Science & Tech

All Science & Tech

  • Brewery fit for a king

    The remains of a 5000-year-old brewery found in the ancient Egyptian city of Abydos are providing insights into the relationship between large-scale beer production and the development of kingship in Egypt.

    Zoom presentation.
  • No one outruns death, but hunter-gatherers come closest

    Our sedentary tendencies may be robbing us of a key benefit of physical activity.

    Skeleton.
  • Future sound of a Beatles playlist: drip, drip, drip

    In a new paper, Harvard chemists describe a data-storage method that uses mixtures of seven fluorescent dyes to save files.

    Amit Nagarkar.
  • Massage helps injured muscles heal faster and stronger

    Using a controlled massage system, researchers found that treatment led to greater repair and strength recovery in mice.

    Treated and untreated muscles.
  • Deploying AI against colon cancer

    Harvard-led research signals life-saving potential for artificial intelligence in fight against colon cancer.

    Tyler Berzin
  • Biological triggers for infant abuse

    Harvard team discovers neural circuits underlying aggressive behavior of adult mice toward young ones.

    Catherine Dulac.
  • Melting of polar ice shifting Earth itself, not just sea levels

    Research by new Harvard Ph.D. finds warping of planet’s crust, with far-reaching effects.

    Antarctica.
  • How a hormone affects society

    The hormone testosterone provides a backdrop for male aggression and violence, both in nature and in society, argues a Harvard human evolutionary biologist.

    Carole Hooven and Dan Gilbert.
  • Like hitting a bullseye with closed eyes

    Recently NASA updated its forecast of the chances that the asteroid Bennu will hit Earth in the next 300 years. Harvard statisticians put it into perspective.

    A mosaic image of Bennu
  • Knowing a big deal when you see it

    The fossil was found to belong to a previously unknown species of a lizard-like reptile, representing the earliest evolving member of a lineage that today includes all lizards, snakes, and their closest relatives.

    A 231-million-year-old reptile skull.
  • Climate scientist on UN report: Just as bad as we expected

    Peter Huybers, a professor of Earth and planetary sciences, explains the recently released UN report on climate change and the harrowing details contained within it.

    Greenland retreating icebergs.
  • Dan Barouch and the birth of the J&J COVID vaccine

    Dan Barouch, Harvard Medical School professor and head of Beth Israel Deaconess’ Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, was awarded Harvard’s George Ledlie Prize for work that culminated in one of three vaccines against COVID-19 approved for use in the U.S.

    Dan Barouch.
  • Living proof

    A study by Harvard researchers demonstrates that jumping spiders can distinguish living from nonliving objects based on their movement.

    Jumping spider.
  • Mark I, rebooted

    After a yearlong delay, the landmark Harvard IBM Mark I Automatic Calculator shifts residences to its new Science and Engineering Complex in Allston.

    Mark 1.
  • What exactly is a ‘fire tornado’?

    What is a fire tornado? Harvard’s Loretta Mickley sheds some light.

    Wildfires.
  • Taking a step toward discovering the cause of joint disease

    A Harvard study could lead to potential therapeutics for one of the most prominent ailments of the elderly and one of the most prominent musculoskeletal defects in newborns.

    Hip and leg illustration.
  • New imaging technique may boost biology and neuroscience research

    Dushan N. Wadduwage has detailed a new technique that would create high-quality, deep-tissue imaging of living subjects in a timely fashion.

    Dushan Wadduwage.
  • Harvard-led physicists take big step in race to quantum computing

    A Harvard-led team has created a 256-qubit programmable quantum simulator that represents the cutting edge in the world-wide quantum race.

    Dolev Bluvstein, Mikhail Lukin and Sepehr Ebadi.
  • Harvard-led researchers document quantum melting of Wigner crystals

    In 1934, physicist Eugene Wigner made a theoretical prediction that suggested how a metal that normally conducts electricity could turn into a nonconducting insulator when the density of electrons is reduced. Now a team of Harvard physicists has finally experimentally documented this transition.

    Illustration of quantum phase transition.
  • Face mask can help diagnose COVID-19

    A team of researchers from the Wyss Institute has found a way to embed synthetic biology reactions into fabrics, creating wearable biosensors that can be customized to detect pathogens and toxins and alert the wearer.

    Young woman wears co
  • New gene-editing technique shows promise against sickle cell disease

    Scientists at Harvard and the Broad Institute have demonstrated that it is possible to treat sickle cell disease in mice using a new gene-editing technique.

    Sickle cell anemia, 3D illustration.
  • Humanizing technology

    Public Interest Technology Lab brings together experts from across Harvard to pursue technologies that serve the interests of the public.

    Illustration of person using computer.
  • New wrinkle in tale of wolf-to-dog evolution

    Study on the classic Russian farm-fox experiment raises questions about leading theories on the brains of domesticated animals.

    Black fox.
  • Electrodes that flow to fit the body

    Scientists from Harvard’s Wyss Institute and John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) created flexible, metal-free electrode arrays that conform to the body’s shapes.

    Hydrogel electrodes.
  • So why did you love ‘My Octopus Teacher’?

    A panel of experts discuss the award-winning documentary “My Octopus Teacher” and the inner life of the octopus.

    Diver Craig Foster with octopus from “My Octopus Teacher.”
  • Mapping the quantum frontier, one layer at a time

    Professor Kang-Kuen Ni and her team have collected real experimental data from an unexplored quantum frontier, providing strong evidence of what the theoretical model got right (and wrong) and a roadmap for further exploration into the shadowy next layers of quantum space.

    Mapping the quantum realm.
  • Charting the universe

    Nearly 40 years after creating the first, iconic map of the universe, researchers aim for the largest map ever.

    Mayall 4m Telescope.
  • High-speed internet at a crossroads

    Jim Waldo assesses how the internet fared during the pandemic and how well it stood up to huge shifts of work, education, and commerce online.

    Jim Waldo.
  • A gut feeling

    Researchers identify links between genetic makeup of bacteria in human gut and several human diseases.

    Intestinal microbiome.
  • Not so black and white

    Harvard researchers identify a mechanism with therapeutic potential for anemia.

    Zebrafish embryo.