all HUSEC stories

Human cardiac master stem cells identified

404132862 — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:59:00 -0400

Harvard Stem Cell Institute researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital have identified the earliest master human heart stem cell from human embryonic stem cells - ISL1+ progenitors - that give rise to a family of cells that form the essential portions of the human heart.

Safer stem cells for therapy

50443248 — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:20:53 -0400

When stem cell researchers in Japan and the United States announced in 2007 that they had developed long-sought methods to return fully developed adult human cells to an embryonic-like state, the world of stem cell research was turned upside down.

Computer scientists model cell division

50443248 — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:36:48 -0400

Computer scientists at Harvard have developed a framework for studying the arrangement of tissue networks created by cell division across a diverse set of organisms, including fruit flies, tadpoles, and plants.

The finding, published in the June 2009 issue of PLoS Computational Biology, could lead to insights about how multicellular systems achieve (or fail to achieve) robustness from the seemingly random behavior of groups of cells, and provide a road map for researchers seeking to artificially emulate complex biological behavior.

Understanding materials to make microdevices

404132862 — Wed, 27 May 2009 10:51:38 -0400

In the 1990s, semiconductor companies began to incorporate a wider variety of materials into the construction of computer chips, selecting materials based on how they would perform electrically and not necessarily on how they would stand up to the rigors of the manufacturing process or continued use.

Scientists create custom three-dimensional structures with ‘DNA origami’

50443248 — Wed, 20 May 2009 15:31:51 -0400

By combining the art of origami with nanotechnology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers have folded sheets of DNA into multilayered objects with dimensions thousands of times smaller than the thickness of a human hair. These tiny structures could be forerunners of custom-made biomedical nanodevices such as "smart" delivery vehicles that would sneak drugs into patients' cells, where they would dump their cargo on a specific molecular target.

Embryo’s heartbeat drives blood stem cell formation

50443248 — Wed, 13 May 2009 12:57:28 -0400

Biologists have long wondered why the embryonic heart begins beating so early, before the tissues actually need to be infused with blood.

Life in the universe? Almost certainly. Intelligence? Maybe not

50443248 — Tue, 12 May 2009 13:56:00 -0400

We are likely not alone in the universe, though it may feel like it, since life on other planets is probably dominated by microbes or other nonspeaking creatures, according to scientists who gave their take on extraterrestrial life at Harvard recently.

Speakers reviewed how life on Earth arose and the many, sometimes improbable steps it took to create intelligence here. Radio astronomer Gerrit Verschuur said he believes that though there is very likely life out there — perhaps a lot of it — it is very unlikely to be both intelligent and able to communicate with us.

Lessons from past explored to expedite future research

50443248 — Tue, 12 May 2009 16:22:42 -0400

People, knowledge, communication, and capitalism were front and center as authorities on innovation sought to shed light on ways to speed up the development of new medical treatments from discoveries in the lab.

The speakers, who drew on lessons from the computer industry and from past startup ventures, were part of the “Harvard Medical School Dean’s Symposium on Clinical and Translational Research,” sponsored by Harvard Catalyst: The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center.

HMNH welcomes opportunities to develop NSF research-related outreach programs with University researchers

mark_gehret — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:23:54 -0400

Microbes thrive in harsh, isolated water under Antarctic glacier

50443248 — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 14:46:13 -0400

A reservoir of briny liquid buried deep beneath an Antarctic glacier supports hardy microbes that have lived in isolation for millions of years, researchers report this week in the journal Science.

Five at Harvard named HHMI Early Career Scientists;

404132862 — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 06:00:15 -0400

Five Harvard scientists are among 50 young scientists nationwide who will have their work supported for the next six years by a new initiative from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI).

HHMI today announced that the selected scientists are at 33 institutions across the United States and have led their own laboratories for two to six years. An HHMI statement described the young researchers as “energetic and passionate about a broad range of scientific questions… at a career stage that many consider to be a scientist’s most productive — and most vulnerable.”

Mechanism directing stem cells to their destination identified;

404132862 — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 14:00:02 -0400

Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) researchers have for the first time identified in mice a cellular mechanism that directs stem cells to their ultimate destination in the body.

Harvard Catalyst grants encourage greater faculty collaboration

50443248 — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 12:28:22 -0400

Scientists from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS), and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics are measuring how patients’ posture affects MRI imaging of their breathing.

Computer science pioneer Barbara J. Grosz awarded Allen Newell Award

50443248 — Mon, 04 May 2009 13:19:11 -0400

Barbara J. Grosz, Higgins Professor of Natural Sciences at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, was awarded the Allen Newell Award from the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)/Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI). The Newell Award recognizes career contributions that have breadth within computer science or that bridge computer science and other disciplines.