Harvard scientists detect atmosphere on distant ‘Earth-like’ planet
The first-of-its-kind discovery is expected to set off a search for signs of life.
Inquiry & Impact
The pursuit of knowledge through research, teaching, and learning, with impact at the FAS and beyond
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.
Chemist’s fix for a stubborn biomanufacturing problem? Engineer the liquid, not the machine
FluxBio’s near-term focus is to help biomanufacturers get more out of the reactors they already own.
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
The ‘atomic bomb’ of AI-driven science
Harvard scientists describe promise and peril of accelerating technologies
Proponents of gun rights, gun control want the same thing
Economics paper reveals common ground and tools with big potential to reduce harm
New space ‘archaeology’ uncovers billions of years of galactic history
Harvard astrophysicists developed a new method of “chemical archaeology” to reconstruct the history of distant galaxies by mapping the distribution of oxygen.
The geological roots of life on Earth
Andrew Knoll previews his new book on the 4-billion-year “conversation” between Earth and life — and recent interruptions by humans
A 500-million-year-old clawed predator rewrites the origin of spiders and horseshoe crabs
“I had just exposed the oldest chelicera ever found.”
Research reveals octopuses as sensitive, long-distance lovers
Study discovers how species uses “taste by touch” sensory system to feel out potential mates