Harvard University

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Eggbeater Helps Scientists Whip Disease

Harvard researchers fashion a household item into a diagnostic device

(Newser) - Centrifuges separate blood from plasma—but at considerable expense, in a bulky package. That leaves them beyond the reach of underfunded medical facilities that could use the help in diagnosing blood-borne ailments, such as hepatitis and other diseases. The solution, Discover reports, could be as close as the nearest kitchen....

Portman Wants to Talk About Microloans, Not Movies

Teams with Jordan's queen to help women

(Newser) - Among Hollywood actresses, Natalie Portman may be an anomaly. “As opposed to talking about fashion,” the 27-year-old says she prefers discussing poverty alleviation. The Israeli-American discovered FINCA International, a microfinance program for women, through her inspiration, Jordan’s Queen Rania, a Palestinian and an “incredible woman whom...

This Year's Not-So-Nobel Prizes

Spoof kudos for 'mad' scientist projects

(Newser) - Researchers who proved Diet Coke is an effective spermicide, a nation's declaration that plants have rights, and a study that proved dog fleas can jump higher than cat fleas have won Harvard University's annual Ig Nobel Prizes. The spoof awards recognize projects that "first make people laugh, and then...

10 Most-Buzzed-About Schools
 10 Most-Buzzed-About Schools 
Sep 30, 2008 3:51 PM CDT

10 Most-Buzzed-About Schools

Harvard beats out Columbia for most internet references

(Newser) - Institutions of higher learning care about their brand as much as any business, so the Global Language Monitor has ranked universities and colleges for the amount of buzz they command on the internet. The winners:
  1. Harvard University
  2. Columbia University
  3. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
  4. University of California, Berkeley
  5. Stanford University
...

Docs Tout Safer, Non-Embryonic Stem Cells

Virus, used in mice, repurposes adult cells with no risk of cancer

(Newser) - Scientists have discovered a safer way to turn adult cells into stem cells, the Boston Globe reports. The cells, similar to those harvested from embryos, are called induced pluripotent stem, or iPS, cells; Japanese researchers introduced the method 2 years ago. But the Japanese used retroviruses, which can cause cancer;...

Colon Cancer Gene Discovered
 Colon Cancer Gene Discovered 
Sep 15, 2008 6:00 AM CDT

Colon Cancer Gene Discovered

Cancer growth gene identified

(Newser) - Researchers have discovered a key gene that may contribute to the growth of colon cancer and could provide a target for new therapies, Bloomberg reports. The gene, CDK8, controls a cell growth switch that researchers think might spur the development of many tumors. The discovery may help up to 50%...

Harvard Probes Racism Charges Against Its Cops

Blacks say they're targeted by security

(Newser) - Harvard University is reviewing its security procedures after black students and professors charged that they're being unfairly targeted, the Boston Globe reports. A six-member committee will review the campus force following a number of incidents, including one in which a black professor was stopped when he was mistaken for a...

Harvard Bumps Princeton in Top Colleges List

Smaller class size helps Harvard back to top of influential US News ranking

(Newser) - Harvard has reclaimed sole possession of the top spot in the ever-controversial US News and World Report rankings for the first time in 12 years. Princeton slipped to second, with Yale in third and Stanford and MIT tied for fourth spot. The magazine rates the halls of learning based on...

Harvard's Endowment Shines in Tough Financial Year

$35B fund sees modest 7%-9% growth

(Newser) - Harvard’s endowment did better than most in the down market, reports the Wall Street Journal. The $35 billion fund, which ended its fiscal year in June, earned 7% to 9%. “That would be easily the best performer among the foundations and endowments that we track," says a...

Ivy Leaguers Start Ahead, Stay Ahead

Take that English degree to Wall Street and you'll still cash in

(Newser) - How much you make correlates with where you went to school, a new study finds. Bachelor’s degree holders’ salaries grow at the same rate over the first decade of their careers regardless of the school, the Wall Street Journal reports, but Ivy League graduates’ median starting salary is 32%...

