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New Experiment Chases the Elusive Magnetic Monopole

A new experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) seeks to detect the long theorized magnetic monopole. In 1931, physicist Paul Dirac showed that our theories of electromagnetism allow for the existence of a solitary magnetic charge. Just as protons and electrons represent unique electric charges (positive and negative), magnetic monopoles should similarly exist as manifestations of magnetic charge. Despite our best efforts, however, we … Continue reading New Experiment Chases the Elusive Magnetic Monopole

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Beyond mythology: NIH plans to lift ban on chimera research

The National Institutes of Health recently announced that it expects to lift a ban on research involving animal embryos that have been injected with human stem cells.  Embryonic stem cells are already lightning rods for controversy, but part-human “chimeras” are saddled with their own set of ethical dilemmas.  Some worry, for example, that chimeras could develop human-like brains that might afford the animal a rudimentary … Continue reading Beyond mythology: NIH plans to lift ban on chimera research

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Dark Matter Evades the World’s Most Sensitive Search

At the 11th Identification of Dark Matter Conference, LUX, the Large Underground Xenon experiment, announced the results of the world’s most sensitive search for dark matter. Physicists at LUX have been racing for a dark matter discovery since the collaboration’s inception. Observers in the field were aware that the LUX announcement would include more data with vastly improved performance compared to experiment’s initial run in … Continue reading Dark Matter Evades the World’s Most Sensitive Search

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How one volcano concealed the sea-level acceleration record

Using satellite records and global climate models, scientists have shown that sea level rise is accelerating. Although sea level data from the past 23 years diverged from this long term trend, researchers demonstrate that the abnormal cooling caused by the 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo concealed the long-term trend. A high-resolution record of global sea level has been available since the 1992 launch of the … Continue reading How one volcano concealed the sea-level acceleration record

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T Cell
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FDA suspends (and promptly restarts) clinical trial for new cancer therapy

Bringing a new medical therapy to market is rarely a straightforward task, as a biotech company called Juno Therapeutics learned firsthand.  Juno specializes in CAR-T therapy, which uses genetic engineering to teach a patient’s own immune system to destroy cancer cells. Unfortunately, 3 of the 129 patients who had received this treatment in a clinical trial recently died from excessive brain swelling, prompting the FDA to … Continue reading FDA suspends (and promptly restarts) clinical trial for new cancer therapy

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First Human Trial of Gene Editing Technique CRISPR Approved

The first clinical trial using the gene editing technique CRISPR was given the go-ahead by panel from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). The trial is aimed at determining if the technique is safe for use on human subjects. As there is much we have yet to learn about genes and their expression, it is a valid concern that modifying DNA in humans could … Continue reading First Human Trial of Gene Editing Technique CRISPR Approved

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Sit'N Listen

Sit’N Listen! Episode 8: (S&S Episode 2) Discovering Sex and Gender?

Written by Rachel Hanebutt, Michelle Frank, Jessica Cussins, Kellie Owens Advised by Amy Gilson Michelle Hello Everyone, and welcome to SIT’N Listen. SIT’N Listen is a production of Science in the News, a graduate student organization at Harvard dedicated to opening lines of communications between scientists…and, well, the rest of the world’s experts and enthusiasts. This series is a collaboration between Science in the News … Continue reading Sit’N Listen! Episode 8: (S&S Episode 2) Discovering Sex and Gender?

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Human evolution. Discovery of fossils in Indonesia provide further evidence for “hobbit-like” ancient humans.

The 2004 discovery of a 1-meter-tall, ancient human (named Homo floresiensis, and nicknamed “the hobbit”) sparked great interest in the scientific community, but until recently only a single fossil had been found. Last month, however, scientists discovered another fossil on the Indonesian island of Flores, only 74 kilometers from the original dig. In an article published in the journal Nature, researchers described the fossil, which … Continue reading Human evolution. Discovery of fossils in Indonesia provide further evidence for “hobbit-like” ancient humans.

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Monoclonal antibodies
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Blood test probes the immune system to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease

What can our immune system tell us about brain health?  Research from Rowan University suggests that the presence of particular antibodies, the means by which our bodies identify threats, can predict if mental decline is an early symptom of a neurodegenerative disease like Alzheimer’s.  The research team discovered a set of 50 antibodies that, in a proof-of-concept study, predicted whether a patient exhibiting mild cognitive … Continue reading Blood test probes the immune system to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease

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Bacteria Resistant to Last-Line Antibiotic Found in US

In May, researchers identified for the first time a bacterial infection in the US that was resistant to the last-resort antibiotic colistin. Colistin was the last remaining antibiotic effective against all bacteria in the country – a weapon of last resort. This particular infection was sensitive to other antibiotics and was cured, but the presence of colistin resistant bacteria in the US (it was known … Continue reading Bacteria Resistant to Last-Line Antibiotic Found in US

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