Science
Paleoanthropologist Louise Leakey Talks Turkana Basin Discoveries at Peabody Museum
Paleoanthropologist Louise Leakey, the granddaughter of Mary and Louis Leakey, who first determined that early humans evolved in Africa, presented a history of her family’s research in north Kenya at the Peabody Museum on Thursday.
Harvard Researchers Develop AI-Driven Framework To Study Social Interactions, A Step Forward for Autism Research
Harvard researchers have developed a new artificial intelligence-driven framework to track and analyze how rats interact in social environments, offering a new tool for studying autism and other disorders.
From the Seafloor to Outer Space: Marine Microbiology in the Girguis Lab
Girguis, a professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard, specializes in biochemistry and ecological physiology. His work focuses on the deep sea, studying the “linkages” between marine organisms and their environment, with implications for everything from space exploration to human health.
Human Evolutionary Biology Concentration Will Be Renamed This Summer
Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences has officially voted to change the name of the Human Evolutionary Biology concentration during a meeting on April 1. Effective as of July 1, 2025 — when the academic year rolls over — the concentration will now be known as Human Biology, Behavior, and Evolution.
Fears Over Safety of Energy Facility in Brighton Will Lead City to Adopt New Regulations
Boston’s first Battery Energy Storage System, proposed for construction in Brighton at 35 Electric Ave., has generated a wave of resident backlash to underdeveloped regulation of BESS facilities, which state officials say are necessary to achieve carbon neutrality.
Biogen to Move Global Headquarters to Kendall Commons in 2028
Cambridge-based biotechnology company Biogen Inc. announced Monday that it will move its global headquarters to a new building in Kendall Square in 2028, consolidating its various branches and operations into a single “innovation hub” while drawing the company still closer to nearby MIT.
HMS Researchers Discover Key Protein in Activating Autoimmune Responses
Harvard Medical School scientists have identified a key protein in the human immune system that drives inflammatory and autoimmune conditions when it turns against the body.
Harvard Professor Paola Arlotta Receives Momentum Award from the International Society of Stem Cell Research
Harvard Professor and Broad Institute member Paola Arlotta received the Momentum Award from the International Society of Stem Cell Research, a nonprofit organization committed to promoting human health through “excellence in stem cell research,” for her work on neurological diseases and stem cell-derived brain organoids.
Researchers Discover Supermassive Black Hole in Neighboring Galaxy
A team of Harvard astrophysicists discovered a supermassive black hole at the center of the Large Magellanic Cloud, the Milky Way’s closest galactic neighbor.
‘Science on Display:’ First Phase of Teaching Lab Renovations Completed in Science Center
Harvard completed the first phase of Science Center Teaching Lab renovations in January, refreshing existing lab spaces with glass walls and introducing collaboration spaces on the first and second floors of the building.
Harvard Study Identifies Socializing as a ‘Survival Need’ in Mice
Researchers in the Molecular and Cellular Biology Department published a study last week that found a brain drive for social interactions in mice, similar in neural organization to drives for hunger and thirst.
NIH Communications Freeze Leaves Longwood Affiliates Out in the Cold
Researchers at Harvard’s Longwood medical campus contended with canceled talks and blocked international collaboration as White House officials issued a stream of restrictions on federal funding and communication.
15 Harvard Affiliates Call on Senate to Deny RFK Jr. Nomination for Health Secretary
Fifteen Harvard-affiliated Nobel Laureates signed an open letter to the United States Senate opposing the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ’76 as Secretary of Health and Human Services on Monday night.
Harvard Biology Lecturer Andrew Berry Sends Up Yale at Annual Bulldog Roast
At his annual ‘Bulldog Roast’ on Thursday before the 140th Harvard-Yale game, Harvard Organismic and Evolutionary Biology lecturer Andrew J. Berry poked fun at Yale University’s alumni, mascot, and residential life.
Rhinos Get a Renovation: Construction Finishes at the Biological Laboratories
Harvard is concluding renovations to the first floor of its Biological Laboratories, which will provide a permanent home for Molecular and Cellular Biology faculty.
HMS Study Reveals How Mutation Can Accelerate Breast Cancer Progression
A new study led by Harvard Medical School researchers shed new light on how even a single defective copy of the tumor-suppressor BRCA1 gene can increase patients’ risk of developing breast cancer.
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt Says U.S. Trails China in AI Development
Former Google CEO Eric E. Schmidt said the U.S. is falling behind China in the race to develop more powerful artificial intelligence at a Harvard Institute of Politics forum on Monday.
HMS Study Suggests New Narratives for Pompeii Victims
New DNA analysis challenges existing hypotheses about the identities and relationships of victims found in Pompeii after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 C.E., per a study published in Current Biology on Nov. 7.
Pesticide Consumption May be Linked to Male Infertility, Harvard Study Suggests
A study conducted by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health demonstrated that high intake of pesticide residue from fruits and vegetables may reduce fertility in men.
HMS Study Sheds Light on Link Between Heart Condition and Cancer Treatment
A new study out of Harvard Medical School is opening the door for cancer patients with a rare but dangerous heart condition to continue immunotherapy treatment for the first time.
Harvard Biology Professors Win International Awards for Neuroscience Research
Two Molecular and Cellular Biology professors, Takao K. Hensch ’88 and Catherine Dulac, received prestigious international awards this fall for their neuroscience research.
Harvard, UMiami Researchers Debunk Ecuador Mass Extinction Event in New Study
Scientists debunked a widely accepted mass extinction of 90 plant species in Ecuador’s Centinela cloud forests in the 1980s, per an October research paper published in Nature Plants.
Harvard Study Suggests Vitamin D Has No Effect on Cardiovascular Health
Vitamin D supplementation does not reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, researchers reported in a September paper.
Ozempic, Wegovy Use Doubled as Bariatric Surgery Procedures Declined in 2022-2023, Harvard Researchers Report
The national use of weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy more than doubled as bariatric surgery frequency dropped by about 25 percent from 2022 to 2023, researchers report in an Oct. 25 study.
Massive Meteor May Have Supercharged Early Microbial Life on Earth, Harvard Study Finds
A meteorite 200 times larger than the one that wiped out Earth’s dinosaurs may have been critical for the development of early microbial life on the planet three billion years ago, according to a Harvard study published last week.