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Spotting speedy brain activity

Spotting speedy brain activity

December 20, 2016

Researchers have long understood that functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a powerful tool for understanding both brain structure and activity, but new research suggests it is a good deal more potent than they thought.

Using ultra-fast MRI scans, a research team led by Laura Lewis, a junior fellow in the Harvard Society of Fellows, was able to track rapid oscillations in brain activity that before would have gone undetected, a development that could open the door to understanding fast-...

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Topical treatment clears precancerous skin lesions

Topical treatment clears precancerous skin lesions

December 20, 2016

A combination of two FDA-approved drugs — a topical chemotherapy and an immune system-activating compound — was able to rapidly clear actinic keratosis lesions from patients participating in a clinical trial. Standard treatment for this common skin condition, which can lead to the development of squamous cell carcinoma, takes up to a month and can elicit several unpleasant side effects. The report from Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators has been published online and will appear in the January issue of the Journal of Clinical...

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To Save Money, Pay Attention to Your Mood

To Save Money, Pay Attention to Your Mood

December 20, 2016

New York Magazine—Science of Us | A look at the research on emotions and consumption by psychologist Jennifer S. Lerner, a Professor in the Management, Leadership, and Decision Science Area at the Harvard Kennedy School and Co-founder of the Harvard Decision Science Laboratory.

Professor Calestous Juma Named Chair of African Union Panel on Technology

December 19, 2016

Harvard Kennedy School Professor Calestous Juma, a Faculty Affiliate of the Center for African Studies, will co-chair the African Union Commission’s (AUC) new High Level African Panel on Emerging Technologies (APET). The panel, created by Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), His Excellency Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, will advise the African Union on existing and emerging technologies.

As co-chair, Professor Juma will lead ten experts from diverse professional backgrounds as they make policy recommendations concerning existing and emerging technologies. The panel will...

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Harvard Bridge

Delving into ‘belonging’ at Harvard

December 19, 2016

Presidential task force on inclusion expands its work across University

By Alvin Powell, Harvard Staff Writer

Harvard’s intellectual breadth means that the University has a wide array of academic cultures that handle and experience diversity differently. Understanding those cultures and how they have made diverse members of the community feel at home — or haven’t — is part of the mission in the early going for the Task Force on Inclusion and Belonging.... Read more about Delving into ‘belonging’ at Harvard

Fudging the Truth Makes People Like You Less

Fudging the Truth Makes People Like You Less

December 19, 2016

Time.com | Interview with behavioral scientist Todd Rogers (HKS), co-author of a new study on "paltering" with Richard Zeckhauser (HKS), Francesca Gino (HBS), and Michael I. Norton (HBS), which appears in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
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