Why are hurricanes weakening? Possible reasons and the long term pattern

In 2012, Hurricane Sandy, the second costliest hurricane in United States history, caused the loss of 233 lives and assessed damage of 75 billion dollars. With Sandy still on the minds of many, it may surprise you that America’s Atlantic coast may actually be in the middle of a decades long lull in hurricane activity. Researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) published this surprising … Continue reading Why are hurricanes weakening? Possible reasons and the long term pattern

Episode 10: Sports, Sex, and Gender

By Dana Boebinger, Rachel Hanebutt, Brittany Mayweather, and Michael Ruiz Produced by Michelle Frank Dana: Hello, and welcome to Sit’N Listen: a production of Science in the News. We’re a graduate-student run organization at Harvard University that catalyzes discussion between scientists and other experts and enthusiasts. I’m Dana Boebinger, and I’m a third year graduate student in auditory neuroscience at Harvard, studying how the brain … Continue reading Episode 10: Sports, Sex, and Gender

Scientists observe light from antimatter for the first time

Physicists at CERN have observed the light emitted from antimatter for the first time, bringing us one step closer to unraveling one of the longest-standing problems in physics today – why is it that regular matter is so much more abundant than antimatter in the Universe? Standard models suggest that for every particle of matter created in the Big Bang, an antiparticle was also created. … Continue reading Scientists observe light from antimatter for the first time

Parental weight and its impact on early childhood development

According to the CDC, 70.7% of the US population is overweight or obese (BMI>30), with 37.9% being obese. Obesity related health expenses accounted for an estimated $147 billion in healthcare spending in 2008 alone. The dire health consequences for obese individuals include higher incidence of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease to name a few on top of overall decrease in … Continue reading Parental weight and its impact on early childhood development

January 9 – Science Journalism by the Pint with STAT

Are you interested in learning more about what the field of science journalism looks like from the inside? Check out our next Science by the Pint event: The (Sometimes Messy) Science of Communicating Science. Coming this Monday (Jan. 9), 6:30pm, to The Burren in Davis Square, free and open to the public! Panelists from the Boston-based publication STAT will discuss what led them to a … Continue reading January 9 – Science Journalism by the Pint with STAT

Ebola Virus

Virus Beware: Ebola Vaccine Successfully Developed

2016 was a tumultuous year in many respects, but it ended with a major victory against Ebola hemorrhagic fever.  Ebola’s most recent outbreak ravaged West Africa from 2013 to 2016, killing roughly two out of every five patients and tens of thousands of people in total.  Treatment options are limited once the disease takes hold, so researchers have been pursuing a vaccine that protects against … Continue reading Virus Beware: Ebola Vaccine Successfully Developed

New Physics from the AMS Experiment – Particle Physics on the International Space Station

In 2011 the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, or AMS, was launched into space. AMS, housed by the International Space Station and led by a Nobel Prize winning principle investigator, is commonly referred to as the most sophisticated particle physics experiment in space. The experiment was designed to study cosmic rays, a variety of high energy particles produced in space. In five years of operation, AMS has collected … Continue reading New Physics from the AMS Experiment – Particle Physics on the International Space Station

The Tricky Business of Targeting Cancers’ “Master Regulators”

Over the past few decades, cancer therapies have become increasingly targeted, with protein and antibody drugs targeting specific proteins with exquisite selectivity. Often, however, the utility of targeted therapies is limited; there are many different paths to outwardly similar cancers, and targeted therapies are often only effective against very specific cancer subtypes. An alternative strategy, championed by cancer researchers at Columbia University, is to target … Continue reading The Tricky Business of Targeting Cancers’ “Master Regulators”

Slime molds are capable of passing on learned behaviors to new cell populations

A group at Toulouse University in France has found that slime molds are capable of passing on learned behaviors from population to another. After learning how to navigate around an unpleasant stimulus in order to reach its food, the slime mold was merged with a naïve slime mold and then separated. The naïve slime mold then underwent the original experiment and demonstrated the learned behaviors, despite never having been in that situation before. Continue reading Slime molds are capable of passing on learned behaviors to new cell populations

New method successfully recovers lost short-term memories

For decades now, scientists have believed that working memory, a form of short term memory, can be accessed only through the sustained firing of neurons. Working memory is used constantly in our day to day lives — from remembering the name of someone you just met while carrying on a conversation, to mixing the right ingredients in a recipe – it allows us to access … Continue reading New method successfully recovers lost short-term memories