Congratulations to PhD candidate Dwayne Evans (Harvard Medical School Biological and Biomedical Sciences PhD Program) and his advisor Prof. Cassandra Extavour awarded the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) 2021 Gilliam Fellowship.

The Gilliam Fellowship is awarded to adviser-student pairs as part of a...

It is with profound sadness that we share the news that OEB Professor Richard (Dick) Lewontin died on Sunday, July 4th, he was 92. Professor Lewontin is considered one of the most brilliant population geneticists and pioneered the study of genetic variation among humans and other animals. He was a much loved and respected member of the department as well as more broadly at Harvard and, indeed, worldwide.

Professor Lewontin retired in 2003, but remained active until recent years. He...

Methane is a strong greenhouse gas that plays a key role in Earth’s climate. Anytime we use natural gas, whether we light up our kitchen stove or barbeque, we are using methane.

Only three sources on Earth produce methane naturally: volcanoes, subsurface water-rock interactions, and microbes. Between these three sources, most is generated by microbes, which have deposited hundreds of gigatons of methane into the deep seafloor. At seafloor methane seeps, it percolates upwards toward the open ocean, and microbial communities consume the majority of this...

Water availability is essential to terrestrial plants, especially tall canopy trees. Satellite observations at microwave frequencies make it possible to assess total canopy water content and plant stress. However, leaf surface water -- water coming from dew, fog and rainfall -- is often overlooked when interpreting changes in canopy water content. An increasing body of evidence, though, indicates that plants might rely more than originally thought on these nonconventional water sources.

In a recent study in ...