This year’s dramatically fluctuating temperature cycles from seasonably cold days to atypically warm stretches and back again has affected the life cycles of many species, including plants. At the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, two scientists are examining how maple trees (Acer) are responding to climate stress and what that means for the future of…

The Initiative for the Science of the Human Past (SoHP) at Harvard and the Climate Change Institute (CCI) at the University of Maine are delighted to announce the renewal of their grant from Arcadia — a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin. The new grant of $570,000 over three years will continue to support…

This week, a bipartisan group of experts in economics, public health, technology, and ethics from across the country released the nation’s first comprehensive operational roadmap for mobilizing and reopening the U.S. economy in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. “Roadmap to Pandemic Resilience,” a report released by Harvard University’s Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics…

Strategies to bar the coronavirus (COVID-19) from entering cells — thereby preventing infection and averting transmission of the virus — are among the most promising treatment approaches to COVID-19. Everything from antibodies to specially made snippets of RNA are being mustered in the effort to develop a safe and effective coronavirus blocker. An approach notable…

Cancers whose cells are riddled with large numbers of DNA mutations often respond favorably to drugs called checkpoint blockers that unleash the immune system against the tumor. But a new study shows that malignant brain tumors known as gliomas generally don’t respond to the immunotherapy drugs even when the tumor cells are “hypermutated” — having…

The seventh annual Harrington Prize for Innovation in Medicine has been awarded to Stuart H. Orkin, the David G. Nathan Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. The Harrington Prize for Innovation in Medicine, established in 2014 by the Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio, and The American Society for Clinical Investigation…

Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development researchers released the preliminary results of a study on the impact of the COVID‐19 crisis on the economies and governments of the country’s 574 federally‐recognized American Indian nations. Writing to Secretary of the Treasury Mnuchin, researchers Randall Akee, Eric Henson, Miriam Jorgensen, and Joseph Kalt report that the COVID‐19 crisis poses an immediate threat to…

The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Human Vaccines Project announced the Human Immunomics Initiative (HII) this week, a joint project that aims to revolutionize the understanding of the human immune system and accelerate the creation of effective vaccines, diagnostics, and treatments. HII will bring together Chan School experts in epidemiology, causal…

The Board of Trustees of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation has awarded Guggenheim Fellowships to a diverse group of 175 writers, scholars, artists, and scientists. This year, two Harvard professors were awarded fellowships. Architect Dilip da Cunha of Philadelphia is a lecturer in urban planning and design at the Harvard Graduate School of Design…

An online research seminar series launched by Dana-Farber faculty is engaging a large audience to participate in interactive sessions with leading scientists during the pandemic-caused shutdown of in-person events. Sponsored by the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC) and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the Connect: Science series aims to bring together faculty, trainees, and laboratory staff…

As Congress and the White House begin trading proposals on the contours of what a fourth COVID-19 relief package might look like, Stephen Goldsmith, the Daniel Paul Professor of Practice at Harvard Kennedy School and the director of the Ash Center’s Government Innovation’s Program, says that the nation’s infrastructure needs to take center stage   In a recently released memo to policymakers, Goldsmith outlines key recommendations for the pending stimulus legislation and calls on Washington…

A Boston-based startup company, NanoMosaic LLC, intends to commercialize a high-throughput, high-sensitivity platform for analyte detection developed at Harvard. Through an exclusive license agreement with Harvard Office of Technology Development, NanoMosaic is developing screening tools based on functionalized ‘nanoneedles’ that may aid in a number of biomedical fields including the early detection of disease, prognostic…

The Harvard Innovation Labs recently announced how current and former venture teams are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many current venture teams are creating products and services that have the potential to reduce the spread of the virus, improve patient care, and create community when in-person gatherings are not possible. These services include free online…

In a new study, scientists and archaeologists from the University of Nottingham, the Climate Change Institute at the University of Maine, and Harvard University, showed that the highest levels of air pollution before the modern era occurred around 800 years ago. The new data represents the highest-resolution, most detailed and chronologically accurate record in existence…

The Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting recognizes and celebrates journalism that promotes more effective and ethical conduct of government, the making of public policy, or the practice of politics. This year’s finalists include local, regional, and national outlets, and several collaborative journalism efforts. On March 23, The Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School  announced…

As the presidential primary season unfolds, the Ash Center sat down with Miles Rapoport, Senior Practice Fellow in American Democracy at the Ash Center and former Secretary of the State for Connecticut, for a conversation about the steps that election officials can take to lessen the risks posed by coronavirus on election day. Q&A Miles…

The Ash Center sat down with Tony Saich, Daewoo Professor of International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School and Center Director, for a conversation about the impact of China’s COVID-19 response on the country’s leadership Q&A Tony Saich Ash: How would you characterize China’s President Xi Jingping’s leadership during the coronavirus epidemic? Saich: I think his leadership’s gone…

Nearly two-dozen students from the Cambridge Housing Authority’s (CHA) Workforce Program recently participated in the group’s annual visit to Harvard’s campus to take part in a series of programs designed to bolster career exploration and college awareness. This event is a component of the Project Teach program that has been bringing students to Harvard for…

Today, the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government announced four finalists from across the country for its 2020 Innovations in American Government Award. Honorees include the City University of New York’s Accelerated Study in Associate Programs, the city of Philadelphia’s BenePhilly program, the Massachusetts Pathways to…

The Department of Defense recently announced the winners of their 2020 Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) program. The agency received 365 proposals and awarded 26 grants. In a rare feat, they selected two professors from the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology — Daniel Nocera and Kang-Kuen Ni — to lead multi-disciplinary teams in designing the next generation of military…

Tarkett, a worldwide leader in innovative and sustainable flooring, has joined the the Sustainability and Health Initiative for Netpositive Enterprise (SHINE) at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health community of corporate supporters.   “We are thrilled that Tarkett has joined the SHINE ‘living laboratory’ network of companies aiming to discover and understand new ways…

A new clinical trial suggests that immunotherapy given before other treatments for oral cavity cancers can elicit an immune response that shrinks tumors, which could provide long-term benefit for patients. In the randomized trial, two neoadjuvant doses of nivolumab given with or without ipilimumab led to complete or partial tumor shrinkage in most cases and…

A new groundbreaking study shows that warming planet will make dust storms more intense in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. Using the highest-resolution continuous climate record ever published, the study explains the connections between dust storms, extended periods of drought, volcanoes, and warming in the Mediterranean, Europe and Asia. These ultra-high-resolution records revealed stronger Saharan…

The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University, Diane Paulus, Terrie and Bradley Bloom artistic director, and Diane Borger, executive producer have announced its partnership with the Guthrie Theater and its artistic director, Joseph Haj, to co-commission and co-develop a new play cycle by actor, director, and playwright Mark Rylance and classical pianist and actor…

A dozen seniors in the East Asian Studies concentration gathered recently to present their thesis research to an audience of faculty, staff, and fellow students. Limited to 10 minutes apiece, these presentations challenged thesis writers to condense complex topics and convey their research findings to an audience with diverse backgrounds. Diversity was a key feature…

As ride–sharing, scooter rentals, and all manner of “micromobility” solutions have taken root in cities across the country, local government leaders are struggling with how to balance expanded mobility options against rising levels of congestion, curb space management, and air–quality concerns.  With support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Stephen Goldsmith, the Daniel Paul Professor of the Practice of Government at Harvard Kennedy School…

A team headed by Rowland Institute fellow Katja Taute, and the AMOLF Institute’s Sander Tans and Tom Shimizu have discovered a new mechanism that explains coexistence of bacterial species. In their Feb. 19 paper published in Nature, they describe how the competition between “movers” and “growers” leads to a balance in which both types can…