Science & Tech

All Science & Tech

  • Did famine worsen the Black Death?

    New European ice-core data provides a view of the difficult times that led up to and may have worsened the Black Death.

  • Artificial pancreas system aimed at type 1 diabetes mellitus

    The University of Virginia School of Medicine and the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have developed an artificial pancreas system designed to help regulate blood sugar levels of individuals with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

  • Study of African trees goes public

    A postdoctoral fellow has launched a citizen-science project that aims to digitize thousands of pages of detailed observations on the life cycles of African trees.

  • When the ‘sharing economy’ doesn’t

    Some Airbnb hosts discriminate on the basis of race, suggests a study by researchers at Harvard Business School.

  • Paris deal a step toward better health, experts say

    Panelists in a Harvard Chan School forum examined how the Paris climate agreement might affect human health.

  • Disclosures on fracking lacking, study finds

    Harvard researchers examined the nation’s registry, where oil and gas production companies disclose the chemicals they use in hydraulic fracturing, and found that they do it less than in the past.

  • At last, global fretting on climate change

    The Paris agreement to fight climate change greatly expands the international commitment to the cause, Harvard Professor Stavins says.

  • Mapping the road ahead for climate research

    The need for continuous rigorous and relevant climate science will be more important than ever. With that framing, a group of scholars on Wednesday shared their ideas for improving the process by which the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) carries out its research agenda, at a side panel at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Paris.

  • How climate agreement impacts business

    The private sector — from large corporations to small businesses — will undoubtedly be impacted by whatever international agreement emerges from the U.N. Climate Change Conference taking place in Paris, but opinions vary as to how burdensome and costly those impacts will be.

  • Sick planet, sick people

    Harvard scientists are helping launch a new initiative to foster collaboration among scientists working at the intersection of the environment and health.

  • Harvard’s Stavins, Stowe compare climate change policies in Paris

    A side-event panel titled “Dialogue on the Comparison of Climate Change Policies” on Friday at the Conference of the Parties (COP21) featured Robert Stavins, faculty director of the Harvard Project and Harvard Project Manager Robert Stowe.

  • A focus on fairness

    Using a simple game in which candy is distributed between two players, researchers found that children in various countries were quick to reject unfair deals, but in three countries they were also willing to reject deals unfair to others.

  • Optimism on U.N. climate talks

    Panelists at the Kennedy School on Monday expressed optimism about the U.N. climate conference set to begin in Paris on Nov. 30, calling U.S. participation on the heels of domestic climate-related moves a “game-changer.”

  • The rule-breaker

    Speaking at the JFK Jr. Forum, architect Frank Gehry reflected on half a century of creating surprises.

  • Cruft Laboratory goes to war

    Harvard’s Cruft High Tension Laboratory was used in World War I as the Navy School for Radio Electricians. By World War II it was again called into service, this time assisting in the development of a torpedo that used acoustic technology to navigate toward an underwater submarine.

  • Lessons of the brain: The Phineas Gage story

    During a construction explosion in 1848, an iron bar pierced the brain of foreman Phineas Gage. He survived, and his experiences opened a window into trauma and recovery.

  • Returning to Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy

    Students in a new Graduate School of Design course use what they’ve learned to help restore the urban legacy of slain Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

  • Pinpointing punishment

    It’s a question most attorneys wish they could answer: How and why do judges and juries arrive at their decisions? The answer, according to Joshua Buckholtz, may lie in the…

  • ‘The Trouble with Jellyfish’

    A video showcases “The Trouble with Jellyfish,” a new exhibition at Le Laboratoire Cambridge that spotlights a growing crisis beneath the sea.

  • Dramatic chain of events

    Harvard physicist Lisa Randall discusses the research behind her new book, “Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs.”

  • Wanted: Climate change solutions

    Harvard will again fund grants of up to $150,000 for promising ideas to combat climate change.

  • Cosmic ‘Death Star’ destroys a planet

    Astronomers announced today that they have spotted a large, rocky object disintegrating in its death spiral around a distant white dwarf star. “We’re watching a solar system get destroyed,” noted a Harvard researcher.

  • The tiny flying submarine

    Harvard lab develops first insect-size robots capable of flight and swimming.

  • What it means when ‘The Doctor Is Out’

    What happens when homophobia hits the hospital? “The Doctor Is Out: A Conversation with Dr. Mark Schuster on Being a Gay Physician at Harvard” was part of Harvard Medical School’s Diversity Dialogue series.

  • Harvard creates Global Institute

    A multidisciplinary project to investigate climate change, energy security, and sustainable development in China has received the first $3.75 million grant from the new Harvard Global Institute.

  • What drones can do

    HUBweek drone demonstration at Harvard Stadium showcases potential usefulness of flying robots.

  • Big data, massive potential

    Across Harvard, programs and researchers are mining big data, vast quantities of computerized information, often revolutionizing their fields in the process.

  • To sample climate concerns, look at nature

    A panel of climate change experts at Harvard said that nature is telling us where we need to make changes to lessen future climate change impact: the places flooded or otherwise damaged in past storms.

  • Countering the cyberintruders

    Harvard officials recommend steps to keep computer networks safe from cyberattacks.

  • How the brain builds new thoughts

    A new study suggests that two adjacent brain regions allow humans to use a sort of conceptual algebra to construct thoughts.