News Archive - Northeastern University College of Science

Jessica Slevin, who studies conservation science at Northeastern, carries bamboo sticks, a palm tree, and a banana tree to plant. Photo by Hiroko Tanaka for Northeastern University

When You Can’t Imagine Living in a City Again

Marine and Environmental Sciences

At VerdEnergia, farm systems are designed to match the specific natural characteristics of the ecosystem. These kinds of systems tend to be more self supporting than conventional agriculture.

In this April 23, 2016, photo David Goethel sorts cod and haddock while fishing aboard his trawler off the coast of New Hampshire. To Goethe, cod represents his identity, his ticket to middle class life, and his link to one the country’s most historic industries, a fisherman who has caught New England’s most recognized fish for more than 30 years. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

The Gulf of Maine Cod Fishery Is in Rough Shape. The Fishermen Aren’t Doing Much Better.

Communities affected by contested disasters tend to recover more slowly than those hit by natural disasters.

Students study the Gulf of Maine’s rocky intertidal zone as part of a course focusing on how different societies around the world are responding to coastal issues. Courtesy photo Brian Helmuth

Here’s What Works–and What Doesn’t–when It Comes to Coping with Climate Change at the Edge of the Sea

Marine and Environmental Sciences, Marine Science Center

The tanks at the Sai Kung fish market in Hong Kong were brimming with unusual creatures. Buyers chose from live mantis shrimp, sea snails, lobsters, clams, giant groupers, and arrays of other fish and had them cooked on the spot. There was every kind of seafood under the sun. And from all appearances, many of […]

08/07/19 - BOSTON, MA. - Steven Scyphers, assistant professor of marine and environmental sciences, and student Kiera O'Donnell pose for a portrait at the Marine Science Center in Nahant on August 07, 2019. Scyphers has received a grant from the Nature Conservancy to study the impact of Hurricane Michael in collaboration with colleagues at the U.S. Naval Academy. Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

Steven Scyphers, assistant professor of marine and environmental sciences, and student Kiera O’Donnell, at the Marine Science Center in Nahant, Massachusetts. Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

Can Nature Reduce the Damage Caused by Hurricanes?

Marine and Environmental Sciences, Marine Science Center

People tend to underestimate the power of non-engineered solutions that may complement seawalls. One of the best defenses against natural forces could be nature itself.

Katie Lotterhos, assistant professor in marine and environmental Sciences, holds up an oyster in her lab in Nahant. Lotterhos recently received a grant to work with a consortium of scientists across the East Coast to breed a better oyster. Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

Katie Lotterhos, an assistant professor of marine and environmental sciences, holds up an oyster shell in her lab in Nahant. Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

How to Breed a Better Oyster

Marine and Environmental Sciences, Marine Science Center

A group of shellfish geneticists, including Northeastern professor Katie Lotterhos is trying to help the oyster industry select for the traits that will make oysters both thrive in their environment and melt in your mouth.

This 2017 photo provided by NOAA shows bleached coral in Guam. A study released on Thursday, Jan. 4, 2018 finds that severe bleaching outbreaks are hitting coral reefs four times more often they used to a few decades earlier. (David Burdick/NOAA via AP)

Marine Organisms Can Evolve and Adapt to New Climates. But Will They?

Marine and Environmental Sciences

A new United Nations report warns that the oceans have sponged up about a quarter of the total atmospheric carbon dioxide released from burning fossil fuels since the 1980s, changing the chemistry of the ocean at different depths and creating dangerously acidic and oxygen-depleted conditions for marine life.

This GOES-16, GeoColor satellite image taken Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2019, at 17:10 UTC and provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), shows Hurricane Dorian moving off the east coast of Florida in the Atlantic Ocean. (NOAA via AP)

This satellite image, taken on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2019 and provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, shows Hurricane Dorian moving off the east coast of Florida in the Atlantic Ocean. NOAA via AP

The First Line of Defense for Hurricane Dorian Is the Shoreline

Marine and Environmental Sciences, Marine Science Center

Climate change is increasing the probability of hurricanes like Dorian, while development is destroying natural protective barriers like mangrove trees. So what can we do about it? Professor Steven Scyphers lends his expertise.

Neri dos Santos Silva watches an encroaching fire threat after digging trenches to keep the flames from spreading to the farm he works on, in the Nova Santa Helena municipality, in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil, on Friday, Aug. 23, 2019. Under increasing international pressure to contain fires sweeping parts of the Amazon, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro recently authorized use of the military to battle the massive blazes. AP Photo/Leo Correa

The Amazon Rainforest Has Been Burning for Weeks. Here’s Why That Matters.

Marine and Environmental Sciences

The Amazon rainforest is on fire. Aron Stubbins, professor of marine and environmental sciences at Northeastern, explains why that's a global problem.

09/14/15 – NAHANT, MA. – Kathleen Lotterhaus, Assistant Professor in the Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences at the Northeastern University Marine Science Center in Nahant. Photo by: Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

When DNA Goes Upside-down, so Can the Research

Marine and Environmental Sciences, Marine Science Center

In a new paper, MES Assistant Professor Katie Lotterhos examines the nature of inverted DNA and its effect on statistical analysis.

07/31/19 - BOSTON, MA. - Aron Stubbins, associate professor of marine and environmental sciences, uses a solar simulator to inspect microplastics from the open ocean in the Mugar Life Sciences Building on July 31, 2019. Stubbins received a grant from the National Sciences Foundation to study the effect of sunlight on microplastics. Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

Aron Stubbins, associate professor of marine and environmental sciences, uses a solar simulator to inspect microplastics from the open ocean in the Mugar Life Sciences Building. Stubbins received a grant from the National Sciences Foundation to study the effect of sunlight on microplastics. Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

Nearly Eight Million Tons of Plastic Is Missing from Our Oceans. Where Did It Go?

Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Marine and Environmental Sciences

Professor Aron Stubbins's research into microplastics provides important insight into the whereabouts of almost eight million metric tons of missing plastic.

News

Filter By: