2013

A new paper in Nature by Hopi Hoekstra, postdoc, Brant Peterson and graduate student, Jess Weber reveals the DNA that tells mice how to construct their homes. The Hoekstra lab's work on the genetics of mouse behavior is featured in The New York Times...

Michael Desai's research sheds light on the dynamics of adaptation in determining which mutations fix in a population, and hence how reproducible evolution will be. He co-authored a paper which was published in Nature on July 21, 2013.

Pardis Sabeti's study of genetic data from hundreds of people from Bangaldesh was published in the journal Science Translational Medicine and showed genetic differences between people who had contracted cholera and those who had been exposed, but did not...

Cassie Stoddard, Junior Fellow in the Edwards Lab, was honored with a 2013 L’Oreal USA Fellowship for Women in Science. The program is a national initiative that annually recognizes and rewards five outstanding U.S.-based post-doctoral women researchers...

Cassandra Extavour led a ten-week program at the Kavli Institute last winter for scientists debating theories about what physical mechanisms originally drove single cells to unite for mutual benefit. Coverage of her talk and the conference discussion was...

Donald H. Pfister named interim dean of Harvard College. Read more.

Bence Ölveczky has found that the brain uses two largely independent neural circuits to learn the temporal and spatial aspects of a motor skill. The study is described in Neuron and described in an article in the Harvard Gazette on September 27, 2013...

E. O. Wilson received the 2013 Hubbard Medal from the National Geographic Society. The medal, which honors "outstanding explorations or discoveries" is the Society's oldest and most prestigious award. Read more.

Hrdy Visiting Fellow in Conservation Biology, Michael Russello has found that tortoise populations on a Galapagos island frequented by mariners contain hybrids representing two species now extinct on their home islands. Read More.

L Mahadevan is co-creator of a mathematical model that has shed some light on how swarming bees stay warm in the cold and avoid getting too hot. The findings were published in the Journal of the Royal Society on December 11, 2013.