‘It’s much more harmful than we thought, and its mortality burden has been seriously underestimated’

Researchers found that between 1999 and 2020, 460,000 deaths were attributable to fine particulate air pollutants emitted by coal-fired power plants (coal PM2.5); 10 of these plants each contributed at least 5,000 deaths.

Maya Brownstein • harvard
Nov. 23, 2023 ~6 min

Uncovering the culprit behind the itch

Harvard scientists show for the first time that a common microbe can cause itch by activating nerve cells in the skin. They may also have a solution to the problem.

Ekaterina Pesheva • harvard
Nov. 22, 2023 ~9 min


What shapes your dog’s personality

Harvard neuroscientist who is unlocking secrets of the canine brain finds skills and temperament are not dictated by breed.

Anna Lamb • harvard
Nov. 21, 2023 ~6 min

Smart trackers may predict health risks in older adults

Wearable devices that measure circadian rest-activity rhythms may be able to assess frailty-related health risks more than six years before an incidence occurs, according to a new study.

Harvard Gazette • harvard
Nov. 20, 2023 ~4 min

Insight into evolution of cooperation

As one of our closest living animal relatives, bonobos show humanlike ability to work together outside social borders in new study.

Anne J. Manning • harvard
Nov. 17, 2023 ~5 min

Why are hybrid animals sterile?

Study of crossbred butterflies sheds new light on why sexual differences in fertility follow the pattern known as Haldane’s Rule.

Anne J. Manning • harvard
Nov. 17, 2023 ~3 min

‘When you’re with a patient … their suffering counts more than your suffering’

“The Uses of Haiti: Paul Farmer and the Origins of the Global Health Equity Movement” honored the late Harvard Med professor and co-founder of Partners In Health.

Alvin Powell • harvard
Nov. 16, 2023 ~7 min

From a plant-free place, clues about how to help plants survive as planet warms

Data from salt flats suggest dry soil is worse than rising temperature.

Anne J. Manning • harvard
Nov. 16, 2023 ~4 min


Nobel-winning physicist, artist illustrate universe’s ‘warped side’

Kip Thorne and Lia Halloran team up to demystify complex science from black holes and wormholes to time travel and gravitational waves.

Anne J. Manning • harvard
Nov. 15, 2023 ~4 min

‘There’s no treatment if you don’t know what you’re treating’

Experts at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School traced a baffling smooth-muscle disorder to a tiny regulatory RNA, solving a medical mystery that had plagued a teen since birth.

Alvin Powell • harvard
Nov. 14, 2023 ~17 min

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