Yoga Turning B-Schoolers on Their Heads

Capitalists latch on to search for inner peace

(Newser) - Inner peace through capitalism? Americans spend $5.7 billion a year on yoga classes and products, and now, BusinessWeek reports, yoga clubs are cropping up in some of the country's most high-pressured institutions: top business schools. "Having a yoga practice helped sort through the white noise," one MIT...

Idealism Met Different End for Obama Sr.

Kenya's graft drove Dem's father to drink, untimely death at 46

(Newser) - Like his candidate son, Barack Obama Sr. was charismatic, eloquent and idealistic, those who knew him say—so idealistic he was devastated by the corruption he saw in his native Kenya. The Harvard grad was so disillusioned upon his return to Africa, the Los Angeles Times reports, he turned to...

Rowling Casts Spell at Harvard
 Rowling Casts Spell at Harvard 
Jun 6, 2008 7:10 AM CDT

Rowling Casts Spell at Harvard

Fight the monsters, she urges

(Newser) - Harry Potter birth mom JK Rowling yesterday urged Harvard graduates at their commencement to use their imaginations on more than wizards and muggles to envision—and create—a better world. She recalled the rewarding time she spent when she was younger working for prisoners of totalitarian regimes for Amnesty International....

Pinched Oxford Wants $2.5B
 Pinched Oxford Wants $2.5B 
May 29, 2008 7:08 AM CDT

Pinched Oxford Wants $2.5B

Needs cash to compete with Ivy League

(Newser) - Prestigious Oxford University is pleading poverty and has begun a campaign to raise funds to make it competitive with Harvard, Yale, and Princeton for academic talent, reports the Christian Science Monitor. The university—actually a collection of individual colleges—aims to raise $2.5 billion, but even that is chump...

Best Alma Maters for Billionaires

Yeah, Harvard's the place to be

(Newser) - Bill Gates and Carl Icahn may be college dropouts (Harvard and NYU, respectively), but most billionaires carry a sheepskin diploma with them. These top-tier universities have educated the most billionaires:
  1. Harvard: with 50, including Steve Ballmer, Michael Bloomberg, and Sumner Redstone.
  1. Stanford: was founded by a billionaire and counts 30
...

Pregnancy Stress Ups Kid's Asthma Risk

Babies' immune systems respond to pressures on moms

(Newser) - Stress an expectant mother experiences can increase her child’s predisposition to allergies and asthma, Reuters reports. Mothers-to-be with high stress levels gave birth to babies with high levels of an immune compound involved in the allergenic response, Harvard researchers found—even when their environmental exposure to allergens was low.

Mistress Recalls Mailer Sex Roles

Casting couch among Pulitzer-winner's role-play favorites, Carole Mallory says

(Newser) - Norman Mailer’s fanciful sex life is giving his best-selling books a run for their money as his legacy, the New York Post reports. Mailer's longtime lover Carole Mallory—who recently hawked her X-rated writings about Mailer's sexual experimentation to Harvard—says the Pulitzer Prize-winner "liked me to dress...

Harvard Gets $100M From Rockefeller

Gift will fund study-abroad and arts programs

(Newser) - Harvard fund managers rejoice! The university will get to stock its coffers, already $35 billion strong, with a $100 million gift from David Rockefeller, the largest ever by an alumnus, the New York Times reports. The money will be used to expand the university's arts program and help more students...

Harvard Buys Mailer Mistress' Lusty Litany

Papers include 50-page sex scene based on relationship

(Newser) - Harvard missed out on acquiring the papers of late novelist Norman Mailer, but it's bought the next-best thing—those of his longtime mistress Carole Mallory, the New York Post reports. The package includes a 20-page sex scene from an unpublished memoir called Making Love With Norman. "Norman was a...

'Chicago Was His Harvard of Politics'

A look back at Obama's early political presence

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s unconventional personal background contrasts sharply with the roots of his political instincts and career. In Chicago's patronage-happy system, the young pol learned to break bread with conservatives, play to the black masses, and even get his back up when necessary. The Wall Street Journal examines the candidate’...

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