Harvard University News - SciTechDaily

Nature’s Oddity: Scientists Discover Unusual Frog That Breeds Upside-Down

Harvard University — Wed, 14 Aug 2024 05:07:30 +0000

A study reveals unique breeding behaviors in the Andamanese Charles Darwin’s frog, including upside-down egg-laying and intense male competition. The species faces habitat challenges, breeding in unnatural sites like trash, underscoring urgent conservation needs. Researchers from the University of Delhi and Zoological Survey of India, Harvard University, and the University of Minnesota have discovered a [...]

Harvard Researchers Discover Rare Soft-Bodied Vertebrate Fossil in American Great Basin

Harvard University — Sun, 04 Aug 2024 19:44:42 +0000

The recent uncovering of a new soft-bodied vertebrate fossil in the American Great Basin region enhances our knowledge of vertebrate evolution. Harvard scientists discovered a new chordate species, Nuucichthys rhynchocephalus, in the American Great Basin, offering rare insights into the early evolution of vertebrates and their morphological transitions from invertebrates. The Cambrian fossil record shows [...]

Revolutionary DNA Nanotech Boosts Mass Cytometry by 500-Fold

Sun, 04 Aug 2024 17:26:03 +0000

ACE, a groundbreaking DNA-powered signal amplification technology, significantly enhances the sensitivity of mass cytometry, providing new insights into various biological and pathological processes. Since the 1950s, researchers have employed “flow cytometry,” a renowned technique devised by Wallace Coulter, to characterize various types of immune cells in research studies and human blood samples. This method has [...]

Harvard Scientists Reveal Amazing Survival Strategies of Giant Deep-Sea Vent Tubeworm

Harvard University — Wed, 03 Jul 2024 09:57:57 +0000

Research on the deep-sea vent tubeworm Riftia pachyptila shows how its symbiotic bacteria use two carbon fixation pathways to adapt to deep-sea conditions, suggesting potential for biotechnological applications in carbon capture. The giant hydrothermal vent tubeworm Riftia pachyptila lives in the harsh deep-sea environment of the East Pacific Rise, where sunlight does not penetrate and [...]

Ancient DNA Uncovers the Secrets of Human Sacrifice at Chichén Itzá

Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology — Sun, 30 Jun 2024 17:42:01 +0000

Genetic research at Chichén Itzá has revealed the ritual sacrifice of related male children and local genetic adaptations to historical epidemics. The ancient Maya city of Chichén Itzá, located in Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula, is one of North America’s most iconic and enigmatic archaeological sites. It rose to power in the aftermath of the Classic Maya [...]

Silicon Magic: Powering the Quantum Internet of the Future

Leah Burrows, Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences — Mon, 24 Jun 2024 00:09:46 +0000

By utilizing traditional semiconductor devices, researchers have unlocked new potentials in quantum communication, pushing us closer to realizing the vast potential of the quantum internet. Building the quantum internet could be significantly simplified by leveraging existing telecommunications technologies and infrastructure. In recent years, researchers have identified defects in silicon—a widely used semiconductor material—that hold the [...]

Nature’s Warning: Early Signs in Marine Life Predicting the Next Mass Extinction

Harvard University — Fri, 14 Jun 2024 15:51:28 +0000

A study using foraminifera fossils suggests that shifts in marine community structures can predict future extinctions, highlighting the role of historical data in forecasting climate change impacts on biodiversity. For hundreds of millions of years, single-celled organisms known as foraminifera, which are microscopic and hard-shelled, have thrived in the oceans. These tiny creatures form the [...]

Harvard Study Reveals: Planetary Health Diet Can Extend Your Life and Save Earth Too

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health — Fri, 14 Jun 2024 05:12:23 +0000

Adhering to the Planetary Health Diet significantly reduces the risk of premature death and environmental impact, including lowered rates of major diseases and reduced greenhouse gas emissions and land use. According to a new study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, adopting a healthy, sustainable diet, as outlined in the 2019 EAT-Lancet report, [...]

Harvard Scientists Discover Quantum Order in Chemical Chaos

Harvard University — Sun, 26 May 2024 11:50:29 +0000

Harvard researchers have shown that quantum coherence can survive chemical reactions at ultracold temperatures. Using advanced techniques, they demonstrated this with 40K87Rb bialkali molecules, suggesting potential applications in quantum information science and broader implications for understanding chemical reactions. Zoom in on a chemical reaction to the quantum level and you’ll notice that particles behave like [...]

Quantum Coherence: Harvard Scientists Uncover Hidden Order in Chemical Chaos

Harvard University — Mon, 20 May 2024 05:15:13 +0000

If you zoom in on a chemical reaction to the quantum level, you’ll notice that particles behave like waves that can ripple and collide. Scientists have long sought to understand quantum coherence, the ability of particles to maintain phase relationships and exist in multiple states simultaneously; this is akin to all parts of a wave [...]

Harvard Physicists Demonstrate First Metro-Area Quantum Network in Boston

Harvard University — Fri, 17 May 2024 18:49:20 +0000

Physicists demostrate first metro-area quantum computer network in Boston. Imagining a quantum internet capable of transmitting hacker-proof information globally through photons superimposed in different quantum states is one thing; demonstrating its feasibility in the real world is quite another. That’s exactly what Harvard physicists have done. They used existing Boston-area telecommunication fiber in a demonstration [...]

