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Computational chemistry promises to upset traditional methods of chemical synthesis

The process of discovering and designing new chemicals has always been arduous — Sijia Dong wants to change that.

As an assistant professor in the department of chemistry and chemical biology, with affiliations in physics and chemical engineering, Dong uses “physics-based simulations, AI and quantum computing” to accelerate chemical discovery.

When we think of chemistry, we may think of liquids in test tubes and under microscopes, but chemicals, too, are composed of subatomic particles like electrons and protons, a fact that Dong and her research team take advantage of in their study of enzymes — proteins that help one chemical transform into another.

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Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University

 

November 06, 2024

Election Day is upon us. Here are some tips for reining in your election-related anxiety — and how to keep your friends

Election Day is finally here, which means we’re nearing the end of what many have called “the most important election in our lifetime.” And as such a consequential election draws to a close, many people are understandably anxious about what the coming days and weeks might hold.

Americans will be glued to their TVs, phones and other devices as the results begin to come in Tuesday night. In all likelihood, vote counting will occur late into the evening with a chance of recounts in the days following. Add to that fear of civil unrest over the results, and it’s a recipe for stress and anxiety.

Instead of staying up late on election night, Northeastern University psychology professor Aaron Daniels offers this advice: Get some sleep, manage your screen time, and be prepared to accept the results. Then, with renewed purpose, “get back to work” on the problems that matter to you.

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AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

November 04, 2024

Infant brains are like sponges. Predictable caregivers can make them even spongier, new Northeastern research finds

It’s a scientific truth many in the field of early childhood development like to parrot: children’s brains are like sponges. But getting to see a child’s sponge-like learning in action, from the perspective of a scientist, requires state-of-the-art imaging and some human subjects — young and old.

That’s exactly what Laurel Gabard-Durnam, an assistant professor of psychology and the director of Plasticity in Neurodevelopment (PINE) Lab at Northeastern, set out to do. In research published this month, she and her colleagues discovered new insights about how early childhood development takes place, adding to a burgeoning literature focused on how caregivers shape their children — and the plasticity of the infant brain.

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Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University

October 31, 2024

What’s killing corals? Northeastern professor uses machine learning to identify a suspected pathogen

White band disease has been devastating colonies of staghorn and elkhorn corals in the Caribbean, but the major pathogenic agent has not been identified.

Until now.

Northeastern University professor Steven Vollmer says he and his team of researchers combined field work and tank experiments with machine learning models to narrow the list of most likely pathogens to a berry-shaped bacteria known as Cysteiniphilum litorale.

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Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

October 25, 2024

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