Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino announced Sept. 6 a $1 million federally funded campaign to encourage young people and others to drink fewer sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), which health officials have linked to rising obesity rates and health care costs. The awareness campaign, to feature multimedia advertisements in English and Spanish, targets parents and caregivers who…

A new analysis by Medicare has found that patients 65 or older suffering from heart failure, heart attacks, or pneumonia are just as likely to be readmitted within a month at Veteran’s Health Administration (VA) hospitals as at private hospitals. Only one of the 107 VA hospitals evaluated had significantly lower readmission rates for one…

Andy Carvin, senior strategist at NPR, presented to the Shorenstein Center a different kind of newsroom: “My Twitter following — they are my newsroom.” He sees himself as an “anchor,” listening to simultaneous streams of information, and providing a “coherent narrative to the public.” Rather than a traditional supporting newsroom, he has over 55,000 Twitter…

Middle-aged women who drink a glass of wine or other alcoholic beverage each day are more likely to be healthier at age 70 than non-drinkers, according to a new Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) study. Qi Sun, research associate in nutrition at HSPH, and his colleagues analyzed data on 13,984 female nurses in the…

From fertilizer plants in Turkmenistan to nickel smelting in the Philippines, Kanoko Kamata’s consulting work for Environmental Resources Management  (ERM) has taken her across the globe to provide a full spectrum of environmental and social assessments for Japanese and multi-national automotive, chemical, and electronic companies. Selected as one of the Ash Center’s two 2011-12 Roy…

His Eminence Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, the Sultan of Sokoto, will make his first visit to Harvard University Oct. 2–3, 2011. He will deliver the Samuel L. and Elizabeth Jodidi Lecture, one of the most distinguished lectures at the University, on Oct. 3. The Sultan of Sokoto is the religious leader of Nigeria’s Muslim…

Harvard Business School (HBS) has received approval from the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) for its plans for Tata Hall, a new Executive Education classroom and residential building to be constructed on the HBS campus in Boston. The BRA board of directors met today (Sept. 16) to give its final approval on the new building, which…

At the first installment of the fall semester speaker series, the Shorenstein Center welcomed Jessica Yellin, chief White House correspondent for CNN, to speak about “Covering the White House in a Bare-knuckled Media Culture.” Yellin outlined several “hazards” of working in cable news. First, the “rise of everyone as a reporter” has a great impact…

The Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) is pleased to announce its fall 2011 Askwith Forums, a series of public lectures dedicated to discussing challenges facing education, sharing new knowledge, and generating spirited conversation. Highlights this fall will include contemplations a discussion about the Boston busing/desegregation project, and a talk by Professor Howard Gardner describing…

It’s time to get those green creative juices flowing. The Harvard Office for Sustainability is once again offering seed funding of $500-$5,000 to undergraduate and graduate students for innovative projects that cut energy use, reduce waste, promote sustainability in student life, and create a more environmentally friendly campus. For inspiration, check out last year’s funded…

A new environmental toxicity study by a Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and Danish researcher has found a link between DDT exposure and asthma–and possibly also a link between DDT and autism–using a new computer modeling system that may complement the conventional laboratory animal tests done for safety purposes. The study, “Application of Computational…

HSPH Professor Steven Gortmaker believes that there is a simple explanation for the globally skyrocketing rates of obesity in recent decades. It is now easy to obtain fast and cheap food at all hours of the day and night, giving eating a much lower “time-price” than in previous generations. People are exercising at about the…

Public policy officials grappling with the nation’s budget deficit should address the health care system’s inefficient use of expensive medical technology and interventions that may provide little clinical benefit to patients, two Harvard economists said in a paper they presented Aug. 25, 2011, at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Economic Policy Symposium in…

Harvard College Dean Evelynn Hammonds today announced plans for substantial enhancements to undergraduate social spaces across campus. The Mather Multimedia Lab, the Eliot Grille activity space, the Student Organization Center at Hilles, the Cabot Café, and the Quad Grille lounge space in Pforzheimer House are all slated for improvement, Hammonds said. “The enhancements build on…

Harvard College Dean Evelynn M. Hammonds Sept. 2 congratulated Adams House Master Judith Palfrey on her appointment to lead first lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative against childhood obesity, and also announced the appointment of Sharon Howell, the resident dean at Adams, as interim master. In addition to being House master, Palfrey is T. Berry…

