You might have heard from a social media post or a friend that sunscreens can be toxic. And more and more cosmetics products on the U.S. market contain sunscreen ingredients.

Should you avoid sunscreen?

The answer is no, says Leila Deravi, associate professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Northeastern University.

It’s officially summer, a time for barbecues, the beach — and protecting yourself against the teeny, tiny black-legged deer ticks that cause most Lyme disease cases.

Nearly a half-million cases of Lyme disease are diagnosed and treated each year, and the majority of them are reported in June, July and August.

“This is when a lot of people get infected,” says Northeastern professor Kim Lewis, director of the university’s Antimicrobial Discovery Center.

Not only are people more likely to be outdoors during the summer months and encounter ticks, the ticks are in what is called their nymphal stage and are so small — the size of a poppy seed — they are hard to spot and remove.

Preventing bites is key to avoiding disease, according to experts at Northeastern University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Here are five tips to keep ticks at bay and guarantee their quick removal if they end up on your clothes or skin.

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In eighth grade, Richard Porter was far more interested in sculling than studying.

“The teachers didn’t really challenge me to understand the material,” says Porter, a professor of mathematics at Northeastern University. “On my part, I didn’t really spend any time trying to understand it at all.”

He was failing math, and was close to being expelled from his private boarding school in Delaware. But his math teacher stepped in, offering tutoring and helping him engage with the subject.

That helped Porter catch up with his classmates — and realize he saw math differently than most. Soon he was outperforming his classmates.

Porter went on to earn a doctoral degree in mathematics from Yale University.

Now, after five decades at Northeastern, he is retiring, leaving behind a legacy of leadership in mathematics education and mentorship.

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Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University

When Israel launched airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure last week, Israel said it was doing so to disrupt the development of nuclear weapons by Iran, which it claimed was nearing capability.

Iranian officials have said that the country’s nuclear facilities are not being used to create weapons but solely for civilian purposes, primarily for the production of energy. The U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency recently criticized Iran’s “general lack of co-operation” and warned that the country had enough enriched uranium to be near weapons grade and could potentially make several nuclear bombs.

Concerns that Iran could start making nuclear weapons have grown as Iran has accumulated more than 400 kg (880 pounds) of uranium enriched to 60%. The IAEA reported that Iran is in breach of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action it signed with several major countries stating that it would not surpass the 3.67% uranium enrichment level limit. The United States abandoned the agreement in 2018.

Understanding how enrichment fuels reactors and bombs

So what is the difference between a nuclear program used for civilian purposes and one used for military purposes?

Pran Nath, Northeastern University’s Matthews Distinguished University Professor of physics, says it’s first useful to understand the uranium-enrichment process.

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Atomic Energy Organization of Iran via AP, File