Physicists have long theorized that our universe may not be limited to what we can see. By observing gravitational forces on other galaxies, they’ve hypothesized the existence of “dark matter,” which would be invisible to conventional forms of observation. Pran Nath, the Matthews Distinguished University Professor of physics at Northeastern University, says that “95% of […]

The world ends on Oct. 23, 2077, in a series of radioactive explosions –– at least in the world of “Fallout,” a post-apocalyptic video game series that has now been adapted into a blockbuster TV show on Amazon’s Prime Video. The literal fallout that ensues creates a post-apocalyptic United States that is full of mutated […]

The effects of climate change can be seen everywhere, in the global refugee crisis, an even worse allergy season and, now, even in the very concept of time. Scientists have recently pinpointed how meltwater from the polar ice caps is throwing off Earth’s rotation to the point that those who really care about precision timekeeping […]

“3 Body Problem,” Netflix’s new big-budget adaptation of Liu Cixin’s book series helmed by the creators behind “Game of Thrones,” puts the science in science fiction. The series focuses on scientists as they attempt to solve a mystery that spans decades, continents and even galaxies. That means “3 Body Problem” throws some pretty complicated quantum […]

The total solar eclipse isn’t the only reason to keep your eyes to the sky this year. For the first time in 80 years, a star system 3,000 light years away will be visible to the naked eye thanks to a once-in-a-lifetime nova outburst. NASA announced that the nova, which will create a “new” star […]

The moon’s shadow will cast a path of daytime darkness as it traverses the country on a narrow path from Texas to Maine during April 8’s solar eclipse. Those located inside the 115-mile-wide corridor known as the “path of totality” will experience a total eclipse, says Northeastern professor Jonathan Blazek. If it’s not cloudy, stars will […]

Amid an obesity epidemic in the United States, you may have heard of efforts to eliminate “food deserts,” or areas with few healthy food options, and limit fast-food chains near where people live. But research from Northeastern University suggests a new approach. “Most of the fast food in this country is consumed far away from […]

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. Cases outside China had risen 13-fold and the virus was spreading rapidly. Those first six months of the pandemic were challenging, says Sam Scarpino, AI+Life Sciences director at the Institute for Experiential AI at Northeastern, because we didn’t have great options […]

Meni Wanunu works with small things — very small things, like individual molecules. But how can researchers observe the inner workings of something so miniscule? For advancements in sensors that stretch and scan molecules on their own level, Wanunu has received the Innovator of the Year Award from the Northeastern University chapter of the National […]

As NASA gears up to send human beings back to the moon during the still-to-be-scheduled Artemis III mission, researchers with the federal agency are learning more about the geologic profile of Earth’s lone satellite — including that it, apparently, has been shrinking. A study published recently found that a proposed landing site for NASA’s long-anticipated […]

Congratulations to Professor Srinivas Sridhar on his election as a 2023 National Academy of Inventors (NAI) Fellow. Sridhar’s election comes from demonstrating a “highly prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on the quality of life, economic development, and welfare of society.” Read more about the […]

Humanity’s quest to explore — and, perhaps eventually, colonize — outer space has prompted a great many ideas about how precisely to go about it. While conventional wisdom suggests that space launch via rockets is the best way to send human beings into orbit, other “non-rocket” methods have been proposed, including a futuristic “space elevator.” […]

A Northeastern University researcher is using nanomedicine to develop a time-released immunomodulatory treatment that would lengthen time between hospital visits for patients fighting advanced breast cancer. Most cancer drugs require continual daily or weekly delivery, leading to frequent hospital visits, says Needa Brown, an assistant teaching professor of physics at Northeastern. “It’s not the best […]

If the Alaska Airlines plane that lost a portion of its fuselage while ascending after takeoff Friday had been flying at normal cruising altitude, its passengers and crew would probably have died from the depressurization event, according to a Northeastern expert. The Boeing 737 Max 9 airplane was only minutes into its flight from Portland, […]