The once-ubiquitous American chestnut tree may be making a comeback starting this summer, as scientists get ready to release a new genetically engineered version designed to resist blight.
The blight, which came from Asia, appeared in the United States in 1904, and wiped out more than 98 percent of chestnut trees in America by the mid-20th century.
Activists at Harvard College are demanding that the university rename an undergraduate dormitory named in part for the dominant figure of the early years of Massachusetts because he and his namesake descendant owned slaves.
Winthrop House, formed in 1931, houses about 400 sophomores, juniors, and seniors. It's one of 12 in Harvard's so-called "house system." Each "house" has one dining hall, where most of the students eat. Houses also compete in intramural sports and put on plays, speeches, dinners, and other cultural activities.
