COS News

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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.

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...

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...

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...

Meni Wanunu works with small things — very small things, like individual molecules. But how can researchers observe the inner workings of something so miniscule? For advancements in sensors that stretch and scan molecules on their own level, Wanunu has received the Innovator of the Year Award from the Northeastern University chapter of the National...

Andreia Ionescu, a biology professor at Northeastern, recently won the 2023 NSF CAREER Award for her project: Understanding how the hierarchical organization of growth plate stem cells controls skeletal growth. Please read about how she narrowed her focus to skeletal biology and the revolutionary research happening at Northeastern.    Can you tell me how you...