Harvard Kennedy School is launching a new interactive website, HKS 75, to celebrate its 75th anniversary.  The website is designed to recognize the school’s history, impact and global connections as it has grown from its modest beginnings at the Graduate School of Public Administration. The evolution of the school is documented on the HKS 75…

HUCE extends a warm welcome to its newest cohort of environmental fellows, who will join a current group of scholars embarking on their second year of the program. Now in its fifth season, the fellows program recruits a diverse group of intellectually-curious, top-achieving scholars to tackle complex environmental challenges in a wide array of disciplines.…

Harvard’s new Borrow Direct service enables the University’s faculty, staff, and students to borrow books and other circulating library materials from the libraries of Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton, and Yale when they’re not available at Harvard. The new service, which the Library “soft-launched” in June, is reflects the Library’s mandate…

The Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies is pleased to announce the arrival of its 2011 fall fellows. The center is dedicated to fostering the study of European history, politics, and society at Harvard. The center was founded as a catalyst to bring scholars and students together to talk and think about Europe. As…

A cadre of Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) students, staff and faculty — led by Dean David T. Ellwood — took to the streets, schools and neighborhood centers across the region on Aug. 26 as part of a School-wide day of service. HKS Serves brought out approximately 400 volunteers to 17 locations across Boston, Cambridge, Newton, and…

Coping with humanitarian emergencies brought on by war, famine, or a natural disaster is rife with challenges. Aid workers can face armed militias, an earthquake-stricken landscape of blocked roads and crumbling buildings, masses of displaced people on the move, or a confusing situation in which dozens of aid organizations are all trying to help at…

A resurgence of malaria in parts of Africa is raising questions about whether current control mechanisms are failing. It could be, some researchers say, that mosquitoes are becoming resistant to the insecticide used on bed nets. Or that people are losing their partial immunity to malaria, gained from repeated exposure to the parasite that causes…

Alum Robert Taube helps homeless people build healthier lives—and self-esteem. Casey Hubbs’s world crumbled after her husband died, and she wound up living under a bridge in Boston. Her existence was grim, and she felt ashamed. “I smelled bad, I looked bad, and I lived in constant fear,” she remembers. “There was no food half…

With the world’s population projected to reach a staggering 9.3 billion by 2050, it’s imperative that there be a thoughtful and vigorous response to the challenges posed by such demographic upheaval, says David Bloom, HSPH professor of economics and demography and chair of the Department of Global Health and Population. In a syndicated commentary, Bloom…

Nearly  400 incoming students at Harvard Kennedy School will participate in “HKS Serves” on Aug. 26, a day of community service at 17 locations across the Boston area from South Boston to Newton. The student volunteers will be joined by over 40 Kennedy School staff, faculty members, and student leaders. “This event will be a…

Two years after Boston schools prohibited the sale of sugar-sweetened beverages like sodas and sports drinks, local high school students were consuming significantly fewer sugary drinks, according to a new study published in Preventing Chronic Disease. In contrast, the average consumption of sugary beverages did not decline among teens nationwide. This is the first major…

School-based programs that teach middle schoolers about healthy foods, encourage less TV and other screen time, and urge more physical activity can reduce eating disorders among girls and help save on medical costs, according to a study co-authored by Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) Associate Professor S. Bryn Austin. Analyzing data from a mid-1990s…

Eating in moderation, cutting calories, and avoiding fatty foods isn’t enough to prevent weight gain; rather, it’s important to pay attention to what you’re eating as well, a Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) professor said Aug. 3 in separate interviews on two National Public Radio programs. Dariush Mozaffarian, HSPH associate professor of epidemiology, spoke…

Even a small amount of exercise may significantly lower your risk of getting heart disease, according to a new study conducted at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH). A team led by Jacob Sattelmair, who did the research while a doctoral student at HSPH, found that as little as 2.5 hours of exercise a…

The sustainability efforts and environmental initiatives of Harvard University have earned it a place on the Princeton Review’s Green Rating Honor Roll for the fourth consecutive year, Harvard’s Office for Sustainability announced today. The 2012 honor roll was announced earlier this month and is comprised of schools that received the highest possible score in the…