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Science & Tech
Records dating back to Thoreau show some sharp shifts in plant flowering near Walden Pond
Drawing on records dating back to the journals of Henry David Thoreau, scientists at Harvard University have found that different plant families near Walden Pond in Concord, Mass., have borne…
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Science & Tech
Solar system’s young twin has two asteroid belts
Astronomers have discovered that the nearby star Epsilon Eridani has two rocky asteroid belts and an outer icy ring, making it a triple-ring system. The inner asteroid belt is a…
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Science & Tech
Gore: Universities have important role in sustainability
Former vice president Al Gore ’69 addressed a crowd of 15,000 in chilly, leaf-strewn Tercentenary Theatre Oct. 22, 2008, delivering the keynote address in a multi-day celebration of the University’s commitment to sustainability.
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Campus & Community
Kuwait Program Research Fund accepting proposals
The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) has announced the 15th funding cycle for the Kuwait Program Research Fund, which is supported by the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS). An HKS faculty committee will consider applications for one-year grants (up to $30,000) and larger grants for more extensive proposals to support advanced research by…
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Campus & Community
Joseph J. Schildkraut
For a period during the late 1950s and 1960s, psychiatry attracted some of the most capable graduates of US medical schools. Intrigued by the conceptual interest of psychoanalytic theory, and the possibility of treatment via the couch, these students chose for residency departments of psychiatry that featured grounding in psychoanalysis. One of these was Joe…
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Health
Gene therapy restores vision to mice with retinal degeneration
Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers have used gene therapy to restore useful vision to mice with degeneration of the light-sensing retinal rods and cones, a common cause of human blindness. Their report, appearing in the Oct. 14 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, describes the effects of broadly expressing a light-sensitive protein in other…
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Health
Global ‘chump change’ could provide biodiversity protection
Harvard biologist Edward O. Wilson said the Earth’s major biological hot spots could be conserved for roughly $50 billion— an amount he termed “chump change” in a world of trillion-dollar financial bailouts.
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Science & Tech
GSD lecture and panel address ‘Designing for Sustainability’
Interest in green building is high at the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD), judging by the attendance at a lecture Tuesday (Oct. 21) in the Stubbins Room at Gund Hall. “Designing for Sustainability” was part of the popular and event-packed sustainability celebration instituted this year by Harvard President Drew Faust.
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Health
‘Death protein’ may lead to drugs that force cancer cells to self-destruct
Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have identified a previously undetected trigger point on a naturally occurring “death protein” that helps the body get rid of unwanted or diseased cells. They say it may be possible to exploit the newly found trigger as a target for designer drugs that would treat cancer by forcing malignant cells…
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Campus & Community
Men’s soccer keep winning, unbeaten in Ivies
After opening the season at No. 20, Harvard soccer (7-3; 3-0 Ivy League) is back in the rankings at No. 22, coming off big road wins against No. 24 Brown (8-3-1; 2-1-0) and Holy Cross (6-3-3). Harvard, which defeated Brown 4-1 and Holy Cross 3-0, is the last undefeated team in Ivy play this year.…
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Campus & Community
Celebration honors faculty and staff for 25 years of service to the University
One hundred fourteen Harvard employees were honored on Monday (Oct. 20) for reaching a milestone: 25 years of service to the University. The 54th annual 25 Year Recognition Ceremony — a unique event in that it recognizes both faculty and staff from across the entire University — was held at Sanders Theatre.
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Campus & Community
Harvard Art Museum receives major gift from Emily Rauh Pulitzer
Harvard University today (Oct. 17) announced that the Harvard Art Museum has received a gift of 31 major works of modern and contemporary art and $45 million from Harvard alumna Emily Rauh Pulitzer, a former Harvard Art Museum curator, longtime supporter and friend of the museum and of Harvard, and wife of the late Joseph…
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Campus & Community
John U. Monro portrait is unveiled at PBH
The Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations has unveiled a ninth portrait in its Minority Portraiture Project. The latest honoree on canvas is John U. Monro, former dean of Harvard College. Monro’s portrait, painted by Stephen Coit ’71, was unveiled last week (Oct. 16) in Phillips Brooks House.
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Campus & Community
Police reports
Following are some of the incidents reported to the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) for the week ending Oct. 20. The official log is located at 1033 Massachusetts Ave., sixth floor, and is available online at http://www.hupd.harvard.edu.
