of those nutrients, according to a new study led by Harvard School of Public Health.

Harvard’s Wyss Institute researchers find that a fully degradable bioplastic isolated from shrimp shells could provide a solution to planet-clogging plastics.

Aging, health care, and the challenges facing the globe’s women were the focus of a symposium marking the 50th anniversary of the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies.

Why do we care for our dead? The answer is not religion, but a primordial set of ethical obligations played out over thousands of years across countless cultures, an author says.

Time magazine has named John Kovac to the 2014 Time 100, its list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Since it was founded in 2006 by Professor Jody Freeman, Harvard Law School’s Environmental Law and Policy Program has become the leader in its field, with renowned faculty, innovative courses, a lauded clinical program that gives students hands-on training in real cases. The program’s new Policy Initiative provides nonpartisan legal analysis and policy advice to federal and state agencies.

Harvard researchers have succeeded in creating quantum switches that can be turned on and off using a single photon, an achievement that could pave the way for the creation of highly secure quantum networks.

A new course on how oceans are “urbanizing” underscores a decade-long Harvard theme: that cities have to cope with the multiple challenges of water — of there being too much or too little.

Professor Michael McCormick will lead a project aimed at constructing the most detailed historical record yet of European climate.

After analyzing tree rings — and 400 years of history — researchers from Harvard Forest have indicated ways in which seemingly stable forests could abruptly change over the next century in the wake of climate change and drought.