Science & Tech
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Mapping our deep-rooted relationship with medicinal plants
Regions with longer histories of human settlement tend to have greater variety, study finds
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Technically, it’s possible. Ethically, it’s complicated.
Surge in AI use heightens demand for Harvard program that examines social consequences of computer science work
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Solving mystery at tip of South America
Study finds previously unknown ancient lineage of indigenous people, which gave rise to surprisingly diverse mix of cultures
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Is AI dulling our minds?
Experts weigh in on whether tech poses threat to critical thinking, pointing to cautionary tales in use of other cognitive labor tools
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A potential quantum leap
Harvard physicists unveil system to solve long-standing barrier to new generation of supercomputers
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No one knows the answer, and that’s the point
‘Genuinely Hard Problems’ pilots novel approach to scientific education
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Exploring big and small possibilities of the information revolution
” ‘System-on-a-chip’ is the new buzzword today,” said Professor Woodward Yang in 1999. “It’s really not that far away.” As Yang sees it, the computer revolution is really just beginning.…
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What killed the dinosaurs?
Charles Marshall’s childhood passion led him to a career in paleontology, trying to understand the interplay between inheritance, environment, and catastrophe in directing evolution. Marshall’s work attracted media attention in…
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Archaeology team helps find oldest deep-sea shipwrecks
About 2,700 years ago, two Phoenician ships sank to the Mediterranean’s muddy bottom, where they lay upright, preserved in the relative stillness and tremendous pressure of the deep, dark waters.…
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El Nino found to be 124,000 years old
Records preserved in corals from Indonesia reveal that El Niño was causing severe weather even before the last ice age began, when the climate apparently was like it was for…
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Student-designed lamp brightens Harvard dorms
Halogen lamps became increasingly popular through the ’90s. Their high-wattage bulbs gave off a clear, pleasant light and — at $15 to $25 — even a student could afford them.…
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Harvard students uncover Martha’s Vineyard history
Some significant details emerged from the items uncovered by Harvard archaeology students at a dig on Martha’s Vineyard in 1999. For instance, the site has been used by humans much…
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Discovering a new earthquake fault under Los Angeles
“Los Angeles is caught in a vise,” says John Shaw, an associate professor of structural and economic geology at Harvard who was half of a research team that discovered a…
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Physicists Slow Speed of Light
Light, which normally travels the 240,000 miles from the Moon to Earth in less than two seconds, has been slowed to the speed of a minivan in rush-hour traffic —…
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Saving plants that may save us
One particular discovery highlights the importance of facilities like the Harvard Herbaria and Arnold Arboretum in storing and preserving the important information found in plants. An extract of a small…
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Charles Schaff brings knack for finding fossils to field — and Harvard
Charles Schaff ‘s official job description isn’t “fossil hunter.” He is a curatorial associate at the Museum of Comparative Zoology. Schaff, however, makes regular trips to look for fossils in…