Carrying a virtual cup of coffee can provide insights into how the central nervous system works and may open new avenues for intervention for neurologically impaired people, according to research conducted by Dagmar Sternad. A professor of biology at Northeastern, with joint appointments in electrical and computer engineering and physics, Sternad was recently awarded a five-year $1.6 million grant from […]

Network scientists at Northeastern University have created a mathematical model that can simulate human mobility over the course of several months or even years. The results of the study were reported this week in the online edition of Nature Physics magazine. Distinguished Professor of Physics Albert-László Barabási and his team uncovered the patterns characterizing human […]

Two Northeastern professors studying the potential of the Madagascar periwinkle plant to yield new cancer-fighting drugs have received a $550,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to advance their research. Carolyn Lee-Parsons, associate professor of chemical engineering, and Erin Cram, assistant professor of biology, are studying how the periwinkle regulates the production of medicinal alkaloids. They […]

John Engen, associate professor of chemistry and chemical biology, is at the forefront of research that will advance drug discovery and development by making it easier to analyze certain kinds of proteins, their role in disease, and their interactions with drugs and each other. Protein drugs, called biopharmaceuticals, represent the fastest growing segment of the […]

This weekend, two Northeastern University researchers will take part in a highly selective international competition that seeks to unravel the mysteries of the brain’s neural networks, thereby laying groundwork for breakthroughs in the field of neuroscience. Assistant professors Armen Stepanyants, of the physics department, and Deniz Erdogmus, of electrical and computer engineering, will lead separate teams in […]

Professor Günther K.H. Zupanc, Chair of Northeastern’s Department of Biology, specializes in behavioral, developmental, and comparative neurobiology. This summer, a new edition of his textbook Behavioral Neurobiology: An Integrative Approach was published by Oxford University Press. Over the past few years, this book has emerged as the most frequently adopted text in neuroethology worldwide.  Here, Zupanc discusses his […]

A lot, according to Northeastern psychology professor David DeSteno, and his colleagues, who are conducting innovative research to determine how humans decide to trust strangers — and if those decisions are accurate. (Read a Boston Globe article about this research.) The interdisciplinary research project, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), is being conducted in collaboration with Cynthia […]

A Northeastern University biology professor and her team of student researchers have discovered that the social feeding habits of carpenter ants reduce disease transmission and widespread infection within the colony, in much the same way that a mother’s milk helps her child boost his immune system against foreign organisms. The results of the study were published in […]

Northeastern University has appointed Dr. J. Murray Gibson to be the founding dean of its College of Science, one of three new, distinct colleges being launched by the university this fall. As the College of Science’s first dean, Gibson has the opportunity to chart a new and innovative path, while building on Northeastern’s significant strengths across […]

Northeastern University has appointed Dr. J. Murray Gibson to be the founding dean of its College of Science, one of three new, distinct colleges being launched by the university this fall. As the College of Science’s first dean, Gibson has the opportunity to chart a new and innovative path, while building on Northeastern’s significant strengths across […]

Every day, astronauts afloat somewhere beyond Earth’s atmosphere perform important research missions. Not only must these space explorers be provided with safe suits and reliable equipment, but their success also hinges on staying healthy by eating nutritious food and drinking clean water. That’s where Northeastern students Danielle Singleton and Grace Bacharach come in. Both chemistry majors, they […]

As an undergraduate at Northeastern, Dr. Andrew Schafer, LA’69 would often see the sun rise from a lab on campus. “I would do my experiments at night, not infrequently working in the lab until dawn, struggling mightily and often unsuccessfully to just learn basic techniques,” he said. “After washing and autoclaving my own glassware – […]

In research published in the March 4 issue of the journal Nature, Northeastern University physicists have pioneered the development of large-scale computer simulations to assess how cracks form and proliferate in materials ranging from steel and glass to nanostructures and human bones. For years, scientists have tried to understand the propagation of cracks and how they […]

Northeastern University researchers have identified a protein that enables bacterial cells to survive antibiotic treatment. This discovery by biology professor Kim Lewis and his team, published in the February 22 issue of the journal PloS (Public Library of Science) Biology, reveals for the first time the mechanism by which bacteria maintain a chronic infection in spite of […]