News
This co-op at a Napa Valley winery teaches students about wine ‘from grape to bottle’
Grace Arents, a fourth-year environmental and sustainability sciences student, had never had a glass of wine before when she saw a posting for a co-op at a winery on NUWorks. Still, her interest was piqued and she applied to spend a semester learning enology — the process of making wine — in Napa Valley. Before […]
March 18, 2024
What is a nova outburst? Astrophysicist explains science behind the once-in-a-lifetime event that will light up the sky this year
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 […]
March 18, 2024
Marine and Environmental Sciences
Being queen is all in this termite’s head. Really.
In the world of termites studied by Northeastern professor Rebeca Rosengaus, worker termites spend their few short months on Earth cleaning and feeding their enormous long-lived queen mother and tending to her eggs and their young siblings. Since termite workers and queens both possess a network of genes called the Queen Central Module, it has […]
March 18, 2024
What will the once-in-a-generation total solar eclipse on April 8 look like?
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 […]
March 15, 2024
From Undergraduate Lab to Publication: George Hatzis’ Biology Project Success
Biology Project Lab (BIOL 2309) offers an inquiry-based, intensive laboratory experience in which students can design and conduct independent research projects, applying approaches and techniques used in cell and molecular biology. In Fall 2021, George Hatzis (COS ‘23), took Biology Project Lab under Dr. Erica Homan’s instruction and recently his group’s findings were published in […]
March 15, 2024
Efforts to limit fast-food near homes need rethinking, Northeastern researcher says
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 […]
March 15, 2024
Marine and Environmental Sciences
Why unexploded ordnances pose physical — and environmental — risks
Two unexploded ordnance were fished out of the Charles River in Needham, Massachusetts, this week. A sweep of the river by the state police bomb squad and a marine dive team didn’t turn up any more munitions. Beyond the obvious safety risks, the old weapons and ammunition left underwater also present environmental risks, a Northeastern […]
March 14, 2024
Chemistry and Chemical Biology
Can you get electrocuted by an electric vehicle?
It is highly unlikely that a Tesla submerged in a pond in a recent fatal accident in Texas posed a threat of electrocution to its driver or rescuers, a Northeastern University expert says. Angela Chao, 50, CEO of a shipping company and sister of former transportation secretary Elaine Chao, died in her Tesla last month […]
March 13, 2024
Marine and Environmental Sciences
Students dissect oysters and squid, learn about coastal ecology during the annual high school symposium at Northeastern
Students from a dozen area schools measured oysters, dissected squid and learned why plastic is called “ocean smog” during the annual High School Marine Science Symposium at Curry Student Center on Northeastern’s Boston campus. The 250 students got a chance to talk with fledgling and experienced scientists during the event, which was sponsored by Northeastern […]
March 08, 2024
We can’t combat climate change without changing minds. This psychology class explores how.
A new offering for the spring 2024 semester, PSYC-4660 is a seminar in cognition, a subset of psychology that covers how people encode, represent and process information from the environment in the brain, according to Coley, a psychology professor with a dual appointment in environmental science. Humans & Nature zeros in on how those things […]
March 07, 2024
Bowen to explore microbial activities in new $8.4M coastal marsh project
Dr. Bowen's work in this collaborative project focuses on using tools from molecular biology to understand how the diverse metabolisms of microbes affect the ecosystem services provided by marshes.
March 06, 2024
Can AI help scientists develop drugs? Northeastern Institute for Experiential AI explores how the technology is reshaping pharmaceuticals
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 […]
February 29, 2024
Experimental antibiotic treatment for Lyme heads for human safety trials
Human safety trials of a novel antibiotic treatment for Lyme disease developed by Northeastern professor Kim Lewis are scheduled to start this spring in Australia, with results anticipated by fall. “Hopefully, the results will be positive,” says Lewis, University Distinguished Professor of Biology. So far the therapeutic agent, an antibiotic known as hygromycin A, has […]
February 28, 2024
Dean Hazel Sive edits volume detailing African frog research and best practices that informed her ‘life’s work’
Hazel Sive, the dean of the College of Science and professor of biology at Northeastern University, has edited “Xenopus: A Laboratory Manual,” a new textbook that presents “a comprehensive collection of experimental procedures for research using Xenopus,” according to the publisher’s webpage. Xenopus — a genus of African frog — make for versatile experiments, as […]
February 27, 2024