Clea Simon

Somerville

Freelance Journalist and Author at Freelance

Crime fiction and, often, cats. Most recently feline cozy TO CONJURE A KILLER and psychological suspense HOLD ME DOWN https://t.co/R42YW5HwdE she/her/hers

Articles

65 staffers honored as ‘Harvard Heroes’ — Harvard Gazette

1 week ago | news.harvard.edu | Clea Simon

7 min read The mood was joyous as family and friends packed into Sanders Theatre celebrated 65 “Harvard Heroes” from across the University on Thursday. Nominated and selected by their peers, these staff members were introduced by the heads of their departments, divisions, or Schools. Their achievements were highlighted in brief and often touchingly personal remarks by President Alan M. Garber.
The fight against tick-borne disease: New molecular method differentiates sexes, reveals whether females have mated

2 weeks ago | phys.org | Clea Simon |Sadie Harley |Robert Egan

Ticks pose a grave risk to public health, with nearly half a million cases of the tick-borne Lyme disease treated every year in the United States. Young nymph and adult female ticks typically pose the greatest risk of transmitting infection to humans.
A step in fight against tick-borne disease — Harvard Gazette

2 weeks ago | news.harvard.edu | Clea Simon

Ticks pose a grave risk to public health, with nearly half a million cases of the tick-borne Lyme disease treated every year in the United States. Young nymph and adult female ticks typically pose the greatest risk for transmitting infection to humans. But, researchers say, there is much that is unknown about the sexual biology of ticks, knowledge that would prove useful in control efforts.
‘We have a way of steering a fly like you would a car’ — Harvard Gazette

1 month ago | news.harvard.edu | Clea Simon

4 min read Fruit flies, one of the most studied organisms in science, are efficient little creatures, able to navigate their environment with agility. They were also one of the first animals to be manipulated by geneticists. A new study, published last month by PNAS, exploited these qualities by turning fruit flies into what the co-authors call “living micro-robots,” whose movements can be controlled by sensory clues.
Macfarlane's 'Is a River Alive' ponders waterways.

1 month ago | bostonglobe.com | Clea Simon

Should a natural feature — a function of the earth — have the same rights as a human, or, really, any sentient creature? That is the question at the heart of “Is a River Alive?,” Robert Macfarlane’s exhaustive — and at times exhausting — new book. Considering the author’s background as a nature writer, it is clear the answer he expects is “yes,” and after reading this multifaceted argument, it is hard to disagree.
Talking about music doesn’t have to be difficult — Harvard Gazette

1 month ago | news.harvard.edu | Clea Simon

4 min read Music can be difficult to talk about. But WordSong, which styles itself “Boston’s premier interactive concert organization,” confronts the fraught relationship between music and words directly.
Weighing cure for sick kids against troubling ethical questions — Harvard Gazette

2 months ago | news.harvard.edu | Clea Simon

If our differences are part of what make us human, do we have the right — or the responsibility — to change them? That question was at the crux of “The Promise and Peril of CRISPR,” a talk given by Neal Baer, Ed.M. ’79, M.D. ’96, co-director of Harvard Medical School’s master’s degree program in Media, Medicine, and Health.
Turns out, bonobos ‘talk’ a lot like humans — Harvard Gazette

2 months ago | news.harvard.edu | Clea Simon

How old is language? A new study from researchers at the University of Zurich and Harvard University reveals that bonobos, our closest living relatives alongside chimpanzees, use the equivalent of word compounds and phrasings, suggesting that the roots of language predate humans.
When making positive change, sometimes you ‘break things’ — Harvard Gazette

2 months ago | news.harvard.edu | Clea Simon

If you want to make things better, says Gina Raimondo, that means things are going to have to change — and sometimes that means you “break things.”For example, the former U.S. Commerce secretary and Rhode Island governor said that when she was leading the Ocean State, she cut taxes every year, raised the state minimum wage, and made community college tuition free. She also cut 30 percent of the state’s regulations.
How to manage stress during an apocalypse — Harvard Gazette

2 months ago | news.harvard.edu | Clea Simon

5 min read Cooperation, community, and a sense of adventure may be the keys to our survival, even in these violently divided times. That was the theme of Athena Aktipis’ address last week.