Researchers have discovered in fruit flies a key metabolic hormone thought to be the exclusive property of vertebrates. The hormone, leptin, is a nutrient sensor, regulating energy intake and output and ultimately controlling appetite. As such, it is of keen interest to researchers investigating obesity and diabetes on the molecular level. But until now, complex…

On Sept. 5, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Elena Kagan ’86 joined Dean Martha Minow for a conversation on life as a Supreme Court justice. The former and current deans spoke before an overflow audience in the Wasserstein Hall, Caspersen Student Center, Clinical Wing building. During the event, their discussion touched on many topics ranging…

The Center for Primary Care, which was created in 2010 by Harvard Medical School to address the current crisis in primary care with innovative solutions, announced today two new programs, The Abundance Agents of Change program and the Crimson Care Collaborative. As it continues its dramatic growth, the center also announced the appointment of six…

The Harvard Alumni Association (HAA) has announced its 2012 HAA Award winners. The award, which recognizes outstanding service to Harvard University through alumni activities, was established in 1990 and has been an annual tradition since. This year’s recipients have devoted countless hours of service and work on behalf of the University and include former HAA…

With 42 days to go before the 2012 presidential election, the Shorenstein Center welcomed Alex Castellanos, a Republican political media consultant, to share his perspective on the Obama and Romney campaigns. Castellanos described the map of this election as a bell curve: In contrast with other election seasons when “we always thought our children would…

According to new research from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), there’s a strong association between work-family conflict and the likelihood of smoking. Candace Nelson, research fellow in the Department of Environmental Health, Lisa Berkman, director of the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, and Glorian Sorensen, professor of society, human development, and health…

Through research, we discover new knowledge and identify solutions to complex problems. Spark the curiosity of your inner scientist at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University on Researchers’ Night 2012. Held annually on a single night in 300 cities across Europe, this mega-event comes to the Arboretum and Boston for the very first time on…

With NSF grant, researchers will enhance technologies and policies to protect personal data used in research studies. The real-time data of cyberspace, detailing every like, dislike, spur of the moment thought—and more—provide unprecedented opportunities for research by scientists from all areas. No longer limited to narrow focus groups, painstaking in-person surveys, or artificially controlled studies,…

Life expectancy among the least-educated white Americans has fallen markedly over the past two decades, according to recent research, including some studies by Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) experts. A front-page article in the September 20, 2012 New York Times outlined these disturbing findings and included speculation by researchers as to possible causes—such as…

“Primary care may just be the most exciting place to be in medicine in the near future,” HSPH Professor John McDonough writes in his latest Health Stew blog post, published September 12, 2012 on Boston.com. New models for structuring care that are currently gaining in popularity reimburse providers by the patient rather than the procedure,…

Whitney M. Young Jr., one of the most celebrated – and controversial – leaders of the civil rights era is the subject of a new film, The Powerbroker, being screened by Harvard Law School’s Charles Hamilton Houston Institute on Sept. 27.  As head of the National Urban League, he helped thousands of people struggling against…

Massachusetts’ six years of experience with health care reform holds valuable lessons for the nation as it prepares to begin fully implementing the Affordable Care Act in 2014. In a September 5, 2012 article in the New England Journal of Medicine, Vanderbilt University’s John Graves and Katherine Swartz, professor of health economics and policy at…

Dariush Mozaffarian, associate professor of epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and a cardiologist, was interviewed on NBC Nightly News on September 12, 2012 about a new study on fish oil supplements that suggests they may not be as healthy for the heart as people…

Enjoying the diversity of trees at the Arnold Arboretum may compel visitors to look upward into the canopy for a better view. This Saturday evening, the Arboretum invites visitors to look up even farther, as it partners with the Harvard College Observatory and Boston Parks and Recreation to present a public star viewing on Weld…

Rachel Sklar, founder of Change The Ratio and TheLi.st, spoke to the Shorenstein Center about gender disparity in the tech business, and how the ratio of men to women could be shifted toward more equality. The event was co-sponsored by the Women and Public Policy Program. Sklar, who is a media writer and social media entrepreneur,…

Harvard Law School today announced that the Ford Foundation has committed to fund a new initiative administered by the Bernard Koteen Office of Public Interest Advising, enabling 25 HLS students to work in the field of public interest law in summer 2013. Open to current 1L and 2L students, the inaugural Ford Foundation Law School…

