Month: March 2011

  • Nation & World

    The improbable appears promising

    A section of the AIDS virus’ protein envelope once considered an improbable target for a vaccine now appears to be one of the most promising, new research by Harvard-affiliated Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists indicates.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    New hope for the cure

    For the 20 percent of patients with so-called triple-negative breast cancer, the outcome is bleak. Now, however, researchers from Harvard Medical School (HMS) and Baylor College of Medicine have identified a critical molecular component to the disease, one that suggests potential therapies involving combinations of FDA-approved, readily available drugs.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    An unprecedented admissions year

    Almost 35,000 students applied to Harvard College for admission to the Class of 2015. Letters of admission and email notifications were sent to 2,158 students, 6.2 percent of the record pool of 34,950. More than 60 percent of the admitted students will receive need-based scholarships averaging more than $40,000.

    11 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Brain changes found in normal elders

    Harvard-affiliated researchers using two brain-imaging technologies have found that apparently normal older individuals with brain deposits of amyloid beta — the primary constituent of the plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer’s disease patients — also had changes in brain structure similar to those seen in Alzheimer’s patients.

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    For Libya, ‘no compromise’ in sight

    Libyans want freedom, but the road to democracy is paved with unanswered questions. With the country torn by internal warfare, former Libyan diplomat Ali Suleiman Aujali and other experts gathered at the Harvard Kennedy School to look for answers.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Dose response

    In a Harvard School of Public Health webcast, researchers used a recent federal report to start a conversation on vitamin D. How much is enough, and how much is too much?

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Harvard rallies against cancer

    Now through April 8, team up with other Harvard faculty and staff members to shut out cancer through Harvard Community Gifts.

    1 minute
  • Nation & World

    A pub of their own

    Undergraduates have been getting into the good times at the Cambridge Queen’s Head Pub at Loker Commons since it opened in 2007. Student patrons flock there for the programming, affordable pub grub, and, for those over 21, a strong selection of beers from local microbreweries. Students also run the place, gaining valuable business experience and…

    6 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Senior relief

    Harvard offers a wealth of resources to help seniors manage stress and get as much from their last year of college as they have from their first three.

    7 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Understanding China

    Harvard Management Company hosted a conference on China in December, drawing on the expertise of University academics to provide its fund managers with background, context, and perspective that will help them better understand and assess investment opportunities and risks in the emerging economic giant.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Refrigerants, Naturally! wins Roy Award

    The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) announced March 24 that the 2011 Roy Family Award for Environmental Partnership will be given to Refrigerants, Naturally!, an alliance of corporations substituting environmentally harmful fluorinated gases with natural refrigerants in their commercial refrigeration installations.

    1 minute
  • Nation & World

    Starting up in hard times

    In a down economy, thinking like entrepreneurs can help large companies to innovate and thrive, said business leaders at an event hosted by Harvard Business School and The Economist magazine on March 24.

    5 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Tapping the ‘information fire hose’

    Management of information flow and usage needs to be revamped to take advantage of two new information “fire hoses” enabled by modern technology: that which is conveyed from affected populations via social media and mobile technology, and information and analysis provided from a network of volunteers that has arisen around the world.

    5 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Thinking globally, differently

    Harvard students now represent more than 50 countries and a spectrum of cultures, religions, and ethnic backgrounds. Because of that, teaching is changing too, said speakers at Conversations@FAS, a faculty forum.

    5 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Lessons of the Haiti quake

    Leaders of government, military, and nongovernmental organizations gathered at the Faculty Club and Loeb House to take a look back at the response to last year’s Haiti earthquake and seek lessons that can be applied to future disasters.

    5 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Kidney close-up

    Scientists at Harvard have created breathtaking three-dimensional images of an entire organ, moving a step closer to understanding the complex development of the kidney.

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    A constitutional question

    A panel of legal scholars examined whether health care reform is constitutional during a panel at Harvard Law School.

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Progress against melanoma

    Harvard stem cell researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston have taken two important steps toward development of a new way of treating melanoma, the most virulent form of skin cancer.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    At ground zero in coastal Japan

    In a rare opening for American-trained physicians, three Harvard doctors spend time bringing medical aid to a tsunami-stricken city in coastal Japan.

    9 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Studying the roots of life

    Key amino acids important for biological life are among the ones most easily formed in nature, according to Ralph Pudritz from McMaster University.

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    ‘Crisis in Japan: The Way Forward’

    The disaster created when an earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear crisis struck Japan may be entering a new stage as the effects start to ripple through the country’s economy, politics, and society, according to a panel of Harvard analysts and Japanese officials.

    5 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Benefits of eating fish tip the scale

    In a new, large-scale study from Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, researchers found no evidence that higher levels of mercury exposure were associated with higher risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, or total cardiovascular disease in two separate studies of U.S. adults.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Multiple myeloma genome unveiled

    Harvard scientists have unveiled the most comprehensive picture to date of the full genetic blueprint of multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer.

    6 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Spotlight on Harvard in Brazil

    President Drew Faust is traveling this week to highlight Harvard’s engagement with Latin America. In Brazil, she is reconnecting with alumni, exchanging ideas with the leaders of local universities, and meeting with Brazilian students who have studied alongside Harvard students or with Harvard faculty in Brazil.

    14 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Six Harvard students receive Soros Fellowships

    Six from Harvard University have been awarded 2011 Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships.

    1 minute
  • Nation & World

    AHA honors Ruhul Abid’s research

    A paper by Ruhul Abid was recently selected by the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology as the most outstanding vascular biology paper of 2010.

    1 minute
  • Nation & World

    HMS fellowship open for applicants

    Harvard Medical School and the Nancy Lurie Marks Foundation are accepting applications for the Nancy Lurie Marks Junior Faculty Merit Scholarship.

    1 minute
  • Nation & World

    Faculty Council meeting held March 23

    At its 11th meeting of the year on March 23, the Faculty Council heard a review of the joint A.B./M.M. program with the New England Conservatory. They also voted to amend the rules concerning study out of residence and to update the faculty’s media policy. Finally, they heard reports on the activities of undergraduates and…

    1 minute
  • Nation & World

    A champion of democracy

    Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Kennedy School alumna who has restored stability to her war-torn nation, will be the speaker at Harvard’s 360th Commencement, a choice lauded by faculty.

    5 minutes