Oh no! Recent paper may make it harder to blame your character faults on birth order
If you have siblings you’ve probably been told at one point or another that firstborns are bossy, the youngest is spoiled and the poor middle child is always neglected. People have been trying to figure out the effect of birth order on personality for over a hundred years and at times it feels that with each month a new study pops up either supporting or … Continue reading Oh no! Recent paper may make it harder to blame your character faults on birth order
Xenotransplantation: Can pigs save human lives?
by Aseda Tena figures by Shannon McArdel 122,621 people in the United States are currently eligible to receive a transplanted organ, but only about 30,000 transplants are performed each year due to a shortage of available organs. As a result, approximately 22 people die each day waiting for a transplant (1). One exciting area of research, xenotransplantation, aims to increase organ availability by using pig … Continue reading Xenotransplantation: Can pigs save human lives?
The Light of Elendil in Shelob’s Lair
By Andrew Wong, a second year graduate student in the Applied Physics program at Harvard University. The increase in global energy demand and subsequent carbon dioxide emissions has driven advancements in renewable energy generation technologies such as wind turbines and solar cells. However, these technologies are inherently intermittent, and require robust energy storage devices. Inexpensive, large-scale energy storage systems such as aqueous … Continue reading The Light of Elendil in Shelob’s Lair
Growing Together: How Viruses Have Shaped Human Evolution
Presented by: Shirlee Wohl and Katherine Wu Think of a virus, and you’ll likely think of an infection – Ebola, HIV, mononucleosis. But in actuality, the viruses that infect humans make up an infinitesimally small percentage of the total number on Earth, now estimated to be in the range of 10^31. Neither truly “alive” nor “dead,” viral particles are miniscule but complex pieces of machinery … Continue reading Growing Together: How Viruses Have Shaped Human Evolution
Going with the Flow: New Evidence for Liquid Water on Mars
Surface features such as canyons and valleys on the “Red Planet” suggest an abundance of liquid water in its geological past. Water vapors on Mars were first detected in the early 60s followed by observation of water-rich ice patches decades later, but it was not until 2011 that Lujendra Ojha, a Nepali undergraduate student, spotted signs of possible water flows on our neighboring planet. While … Continue reading Going with the Flow: New Evidence for Liquid Water on Mars
Insect Zoopharmacognosy: Finding medicine where you least expect it
by Fernanda Ferreira figures by Krissy Lyon The young, scaly creature bursts from the torso of its doomed host in a mix of guts and blood and stares blinkingly at its new environment. For most people the sentence above describes a famous scene from Ridley Scott’s Alien, but for many insects it’s a daily reality. The inspiration for H.R. Giger’s nightmarish alien comes from one … Continue reading Insect Zoopharmacognosy: Finding medicine where you least expect it
Living in a Jurassic World: Could dinosaurs be lurking in your backyard?
Presented by Martin Fan and Matt Schwartz Tyrannosaurus Rex may have gone extinct, but could there be other dinosaurs lurking in your backyard? In fact, birds are modern dinosaurs. In this talk we will discuss the theories on why non-avian dinosaurs went extinct, why avian dinosaurs survived, and the evidence that birds are actually modern dinosaurs. Lecture Continue reading Living in a Jurassic World: Could dinosaurs be lurking in your backyard?
Innovating in a New Market: Challenges for Cleantech
by Greg Silverberg figures by Kaitlyn Choi Cleantech is a troubled sector Scientists know from geological data that carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere have been below 300 parts per million for nearly 1 million years. However, for about a century, carbon dioxide concentrations have been rising at a rate unprecedented in these data and are now approaching 400 parts per million. Carbon dioxide acts … Continue reading Innovating in a New Market: Challenges for Cleantech
Sit’N Listen! Episode 2: CRISPR Genetic Editing
Science in the News at Harvard University has just launched our first podcast, titled “Sit’N Listen!” Each episode of Sit’N Listen, we’ll bring you scientists’ perspectives on intriguing and newsworthy science. In this episode we discuss CRISPR, its origins and roles in genetic editing for therapeutics and research. For a healthy yet tasty snack for the brain, we hope you’ll join us here at the … Continue reading Sit’N Listen! Episode 2: CRISPR Genetic Editing
Pollen, pollen, everywhere
A grain of pollen contains a sperm cell, surrounded by walls to keep it safe. The inner wall, or intine, is less sturdy and made of cellulose, but the outer wall, or extine, is made up of a very stable and tough polymer called sporopollenin. It is this outer wall which forms the distinctive shapes and external structures that help us tell different types … Continue reading Pollen, pollen, everywhere