We are very excited to announce a new initiative that HSR is a founding member of: the International Collegiate Science Journal (ICSJ). Together with 8 other universities, Princeton, Duke, Stanford, Berkeley, Rice, WashU, Cambridge, and Oxford, we are launching this international group of science journals that have come together to form a collaborative journal and organizationContinue reading “International Collegiate Science Journal (ICSJ)”
Author Archives: harvardsciencereview
The Science of Alcohol Addiction
by Carrie Sha It’s a Friday night. House parties. Drinking games. Red solo cups. It’s a common sight. But where does the college drinking culture come from and where can we draw the thin line between being in control of alcohol and having alcohol control you? Approximately one out of five college students meet the NationalContinue reading “The Science of Alcohol Addiction”
The Science of Swearing: A look into the human MIND and other less socially acceptable four-letter words
by Michelle Drews Disclaimer: This article covers the psychological, neurobiological, linguistic, and legal aspects of the use of profanity. Readers are advised that it does contain words that some individuals my find offensive or inappropriate for young children. What’s in a word? Would that which I call my pen write any less well if IContinue reading “The Science of Swearing: A look into the human MIND and other less socially acceptable four-letter words”
Alternative Medicine and Patient Self-Care
by Lauren Claus Although the words “health care” typically evoke images of doctors and drugs, many people nowadays see yoga teachers and acupuncture specialists, as well as physicians, to meet their needs. In the United States, 38% of adults and 12% of children use some form of complementary and alternative medicine, which is defined asContinue reading “Alternative Medicine and Patient Self-Care”
Stuck in Bereavement – Complicated Grief
by Lauren Stone The experience of losing a loved one is something we can all relate to, and for some, this may be especially relevant in light of the recent Boston Marathon bombings. In the United States, almost 2.5 million people die every year (1). Individuals grieve in different ways in response to the commonContinue reading “Stuck in Bereavement – Complicated Grief”
Should we use genetically modified foods to increase our food reservoir?
by Serena Blacklow Over 80% of all processed foods in the U.S. contain genetically modified ingredients (1). Yet, the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as sources of food remains intensely controversial, with economists, politicians, and farmers as well as scientists taking conflicting stances on the issue. While GMOs have the potential to increase ourContinue reading “Should we use genetically modified foods to increase our food reservoir?”
DNA glue facilitates self-assembly of hydrogel bricks
by Serena Blacklow Here at Harvard’s own Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, researchers have introduced a new method of self-assembly using DNA glue. Self-assembly, the ability of objects to spontaneously come together, enables scientists and engineers to attach objects too small to be manipulated by hand. Although there has been much progress with self-assemblyContinue reading “DNA glue facilitates self-assembly of hydrogel bricks”
DATA: The bigger the better? A survey of analytical traps and tricks
by Elizabeth Beam Introduction In the way of gas-guzzling vehicles and the great American gut, data these days is big and getting bigger. And why shouldn’t it? By contrast to the toll that other excesses take on the environment and our bodies, the physical burden of a large-scale dataset is nearly negligible, and decreasing. InContinue reading “DATA: The bigger the better? A survey of analytical traps and tricks”
Human Cloning: Unmasking the Controversy
by Francisco Galdos Suppose you have a year-old laptop that has been working well for you. You begin to notice one day that the computer freezes more frequently, and you continue to have problems. After taking your computer to the engineers, the engineers discover that a few of the small components of the motherboard areContinue reading “Human Cloning: Unmasking the Controversy”
The Secret Life of Plants
by Tristan Wang On a night in 1966 interrogation specialist Cleve Backster taught how to perform lie detection to policemen. On a whim, Backster attached electrodes of a galvanometer to a nearby dracaena plant. A galvanometer is an instrument that detects minute electric currents, often used as a part of the polygraph lie detector. WhenContinue reading “The Secret Life of Plants”
Fighting Infections with Feces: The Promise of Fecal Microbiota Transplantation
by Brendan Pease The phrase “cutting-edge medical treatment” often conjures up images of complex technologies derived from neural mapping or stem cell research. However, one of the newest medical treatments may not originate from neurons or progenitor cells, but from fecal matter. Every year, the bacterium Clostridium difficile kills 14,000 Americans and infects many more,Continue reading “Fighting Infections with Feces: The Promise of Fecal Microbiota Transplantation”
Facing the Fats: Should You Be Scared of Saturated Fat?
by Emily Groopman and Jen Guidera Butter. Bacon. Heavy cream. While considered wholesome staples in 19th and early 20th century America, these foods are now seen as “greasy killers” rather than good nourishment (1, 2). The fear and even shame surrounding consumption of such items reflects a powerful nutritional paradigm. Associated with a plethora ofContinue reading “Facing the Fats: Should You Be Scared of Saturated Fat?”
How Leukemia Cells Remodel Bone Marrow
by Lauren Claus Approximately 254,000 United States citizens currently have leukemia, a type of cancer in which abnormal blood cells, such as white blood cells, crowd and interfere with normal bone marrow function (1). Despite the range of treatments, including chemotherapy and bone marrow transplants, it is estimated that 7.1 out of 100,000 adults dieContinue reading “How Leukemia Cells Remodel Bone Marrow”
Extinct Today, Alive Tomorrow: The Science And Ethics of De-extinction
by Caitlin Andrews As humans, we have a constant curiosity to know what life on an earlier Earth might have looked like. We use fossils, skeletons, and our own imaginings to reconstruct images of dinosaurs, woolly mammoths, and other prehistoric creatures. We visit museums to come “face-to-face” with these animals and pay tribute to speciesContinue reading “Extinct Today, Alive Tomorrow: The Science And Ethics of De-extinction”
Harvard Science Review 