Highlights •Systems-level approach reveals GATA4 roles in human cardiac development and function •Heterozygous GATA4 missense mutation impairs cardiac gene program •GATA4 G296S mutation disrupts TBX5 genome occupancy at cardiac super-enhancers •PI3K signaling is a key “hub” in the GATA4 gene regulatory network

Scientists linked a single gene mutation to 2 types of heart disease: one causes a hole in the heart of infants, and the other causes heart failure. Using cells donated by a family with the mutation, the researchers gained insight into congenital heart disease, heart development, and healthy heart function...

This tiny radio — whose building blocks are the size of two atoms — can withstand extremely harsh environments and is biocompatible, meaning it could work anywhere from a probe on Venus to a pacemaker in a human heart. Credit: Eliza Grinnell/Harvard SEAS

Harvard engineers have made the world’s smallest radio receiver – built out of an assembly of atomic-scale defects in pink diamonds. This tiny radio—whose building blocks are the size of two atoms—can withstand extremely harsh environments and is biocompatible, meaning it could work anywhere from a probe on Venus to a pacemaker in a human heart. The research was led by Marko Loncar, Tiantsai Lin Professor of Electrical Engineering at SEAS, and his graduate student Linbo Shao.

This tiny radio — whose building blocks are the size of two ...

Intricately-shaped pulses of light pave a speedway for the accelerated dynamics of quantum particles, enabling faster switching of a quantum bit. Credit: Image courtesy Peter Allen

Speeding up control over quantum states in atomic and nanoscale systems could lead to leaps for the emerging field of quantum technology. An international collaboration between physicists recently demonstrated a new framework for faster control of a quantum bit. Their experiments on a single electron in a diamond chip could create quantum devices that are less prone to errors when operated at high speeds.

To understand their experiment, one can look to the ultimate setting for speed in classical dynamics: the oval racetracks at the Indianapolis or Daytona 500...

HIP68468, a twin star to the sun about 300 light-years away, may have swallowed one or more of its planets, based on lithium and refractory elements recently discovered near its surface. Credit: Illustration by Gabi Perez / Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias

An international team has made the rare discovery of a planetary system with a host star similar to Earth’s sun. Especially intriguing is the star’s unusual composition, which indicates it ingested some of its planets. “It doesn’t mean that the sun will ‘eat’ the Earth any time soon,” said Jacob Bean, assistant professor of astronomy and astrophysics at UChicago. “But our discovery provides an indication that violent histories may be common for planetary systems, including our own.”

Unlike the artificial planet-destroying Death Star...