News Archive - Northeastern University College of Science

This Dec. 30, 2019 photo provided by the Washington State Department of Agriculture shows a dead Asian giant hornet in a lab in Olympia, Wash. It is the world’s largest hornet, a 2-inch long killer with an appetite for honey bees. Dubbed the “Murder Hornet” by some, the insect has a sting that could be fatal to some humans. AP photo by Quinlyn Baine/Washington State Department

Psychology

The ‘Murder Hornet’ Is Out to Get Bees, Not Humans. So Why Are People Still Freaking Out About It?

The arrival of the Asian giant hornet in the U.S. has sparked an outcry on social media, but entomologists say that people should not worry about the oversized wasps. Still, some people may be concerned, as the underlying nature of fear isn’t the same for everyone, says neuroscientist Ajay Satpute.

July 09, 2020

Illustration by Gregory Grinnell/Northeastern University

Psychology

The Person Walking Past You Isn’t Wearing a Mask. What Should You Say?

It’s best to avoid hostility and communicate with empathy when it comes to helping people understand why covering their faces can slow the spread of the virus, say Northeastern researchers.

July 09, 2020

Photo courtesy of Yolanda Whitaker

Psychology

My Co-op Experience: CARE Lab at McLean Hospital

Psychology major Yolanda Whitaker discusses her time at the Behavioral Health Partial Program, learning the ins and outs of EEG's and working with patients first-hand.

July 09, 2020

Lobsang Tseten meditates and practices breathing exercises alone to maintain “social distancing” at a playground on Wednesday, March 25, 2020, in New York. AP Photo/John Minchillo

Lobsang Tseten meditates and practices breathing exercises alone to maintain social distancing at a playground, Wednesday, March 25, 2020, in New York. Gov. Andrew Cuomo sounded his most dire warning yet about the coronavirus pandemic Tuesday, saying the infection rate in New York is accelerating and the state could be as close as two weeks away from a crisis that sees 40,000 people in intensive care. Such a surge would overwhelm hospitals, which now have just 3,000 intensive care unit beds statewide. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Psychology

Here’s How to Combat the Fear Caused by a Barrage of Covid-19 News

David DeSteno, a Professor of Psychology does a Q&A with News@Northeastern about his research, the contagiousness of fear and offered some tips for breaking out of the constant cycle of fear and anxiety.

July 09, 2020

Researchers at Northeastern are studying rat brains to understand how trauma in infancy makes children, but especially girls, more likely to develop anxiety and other similar disorders later in life. Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

Behavioral Neuroscience, Psychology

Childhood Trauma Changes Your Brain. But It Doesn’t Have to Be Permanent.

Neuroscientists at Northeastern are using rats to understand how trauma in infancy makes children, but especially girls, more likely to develop anxiety and other similar disorders later in life.

July 09, 2020

Left to Right: Arun Bansil, Vladimir Torchilin, Albert-László Barabási, Art Kramer, Kim Lewis, Lisa Feldman-Barrett

Biochemistry, Biology, Physics, Psychology

Six Northeastern Professors Named to 2019 List of ‘Highly Cited Researchers’ Around the Globe

The 2019 Highly Cited Researchers list features has included six Northeastern researchers who rank in in the top 1 percent by citations in their fields between 2006 and 2016.

July 09, 2020

Psychology professor Craig Ferris, Praveen Kulkarni, and their team oversaw the discovery of a rat that could see, hear, smell, and feel just like its peers, even though it was walking around with basically no brain. Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

Psychology

A Rat Had Basically No Brain. But It Could Still See, Hear, Smell, and Feel.

Many scientists agree that, although the brain can grow and develop, specific parts are meant only for specific functions, says Northeastern professor Craig Ferris. What if there were an animal that proved them wrong? I smell a rat.

July 09, 2020

Scans of brain activity in seven-year-olds are helping Northeastern researchers predict symptoms of depression, anxiety, and attentional problems in teenagers. Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

Psychology

What Do the Brains of Children Tell Us about Their Mental Health as Teens?

Anxiety and depression in teens can go undetected for too long, says Northeastern psychology professor Susan Whitfield-Gabrieli. Her team is using brain imaging during childhood to spot early symptoms of mental illness.

July 09, 2020

10/21/19 – BOSTON, MA. – Water stock image on October 21, 2019. Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

Psychology

Your Child Is Feeling Sluggish. How Much Water Has She Had to Drink Today?

The more hydrated children are, the faster their reaction times and the better they are able to multitask, a new study co-authored by Northeastern professor Charles Hillman has found.

July 09, 2020

Psychology

What’s on Your Mind (When You’re Scared out of It)

We all know fear. But so far, what happens inside the human brain during scary situations is still a big mystery.

July 09, 2020

Psychology

We Know What We Know (Even When We Don’t Want To)

What’s preventing people from accepting that knowledge can be innate is itself innate.

July 09, 2020

Psychology

AI’s Next Frontier: Stock Trading

Jesse Greif earned his B.S. in psychology at Northeastern. He now is an executive on Wall Street at OneChronos Markets, a new Alternative Trading System that uses AI and Machine Learning to facilitate stock trading.

July 09, 2020

Psychology

Don't Go Wasting Your Emotion: Using Group Therapy to Teach

Samantha Goldman's experience leading group therapy taught her more than any textbook ever could. It also lead to her co-authoring a paper in the Spring 2019 volume of the Eastern Group Psychotherapy Society Journal.

July 09, 2020

Psychology

Here’s the Secret to Unlocking Our Compassion in the Face of Mass Suffering

David DeSteno and Daniel Lim found that people are more likely to feel compassion in the face of mass suffering if they believe they can make a difference. Compassion, it seems, is a skill you can strengthen, which is great news for society in general.

July 09, 2020

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