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Inquiry & Impact

The pursuit of knowledge through research, teaching, and learning, with impact at the FAS and beyond

How a giant predator of prehistoric seas was discovered — twice
Museum of Comparative Zoology collections manager Christina Byrd, at left, and MCZ fossil preparator Scott Johnston pose with a Tylosaurus proriger fossil jaw.

How a giant predator of prehistoric seas was discovered — twice

After 80 million years, a giant fossil jaw has quite a story to tell. Back in the age of the dinosaurs, Tylosaurus proriger was a fearsome predator — a bus-sized aquatic reptile with a crushing snout, daggerlike teeth, and knack for swallowing prey whole. How its bones wound up at Harvard is a tangled yarn involving a Wild West stagecoach station, the early western railroads, the infamous “Bone Wars” between rival fossil hunters, and a founding scholar of natural history.

Women more likely to marry, land jobs after taking GLP-1s
A woman and man, both in professional dress, shake hands.

Women more likely to marry, land jobs after taking GLP-1s

New research by economist Rebecca Diamond found an increase in marriage among single women and an increase in employment rates among unemployed women after they started taking GLP-1 drugs for weight loss. Diamond says the pattern suggests that at least part of the female obesity penalty — the social and financial costs women bear due to their body size — is linked to first impressions.

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Valeria Luiselli’s ‘deep dive into mother-daughter relationships’
Novelist and incoming professor of English at Harvard University Valeria Luiselli

Valeria Luiselli’s ‘deep dive into mother-daughter relationships’

The incoming professor of English’s fourth novel, “Beginning Middle End,” follows a mother and her 12-year-old daughter as they travel to Sicily, where the duo is figuring out how to reconstruct their lives amid their encounters with the island’s daily life, its winds, waters, and volcanoes.

Octopus cells pack ‘real surprise’ for biologists
A California two-spot octopus waving its arms

Octopus cells pack ‘real surprise’ for biologists

Harvard biologists have discovered a mysterious distinction at the core of the octopus‘ cellular biology that appears to be unique in the animal kingdom.

Bigger benefits for kindergarten’s oldest boys uncovered
A child wearing a backpack boarding a school bus

Bigger benefits for kindergarten’s oldest boys uncovered

Being born a few days on either side of the school-enrollment cutoff date might seem like an arbitrary difference. But new research finds boys born just after the cutoff, who start kindergarten relatively old for their grade, enjoy far more advantages than previously known.

David Reich on migration, mixed ancestries, and ancient DNA
View of a pair of hands in a lab coat and gloves handling tubes labeled “DNA ONLY”

David Reich on migration, mixed ancestries, and ancient DNA

Drawing on data from over 50,000 genetic samples, Reich’s research shows that the people living in a place today are almost never the direct descendants of the people who lived there before.

How the brain decides where to insulate its own wiring
Postdoctoral researcher Nuria Dominguez-Iturza in front of a microscope

How the brain decides where to insulate its own wiring

A new study by takes a step toward illuminating brain development and providing clues that may lead to therapies for devastating neurological disorders.

Researchers pull landlords from the shadows
An image of classic brick residences in New York City.

Researchers pull landlords from the shadows

Approximately one-third of all households in the United States live in rented properties, but it can be hard to say who the landlords are. In a co-authored research paper, economics professor Rebecca Diamond introduces a method for identifying the deed-holders.

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