First Proof’s second batch of math problems test AI
Humans are still doing the heavy lifting, despite rapid AI progress
Inquiry & Impact
The pursuit of knowledge through research, teaching, and learning, with impact at the FAS and beyond
Working from home works against mental health
A new study finds increased isolation and distress in remote-friendly occupations
Harvard astronomer, ‘our heroine’ of the 20th century, memorialized in London
FAS Dean Hopi Hoekstra helped dedicate a plaque at the teenage home of Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin.
AI system automates coding for scientific research
A new AI tool called Empirical Research Assistance can automatically write high-performance scientific software, even outperforming software written by experts.
Cracking the code of ‘what the nose knows’
A team of researchers from two labs has created the most comprehensive map to date of how the primary olfactory system detects and organizes social and predator odors.
Lives saved by sociologist’s fix for skin tone bias
The Monk Skin Tone scale, devised in 2019 by Professor Ellis Monk, helps create more accurate medical diagnostic tools for patients with dark skin
How to tell the story of American racism? Alabama’s Legacy Sites offer ‘powerful’ approach
Students studying the intersections of art and racial justice traveled to Montgomery this semester.
A skull full of surprises
In a new study, OEB researchers CT-scanned 87 ray-finned fish species. Turns out fish aren't simple — they're just built completely differently than we assumed.
No pill for exercise: Why GLP-1s can’t replace physical activity
Why take a walk or a run when you can just take a pill? These are burning questions in the new era of revolutionary weight loss drugs.
Stopping cervical cancer before it starts
A researcher focused on developing therapeutic vaccines for the human papillomavirus (HPV), Alton Gayton will graduate from the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in May 2026 with a Ph.D. in virology. He discusses his pioneering work using circular RNA and artificial intelligence to treat and prevent cervical cancer, his upbringing in North Carolina, and his path from there to Harvard, via the University of North Carolina.
Bioengineering a career in cancer therapeutics
Danika Rodrigues has been researching cancer therapies since she was a biomedical engineering undergraduate and master’s student at the University of Michigan. But it was working at Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a division of Johnson & Johnson, that convinced her that not only was cancer research interesting — it was what she wanted for her career.
Re-examining the history of Black fathers
Thousands filled the pews of one of Chicago’s largest Black churches on June 15, 2008, to hear then-Senator Barack Obama deliver a much-anticipated Father’s Day speech. Given the occasion and setting, few would have been surprised if the candidate for president had taken the opportunity to lift up the role of Black men in family life. And at first, he did, briefly praising the work and virtues of the congregation's leader, Bishop Arthur Brazier, and his son, Rev. Byron Brazier. Then Obama pivoted sharply, delivering a withering indictment of absentee fathers in the Black community.
Uncovering economic, social benefits of female friendship
What do we really gain from making new friends, and does it matter who they are?
Can your pup match pitch? Scientists detail top talents for howling
Evolutionary biologist Erin Hecht on the ancient breed that can fine-tune according to surrounding sound