Science & Tech
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How Harvard scientists built genomics outpost on Gloucester harbor
It started with idea to help beleaguered fishermen. Now marine science lab promotes healthy fisheries, trains local workforce, seeks clues to longevity
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Taming the Duck, for starters
David Malan says CS50’s AI tutor is a net positive — and getting better
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‘Lately, my algorithm is trash’
Are we shaping our feeds or are they shaping us?
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Curios and curiouser
With exhibits including a dodo, fish mummified in pearl, and a ‘King Kong’-connected Komodo, ‘discovering the stories is one of the best jobs’
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One effort to safeguard humanity: AI ‘constitutions’
Berkman Klein Center heard calls to keep models ‘honest, helpful, harmless.’ It’s a work in progress.
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Chatbot attachment issues
When AI companions get a personality update, some users respond with grief, study finds
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What if AI could help students learn, not just do assignments for them?
Professors find promise in ‘tutor bots’ that offer more flexible, individual, interactive attention in addition to live teaching
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You see Saturn’s rings. She sees hidden number theory.
Math professor finds psychedelic beauty in complex sequences
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Her science writing is not for the squeamish
It takes a lot to gross out ‘Replaceable You’ author Mary Roach
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Over 60 and online
In new book, law professor busts myths about ‘hapless grandparents’ in the digital age
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Harsh past might bare its teeth
Early adversity leads to higher aggression and fearfulness in adult canines, study says
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What will AI mean for humanity?
Scholars from range of disciplines see red flags, possibilities ahead
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‘Human exceptionalism is at the root of the ecological crisis’
Saving the planet requires getting over ourselves, argues author of ‘The Arrogant Ape’
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Lauren Williams awarded MacArthur ‘genius grant’
Math professor honored for theoretical breakthroughs with sometimes surprising applications across phenomena such as tsunamis, traffic
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Chilling discovery
Physicists go to extremes to capture quantum materials
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‘She had a sense of caring for everybody that she encountered.’
Richard Wrangham remembers his teacher and colleague Jane Goodall as a force of science, empathy, and hope
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A real butterfly effect
Saga that winds through centuries, continents results in newly recognized species being named in honor of Harvard biologist
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‘I exist solely for you, remember?’
Researchers detail 6 ways chatbots seek to prolong ‘emotionally sensitive events’
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Clearing significant hurdle to quantum computing
Harvard physicists working to develop game-changing technology demonstrate 3,000 quantum-bit system
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Think you understand kitchen science?
Our research-backed quiz will put your cooking knowledge to the test.
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Why is your head not exploding? Steven Pinker can explain.
Cognitive psychologist reveals uncommon depths of common knowledge in new book
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When your research donor is 6
First-grader raises $1,000 for axolotl research, meets her scientist hero — and maybe gets taste of what she wants to do when she grows up
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‘It feels very personal’
Jessica Whited overcame many obstacles to become a scientist, and her work was rooted in family’s blue-collar history. Then came funding cuts.
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Methane tracking satellite lost in space — what now?
Enough data collected already to map potent greenhouse gas emissions, says lead researcher
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How AI could radically change schools by 2050
In Ed School panel, Howard Gardner says tech could make ‘most cognitive aspects of mind’ optional for humans
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Claims of pure bloodlines? Ancestral homelands? DNA science says no.
Geneticist explains recent analyses made possible by tech advances show human history to be one of mixing, movement, displacement
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His lab’s ancient DNA studies are rewriting human history
Yet federal funding cuts have put next chapter of David Reich’s work in doubt
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A deeper read of unquiet minds
Researchers inch closer to decoding inner speech
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How an astronaut calculates risk
With blast-off date approaching, Anil Menon prepares for the ‘impossible’
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Our viral vocabulary
Adam Aleksic — aka the ‘Etymology Nerd’ — discusses how social media algorithms are transforming language
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What is creativity without sweat and tears?
Philosophers, psychiatrist consider what we lose when we outsource struggle to AI
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How to regulate AI
Scholars from business, economics, healthcare, policy offer insights into areas that deserve close look
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Watching history being made
Astrophysicists think mysterious ‘little red dots’ are generated from spinning dark matter, studying them may yield insights into evolution of universe
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A smell test for science
Researcher outlines vision for implants that could help patients reclaim vital connection with their surroundings
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Seeking a carbon-capture breakthrough
Chemist Richard Liu harnesses sunlight to trap greenhouse gases
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Solving evolutionary mystery of how humans came to walk upright
New study identifies genetic, developmental shifts that resculpted pelvis, setting ancestors apart from other primates