5 things we learned this week


Photo illustration by Liz Zonarich/Harvard Staff

Campus & Community

5 things we learned this week

March 13, 2025


1 min read

How closely have you been following the Gazette? Take our quiz to find out. 

Ditching butter has a big impact. Climate change is changing the forest. The cost of homeowners insurance is screwy. Drug manufacturing costs could be lower. Harvard runs (or ran) on typewriters. 


butter vs oil
1. Why did new research suggest that swapping butter with olive, canola, or soybean oils could lead to a 17 percent lower risk of premature death?

2. As climate change impacts the makeup of Harvard Forest, what is replacing dying hemlocks?

wildfires roundup 2025
3. Climate change is affecting homeowners insurance. How did California regulators change the rules after the recent wildfires?

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4. The secret to manufacturing less expensive pharmaceuticals could lie in a modified relative of what common liquid you might have around the house?

013025 Typewriter 36
5. What famous Harvard scholar said he or she still uses three typewriters purchased from Cambridge Typewriter?

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