Featured series 
Tag: Peter Reuell
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Nation & World
Dealing with disaster
As part of the class “GeoSciFi Movies: Real vs. Fiction,” students took part in a role-playing game that had them play the parts of the government and citizens of the island of Montserrat, as well as a group of scientists monitoring the island’s volcano.
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Nation & World
Following conflict, a turn to the divine
Working with a team of international researchers, Harvard scientists gathered survey data in several locations around the globe and found that, following the trauma of seeing a friend or loved one killed or injured during conflict, many became more religious.
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Nation & World
Seeing things in a different light
Harvard researchers are using a chemical process known as triplet fusion upconversion to transform near-infrared photons into high-energy photons. The high-energy photons could be used in a huge range of applications, including a new type of precisely targeted chemotherapy, in which low-energy infrared lasers that penetrate deep into the body could be used to transform…
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Nation & World
Making sense of how the blind ‘see’ color
A new Harvard study suggests that although the congenitally blind experience abstract visual phenomena such as rainbows and color differently, they still share with the sighted a common understanding of them.
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Nation & World
Brainy birds
A new study shows that African grey parrots can perform some cognitive tasks at levels beyond those of 5-year-old humans. The results not only suggest that humans aren’t the only species capable of making complex inferences, but also point to flaws in a widely used test of animal intelligence.
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Nation & World
Focusing on the fovea
Researchers have created the first cellular atlas of the primate retina and discovered that, while the fovea and peripheral retina share most of the same cell types, the cells are in different proportions, and show different gene expression patterns.
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Nation & World
The impact of ocean acidification
In a first-of-its-kind study, findings suggest that continued ocean warming and acidification could impact everything from how fish move to how they eat.
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Nation & World
And now, land may be sinking
A new study, which used everything from tide gauges to GPS data to paint the most accurate picture ever of sea-level rise along the East Coast of the U.S., is suggesting that in addition to rising seas, communities along the coast may also have to contend with the land sinking.
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Nation & World
Solving colibactin’s code
In an effort to understand how colibactin, a compound produced by certain strains of E. coli, may be connected to the development of colorectal cancer, Harvard researchers are exploring how the compound damages DNA to produce DNA adducts.
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Nation & World
Rapid evolution, illustrated
A study in which mice were released into outdoor enclosures to track how light- and dark-colored specimens survived confirms that mice survive better in similarly colored habitats, providing insights into evolution.
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Nation & World
Microbial manufacturing
Emily Balskus and a team of researchers untangled how soil bacteria are able to manufacture streptozotocin, an antibiotic and anti-cancer compound.
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Nation & World
Spending dips on health care for the Medicare elderly
Health care spending among the Medicare population age 65 and older has slowed dramatically since 2005, and as much as half of that reduction can be attributed to reduced spending on cardiovascular disease, a new Harvard study has found.
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Nation & World
Looking at lunglessness
A recent study shows that a gene that produces surfactant protein c — a key protein for lung function — is expressed in the skin and mouths of lungless salamanders, suggesting it also plays an important role for cutaneous respiration.
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Nation & World
Researcher finds Coke’s fingerprints on health policy in China
Coca-Cola worked through the Chinese branch of a U.S.-based nonprofit to influence anti-obesity measures in China, according to new research by Harvard Professor Susan Greenhalgh.
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Nation & World
The mystery of the medicine man
A paper published earlier this year argues that shamanism develops as specialists compete to provide magical services to people in their communities, and the outcome is a set of traditions that hacks people’s psychological biases to convince them that they can control the uncertain.
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Nation & World
Replacing hard parts in soft robots
Harvard scientists have created a soft valve that could replace “hard” valves and lead to the creation of entirely soft robots. The valve’s structure can also be used to produce unique, oscillatory behavior.
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Nation & World
New Marshall scholars gaze ahead
Four Harvard seniors, among the students selected this week as Marshall scholars, ponder their future. Their scholarships pay for two years of advanced study at a college or university of their choice in the United Kingdom.
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Nation & World
Reading teeth
By examining the teeth of Neanderthal infants, a team of researchers was able to glean insight into nursing and weaning behavior as well as winter and summer cycles. The study even found evidence that the Neanderthals had been exposed to lead — the earliest such exposure ever recorded in any human ancestor.
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Nation & World
How mammals grew diverse
Using a detailed, musculoskeletal model of an echidna forelimb, Harvard scientists are not only shedding light on how the little-studied echidna’s forelimbs work, but also opening a window into understanding how extinct mammals might have used those limbs.
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Nation & World
Critical collections
Harvard researchers contribute to the preservation of museum specimens, marking the collections’ importance in a special journal released Nov. 19.
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Nation & World
Something weird this way comes
A paper by Harvard researchers wonders whether the interstellar object known as “‘Oumuamua” is a visitor from an alien civilization.
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Nation & World
Fish teeth mark periods of evolution
Based on close examination of thousands of fossilized fish teeth, a Harvard researcher found that, while the asteroid impact that killed off the dinosaurs did lead to the extinction of some fish species, it also set the stage for two periods of rapid evolution among marine life.
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Nation & World
Bees on the brink
Using an innovative robotic platform to observe bees’ behavior, Harvard researchers showed that, following exposure to a commonly used class of pesticides, bees spent less time nursing larvae and were less social than other bees.
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Nation & World
Turning tide on greenhouse gases
Emissions from power plants and heavy industry, rather than spewing into the atmosphere, could be captured and chemically transformed from greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide into industrial fuels or chemicals thanks to a system developed by Harvard researchers.
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Nation & World
Seeing cell membranes in new light
Harvard’s Adam Cohen is the lead author of a new study that challenges conventional theories about the fluid nature of cell membranes and how they react to tension.
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Nation & World
Correcting a lack of cooperation
While some social networks have been shown to intrinsically lead to cooperation, others been shown to not only lead to a breakdown in cooperation, but produce outright spite.
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Nation & World
Cellular atlas of brain region leads to discoveries
Harvard scientists have created a first-of-its-kind cellular atlas of an important region in the brains of mice. Using a cutting-edge imaging technology, researchers pinpointed where the cells were located and their various functions.
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Nation & World
Seven recognized for high-risk, high-reward research
Seven Harvard scientists are among the 89 researchers selected to receive grants through the National Institutes of Health’s High-Risk, High-Reward Research program, which funds innovative research designed to address major challenges in biomedical science.
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Nation & World
Electrons, up really close
Working in a basement lab at Harvard, a group of researchers led by John Doyle, the Henry B. Silsbee Professor of Physics, have been part of a team making the most precise measurement of the shape of the field around an electron. The results suggest that some theories for what lies beyond the standard model…
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Nation & World
A measure of success for groundwater storage
A recent study used seismic noise to measure the size and water levels in underground aquifers, focusing on California’s San Gabriel Valley aquifer, which had to meet the demands of 1 million people during a five-year drought.
