Science & Tech
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Lifting a few with my chatbot
Sociologist Sherry Turkle warns against growing trend of turning to AI for companionship, counsel
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Hate mosquitoes? Who doesn’t? But maybe we shouldn’t.
Entomologist says there is much scientists don’t know about habitats, habits, impacts on their environments
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‘Harvard Thinking’: Climate alignment is no easy task
Experts at the Salata Institute outline tensions between global and local priorities
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A playbook for policy change
Leah Stokes turns a love for the wilderness into a commitment to help mitigate climate change
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Under pressure
New tool for precise measurement of superconductors
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Glimpse into how mind may affect healing
Study finds bruising fades faster in patients who are led to believe more time has passed than actually has
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A big discovery of a tiny critter
Discovery in 16-million-year-old amber is the third species of water bear ever found.
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Mathematician’s life advice: Subtract the boring parts
Marcus du Sautoy discussed his latest work “Thinking Better: The Art of the Shortcut in Math and Life,” with Melissa Franklin, Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics.
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Why did some mammals develop tusks?
New study defines and traces the evolution of tusks from the first animals to sport them.
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Coming to grips with planetary existential threat
Environmental Science and Public Policy takes multidisciplinary approach to complex existential threat.
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People weren’t so lazy back then
Research comparing 19th- and 21st-century Americans finds a half-hour decline in physical activity. Blame it on planes, trains, and automobiles.
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Leaky natural gas pipelines are tip of the iceberg
Methane emissions from the distribution and use of natural gas across U.S. cities are 2 to 10 times higher than recent estimates from the EPA.
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Tantalizing transit
Signs of a planet transiting a star outside of the Milky Way galaxy may have been detected for the first time.
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How asteroid, comet strikes may have delayed evolution of atmosphere
Collisions more common than thought and hampered growth of oxygen on planet, Harvard professor’s team finds.
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Bad for 100-million-year-old crab, but good for scientists
Javier Luque’s first thought while looking at the 100-million-year-old piece of amber wasn’t whether the crustacean trapped inside could help fill a crucial gap in crab evolution. He just kind…
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Are Google and smartphones degrading our memories?
It’s been 20 years since Daniel Schacter first published his groundbreaking book on memory errors. In a recent talk he discussed some of those new findings, including how technology is helping and hurting.
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New gene-transport system gets more drugs to sick muscles
A newly engineered gene-delivery system has the potential to make gene therapy for muscle diseases both safer and more effective for patients.
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More climate research, teaching to make greater impact
The new vice provost for climate and sustainability talks about upcoming efforts to boost Harvard’s response to challenges presented by climate change.
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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.
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No one outruns death, but hunter-gatherers come closest
Our sedentary tendencies may be robbing us of a key benefit of physical activity.
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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.
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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.
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Deploying AI against colon cancer
Harvard-led research signals life-saving potential for artificial intelligence in fight against colon cancer.
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Biological triggers for infant abuse
Harvard team discovers neural circuits underlying aggressive behavior of adult mice toward young ones.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Living proof
A study by Harvard researchers demonstrates that jumping spiders can distinguish living from nonliving objects based on their movement.
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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.
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What exactly is a ‘fire tornado’?
What is a fire tornado? Harvard’s Loretta Mickley sheds some light.
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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.
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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.
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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.