Coronavirus variant dampens prospects for return to normal

Will the British variant’s transmissibility upset summer plans?

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covid-19 coronavirus pandemic health-medicine alvin-powell marc-lipsitch barry-bloom sars-cov-2 british-variant transmissibility

Astrochemist brings search for extraterrestrial life to Harvard

Clara Sousa-Silva, whose expertise in phosphine as a biosignature gas was key to a recent analysis that may have detected life in the clouds of Venus, has moved to the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian for the final two years of her fellowship. She discusses the finding and the broader topic of the search for life on other planets.

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science-technology spectroscopy alvin-powell center-for-astrophysics-harvard-smithsonian earth extraterrestrial-life venus exobiology clara-sousa-silva david-charbonneau hitran phosphine

Research labs score perfect COVID safety records

Six months after reopening, Harvard’s labs report an unblemished safety record, important contributions to the state’s economy, and an array of scientific findings, albeit with the requisite frustration of operating during a pandemic.

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science-technology covid-19 coronavirus stephanie-pierce alvin-powell abraham-loeb david-sinclair richard-mccullough association-of-independent-colleges-and-universities-in-massachusetts economic-benefit laboratory-reopening nicholas-bellono robert-mccarron

Anthony Fauci offers a timeline for ending COVID-19 pandemic

Anthony Fauci predicted herd immunity by next fall and “normality” by 2021’s end, as long as enough people get vaccinated to bring the pandemic to an end.

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covid-19 pandemic harvard-medical-school health-medicine alvin-powell harvard-th-chan-school-of-public-health michelle-williams george-daley herd-immunity vaccination massachusetts-consortium-on-pathogen-readiness anthony-fauci margaret-hamberg margaret-hamburg vaccine-reluctance

Chan School dean outlines ‘action agenda’ for global health

COVID-19 has not only sickened and killed millions around the globe, it has wreaked havoc on existing programs to fight health ills that affect millions more. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Dean Michelle Williams discusses with the Gazette an “action agenda” on global health for the incoming Biden administration.

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covid-19 global-health health-medicine alvin-powell harvard-th-chan-school-of-public-health michelle-williams world-health-organization vaccination hunger the-lancet

Will there be a post-Thanksgiving coronavirus surge?

Evidence of a post-Thanksgiving surge should be emerging this week, a Harvard epidemiologist said, advising people who gathered together to get tested or assume they’re infected.

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covid-19 coronavirus harvard-medical-school health-medicine alvin-powell harvard-th-chan-school-of-public-health the-forum-at-harvard-th-chan-school-of-public-health vaccine thanksgiving megan-murray

Vaccine rollout is a chance for the U.S. to get it right

Experts said the complex rollout of a coronavirus vaccine gives the U.S. a chance for a win after the virus gained the upper hand in its initial phase.

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covid-19 coronavirus health-medicine alvin-powell harvard-th-chan-school-of-public-health the-forum-at-harvard-th-chan-school-of-public-health marc-lipsitch vaccine barry-bloom sarah-fortune pfizer moderna rochelle-walensky

Ways to stay positive during this year’s holiday season

Harvard psychiatric epidemiologist Karestan Koenen said acknowledging that this Thanksgiving will be hard is a first step toward a meaningful holiday.

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covid-19 coronavirus health-medicine alvin-powell harvard-th-chan-school-of-public-health the-forum-at-harvard-th-chan-school-of-public-health holidays social-distancing karestan-koenen masks thanksgiving

Risks and benefits of an AI revolution in medicine

As part of our series, artificial intelligence is examined through the medical lens. It may lift personalized treatment, fill gaps in access to care, and cut red tape, but risks abound.

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medicine artificial-intelligence harvard-medical-school health-medicine alvin-powell ai-series

Safest way to handle the holidays during a pandemic

William Hanage, an associate professor of epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, offers key advice as the holidays approach.

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