Harvard

A new breakthrough could help unravel the immune system's secrets. Researchers have created an accurate model of the human immune system in a microfluidic chip, providing a better platform to study how immune cells respond to vaccines and pathogens.

Harvard scientists studying the molecular structure of cells under obesity-related stress have spotted alterations in the architecture that can be patched up, with "striking" results that restore them to healthy metabolic function.

Researchers at Harvard and Emory have created a biohybrid fish out of human heart cells that swims autonomously for months at a time as the cells beat. The project is a sidestep on the way to eventually growing new functional hearts for transplant.

In order for it to be truly soft, a soft-bodied robot can't contain any hard, rigid components. That's why we've already seen soft batteries, circuits and actuators. Now, a squishy, stretchable thermometer has joined that list.

A study has reported evidence to affirm multiple sclerosis is caused by infection from the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Tracking 10 million subjects over 20 years, the findings indicate EBV infection leads to a 32-fold increased risk of developing MS.

A new study has identified a pattern of brain activity that seems to correlate with impairment from cannabis intoxication. The researchers suggest this novel brain-based biomarker could be a way to accurately measure THC impairment.

It's ironic that even though many people are starving, a great deal of food gets discarded because it spoils before it can be eaten. A new natural-source packaging material could help, by making foods last longer – plus it's biodegradable.

When the first astronauts reach Mars, they will carry out heavy physical tasks after many months of traveling in weightlessness. New Atlas talked to Draper scholars Rachel Bellisle and Tom Abitante about technologies to help keep astronauts healthy.

While the 3D bioprinting of tissue and organs does hold great promise in the field of medicine, the printed materials typically have quite a short shelf life. An experimental new bio-ink, however, allows bioprinted tissue to be stored in a frozen state for months at a time.

Early preclinical work led by researchers from Harvard has found elements in a toxin produced by the anthrax bacterium can silence activity in pain-signaling brain neurons. The research raises the prospect of a new model for future pain therapeutics.

Scientists at Harvard University have made a breakthrough that implicates a newly discovered hormone in the onset of diabetes, and shown how it can be targeted to reverse the effects of the disease.

An exotic state of matter originally hypothesized almost 50 years ago has been observed for the first time. Created by Harvard researchers, this material called quantum spin liquid could eventually help improve quantum computers.