Science & Tech

One of the lessons from this week’s announcement of liquid water on Mars is that the Red Planet is a much more diverse place than previously thought, one that holds a multitude of niche environments that might be more hospitable to life than average planetary conditions might indicate, said Professor Robin Wordsworth.

Chinese President Xi Jinping announced plans to institute a cap-and-trade program in the Asian giant by 2017. Harvard China Project leader Michael McElroy discussed the announcement and its potential effects on both climate legislation in the United States and on future climate talks in Paris.

Harvard scientists and engineers have demonstrated an improved flow battery that can store electricity from intermittent energy sources. The battery contains nontoxic compounds, inexpensive materials, and can be cost-effective for both residential and commercial use.

A new Harvard study pokes holes in the belief that huge quantities of storage will be needed before clean, renewable sources can make a significant dent in greenhouse-gas emissions from electricity generation.

Professor Jerry Mitrovica shed light on the dynamics of sea level rise in a talk at the Geological Lecture Hall.

New research on northeastern forests is examining how the earlier arrival of warm weather might clash with genetic programming tuned to lengthening days and the duration and depth of winter cold.

During a summer program, Harvard students and their French counterparts drew on biology to sketch solutions to everyday problems in Paris.

The amount of methylmercury, a potent neurotoxin, is especially high in Arctic marine life but until recently, scientists haven’t been able to explain why. Now, research from the Harvard suggests that high levels of methylmercury in Arctic life are a byproduct of global warming and the melting of sea-ice in Arctic and sub-Arctic regions.

A research team led by Martin Nowak has developed a model that captures both the shape and speed of tumor growth.

Within the next generation, it should become possible to detect signs of life on planets orbiting distant stars, say researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

The Dataverse 4 catalog expands access to research, across many Web platforms, even globally.

Scientists at the Wyss Institute have improved a device developed last year to treat sepsis that works by mimicking the human spleen. The new device is better positioned for near-term use in clinics.

A group of Harvard and MIT students has pedaled its way to the Pacific Ocean from Washington, D.C., with stops along the way to lead science “learning festivals” to promote STEM learning among children.

A team of researchers from Harvard and Seoul National University has unveiled a novel robotic insect that can jump off the surface of water. In doing so, they have revealed new insights into the natural mechanics that allow water striders to jump from rigid ground or fluid water with the same amount of power and height.

New findings draw from evolution to explain why human mothers seek help with raising their children.

Despite sarcasm’s nasty reputation, new research finds that it can boost creativity and problem-solving in the workplace.

In a new study, Harvard researchers looked at pollen and honey samples collected from the same set of hives across Massachusetts. Findings show they contain at least one pesticide implicated in Colony Collapse Disorder.

Changing environmental conditions around the globe caused by human activity could negatively impact the health of millions of people by altering the amount and quality of key crops, according to two new studies from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Season Spotter is a citizen-science project that aims to recruit Internet users to assist researchers analyzing images of natural scenes.

Harvard scientists have developed a method for creating a class of nanowires that could one day see applications in everything from consumer electronics to solar panels.

Scott Kenyon offers an astrophysicist’s view of the New Horizons mission to Pluto.

Harvard-designed robot transitions from soft to hard, reducing the stress where the rigid electronic components join the body.

Treatment with inhaled nitric oxide (NO) has proved to be lifesaving in newborns, children, and adults with several dangerous conditions. But the availability of the treatment has been limited by the size, weight, and complexity of equipment needed to administer the gas, and the therapy’s high price — until now.

The high seas of Mars may never have existed. According to a new study that looks at two opposite climate scenarios of early Mars, a cold and icy planet billions of years ago better explains water drainage and erosion features seen today.

An international team of researchers has developed a method of fabricating nanoscale electronic scaffolds that can be injected via syringe. The scaffolds can then be connected to devices and used to monitor neural activity, stimulate tissues, or even promote regeneration of neurons.

Having achieved promising results in proof-of-concept prototyping and experimental testing, a soft robotic glove under development by Conor Walsh and a team of engineers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering could someday help people who have lost hand motor control regain some of their daily independence.

A new study suggests that many of the cognitive capacities that humans use for cooking — a preference for cooked food, the ability to understand the transformation of raw food into cooked, and even the ability to save and transport food to cook it — are shared with chimpanzees.

At Harvard, the Accelerator Fund boosts technologies in engineering and physical sciences, and helps launch companies in robotics, 3-D printing, and materials discovery.

While at Harvard, Veronica Gloria ’15 worked to empower first-generation and Latino students like herself.

A new study published today in the Journal of Applied Ecology reports that the number of ecosystem hotspots in Massachusetts has increased over the past decade, with more and more popping up in metro Boston.