It began with some intriguing scientific discoveries.
A team of researchers from the Broad Institute and Harvard began to suspect nearly two decades ago that so-called “emerging diseases” such as Ebola and Lassa virus were not quite what…
Category: 1. Edi-Choice
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New study reveals how kimchi boosts the immune system
Growing seasonal concern about overlapping respiratory illnesses such as the common cold and influenza has increased interest in ways to support immune health. New clinical research now suggests that kimchi, a traditional Korean fermented food,…
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Researchers find how plants survive without sunlight or sex
Some plants lack both green pigments and sexual reproduction, yet these unusual traits reveal important insights into what defines plant life. A new study involving Kobe University examined species in the genus Balanophora to understand how…
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Rethinking — and reframing — superintelligence — Harvard Gazette
The debate over artificial superintelligence (ASI) can tend toward extremes, with predictions that it will either save humanity or destroy it. E. Glen Weyl has a different perspective: Superintelligence is already here, and it has been for…
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First, male gets heated up, then female, and then, you know — Harvard Gazette
Brace yourself for a hot story about plant sex.
Harvard researchers have discovered that cycads — an ancient lineage of seed plants — heat their reproductive organs to attract beetle pollinators, which in turn evolved specialized infrared…
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Scientists find dark chocolate ingredient that slows aging
A natural chemical in dark chocolate may play a role in slowing certain signs of biological aging. Researchers at King’s College London have identified theobromine, a plant compound found in cocoa, as a possible contributor to this effect.
The…
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‘Consciousness’ — Harvard Gazette
In the movies, a comatose patient can be unreachable one moment, just fine the next.
“That suggests there’s a clearly demarcated border between unconsciousness and consciousness,” said Joseph Giacino, a professor of physical medicine…
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Science needs contrarians, and contrarians need support — Harvard Gazette
Picture a scientist with a provocative hypothesis — something that defies conventional wisdom or verges on the outlandish.
Supporting the pursuit of that big, bold claim is the goal of the Institute for Quantitative Social Science’s new
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Cracking the code of why, when some choose to ‘self-handicap’ — Harvard Gazette
Partying the night before a big exam. Preparing last-minute for a work presentation. Running a 5K in a 10-pound Halloween costume. All are examples of what psychologists call “self-handicapping” — creating obstacles to success to order to…
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Scientists capture flu viruses surfing into human cells in real time
Fever, aching limbs and a runny nose — as winter returns, so too does the flu. The disease is triggered by influenza viruses, which enter our body through droplets and then infect vulnerable cells.
A research team from Switzerland and Japan has…
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