Year: 2005

  • Nation & World

    Dendritic spines don’t go with the flow

    Neurons receive incoming signals through synapses at hundreds of dendritic spines, the lollipop-shaped structures with thin necks and bubblelike heads that stud the surface of dendrites. Each spine serves as…

    2 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Lab moves genomic testing into the clinic

    The earliest symptom of the inherited heart condition hypertrophic cardiomyopathy can be sudden death at a tragically young age. Harvard Medical School researchers discovered the first human gene underlying the…

    2 minutes
  • Nation & World

    A new home for the Du Bois Institute

    Synergy was the word bouncing around the three refurbished floors of the new research space for the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute at its recent open house. And an appropriate word it is for a building that will house lively projects on distinct yet related areas ranging from Languages of Africas Islamic Regions to the African…

    2 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Four Harvard affiliates make Scientific American’s 50 list

    Scientific American has recognized 50 innovative organizations and individuals for their wide-ranging scientific and technological contributions. Included in this prestigious list, featured in the December issue of Scientific American (available Nov. 22), are four Harvard professors.

    1 minute
  • Nation & World

    Fromm Foundation announces 2005 commissions

    The board of directors of the Fromm Music Foundation at Harvard has announced the names of 14 composers selected to receive 2005 Fromm commissions.

    1 minute
  • Nation & World

    Chomsky and Dershowitz debate Middle East peace process at Kennedy School

    Those expecting a heated debate between Noam Chomsky and Alan Dershowitz at the Kennedy School of Government Tuesday night (Nov. 29) were not disappointed as the two venerable Cambridge professors faced off in an event titled Israel and Palestine After Disengagement: Where Do We Go From Here?

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Katler’s anatomy

    Marshall Katlers torso is a necessary burden, even if he drops it on the way to the elevator and has to drag it hurriedly along Huntington Avenue. He doesnt complain, though. He quickly makes his way to the Farragut School in Roxbury, where 24 fifth-graders await Katlers – and his torsos – arrival.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Ozick assails writers’ lack of responsibility

    The writer of fiction may alter and distort reality in any way he or she pleases, as long as the result possesses a consistency that allows readers to suspend their disbelief and accept the imaginative world the writer has created.

    5 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Murakami is explorer of imagination

    Haruki Murakami may not be a household word in the United States, but his name triggered enough interest, at least in the Cambridge area, to overwhelm the Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies when it agreed to co-host a public appearance by the writer.

    6 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Diversity conference draws from across U.S.

    Representatives from 45 different institutions of higher learning from across the United States, including Puerto Rico, gathered at Harvards Science Center Nov. 18-19 to focus on the vexing question of how to attract and retain a more diverse pool of students in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    The 2005-06 Standing Committees for Faculty of Arts and Sciences

    Upon the recommendation of the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS), the President approved and announced the following Standing Committees at the Nov. 22 FAS Faculty Meeting. Standing Committees of the Faculty are constituted to perform a continuing function. Each committee has been established by a vote of the Faculty, and can…

    30 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Sr. Vice Provost Evelynn Hammonds addresses KSG Women’s Leadership Board

    Evelynn Hammonds, appointed in July as Harvards first senior vice provost for faculty development and diversity, described her mission and agenda in featured remarks at a Nov. 18 meeting of the Kennedy School of Governments Womens Leadership Board.

    2 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Women astronomers detail struggles, triumph

    Faith Vilas hand was still smarting from the soldering iron burn she got fixing an astronomical instrument when the astronomer she was working with sat her down to talk about her future.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Loeb Drama Center announces playwriting competition

    Director of the Loeb Drama Center Robert J. Orchard recently announced that competition for the 2005 Phyllis Anderson Prize in playwriting is now open. Both undergraduate and graduate students who have been enrolled in Harvard between Jan. 30 and Dec. 21, 2005 are eligible to submit manuscripts. The winner of the prize – to be…

    1 minute
  • Nation & World

    Kennedy School’s Kelly nabs Rhodes

    William Kelly, a 2005 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy who is pursuing a masters degree in public policy at the Kennedy School, is Harvards only Rhodes Scholar this year.