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Health
Genome Project releases data on 10 genetic pioneers
The world moved a step deeper into the DNA age Monday (Oct. 20) as 10 volunteers released their genetic and medical information on the Internet as part of a multiyear effort to make genetic data an everyday part of medical care.
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Health
Researchers identify promising gene target for neuroblastoma therapy
Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have identified a set of previously unknown mutations in a single gene in 8 percent of neuroblastomas, tumors of the nervous system that occur in young children and account for approximately 15 percent of all childhood cancer deaths.
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Science & Tech
Ban calls for international efforts
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on the United States to combat the “imminent threat” of climate change, both by reducing its own greenhouse gas emissions and by leading the effort to craft a successor to the Kyoto Protocol.
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Campus & Community
Cabot Science Library catches migration in exhibit case
Roadkill may seem an odd inspiration for a library exhibition, but when a colleague mentioned an article about the rising number of migratory animals killed on roads and highways, Cabot Science Reference Librarian Reed Lowrie knew he’d stumbled onto his next exhibit.
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Campus & Community
MessageMe system to be tested today
The University will test its emergency text-messaging system, MessageMe, today (Oct. 23). A test message will be broadcast midday to more than 14,000 Harvard community members who have signed up for the alert system.
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Nation & World
Nunn wants to eliminate nukes
Sam Nunn, former Democratic senator from Georgia (1973-97), is well known as an eminence in the realm of U.S. security policy.
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Health
NYU chemist Robert Shapiro decries RNA-first possibility
Back in the depths of time, an event almost miraculously improbable happened, creating a long, unlikely molecule. And life arose on Earth. Or, if you prefer, back in the depths of time, in a soup of small, relatively common molecules, an unknown chemical reaction occurred, sustained itself, replicated … and life arose on Earth.
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Campus & Community
Third class of Lemann Fellows comes into residence at Harvard
The Harvard University Brazil Studies Program at the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies (DRCLAS) recently welcomed its third class of Lemann Fellows.
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Campus & Community
Richmond memorial program scheduled for Oct. 27
A memorial service honoring the life of Julius B. Richmond will be held Oct. 27 at 10 a.m. at the Harvard Club of Boston, 347 Commonwealth Ave. A reception will follow.
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Campus & Community
Gewertz memorial service Friday
A memorial service will be held 3 p.m. Friday (Oct. 24) at the Memorial Church for Ken Gewertz, who died on Sept. 7 at his home in Watertown, Mass. He was 63.
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Arts & Culture
Judaica Division concert includes world premiere of sax concerto
As part of its celebration of the 60th anniversary of the founding of Israel, the Harvard College Library’s Judaica Division will host the world premiere of a saxophone concerto composed by an award-winning Israeli composer Nov. 2, at 3 p.m. at Sanders Theatre.
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Campus & Community
Hunn Awards bestowed on six
Six alumni/ae were recognized for their outstanding “Schools and Scholarships” work during an awards ceremony on Oct. 17 at the Agassiz Theatre, Radcliffe Yard. Each year, the Admissions Office honors some of its most loyal and longtime volunteers in Schools Committee work all over the globe. Collectively, this year’s recipients represent more than 192 years…
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Campus & Community
Two HSPH professors honored for their scientific contributions
Two members of the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) faculty have been elected to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) a national resource for independent, scientifically informed analysis and recommendations on human health issues. The IOM was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences, and membership is a high honor in the health…
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Campus & Community
HRES fetes completion of grad, professional student housing program
Harvard Real Estate Services (HRES) Tuesday (Oct. 21) celebrated the completion of an eight-year program to provide housing for approximately 50 percent of the University’s graduate and professional students. The program, which included both new and renovated properties in Cambridge and Boston, provides students with myriad housing options — everything from single-family homes to high-rise…
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Campus & Community
Asia Programs offers master’s in public policy degree
Asia Programs of the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation recently announced (Oct. 16) the launch of its two-year master’s in public policy (M.P.P.) program at the Fulbright School in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
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Campus & Community
This month in Harvard history
Oct. 15, 1945 — Pulitzer Prize-winning History Professor Paul Herman Buck, PhD ’35, becomes Harvard’s first Provost. Under the terms of the statutory amendment approved on this day by the Board of Overseers, the Provost is also, ex officio, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (the position Buck has held since 1942).