Science & Tech

All Science & Tech

  • Faster testing for illicit drugs

    The landscape of the illegal drug trade changes constantly, particularly amid the current opioid crisis. Law-enforcement officers regularly find or confiscate pills, powders, and other substances and need to know…

    Christoffer Abrahamsson holding a small device
  • A better candidate for chemo delivery

    A new technique called ELeCt (erythrocyte-leveraged chemotherapy) can transport drug-loaded nanoparticles into cancerous lung tissue by mounting them on the body’s own red blood cells.

  • Survival of the fittest takes a hit

    By re-barcoding the DNA of yeast, researchers were able to follow evolution for approximately 1,000 generations, finding surprises along the way.

    Two researchers looking at a computer.
  • If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it

    Research suggests that errors resulting from variability in motor function are a feature, not a bug, of our nervous system and play a critical role in learning.

    Two researchers talking in a lab.
  • Combination gene therapy treats age-related diseases

    Wyss Institute, Harvard Medical School study offers hope for single genetic treatment for multiple age-related ills.

    Heart with DNA strands.
  • First in flight: RoboBee powered by soft muscles

    Researchers have developed a resilient RoboBee powered by soft artificial muscles that can crash into walls, fall onto the floor, and collide with other RoboBees without being damaged.

    Falling RoboBee
  • Toll of climate change on workers

    Economist Patrick Behrer is tracking the health effects of working in an extremely hot environment and the ripple effects on the economy.

    Patrick Behrer in Harvard Square.
  • A clue to biodiversity?

    An analysis of 20 butterfly genomes found evidence that many butterfly species — including distantly related species — show a surprisingly high amount of gene flow between them, Harvard researchers found.

    Heliconius xanthocles butterfly illustration with wings spread.
  • Riding the quantum computing ‘wave’

    Google engineers claimed to have created a quantum computer that exhibited “quantum supremacy.” The Gazette spoke with Harvard Quantum Initiative Co-Director Mikhail Lukin about the achievement, about similar work at Harvard.

    Artist's drawing for Google Quantum
  • Power and pitfalls of gene editing

    CRISPR gene-editing technology has conquered the lab and is poised to lead to new treatments for human disease. Experts consider the promise and peril at Radcliffe.

    Panelists at Racliffe discussing gene editing.
  • Inspired by jumping spiders

    Inspired by the depth perception of spiders fixing to pounce on prey from a distance, Harvard researchers design a sensor that could be used in microrobotics, augmented reality, wearable devices.

    Spider jumping from one platform to an insect on another.
  • A rose by any other name — could be confusing

    Kanchi Gandhi is one of a small group of global experts who referees the rules of naming new plant species.

  • Both marathoner and sprinter

    Scientists from Harvard and the University of Virginia have developed the first robotic tuna that can accurately mimic both the highly efficient swimming style of tuna, and their high speed.

    George Lauder holding a robotic fish
  • My three suns

    Harvard astronomers are studying a newly discovered rocky planet with three suns called LTT1445Ab in the hopes it will provide valuable insights into Earth.

    Jennifer Winters
  • Learning apps for parents that help kids

    Harvard Graduate School of Education researchers Joe Blatt and Meredith Rowe conducted a study that developed learning apps to create foundations for literacy in young children.

    Joe Blatt and Meredith Rowe
  • Defending science in a post-fact era

    Harvard Professor Naomi Oreskes, author of “Why Trust Science?,” discusses the five pillars necessary for science to be considered trustworthy, the evidentiary value of self-reporting, and her Red State Pledge.

    Portrait of Naomi Oreskes, author of "Why Trust Science?"
  • Genome editing with precision

    Researchers have created a system called prime editing, a new CRISPR genome-editing approach that has the potential to correct up to 89 percent of known disease-causing genetic variations.

    Portion of graphic on CRISPR
  • Real texture for lab-grown meat

    Researchers are able to build muscle fibers, giving lab-grown meat the texture meat lovers seek.

    Images of gelatin fibers taken by scanning electron microscopy.
  • Scientists pinpoint neural activity’s role in human longevity

    The brain’s neural activity, long implicated in disorders ranging from dementia to epilepsy, also plays a role in human aging and life span, according to research led by scientists in the Blavatnik Institute.

    Mice lacking the protein REST (bottom) showed much higher neural activity in the brain than normal mice.
  • A reliable clock for your microbiome

    The microbiome is a treasure trove of information about human health and disease, but getting it to reveal its secrets is challenging, especially when attempting to study it in living subjects. A new genetic “repressilator” lets scientists noninvasively study its dynamics, acting like a clock that tracks how bacterial growth changes over time with single-cell precision.

    Colonies of bacteria
  • CRISPR enzyme programmed to kill viruses in human cells

    Researchers have turned a CRISPR enzyme into an antiviral that can be programmed to detect and destroy RNA-based viruses in human cells.

    CrispR illustration
  • Unhidden figures

    LaNell Williams wants to encourage more women of color to pursue doctorate degrees in fields such as physics. To help make that happen, she founded the Women+ of Color Project, which last week hosted a three-day workshop that invited 20 African American, Latinx, and Native American women interested in pursuing a career in a STEM field to Harvard.

    Vinothan Manoharan and Lanell Williams
  • Is technology evil?

    A HubWeek panel exploring ethics in the digital world featured computer scientist and entrepreneur Rana el Kaliouby and Harvard Professor Danielle Allen.

    Rana el Kaliouby and Danielle Allen
  • Red flags rise on global warming and the seas

    The world’s oceans, glaciers, and ice caps are under assault by climate change. The Gazette spoke with former Obama science adviser John Holdren about the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report examining the threat.

    John Holdren
  • Tiny tweezers

    Using precisely focused lasers that act as “optical tweezers,” Harvard scientists have been able to capture and control individual ultracold molecules – the eventual building-blocks of a quantum computer – and study the collisions between them in more detail than ever before.

    optical tweezers in use
  • The shape-shifting of things to come

    What would it take to transform a flat sheet into a human face? How would the sheet need to grow and shrink to form eyes that are concave, a nose…

  • First video of viruses assembling

    For the first time, Harvard researchers have captured images of individual viruses forming, offering a real-time view into the kinetics of viral assembly.

    A type 3 poliovirus capsid coloured by chains
  • Innovating an innovation

    HubWeek fall festival takes place Oct. 1‒3 in Boston’s Seaport District.

    Hubweek event
  • Ending ‘dead zones’

    Harvard scientists are teaming up with sustainability officers and landscaping experts to test a new fertilizer that won’t wash into water supplies.

    Hands holding dirt
  • Up close and personal with neuronal networks

    Researchers from Harvard University have developed an electronic chip that can perform high-sensitivity intracellular recording from thousands of connected neurons simultaneously, allowing them to identify hundreds of synaptic connections.

    Neurons on device