John Briscoe, Gordon McKay Professor of the Practice of Environmental Engineering and Environmental Health at Harvard University, has been selected to receive the 2012 Stroud Award for Freshwater Excellence. Awarded by the Stroud Water Research Center, an independent, nonprofit research institute, the prize celebrates “outstanding contributions” to the field of freshwater conservation, protection, and stewardship.…

The Siebel Scholars program recognizes outstanding students from the world’s most prestigious graduate schools. Five graduate students dedicated to the study of computer science at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) were named among the recipients of the 2013 Siebel Scholars awards. Tunde Agboola, Heather Pon-Barry, Adam Sealfon, Jonathan Ullman, and Thomas…

Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow has appointed Michael Fertik ’05, Neil Flanzraich ’68, Anthony Scaramucci ’89 and John Williams ’79 as HLS’s Experts-in-Residence (EIRs) for the 2012-2013 academic year, in partnership with the University-wide Harvard Innovation Lab (i-Lab). Williams served as HLS’s inaugural EIR in 2011-2012 and has been reappointed to a second term. “This year, when…

On the 11th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, the Shorenstein Center welcomed Dana Priest, national security reporter for The Washington Post, to discuss the cost of secrecy and how it affects the relationship between media and government. In his introduction, Shorenstein Center Director Alex Jones mentioned the New York Times op-ed by Kurt Eichenwald,…

The daughter and wife of prominent Harvard professors, Marian Cannon Schlesinger could have led an insular life. Although she has lived most of her life in a small area of Cambridge near the Harvard campus, she has ranged far and wide through her travels and art. After she graduated from Radcliffe in 1934, Schlesinger lived…

Harvard University Center for the Environment welcomes its 2012 cohort of Environmental Fellows. These six new fellows join a group of remarkable scholars who are in their second year of the fellowship. Together, the Environmental Fellows at Harvard will form a community of researchers with diverse backgrounds united by intellectual curiosity, top-quality scholarship, and a…

For the 50th anniversary of what historians agree was the most dangerous moment in human history, Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Foreign Policy magazine today launched  a contest for scholars and citizens to reflect on the lessons of the Cuban Missile Crisis and its lessons for current challenges. The…

Reknown scholar and author Joseph Horowitz will give the 2012 Louis C. Elson lecture on Tuesday, Oct. 9, at 5:15 p.m. in John Knowles Paine Concert Hall. Horowitz, a cultural historian and concert producer, will present “Rethinking What Orchestras Do: A Humanities Mandate.” The talk is free and open to the public. John Knowles Paine…

The poor are disproportionately afflicted with a wide range of health problems, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, asthma, infant mortality, and dental disease. Sleep deficiency and disorders including sleep apnea also are particularly common among minority groups and those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, according to Harvard School of Public Health’s Michelle Williams, Stephen B.…

Russell Phillips, director of Harvard Medical School’s Center for Primary Care, has been appointed the William Applebaum Professor of Medicine. Phillips was promoted to HMS professor of medicine in 2004, and served as chief of the Division of General Medicine and Primary Care at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center between 2002 and 2012. The William…

On Saturday, Sept. 29, five Harvard University museums —the Harvard Art Museums, Harvard Museum of Natural History , Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology, Semitic Museum, and the Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments — will open their doors free of charge along with 1,400 other participating museums nationwide during the eighth annual Museum Day Live!…

For wiring up the human body with “electronic tattoos,” Nanshu Lu, a 2009 Ph.D. graduate of the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), has been recognized by Technology Review magazine as among the world’s 35 top innovators under the age of 35. A panel of expert judges and the editorial staff of Technology…

Acclaimed academic, author and former politician Michael Ignatieff will rejoin Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) in January 2013 in a half-time faculty appointment as professor of practice. He will also assume a half-time appointment as professor at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto. Born in Canada, educated at the University of…

Susan Hockfield, who served as the 16th president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has been named the Marie Curie Visiting Professor at Harvard Kennedy School,  Dean David T. Ellwood announced Sept. 7. Hockfield is a distinguished life scientist who has focused much of her research on the development of the brain and on…