Science & Tech

SETI astronomer Jill Tarter was among the speakers at this year’s Radcliffe science symposium, “The Undiscovered.”

Working in a basement lab at Harvard, a group of researchers led by John Doyle, the Henry B. Silsbee Professor of Physics, have been part of a team making the most precise measurement of the shape of the field around an electron. The results suggest that some theories for what lies beyond the standard model of physics need to return to the drawing board.

A recent study used seismic noise to measure the size and water levels in underground aquifers, focusing on California’s San Gabriel Valley aquifer, which had to meet the demands of 1 million people during a five-year drought.

Harvard scientists are using the fossil record and a close examination of the vertebrae of thousands of modern animals to understand how and when specialized regions in the spines of mammals developed.

In their quest to build a tool that uses atomic-scale impurities in diamonds to sense magnetic fields, a pair of Ph.D. candidates from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences have developed a method that can simultaneously detect magnetic fields in various directions: “It’s like listening to four FM radio stations at once and having it all make sense.”

Researchers have determined that large-scale wind power would require more land and cause more environmental impact than previously thought.

John Carreyrou, the reporter who broke the story about the problems of the blood-testing company Theranos, explains the rise and fall of the Silicon Valley firm, and sees it as a cautionary tale.

Astrophysicist and cosmologist Martin Rees discusses his new book, “On the Future: Prospects for Humanity,” and shares his thoughts on climate change, artificial intelligence, robotics, and more.

Scientists at the Wyss Institute and colleagues have created a highly flexible soft robotic arm, giving biologists intuitive control over a module by wearing a glove equipped with wireless soft sensors that respond to their own hand and finger movements.

With a spate of massive data privacy breaches in the last two years, Harvard Law Professor Urs Gasser, executive director of the Berkman Klein Center, discusses whether regulating big tech is the answer.

Harvard research has shown that the “miniature ecosystems” housed in pitcher plants from opposite sides of the world are strikingly similar, suggesting that there may be something about the plants themselves that drives the formation of those communities.

A group of Harvard undergraduatess interested in fighting environmental decline spent the summer studying China’s problems and working alongside scholars whose efforts are directed at a host of issues.

When teenagers seem to be experiencing conflicting emotions at the same time and struggling to make sense of them all, it may be because they are.

Who wrote “In My Life,” John or Paul? Harvard statistician Mark Glickman helps provide research-backed answer on authorship of Beatles classic.

A Q&A with Gina McCarthy, former EPA administrator and current director of the Harvard Chan School’s Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment.

For the first time, Harvard’s metaLAB travels to Austria for Ars Electronica, Europe’s premier festival for art, technology, and social reflection.

A study used herbarium specimens to track insect eating patterns across more than a century and found that four species collected in the early 2000s were 23 percent more likely to be damaged than those collected in the early 1900s.

Sparked by a suggestion from researchers at Google, Harvard scientists are using artificial intelligence technology to analyze a database of earthquakes from around the world in an effort to predict where aftershocks might occur. Using deep-learning algorithms, they developed a system that, while still imprecise, was able to forecast aftershocks significantly better than random assignment.

New course brings data to a different audience as its importance continues to grow in different directions.

Harvard researchers have developed a new printing technology that uses sound waves to control the size of liquid droplets independent of fluid viscosity.

A team of researchers from the Rowland Institute at Harvard, Harvard University, and the University of Tübingen is turning to artificial intelligence technology to make it far easier than ever before to track animals’ movements in the lab.

Cynthia Friend, who recently received a multimillion dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, is well positioned to help “change the face and carbon footprint of the chemical industries sector,” one of her team’s goals.

A new organ chip system from the Wyss Institute allows scientists to make new discoveries about the importance of blood vessels for our mental function.

After a successful first year, the Harvard Data Science Initiative puts its focus on five new research areas and four new fellows.

A Harvard research team developed an analysis to measure millions of small genetic variations and calculate the risk of developing five serious common diseases: coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation, Type 2 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, or breast cancer.

In a new study, Harvard researchers say they may be able to estimate how glaciers moved by examining how the weight of the ice sheet altered topography and led to changes in the course of rivers. The study is described in a paper published in Geology.

Harvard researchers have found that by using evolving genetic barcodes, the process of cell division in developing mice can be recorded, enabling the lineage of every cell to be traced back to its single-cell origin.

A team of researchers has created a soft, animal-inspired robot that can safely be deployed in difficult-to-access environments, such as in delicate surgical procedures in the human body.

New Harvard research challenges conventional wisdom on what it takes to excel in calculus.

Harvard astronomer David Latham explains his role as science program director for NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite.