Research

The Soft Robotics Toolkit offers downloadable, open-source plans, how-to videos, and case studies to help users design, fabricate, model, characterize, and control soft robotic devices.

Build your own bot

Soft Robotics Toolkit features everything a robot-maker needs

Science|

DateSeptember 19, 2014June 20, 2018

Harvard researchers have engineered a quantum material called a correlated oxide to perform comparably with the best silicon transistors. In future work the researchers will investigate the device’s switching dynamics and power dissipation. In the meantime, they noted, this advance represents an important proof of concept.

Have silicon switches met their match?

New transistor achieves ‘colossal’ results with quantum material

Science|

DateSeptember 16, 2014March 21, 2019

“Getting a robot to assemble itself autonomously and actually perform a function has been a milestone we’ve been chasing for many years,” said Robert J. Wood, Charles River Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and a core faculty member at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard.

Robot folds up, walks away

Harvard, MIT project shows potential for sophisticated machines that build themselves

Science|

DateAugust 7, 2014

“We’re sharing Harvard research with everybody with an Internet connection,” said Peter Suber, director of the Harvard’s Office for Scholarly Communication, which administers Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard, or DASH — the free and open repository for peer-reviewed literature written by Harvard faculty.

Scholarly access to all

Harvard digital repository draws millions of readers, ranging from the academic community to the global public

Science|

DateJuly 15, 2014May 6, 2019

"The Art of American Advertising, 1865-1910” includes novelty items like this pull-string trade card for Nelson Morris & Co. sugar-cured hams from the Bates Trade Card Collection (photo 1); and babies angle for a meal in this Wells, Richardson & Co. trade card for Lactated Food (photo 2).

Early experiments in catching the eye

Exhibit illuminates rise of advertising in post-Civil War U.S.

Arts|

DateJuly 7, 2014

Sized for pocket carry, this 17th-century French arbitration treatise — including instructional illustrations — was bound with manuals for treating illnesses and injuries. The handmade compilation suggests that dual roles in medicine and law were common in the countryside, far from formal courts or medical care.

Old Harvard, old France, old crime

Exhibit spanning centuries of law combines detailed scholarship with a touch of scandal

World|

DateJune 18, 2014July 25, 2019

Mammary epithelial tissue structures undergo characteristic changes as tumors progress from benign to invasive. These human breast cancer tissue samples illustrate the difference. The scale bar is 50 microns.

A malignant ‘switch’ in breast cancer

Engineers and biologists explain how tissue stiffness can contribute to invasive carcinoma

Health|

DateJune 16, 2014

Postdoctoral researcher Michael Weekes (left), an expert in infectious disease, worked with Steven Gygi, professor of cell biology at Harvard Medical School, using a mass spectrometer (background) to explore how cytomegalovirus, or CMV, invades the immune system. CMV contains about 200 genes as opposed to HIV’s 18, making it one of the most widespread pathogens.

Unmasking a viral invader

Study reveals the dynamics of a pervasive pathogen that most people have for life

Health|

DateJune 5, 2014July 24, 2019

Bernardo Lemos (photo 1), assistant professor of environmental epigenetics, was one of four winners of the inaugural Star Family Challenge for Promising Scientific Research. “We want to fund research which would not otherwise be funded, research that would be new, and that would have large potential impact,” said Professor Douglas Melton (photo 2) during his opening remarks at the awards presentation (photo 3).

Support on the cutting edge

Star Family Challenge awards back big ideas in science

News|

DateMay 28, 2014April 16, 2019

Center on the Developing Child’s 2014-15 Julius B. Richmond Fellows announced

News +|

DateMay 2, 2014July 24, 2019

"The humanitarian community worldwide is deeply split on how best to respond to the challenges with which we are confronted," said International Committee of the Red Cross President Peter Maurer.

Relief and research

Red Cross leader comes to Harvard with hopes of collaboration

World|

DateApril 25, 2014

Keynote speaker and Digital Public Library of America Executive Director Dan Cohen said that the digital age is moving libraries from static repositories to dynamic platforms — “modern discovery systems,” he said, that are open, interoperable, international, and poised to absorb the “mass digitization” the future will bring.

Books meet bytes

At Radcliffe, thoughts on the future of digital library collections

Science|

DateApril 4, 2014April 12, 2019

Visitors lined up to see Horizon House (photo 1) last November in remote Taiki-cho, Japan, just after this sustainable rural retreat was completed. The computer simulation Zero-House shows the transformation from an ordinary house in suburban France (photo 2) to a surplus-energy dwelling (photo 3).

Less energy, more creativity

GSD students design two sustainable houses, win awards for their work

Science|

DateMarch 31, 2014May 21, 2019

A chest X-ray of a child whose lungs are being damaged by tuberculosis. Researchers now estimate that approximately 1 million children contract TB annually.

New childhood TB cases double earlier estimates

Harvard researchers now estimate approximately 1 million a year

Health|

DateMarch 23, 2014May 2, 2019

While in Japan to receive an award for their Tohuka Recovery entry, "Here Today, Here Tomorrow," Harvard Graduate School of Design students Kristen Hunter (from left), Trevor Johnson, Maria Arrasate, and Karina Gilbert went to the Tohoku Regional Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, which was the command center during the March 2011 disaster.

Out of disaster, a new design

Harvard team wins contest for fresh ideas to speed recovery from Japanese quake, tsunami

Science|

DateFebruary 24, 2014July 26, 2019

“The Hanging Gardens at Villa I Tatti” is among many Steve Ziger watercolors illustrating the oral history site (photo 1). Bernard Berenson, in 1903, stands in front of a favorite painting (photo 2). The Berenson library was a coveted refuge for visitors (photo 3).

Bernard Berenson, recalled

Oral history project at Villa I Tatti interviews last links to art historian who donated Renaissance center

Arts|

DateFebruary 14, 2014March 12, 2019

Inspired by termites’ resilience and collective intelligence, a team of computer scientists and engineers has created an autonomous robotic construction crew. The system needs no supervisor, just simple robots that cooperate. Courtesy of SEAS/Wyss

Robots to the rescue

This automated construction crew, inspired by termite colonies, needs no foreman

Science|

DateFebruary 13, 2014May 2, 2019

Bringing reusable bags when grocery shopping has its upside, notes a Harvard Business School study, but there's also a downside. While shoppers are more likely to purchase organic and “green” goods, they are also more likely to reward themselves with chips, cookies, and ice cream.

A decidedly mixed bag

When food shoppers bring their own sacks, their purchases are both more and less healthy, study says

Science|

DateFebruary 11, 2014April 17, 2019

Cultivar of bloodtwig dogwood (photo 1) highlights its color at the Arnold Arboretum, where despite winter's snow, pruning, research, and planning continue to move ahead. A rosaceae tree marks Willow Path (photo 2), while horticultural technologist Susanne Pfeiffer focuses on trimming the viburnums (photo 3).

At the Arboretum, an unquiet winter

Faculty and staff stay busy with research, maintenance

Health|

DateFebruary 10, 2014

A view of the cave in Siberia where a scientist found the Neanderthal whose DNA was analyzed in the current study (photo 1). With that evidence, Harvard Medical School Professor David Reich (photo 2) and his research team have begun to unravel the impact of the inherited DNA. The team also measured how Neanderthal DNA present in human genomes today affects keratin production and disease risk.

Neanderthals’ DNA legacy linked to modern ailments

Humans inherited variants affecting disease risk, infertility, skin and hair characteristics

Health|

DateJanuary 29, 2014March 21, 2019

Researchers have demonstrated that any mature adult cell has the potential to turn into the equivalent of an embryonic stem cell. “It may not be necessary to create an embryo to acquire embryonic stem cells," explained senior author Charles Vacanti, who is the Vandam/Covino Professor of Anaesthesia at Harvard Medical School.

Researchers create embryonic stem cells without embryo

Discovery of a novel reprogramming method of adult cells could shift stem cell research

Health|

DateJanuary 29, 2014April 16, 2019

The cuttlefish, known as the "chameleon of the sea," can rapidly alter both the color and pattern of its skin. Researchers at Harvard and MBL now understand the biology and physics behind this process.

In search of nature’s camouflage

Cuttlefish, ‘chameleon of the sea,’ holds clues for products that allow humans to blend in

Health|

DateJanuary 28, 2014April 8, 2019

During a daylong presentation of GSD students' theses, Sara Tavakoli's 35-minute vampire movie took perhaps the biggest risk (photo 1), with critics questioning its relationship to architecture. Tian Ren offered a more traditional approach with an architectural scheme to refurbish a former Shanghai slaughterhouse (photo 2). “Thesis review is often a stressful time,” said Caroline James (photo 3), “but I was determined to enjoy the process.”

Architectural fever dreams

During day of GSD thesis presentations, student creativity is the watchword

Science|

DateJanuary 28, 2014

Researchers have found that early stage MS patients who had adequate levels of vitamin D had a 57 percent lower rate of new brain lesions, a 57 percent lower relapse rate, and a 25 percent lower yearly increase in lesion volume than those with lower levels of vitamin D.

Vitamin D could slow MS progression

Boost in D may also reduce severity for those in early stages

Health|

DateJanuary 20, 2014

The first two images (photo 1) show subcutaneous fat from mice that were exposed to cold. The fat was “browned” by beige fat cells containing PRDM16. In the second set of slides (photo 2), the mice exposed to cold did not have browning of their subcutaneous fat due to the of lack of PRDM16.

‘Beige’ cells key to healthy fat

Could be what makes subcutaneous obesity relatively healthy

Health|

DateJanuary 16, 2014July 26, 2019

The waterproof, light-activated glue developed by Harvard-affiliated researchers and researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology can successfully secure biodegradable patches to seal holes in a beating heart.

Bio-inspired glue keeps hearts securely sealed

Adhesive may improve the way surgeons treat congenital heart defects and other heart problems

Health|

DateJanuary 8, 2014March 20, 2019

A metal-free flow battery that relies on the electrochemistry of naturally abundant, inexpensive, small organic (carbon-based) molecules was designed, built, and tested in the laboratory of SEAS Professor Michael J. Aziz (pictured).

Battery offers renewable energy breakthrough

Harvard technology could economically store energy for use when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine

Science|

DateJanuary 8, 2014April 1, 2019

Before MGH changed its cafeteria to conform to "traffic light" labels and product placement, sugar-sweetened soft drinks and juices were mixed together with diet beverages and low-fat dairy items (left). After the implementation (right), water, diet beverages, and other healthy choices are now placed at or above eye level (dotted line), while less healthy items are below.

Color-coded labels, healthier food

Marking such items and displaying them better prompts cafeteria diners to make more wholesome long-term choices

Health|

DateJanuary 7, 2014

Alessandro Demaio, a Harvard Global Equity Initiative fellow, says the typical person suffering a noncommunicable disease today is a woman under 70, living in poverty, most likely in Asia. To raise awareness of this, Demaio and others started started a global nonprofit named NCDFREE.

Fighting disease on a global scale

Fellow’s nonprofit aims to raise awareness, spur local leadership

Health|

DateJanuary 7, 2014March 18, 2019

“This gift provides a momentous opportunity for the entire Harvard Medical School community to glean new insights into the basic biology of cancer, as well as to accelerate the translation of basic research to improve patient outcomes,” said Dean Jeffrey S. Flier of the $90 million gift.

Ludwig Cancer Research awards HMS $90M

Gift is a share of $540 million divided among six academic institutions, including MIT

Health|

DateJanuary 6, 2014March 19, 2019

Page 3 of 34

Soft Robotics Toolkit features everything a robot-maker needs

New transistor achieves ‘colossal’ results with quantum material

Harvard, MIT project shows potential for sophisticated machines that build themselves

Harvard digital repository draws millions of readers, ranging from the academic community to the global public

Exhibit illuminates rise of advertising in post-Civil War U.S.

Exhibit spanning centuries of law combines detailed scholarship with a touch of scandal

Engineers and biologists explain how tissue stiffness can contribute to invasive carcinoma

Study reveals the dynamics of a pervasive pathogen that most people have for life

Star Family Challenge awards back big ideas in science

Red Cross leader comes to Harvard with hopes of collaboration

At Radcliffe, thoughts on the future of digital library collections

GSD students design two sustainable houses, win awards for their work

Harvard researchers now estimate approximately 1 million a year

Harvard team wins contest for fresh ideas to speed recovery from Japanese quake, tsunami

Oral history project at Villa I Tatti interviews last links to art historian who donated Renaissance center

This automated construction crew, inspired by termite colonies, needs no foreman

When food shoppers bring their own sacks, their purchases are both more and less healthy, study says

Faculty and staff stay busy with research, maintenance

Humans inherited variants affecting disease risk, infertility, skin and hair characteristics

Discovery of a novel reprogramming method of adult cells could shift stem cell research

Cuttlefish, ‘chameleon of the sea,’ holds clues for products that allow humans to blend in

During day of GSD thesis presentations, student creativity is the watchword

Boost in D may also reduce severity for those in early stages

Could be what makes subcutaneous obesity relatively healthy

Adhesive may improve the way surgeons treat congenital heart defects and other heart problems

Harvard technology could economically store energy for use when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine

Marking such items and displaying them better prompts cafeteria diners to make more wholesome long-term choices

Fellow’s nonprofit aims to raise awareness, spur local leadership

Gift is a share of $540 million divided among six academic institutions, including MIT

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