Edward Bouchet: Trailblazer, teacher, and public servant
Tamina Kienka is a third year student in the MD-PhD program at Harvard University. Jovana Andrejevic is a fifth-year Applied Physics Ph.D. student in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University. Cover image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay. This biography is part of our “Picture a Scientist” initiative. To learn more about the amazing men and women who paved the way for … Continue reading Edward Bouchet: Trailblazer, teacher, and public servant
Edward Bouchet: Trailblazer, teacher, and public servant
by Tamina Kienka In the fall of 1852, Edward Bouchet was born to a freed slave living in New Haven, Connecticut. His father worked as a laborer and his mother as a housewife. They were both active in their local abolitionist movement and encouraged Edward Bouchet and his three older sisters to gain an education. Given the still segregated public school system, Bouchet attended the … Continue reading Edward Bouchet: Trailblazer, teacher, and public servant
Lightning Oxidation May Remove Harmful Air Pollutants
Lightning produces chemical compounds that may play an important role in removing air pollutants. Continue reading Lightning Oxidation May Remove Harmful Air Pollutants
“Nature itself is the best physician”
by Jessica Schifffigures by Rebecca Senft For millennia, people have held to the notion that spending time in nature is healing and restorative. Hippocrates stated that “Nature itself is the best physician”. At some point in our lives, many of us have gone on an adventure into nature and left feeling rejuvenated and relaxed. However, it wasn’t until the past few decades that scientists really … Continue reading “Nature itself is the best physician”
Letting the Mosquitoes Stop the Spread of Malaria
The fight against malaria has been has been plateauing in the last five years. New tools are needed to eradicate malaria, such as a technology called gene drive. Continue reading Letting the Mosquitoes Stop the Spread of Malaria
Pint-Sized Science: How Our Bodies Respond to Viruses and What Sets SARS-CoV-2 Apart
Interviewee: Dr. Sara Cherry, Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of PennsylvaniaInterviewer: Hope Merens, PhD Student in Molecular Biology, Harvard University Over the past year, COVID-19 has affected every aspect of our society. The cause of the pandemic, the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, is one of many existing RNA viruses. But not every virus causes a pandemic. What makes SARS-CoV-2 so infectious? How does our body … Continue reading Pint-Sized Science: How Our Bodies Respond to Viruses and What Sets SARS-CoV-2 Apart
May 12 – Whose Science? Whose History? Why the History of Science Matters
Time: 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, May 12th Join us on: Zoom (password: science) or YouTube Live Speakers: Shireen Hamza and Claire Sabel Graphics: Corina Loeb An introductory course in the history of science often follows a path “from Plato to NATO,” leaping from Greek antiquity to modern Europe and the US. Others begin with Isaac Newton in seventeenth century England, locating the origins of science firmly … Continue reading May 12 – Whose Science? Whose History? Why the History of Science Matters
It’s Not All about Microbes: Genetics and susceptibility to infections
by Aleks Procherafigures by Shreya Mantri The past year and a half have been a time of profound uncertainty. We all wish we could gaze into a COVID crystal ball and get answers to our burning questions. Some of us would want to know how long the pandemic will last. Others, however, especially those who have never received a positive result, would likely seek an … Continue reading It’s Not All about Microbes: Genetics and susceptibility to infections
The Traveler’s Guide to Microbial Hitchhiking
How can a spore travel around in the soil? Try hitchhiking onto a bacteria that can move. Continue reading The Traveler’s Guide to Microbial Hitchhiking
Honeybees Use a Chemical Game of ‘Telephone’ to Find their Queen
Honeybees relay chemical messages to alert other worker bees in a colony to the queen’s location. Continue reading Honeybees Use a Chemical Game of ‘Telephone’ to Find their Queen