    2 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Harvard Law School launches new center to investigate intersections of health, technology, and law

    The nations oldest law school is expanding into cutting-edge legal territory with todays launch of the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology and Bioethics. The new Harvard Law School (HLS) program is the result of extensive academic planning and a $10 million gift from the Caroll and Milton Petrie Foundation and HLS graduate Joseph…

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Harvard School of Public Health awarded $30 million to study long-term effects on children of antiretroviral drug exposure in utero and as newborns

    Researchers at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) have been awarded a $30 million five-year grant to study the long-term effects on children of antiretroviral (ART) drugs that were administered to their pregnant mothers in an effort to prevent mother-to-infant transmission of HIV.

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation funds three-year grant for Nieman Fellowship in global health reporting

    Nieman Fellowships in global health reporting have been established at Harvard University as a joint initiative of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism and the Harvard School of Public Health, supported by a three-year, $1.19 million grant to Harvard from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    The lessons of Katrina

    Two months after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, exposing appalling poverty, neglect, and lack of preparedness, a panel of experts from various fields met to discuss what can be learned from the storm and its disastrous aftermath and how those lessons can help mitigate future catastrophes. The Nov. 29 event was…

    5 minutes
  • Nation & World

    In brief

    Nominations are sought for Scholars at Risk fellowsThe Scholars at Risk program connects Harvard to a national network that defends the human rights of scholars worldwide. Each year, the program…

    2 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Crimson beats Yale … again

    Harvard football captured an unprecedented fifth-straight victory over the Yale Bulldogs, 30-24, in the Ivy Leagues first-ever triple overtime game in the 122nd edition of the storied rivalry on Nov. 19 in New Haven, Conn. Tied 24-24 after regulation, the Crimson forced three Eli turnovers in the extra periods (while committing two of their own),…

    1 minute
  • Nation & World

    Newsmakers

    Porter named Dana-Farber executive vice president, COOJanet Elaine Porter, an associate dean at the University of North Carolina’s School of Public Health, has been named executive vice president and chief…

    2 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Researchers find a gene for fear

    A team of researchers from Harvard, Columbia, and Rutgers universities has found the seat of fear. Its located in a pea-sized area deep in the brain of all mammals, from gerbils, to lions, to humans. And its involved in both inborn fear and the dread we acquire from dealing with people and things that hurt…

    5 minutes
  • Nation & World

    OFA award honors pair for work in music education

    Mark Churchill, educator, conductor, cellist, and dean of New England Conservatorys Division of Preparatory and Continuing Education, and Marylou Churchill, violinist and member of the faculty of the New England Conservatory of Music (College and Preparatory School) and the Heifetz International Institute, have been named co-recipients of the 2005 Luise Vosgerchian Teaching Award.

    2 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Teaching people to read and write is a Community Gift

    This is the third in a series of Gazette articles highlighting some of the many initiatives and charities that Harvard affiliates can support through the Community Gifts Through Harvard Campaign. Gifts will continue to be accepted throughout the holiday season.

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Music is a life science

    History is repeating itself in Carolyn Abbates family. Some three decades ago, as a Yale University sophomore and an accomplished young pianist, she told her parents she intended to turn her back on molecular biology to pursue a career in music.

    5 minutes
  • Nation & World

    President Summers holds office hours

    President Lawrence H. Summers will hold office hours for students in his Massachusetts Hall office on the following dates:

    1 minute
  • Nation & World

    Police reports

    Following are some of the incidents reported to the Harvard University Police Department for the week ending Nov. 28. The official log is located at 1033 Massachusetts Ave., sixth floor, and is available online at http://www.hupd.harvard.edu/.

    1 minute
  • Nation & World

    PBH gift drive is now under way

    Through Dec. 15, the Phillips Brooks House (PBH) will be accepting donations for its annual holiday gift drive. Members of the Harvard community are invited to donate new, unwrapped gifts for children in preschool through middle school. Collection boxes will be located at the Memorial Church and at different locations throughout campus. And for students,…

    1 minute
  • Nation & World

    This month in Harvard history

    December 1763  –  Hollis Hall is completed in the Yard. Dec. 1, 1773  –  To the surprise of all, Samuel Locke resigns as President. Not until the early 20th century,…

    1 minute