Urgent “Urine” Alert: Harvard’s Frozen Biospecimens Face Spoilage Crisis

By Urine the News Staff

Imagine a treasure trove of more than 1.5 million human samples — urine, feces, blood, even toenail clippings — slipping away not because of chemistry, but politics.

That’s the reality unfolding at Harvard University, where labs at the T.H. Chan School of Public Health house decades of biological specimens in liquid nitrogen freezers. Now, as federal support dries up in a legal battle with the Trump administration, these priceless samples have “mere weeks” before they spoil and become irretrievable.

What’s at Stake?

The collection spans nearly 50 years of critical research, from the landmark Nurses’ Health Study (tracking 116,000 women since 1976) to the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (52,000 men). Together, they’ve driven breakthroughs linking smoking to heart disease, alcohol to breast cancer, trans fats to health risks, and even olive oil to lower dementia rates.

Funding Freeze Sparks Freezer Fears

As part of a lawsuit over nearly $3 billion in suspended federal funding, Harvard faculty—including Walter Willett, a globally renowned nutrition epidemiologist—warn that private donations can’t replace the lost federal grants from the National Cancer Institute at NIH. Without enough cash to run the liquid nitrogen tanks, weeks—not months—remain to find a solution.

Legal Showdown and Lifeline

Harvard’s lawsuit argues that the funding cuts, ordered by Education Secretary Linda McMahon, violate constitutional protections and threaten the institution’s core mission. In response, Harvard has committed $250 million in central funds to try to keep research alive — but even that won’t cover the full shortfall.

Why “Urine” Matters

Urine and other biospecimens are the raw data of long-term health studies. As Willett noted in a May 30 court affidavit, “No other institution in the world has this data,” and some study participants may not live to provide the next round of follow-up questionnaires — meaning lost insights into diet, medications, and aging.

For readers curious about the full details, the original report can be found on MassLive: Trump cuts threaten ‘irreplaceable’ Harvard stockpile of human feces, urine.