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Baselines of the GMVA+ALMA array for Sgr A* observations

Lifting the veil on the black hole at the heart of our Galaxy: Results from GMVA+ALMA observations of Sgr A*

January 21, 2019

Including the powerful ALMA into an array of telescopes for the first time, astronomers have found that the emission from the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*) at the center of our Galaxy comes from a smaller region than previously thought. This may indicate that a radio jet from Sgr A* is pointed almost toward us. The paper, led by the Nijmegen PhD student Sara Issaoun, is published in The...

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Leadership lessons from Harvard’s ‘accidental president’

Leadership lessons from Harvard’s ‘accidental president’

January 31, 2019

Do the right thing, even when it’s hard. Invest in the success of those around you. And never underestimate the persuasive power of reframing controversial questions.

Those were the take-home messages Wednesday from Harvard President Larry Bacow, who, despite having led both Harvard and Tufts and having been MIT’s chancellor, said he still considers himself something of an “accidental president.”

Bacow, who appeared on a webcast...

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Lungless salamanders’ skin expresses protein crucial for lung function

January 31, 2019

For decades, scientists have assumed that the hundreds of species of salamanders that lack lungs actually “breathe” through their skin and the lining of the mouth, and Harvard researchers are providing the first concrete evidence for how they do it.

A new study, authored by James Hanken, Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology in the Museum of Comparative Zoology and curator of herpetology, Zachary Lewis, a postdoc working in Hanken’s lab, and then-Harvard Extension School student Jorge Dorantes, shows that a gene that produces surfactant protein c — a key protein for lung function — is...

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Epidemic of autoimmune diseases pushes researchers in new direction

Epidemic of autoimmune diseases pushes researchers in new direction

January 31, 2019

The immune system normally defends the body against everything from microscopic viruses to meters-long parasitic worms. But sometimes, it sets its sights on the wrong target: the body’s own cells.

Autoimmunity problems cause many different diseases, depending on which cells are targeted. In Type 1 diabetes, it’s beta cells. Beta cells are located in the pancreas and produce insulin, the molecule necessary to convert food into energy. Without it, patients must monitor their blood and inject themselves with insulin multiple times a day.

Scientists at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (...

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Mary C. Waters Named Margaret Olivia Sage Scholar

January 31, 2019

Faculty Associate Mary C. Waters, PVK Professor of Arts and Sciences and John L. Loeb Professor of Sociology, has been named a 2019–2020 Margaret Olivia Sage Scholar by the Russell Sage Foundation. Established in 2015, the Margaret Olivia Sage Scholars program provides the opportunity for distinguished social scientists to spend brief periods in residence at the Russell Sage Foundation so they can pursue their own research and participate in other activities such as mentoring visiting scholars and advising foundation stakeholders on research initiatives.