News
Yes, the moon is shrinking. Here’s what that means for the planned Artemis III mission — and future lunar visits
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 […]
February 06, 2024
The largest body of water west of the Mississippi disappeared 130 years ago — now it’s back
The San Joaquin Valley of California, despite supplying a significant percentage of the country’s food, is nevertheless a dry, arid place. Fresno, at the heart of the valley, receives just over 10 inches of rain a year on average, according to the National Weather Service, and sometimes as little as 3. And yet, until the […]
February 05, 2024
Q&A with Professor Srinivas Sridhar: Awardee of the 2023 National Academy of Inventors
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 […]
February 02, 2024
New species of mussel that lives in an ancient undersea forest discovered by Northeastern marine scientist
A Northeastern marine scientist has discovered a new species of tiny mollusk that lives in an ancient, submerged cypress grove called the Alabama Undersea Forest. Dan Distel, research professor at Northeastern’s Marine Science Center, says the bivalve written up in the journal Deep Sea Research represents a new genus and species of mussel and offers […]
February 02, 2024
Are space elevators possible? Physicist says they could transform humanity into a ‘spacefaring civilization’
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.” […]
February 01, 2024
Was a baby great white shark caught on camera for the first time? Northeastern expert explains why it could be major discovery
What is believed to be a live newborn great white shark has been spotted on camera for the first time ever, potentially providing marine biologists with the best look yet at where the apex predator may give birth. Dan Distel, Northeastern professor of marine and environmental sciences, says the discovery could play a role in […]
February 01, 2024
Breakthrough that can halt the progression of ALS developed by Northeastern scientist
A major breakthrough in the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known as ALS, can potentially help stop the disease in its tracks in as much as half of the cases in the U.S., a Northeastern University scientist says. Jeffrey Agar, associate professor of chemistry and pharmaceutical sciences at Northeastern, has spent the last 12 years […]
January 30, 2024
Her grandfather survived the Holocaust thanks to the bravery of one Dutch family. Eighty years later, she’s uncovering the story
Jack Groothuis’ life was at risk from the moment he was born to two Jewish parents during the Holocaust. To protect her son, his mother, Helen, placed him into hiding with a Christian family in Vught, a town about 59 miles southeast of Amsterdam. Jack spent the first two years of his life being raised […]
January 24, 2024
Is it safe for kids to use adult skincare products?
Over the holidays, Drunk Elephant skincare was a wish list mainstay,sending confused parents to beauty stores to puzzle over why their middle schooler needs so many expensive products. The reason is social media, which not only popularized the brand, but the idea of creating a skincare regimen. Videos with the hashtag “skin care routine” have […]
January 12, 2024
Nanomedicine could reduce the frequency of breast and ovarian cancer treatments, research finds
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 […]
January 11, 2024
The physics of rapid ‘depressurization.’ Passengers on Alaska Airlines flight 1282 likely would have died if blowout occurred above 40,000 feet, physicist says
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, […]
January 09, 2024
Biology
Can space travel impact female fertility? Northeastern student takes part in NASA mission to find out
When he was in third grade, Dillon Nishigaya took a school field trip to NASA’s Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California, that would set the trajectory of his life.
January 05, 2024
Honeybees are key to biodiversity. Researchers say ecosystems collapsing because of climate change have bee-like species that can be reintroduced
There are very few animals as important to our world as honeybees. There is, of course, the delicious honey they produce, but they are also essential in maintaining food security and the biodiversity that is threatened by climate change and fast-becoming our strongest natural defense against it.
January 05, 2024
A research internship at a global pharmaceutical changed this former college basketball player’s career
In 2022, Sade Iriah was pursuing a doctorate in neuroscience at Northeastern University when she seized the opportunity to embed herself in industry research at Takeda Pharmaceutical, a Japanese multinational biopharmaceutical company. Iriah worked with the imaging team at Takeda and says the experience was “amazing.” “They really allowed me to be involved with the […]
January 03, 2024