COS News

Researchers resurrect extinct gene in plants with major implications for drug development

A team led by Jing-Ke Weng, professor of chemistry, chemical biology and bioengineering, repaired a defunct gene in the coyote tobacco plant, turning back the evolutionary clock to pave a path forward for the development and discovery of new drugs.

Squid are some of nature’s best camouflagers. Researchers have a new explanation for why

Research from Leila Deravi, associate professor of chemistry and chemical biology, has brought light to how squids use organs to help power their camouflage abilities.

Could allergy-free peanuts be the future? This Northeastern researcher wants to find out

Northeastern professor Jing-Ke Weng is studying how peanuts trigger allergic reactions by tracking peanut proteins in the body. This research could lead to therapies for peanut allergies and insights into how other allergens affect the body.

This researcher wants to know why frogs are so good at tasting bitter things — and what it could mean for humans

Jing-Ke Weng, professor of chemistry, chemical biology and bioengineering, is conducting research with frogs that has the potential to help humans understand allergen detection.

Northeastern’s Bioinnovation Center is developing low-cost biomedical devices to transform health care in West Africa

Lee Makowski, professor of bioengineering and chemistry and chemical biology, highlights the work of the Bioinovation Center, a partnership between Northeastern and Academic City University College in Accra.

Northeastern researchers find a faster and more sensitive way to study proteins, which could lead to advances in disease treatment

Northeastern researchers find a faster and more sensitive way to study proteins, which could lead to advances in disease treatment

Deadly amoebic encephalitis and brain-eating amoebas in the crosshairs of Northeastern researchers

Northeastern researchers are targeting brain-eating amoeba that cause a rare, but deadly, infection

Northeastern researchers create plastic that dissolves in water that promises to combat global pollution crisis

“Right now we use a lot of conventional nonbiodegradable plastics for applications they don’t need to be used in at all,” Joshi says. “If we replace that with our plastic, you could just flush it down the toilet and it would biodegrade.”

Computational chemistry promises to upset traditional methods of chemical synthesis

Sijia Dong, assistant professor in chemistry and chemical biology, has received an NIH MIRA grant, supporting revolutionary protein design strategies for drug synthesis.

How a Northeastern scientist is turning carbon dioxide into renewable ethanol

Assistant professor Magda Barecka is designing a chemical reactor that could produce renewable, carbon-neutral ethanol for use in fuels. Her research recently received support from the U.S. Department of Energy.

Researchers develop method to analyze individual, still-living cells that may contain biomarkers for cancer and other deadly diseases

Researchers from the Ivanov Lab have developed an “in-capillary” method to analyze the carbohydrates that cover individual human cells, which hold biomarkers for a variety of deadly diseases.

Octopus and squid pigments enhance sunscreen without harming the environment, Northeastern researchers and company founders say

Professor Leila Deravi and grad Camille Martin, co-founders of Seaspire, isolated anti-aging and sun protective qualities of octopus and squid