Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

From YouTube to your school

Research shows online STEM demonstrations can be as effective as classroom teaching

Science|

DateFebruary 28, 2020February 28, 2020

two students looking at notebook together

Lessons in learning

Study shows students in ‘active learning’ classrooms learn more than they think

Science|

DateSeptember 4, 2019September 5, 2019

Amyloid plaques on axons of neurons affected by Alzheimer's

Untangling the connection

Insulin signaling failures in the brain linked to Alzheimer’s disease

Health|

DateMarch 15, 2019July 16, 2019

Changing temperatures boost U.S. corn yield — for now

Research links warming to localized cooling

Science|

DateNovember 6, 2018November 8, 2018

Problem-solving techniques take on new twist

For best solutions, intermittent collaboration provides the right formula

Business|

DateAugust 15, 2018August 30, 2018

The Amazon as engine of diverse life

Study says rainforests gave birth to world’s most varied tropical region

Science|

DateJuly 23, 2018

Keeping the genetic code clean

A CRISPR/Cas9 mutation prevention system could help prevent and fight disease in the future

Health|

DateMarch 27, 2018March 28, 2018

A Medical School study found that a guardian gene, which protects against Type 1 diabetes and other autoimmune diseases, exerts its pancreas-shielding effects by altering the gut microbiota.

Role of gut bacteria in averting Type 1 diabetes

Study reveals how specific gene and intestinal bacteria work together

Health|

DateAugust 31, 2017July 8, 2019

When pedestrians passed an affluent-looking white person on the street, 14 percent were willing to support the "millionaire's tax," but after seeing a poor-looking white person, that support fell to 6 percent, according to Melissa Sands.

Inequality’s influence

Study shows that exposure to inequality reduces support for ‘millionaire’s tax’

Science|

DateJune 27, 2017June 28, 2017

Mitigating the risk of geoengineering

Aerosols could cool the planet without ozone damage

Science|

DateDecember 12, 2016July 3, 2019

Human intestinal epithelial cells cultured in the Wyss Institute’s human-gut-on-a-chip form differentiated intestinal villi when cultured in the presence of lifelike fluid flow and rhythmic, peristalsis-like motions. Here the villi are visible using a traditional microscope (left) and a confocal microscope (right). Fluorescent antibodies stain the nuclei blue and their specialized membranes, known as apical brush borders, green.

Human-gut-on-a-chip model offers hope for IBD sufferers

Wyss Institute replicates gut’s microenvironment in the lab, allowing researchers new access

Health|

DateDecember 15, 2015

“One of the big mysteries of human cognition is how the brain takes ideas and puts them together in new ways to form new thoughts,” said postdoctoral fellow Steven Frankland.

How the brain builds new thoughts

New study reveals clues to how thoughts take shape

Science|

DateOctober 5, 2015

Thermal images superposed on a photograph of a termite mound.

How termites ventilate

Ingenious design in insect mounds, researchers find

Health|

DateSeptember 3, 2015February 12, 2018

"Certain flame behaviors may warn when eruptive transitions are likely to occur," said postdoc fellow Jerome Fox. "In a forest fire, these behaviors could warn firefighters to keep their distance.”

When flames attack

Study may help to predict forest fires’ sudden, sometimes deadly switch from slow to fast moving

Science|

DateApril 2, 2015

An external magnet can be used to control the orientation of the screw head in the maglev device. “What we’ve demonstrated in this paper is a noncontact method for manipulating objects,” said Anand Bala Subramaniam, a postdoctoral fellow in chemistry and chemical biology.

Magnetic attraction

System that prompts objects to ‘float’ in suspension could prove boon to manufacturing with fragile materials

Science|

DateSeptember 2, 2014

Constantin Rezlescu, a postdoctoral fellow in psychology, co-authored a study that "provides indirect evidence that there may be some specific mechanism for processing faces."

A face is not a fish

Research turns up clues to process behind recognition

Health|

DateMarch 25, 2014

The late Farish Jenkins (pictured), who was the Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology and longtime curator of vertebrate paleontology at Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology, was part of the team that has found evidence that the evolution of hind limbs in tetrapods began in the oceans, earlier than scientists initially believed.

Fin to limb

Fossil research yields key clues to ocean-to-land evolution

Health|

DateJanuary 14, 2014July 3, 2019

Understanding how malaria parasites move may one day help scientists develop new strategies for combating the disease by halting its ability to reproduce.

Malaria in 3-D

Advanced imaging aids study of cell movement

Health|

DateNovember 21, 2013

“This study definitely offers suggestive evidence, certainly in a predictive sense, that teacher quality matters,” said Gary Chamberlain, the Louis Berkman Professor of Economics.

The teaching launch

Quality middle school instructors can help students thrive in college and the workplace, study suggests

Science|

DateOctober 15, 2013

In a study by Harvard graduate Chia-Jung Tsay (above), nearly all participants — including highly trained musicians — were better able to identify the winners of classical music competitions by watching silent video clips than by listening to audio recordings. "In this case," says Tsay, "it suggests that the visual trumps the audio, even in a setting where audio information should matter much more.”

The look of music

Researcher tests role of visual information in assessing performance

Science|

DateAugust 19, 2013

Each leaf of the northern pitcher plant can be used as a replicate microecosystem with which to explore tipping points, regime shifts, and alternative states.

Pitcher plants provide tipping point

Harvard Forest researchers use them to identify signs of trouble in lakes

Science|

DateApril 22, 2013

Ironically, while online classes have exploded in popularity in the past few years, there remains “shockingly little” hard scientific data about how students learn in the virtual classroom, said
Harvard Psychology Professor Daniel Schacter (left). Schacter and postdoctoral fellow Karl Szpunar's research on effective online learning will be published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Online learning: It’s different

Varying lectures with tests improves attention, note-taking, and retention

Science|

DateApril 3, 2013April 17, 2019

In an uncertain world, "it actually becomes optimal to be fair, and natural selection favored fairness," said David Rand, a postdoctoral fellow in psychology who studied fairness with Martin Nowak and Corina Tarnita.

When fairness prevails

Harvard research shows how uncertainty affects behavior

Science|

DateJanuary 30, 2013April 15, 2019

A sample of the hundreds of dental images collected during the 21-month photographic study.

Watching teeth grow

Up-close research challenges connection between molar development, weaning in chimps

Health|

DateJanuary 28, 2013April 12, 2019

Inspired by a jellyfish’s long, sticky tentacles that are used to capture minuscule food flowing in the water, researchers have created a chip that uses a 3-D DNA network that can detect, bind, and capture certain molecules. “Our device has the potential to catch these cells in the act with its ‘tentacles’ before they may seed a new tumor in a distant organ,” says Harvard Medical School Associate Professor of Medicine Jeffrey Karp.

Catch and release

Marine animals inspire device that can capture rare cancer cells

Science|

DateNovember 14, 2012

Breast cancer specimens reveal that the LOX gene plays an underlying role in promoting metastasis. “We don’t have a lot of therapies that can target breast cancer once it has metastasized, particularly once cancer cells have lodged in the bone,” says senior author Antoine Karnoub, an assistant professor of pathology at Harvard Medical School.

Noncancerous cells carry weight

Discovery reveals important clues to cancer metastasis

Health|

DateOctober 16, 2012

Harvard Kennedy School Professor Jennifer Lerner (left) and Gary Sherman, a postdoctoral fellow in the Decision Science Lab, have released findings that indicate that leaders actually have lower stress levels than lower-ranking individuals. “Our results indicate that the top dog has less stress as measured by baseline cortisol. That is quite surprising to some people,”
said Lerner.

Managing just fine

HKS stress study finds feelings of control put leaders at ease

Science|

DateSeptember 24, 2012

Greater Antillean bullfinches use their deep and wide beaks to crush seeds and hard fruits. Harvard researchers have found that the molecular signals that produce a range of beak shapes in birds show even more variation than is apparent on the surface.

Pecking order

In birds’ development, researchers find diversity by the peck

Health|

DateSeptember 24, 2012May 31, 2019

The SLIPS technology for preventing biofilm formation as compared with a Teflon-coated surface.

Giving slime the slip

New coating prevents 99% of harmful bacteria from forming on surfaces

Health|

DateJuly 31, 2012July 11, 2019

Professor Jerry Mitrovica (left) worked with grad students Eric Morrow and Carling Hay on a method for determining sites of glacial melting.

Straight to the source

‘Sea level fingerprints’ suggest glacial melting sites

Science|

DateMay 31, 2012February 28, 2019

Page 1 of 2

Research shows online STEM demonstrations can be as effective as classroom teaching

Study shows students in ‘active learning’ classrooms learn more than they think

Insulin signaling failures in the brain linked to Alzheimer’s disease

Research links warming to localized cooling

For best solutions, intermittent collaboration provides the right formula

Study says rainforests gave birth to world’s most varied tropical region

A CRISPR/Cas9 mutation prevention system could help prevent and fight disease in the future

Study reveals how specific gene and intestinal bacteria work together

Study shows that exposure to inequality reduces support for ‘millionaire’s tax’

Aerosols could cool the planet without ozone damage

Wyss Institute replicates gut’s microenvironment in the lab, allowing researchers new access

New study reveals clues to how thoughts take shape

Ingenious design in insect mounds, researchers find

Study may help to predict forest fires’ sudden, sometimes deadly switch from slow to fast moving

System that prompts objects to ‘float’ in suspension could prove boon to manufacturing with fragile materials

Research turns up clues to process behind recognition

Fossil research yields key clues to ocean-to-land evolution

Advanced imaging aids study of cell movement

Quality middle school instructors can help students thrive in college and the workplace, study suggests

Researcher tests role of visual information in assessing performance

Harvard Forest researchers use them to identify signs of trouble in lakes

Varying lectures with tests improves attention, note-taking, and retention

Harvard research shows how uncertainty affects behavior

Up-close research challenges connection between molar development, weaning in chimps

Marine animals inspire device that can capture rare cancer cells

Discovery reveals important clues to cancer metastasis

HKS stress study finds feelings of control put leaders at ease

In birds’ development, researchers find diversity by the peck

New coating prevents 99% of harmful bacteria from forming on surfaces

‘Sea level fingerprints’ suggest glacial melting sites

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