Nothing in science can be achieved or understood without measurement. Today, thanks to advances in quantum sensing, scientists can measure things that were once impossible to even imagine: vibrations of atoms, properties of individual photons, fluctuations associated with gravitational…
Category: 7. SciTech
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How Do Living Bridges Grow? » ScienceABC
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Living bridges, like those found in the state of Meghalaya in India, are grown by manipulating the roots of a plant called Ficus elastica. This is possible because the plant grows on other trees and produces aerial roots that can then…
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Should kids play Wordle? — Harvard Gazette
A series of random questions answered by Harvard experts.
Millions of people play Wordle, the popular online game in which players must guess a five-letter word in six tries. We asked researcher Nadine Gaab, associate professor of education at the Harvard Graduate…
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How moms may be affecting STEM gender gap — Harvard Gazette
Women have been underrepresented in science and technology fields, and new research suggests a somewhat surprising possible contributing factor: the influence of moms. A recent paper by Michela Carlana, Harvard Kennedy School assistant professor of public policy, and Lucia Corno, an economics…
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How Much Have Our Crops Changed Since Agriculture Began? » ScienceABC
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Early farmers selected plants with traits that were useful for them, such as larger grains, sweeter fruits and vegetables, fewer thorns, and cereals with large panicles. This type of selection over many generations resulted in the crops…
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How did life begin on Earth? Research zeroes in on lightning strikes. — Harvard Gazette
About four billion years ago, Earth resembled the set of a summer sci-fi blockbuster. The planet’s surface was a harsh and barren landscape, recovering from hellish asteroid strikes, teeming with volcanic eruptions, and lacking enough nutrients to sustain even the simplest forms of…
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How Are Fruits And Vegetables So Shiny And Large In The US? » ScienceABC
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Fruits and vegetables look larger in the US than they do in India or any Southeast Asian or African country for a host of reasons, including customer preferences, transportation logistics and farming techniques.
Have you ever wondered…
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Are Street Lights Keeping Plants Awake At Night? » ScienceABC
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Plants follows the day-and-night cycle, just like humans, and artificial lighting does disrupt the circadian rhythms of plants. This is critical, as many plant functions depend on a normally functioning circadian rhythm, such as…
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Why Did The Ming Dynasty Choose A Path Of Isolation From The World? » ScienceABC
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The 14th century Ming Dynasty—influenced by land-centric views—halted maritime expeditions, isolating China via the 1434 Edict of Haijin.
The Ming Dynasty, which ruled China from 1368 to 1644, has often been characterized as a period…
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The answer to your search may depend on where you live — Harvard Gazette
Michael Puett (left), Queenie Luo, and Michael D. Smith.
Photo by Grace DuVal
A Chinese-language Google user types in “Buddhism” and launches a search. A French-language user searches the same term, as does an English-language user. Will all three get the same results? New Harvard…
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