all Harvard AAAS News stories

Are building environmental and health disasters result of climate change?

404132862 — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 20:11:15 -0500

Disagreement over the public health impact of global warming emerged in a symposium this morning at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The colloquium, titled “Sustaining Human Health in a Changing Global Environment,” addressed what hazards can be expected as a result of rapid and continuing climate change.

Medical basics still needed in Developing World

404132862 — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 20:17:24 -0500

Despite all the progress and promise of modern medicine, most of the world is still struggling to get the fundamentals of medical care: simple diagnostic tests, affordable medicines, and efficient supply distribution, several Harvard specialists said today.

Working to snip malaria drug resistance

404132862 — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 20:11:49 -0500

Useful genetic maps showing the inner workings of drug-resistant malaria parasites, and where they live around the world, are being created as part of a major drive against the persistent tropical disease.

Roads not taken disappear more quickly than we realize

404132862 — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 11:58:59 -0500

Researchers have identified a key reason why people make mistakes when they try to predict what they will like.

According to the findings presented Sunday at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, when predicting how much we will enjoy a future experience, people tend to compare it to its alternatives—that is, to the experiences they had before, might have later, or could have been having now. But when people actually have the experience, they tend not to think about these alternatives and their experience is relatively unaffected by them.

Solar evidence points to human causes of climate change

404132862 — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 18:24:15 -0500

It’s getting harder and harder to blame the sun for causing the gradual increase in global temperatures that are now being seen in the climate record, scientists said today.

In a symposium today on the potential role of solar variability — increases in heat coming from the sun — held in Boston at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, experts in solar science, climate modeling, and atmospheric science explored the issues surrounding who or what is to blame for the rapid rate of change.

Early childhood stress affects developing brain

404132862 — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 18:54:27 -0500

It is now clear that creating a sustained, reliable, compassionate and widespread system that cares for tiny children born into troubled families is needed in this nation, said Jack P. Shonkoff, Director of the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University.

Speaking today during a symposium at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Shonkoff declared "there are no magic bullets" that will rid America of a continuing legacy of illness, mental health problems, crime and low achievement spawned by neglect of very young children.

Visualizing science focus of panel

404132862 — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 15:38:47 -0500

The huge load of data now coming from modern computer systems is so overwhelming that new methods must be devised to allow people to visualize the world in more understandable ways, scientists involved in computer graphics areas said in a special symposium today.

“What can humans actually understand?” asked Harvard Professor Alyssa Goodman, who arranged thea symposium on “Seeing Science” at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, held February 14 through 18 in Boston. “We just don't have the bandwidth and the receptors” to handle all the data now coming in from various disciplines, including astronomy, medicine, and the social sciences.

Hauser presents theory of "humaniqueness"

404132862 — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:31:38 -0500

Shedding new light on the great cognitive rift between humans and animals, a Harvard University scientist has synthesized four key differences in human and animal cognition into a hypothesis on what exactly differentiates human and animal thought.