Harvard and Google Neuroscience Breakthrough: Intricately Detailed 1,400 Terabyte 3D Brain Map

Anne J. Manning, Harvard University — Tue, 14 May 2024 03:27:49 +0000

A collaborative effort between Harvard and Google has led to a breakthrough in brain science, producing an extensive 3D map of a tiny segment of human brain, revealing complex neural interactions and laying the groundwork for mapping an entire mouse brain. A cubic millimeter of brain tissue may not sound like much. But considering that [...]

New Harvard Technology Paves the Way for Advanced Machine Vision

Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences — Mon, 06 May 2024 22:21:29 +0000

Scientists have developed a compact, single-shot, and complete polarization imaging system using metasurfaces. Think of all the information we get based on how an object interacts with wavelengths of light — a.k.a. color. Color can tell us if food is safe to eat or if a piece of metal is hot. Color is an important [...]

New Harvard-Developed AI System Unlocks Biology’s Source Code

Harvard University, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology — Tue, 23 Apr 2024 22:34:31 +0000

Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems, like ChatGPT, have taken the world by storm. Thre isn’t much they don’t have a hand in, from recommending the next binge-worthy TV show to helping navigate through traffic. But, can AI systems learn the language of life and help biologists reveal exciting breakthroughs in science? In a new study published [...]

Not Science Fiction: Harvard Scientists Have Developed an “Intelligent” Liquid

Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences — Mon, 08 Apr 2024 02:08:23 +0000

Scientists have developed a metafluid with programmable response. Scientists at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have developed a programmable metafluid with tunable springiness, optical properties, viscosity and even the ability to transition between a Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluid. The first-of-its-kind metafluid uses a suspension of small, elastomer spheres [...]

Harvard Engineers Unveil Game-Changing Solution for Dural Leakage

Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 03:39:13 +0000

Highly adhesive and mechanically strong Dural Tough Adhesive addresses multiple limitations in the repair of the dural membrane lining the brain and spinal cord after trauma and surgeries. The dural membrane (dura) is the outermost of three meningeal layers that line the central nervous system (CNS), which includes the brain and spinal cord. Together, the [...]

Challenging Long-Standing Climate Assumptions: Earth Is Getting Hotter, but Soil Is Getting Wetter

Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences — Mon, 25 Mar 2024 00:07:38 +0000

Study indicates that changes in rainfall patterns, rather than shifts in temperature, account for trends in soil moisture. Soil moisture levels play a crucial role in influencing the speed at which wildfires expand, the rapidity with which hills transform into mudslides, and, notably, the efficiency of our agricultural systems. With the ongoing increase in temperatures [...]

Harvard-Developed Hydrogel Bonding Method Paves the Way for New Biomaterials Solutions

Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 19:38:36 +0000

A novel technique for the quick and efficient bonding of hydrogels offers the potential to significantly propel forward the development of new biomaterials, addressing a wide range of unsatisfied clinical demands. Hydrogels are becoming increasingly prevalent in various biomedical fields due to their adaptability. These biomaterials, which are made up of networks of molecules swollen [...]

Quantum Leap in Superconductivity: Harvard’s High-Pressure Breakthrough

Harvard University — Sun, 03 Mar 2024 21:41:28 +0000

Harvard scientists have made a significant advance in high-pressure physics by creating a tool that directly images superconducting materials under extreme conditions, facilitating new discoveries in the field of superconducting hydrides. Hydrogen (like many of us) acts weird under pressure. Theory predicts that when crushed by the weight of more than a million times our [...]

Advancing Disease Prevention With Cutting-Edge Genetic Diagnostics

Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard — Sun, 03 Mar 2024 18:21:27 +0000

As part of a nationwide collaboration, Broad Clinical Labs researchers have optimized 10 polygenic scores for use in clinical research as part of a study on how to implement genetic risk prediction for patients. By analyzing millions of small genetic differences across a person’s genome, researchers can calculate a polygenic risk score to estimate someone’s [...]

Evading Bacterial Resistance: Scientists Develop Groundbreaking New Antibiotic

Rob Mitchum, University of Illinois Chicago — Wed, 21 Feb 2024 19:57:44 +0000

Researchers from the University of Illinois Chicago and Harvard University have created an antibiotic that may provide medicine a new tool to combat bacteria resistant to drugs and the illnesses they trigger. The antibiotic, cresomycin, described in Science, effectively suppresses pathogenic bacteria that have become resistant to many commonly prescribed antimicrobial drugs. The promising novel [...]

Harvard Engineers Discover Method to 10x Rubber’s Resistance

Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences — Wed, 21 Feb 2024 11:40:46 +0000

Using a multi-scale approach enhances the fatigue threshold of particle-reinforced rubber. Scientists at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have improved the fatigue threshold of particle-reinforced rubber, developing a new, multiscale approach that allows the material to bear high loads and resist crack growth over repeated use. This approach [...]

Milky Way’s Massive, Mysterious “Radcliffe Wave” Is Oscillating Through Space-Time

Harvard University — Wed, 21 Feb 2024 09:15:40 +0000

Astronomers report oscillation of our giant, gaseous neighbor. A few years ago, astronomers uncovered one of the Milky Way’s greatest secrets: an enormous, wave-shaped chain of gaseous clouds in our sun’s backyard, giving birth to clusters of stars along the spiral arm of the galaxy we call home. Naming this astonishing new structure the Radcliffe [...]

Butterfly Wings Inspire Breakthrough in Catalyst Design

Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences — Fri, 16 Feb 2024 10:00:49 +0000

Researchers expand ways to improve the selectivity of catalytic reactions. Researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), Harvard Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology, and Utrecht University have reported on a previously elusive way to improve the selectivity of catalytic reactions, adding a new method of increasing the [...]