Science & Tech
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Can people change?
One thing is certain in the new year — we’ll evolve, with or without resolutions. In podcast, experts consider our responsibility.
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A common sense, win-win idea — and both right, left agree
Poll measures support for revenue-sharing plan on renewable energy that helps states, localities, and environment
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Climate change experts see dark clouds ahead
Salata Institute panelists predict legal, regulatory setbacks and areas of hope as Trump administration prepares to take over
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Ever wonder why your dog does this?
Study decodes neural mechanism that causes hairy mammals to shake their fur when wet
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Kempner AI cluster named one of world’s fastest ‘green’ supercomputers
Computational power can be used to train and run artificial neural networks, creates key advances in understanding basis of intelligence in natural and artificial systems
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How humans evolved to be ‘energetically unique’
Metabolic rates outpaced ‘couch potato’ primates thanks to sweat, says new study
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Relocating farmland to cut carbon emissions amid warming world
Reimagined world map of agriculture could turn back clock 20 years on carbon emissions.
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6 things to know about Earth
Andrew Knoll, Harvard’s Fisher Research Professor of Natural History and author of the recent popular science book “A Brief History of Earth: Four Billion Years in Eight Chapters,” shares six facts about the Earth.
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Making 3D printing truly 3D
Harvard researchers present a new method of volumetric 3D printing.
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Forgetting, fast and slow
Forgetting generates changes in the brain and does not reverse the learning process, Harvard study finds.
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Altruism may not seem to make sense until you dig deep
In their new book, two Harvard scholars suggest that a subconscious process can help us understand everything from our aesthetic tastes to our altruism.
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It’s not easy being your brain
Stephen Fleming, author of “Know Thyself: The Science of Self-Awareness,” explains the importance of “thinking about thinking.”
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Scientists have spotted farthest galaxy on record
A galaxy, some 13.5 billion light-years away, is now considered the most distant astronomical object ever spotted, leaving scientists to speculate exactly what the galaxy is.
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You call that a wildcat?
Hopi Hoekstra documents whether NCAA team mascots are really what they say they are. Here’s a bracket-buster: Many of them aren’t.
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Whimsical steampunk tour of quantum thermodynamics
New book uses examples of a genre that blends futuristic technology with Victorian style to explain concepts of revolutionary new science.
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What’s a little envy between friends?
The feeling can eat you alive — but only if you let it
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Anthropologist describes supernatural adventures
Studying the paranormal can contribute to anthropology, says Jack Hunter in Harvard talk.
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A glimpse into the universe’s first light
Using one of the world’s largest supercomputers, high-resolution simulations were created that show 1 million galaxies forming some 13 billion years ago.
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Unlocking potential of quantum technologies
Chemical biology professor works to crack secrets of new states of matter.
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Yes, cat is both dead, alive
Jacob Barandes’ new class combines philosophy and physics to look at quantum theory.
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Oh, if I could talk to the aliens
Harvard astrophysicist and psychologist explore the possibility of life beyond our solar system and what to do should aliens arrive on Earth ready to engage.
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With a tip of hat to Stephen Jay Gould
Research done at Harvard unveils only the second “weird wonder” fossilized Opabinia, first popularized by the late evolutionary biologist.
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Those birds that crashed and died? It wasn’t fumes.
After internet theorists react to viral video, Harvard researchers answer with science.
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Tech on a plate
Larissa Zimberoff, author of “Technically Food,” examined new ways of producing what we eat and drink in a discussion sponsored by the Food Literacy Project at Harvard.
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Does your dog care if you die?
Any owner would say yes. Here’s what the science says.
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Was Facebook the original social network? Not by a long shot
New research produces earliest DNA from Sub-Saharan Africa and a more complete look at ancient peoples.
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New Faculty: Gabriella Coleman
Anthropology Professor Gabriella Coleman studies the rich, deep world of hackers.
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Drug delivery system offers hope for treating genetic diseases
A team of researchers has developed a new drug delivery system that was able to edit genes associated with high cholesterol and to partially restore vision in mice.
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When babies see people swap spit, they know what’s what
Infants deduce that people are in a close relationship if they witness interactions like kissing and taking bites of each other’s food.
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The ‘platypus’ of crabs
A crab that swam the seas 95 million years ago was believed to be an active predator with sharp vision as opposed to today’s bottom-dwellers with limited vision.
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Reminders from Hollywood on memory, amnesia, personality
Psychology, philosophy scholars mine psycho-thriller “Memento” for its lessons on function of recall, how it shapes who we are.
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Should married couples live apart?
Separate takes from husband-and-wife psychiatrists on distance, drift, and how to stay connected
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Logic or emotion: Which is more valuable?
Neither thinking nor feeling is superior, according to Leonard Mlodinow’s new book, which argues that the two are inextricably linked.
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Back in days of great floods
Harvard researcher explains how overflowing rivers billions of years ago helped shape what Mars looks like today.
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What it takes to be a scientific breakthrough
Harvard Medical School Professor Anthony L. Komaroff explains the difference between a scientific advance and a true breakthrough.
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A different kind of queen’s gambit
The n-queens challenge dates back to 1869. After working on the problem for about 5 years, mathematician Michael Simkin has an almost definitive solution.