Tag: National Science Foundation

  • Health

    Editing the genome

    Treating the chromosome as both an editable and an evolvable template, researchers have demonstrated methods to rewrite a cell’s genome through powerful new tools for biotechnology, energy, and agriculture.

  • Health

    A living laser

    In a new report, Harvard researchers Malte Gather and Seok-Hyun Yun describe how a single cell genetically engineered to express green fluorescent protein can be used to amplify the light particles called photons into nanosecond-long pulses of laser light.

  • Health

    Speeding up biomolecular evolution

    Scientists at Harvard University have harnessed the prowess of fast-replicating bacterial viruses, also known as phages, to accelerate the evolution of biomolecules in the laboratory.

  • Health

    A fate in the stars

    Astronomy Professor David Charbonneau is as enthusiastic about explaining his field to students as he is about researching faraway planets.

  • Health

    Designing gene

    Taking advantage of the simple color pattern of deer mice, Harvard researchers showed that small changes in the activity of a single pigmentation gene in embryos generate big differences in adult color pattern.

  • Science & Tech

    It’s the ‘lab-on-a-chip’ model

    With little more than a conventional photocopier and transparency film, anyone can build a functional microfluidic chip.

  • Health

    The face looks familiar

    People’s ability to recognize and remember faces peaks at ages 30 to 34, about a decade later than most other mental abilities, a new study says.

  • Health

    Female chimps treat sticks as dolls

    Researchers at Harvard University and Bates College say female chimpanzees appear to treat sticks as dolls, carrying them around until they have offspring of their own. Young males engage in such behavior much less frequently.

  • Health

    Obesity rate will reach at least 42%

    Researchers at Harvard University say America’s obesity epidemic won’t plateau until at least 42 percent of adults are obese, an estimate derived by applying mathematical modeling to 40 years of Framingham Heart Study data.

  • Science & Tech

    Race plays minor role in Facebook friendships

    Race may not be as important as previously thought in determining who befriends whom, suggests a study of Facebook habits by sociologists from Harvard and UCLA.

  • Health

    It all adds up

    New mathematical modeling by scientists from Harvard and other institutions reinforces the view of cancer as a complex culmination of many mutations.

  • Health

    What’s right for me?

    In a new study, Harvard scientists find that humans can make difficult moral decisions using the same brain circuits as those used on more mundane choices such as money or food.

  • Health

    In praise of unwanted termites

    The star of Africa’s savanna ecosystems may be the lowly insect. Its regularly spaced mounds prove a key to maintaining ecological function in the area.

  • Science & Tech

    Understanding tiny reactions

    Scientists believe that tiny carbon nanotubes may also create something like atomic-scale black holes.

  • Science & Tech

    Digging deep into diamonds

    Researchers at Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences find that a diamond nanowire device could lead to a new class of diamond nanomaterials suitable for quantum cryptography, quantum computing, and magnetic field imaging.

  • Campus & Community

    CfA shows schoolchildren the stars

    The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics is giving middle school children in three Massachusetts towns a taste of astronomy, using robotic telescopes they control themselves to fuel their interest in careers in science, technology, engineering, and math.

  • Nation & World

    Stimulus funds provide research boost

    The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has helped stimulate research across the University, laying the foundation for future economic growth through innovation.