News

	Nanotubes And Silicon: Unexpected Ingredients In A New Optical Device Two Northeastern professors have discovered an unexpected photoswitch that could be used to make highly efficient optical electronics. More>>
	Art + Science = Career Student commencement speaker Emily Batt dreams of running a studio in which fine artists and engineers collaborate on experimental projects in science and design. More>>
	Diving into Chemistry Krista Wager, who will grad uate on Friday with both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in chem istry, has authored five research papers, including two review arti cles, over the last four years at Northeastern. More>>
	Northeastern Professor Leads An International Effort To Map The Human Proteome Last year marked the 10th anniversary of the Human Genome Project, which identified each of the 22,000 genes in human DNA. But as chemistry professor William Hancock pointed out, this was only a beginning. More>>
	Northeastern Student to Travel into Space When fourth-year physics and math major Justin Dowd takes a flight, he places his bare feet on the cabin floor “to feel the engines go from nothing to that deep rumble,” he said. But that’s nothing com pared to Mach 3. More>>
	Better Future for Urban Coastal Environments More than two-thirds of the world’s major cities are by the sea. As the world’s population grows, many of those cities are experiencing massive influxes, which translate into increasing burdens on coastal environments, according to Geoff Trussell, director of Northeastern’s Marine Science Center and chair of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. More>>
	Chemotherapy from the Inside Out A significant number of prostate cancer patients are treated with a com bi na tion of radi a tion and chemotherapy, according to Sri Sridhar, Distinguished Professor of Physics in the College of Science. More>>
	An Interdisciplinary Approach to Drug-Abuss Research The Center for Drug Discovery at Northeastern hosted the 10th annual symposium on current trends in drug-abuse research earlier this month. More>>
	Redefining Emotion The definition of emotion has intrigued philosophers, physicians and psychologists for centuries. Is it a basic biologic state or does it emerge from other physiological components? More>>
	3Qs: Green Chemistry On Sunday, people in more than 175 coun tries cel ebrated Earth Day in honor of making the planet a little greener. We decided to take that oppor tu nity to speak with chem istry and chem ical biology chair Graham Jones about Northeastern’s role in the emerging field of green chemistry. More>>
	A Humble Fish Helps Us Understand Our Own Brains Recent findings from the Laboratory of Neurobiology at Northeastern, led by biology professor and chair Günther Zupanc, and published online in the scientific journal Neuroscience, demonstrate the mechanism by which new neurons find their ultimate home — research that Zupanc hopes will offer insight into the regenerative potential of the human brain. More>>
	Form and Function in Enzyme Activity Professors Mary Jo Ondrechen and Penny J. Beuning received a grant from the National Science Foundation to study enzymes for industrial chemistry applications. More>>
	Professor Honored for His Contributions to Medicinal Chemistry Alexandros Makriyannis, the founding director of Northeastern’s Center for Drug Discovery, has received the annual Award in Medicinal Chemistry from the American Chemical Society. Makriyannis, whose award propelled him into the society’s Hall of Fame alongside other pioneers of medicinal chemistry, will address his colleagues at the 33rd National Medicinal Chemistry Symposium in Tucson in May. More>>
	Measuring Water Contamination in New Zealand The magnitude 6.3 earthquake that struck Christchurch, New Zealand, in February 2011 is considered to be one of the island country’s most deadly and expensive disasters, killing 185 people and costing an estimated $30 million. More>>
	Traveling Across the Globe to Study a Tiny Protein Doctoral candidate Jaylene Ollivierre works with a small bacterial protein that regulates the activity of larger DNA repair complexes in Northeastern’s DNA Damage Recognition and Tolerance Laboratory led by chemistry and chemical biology assistant professor Penny Beuning. More>>
	The Innate Ability to Learn Language All human languages contain two levels of structure, said Iris Berent, a psychology professor in Northeastern’s College of Science. One is syntax, or the ordering of words in a sentence. The other is phonology, or the sound structure of individual words. More>>
	Neuroscience and the Pursuit of Justice Dr. Judith Edersheim, co-founder and co-director of the Center for Law, Brain and Behavior at Massachusetts General Hospital, explores how neuroscience can enhance the pursuit of justice. More>>
	Helping Scientific Discovery Grow Murray Gibson, dean of the College of Science, opened the 15th annual Humic Science and Technology Conference — held last week at Northeastern — by admitting that he, like many people, didn’t know what humic substances (HS) were for most of his life. More>>
	Gene Sequencing at Warp Speed One million vocalists singing the same song will sound cacophonous to an audience member if the singers belt out the tune at different tempos. “But if you’re listening to one person sing, and he changes his tempo, you’re still going to stay in tune with him,” said Meni Wanunu, an assistant professor of physics in Northeastern’s College of Science. More>>
	A New Approach to Analyzing Breast Cancer Tumors are complex systems of cells, only some of which may be cancerous. Also, two samples from different areas of a single tumor are rarely identical. To gather important information about tumors, researchers must analyze very small samples because they are more likely homogenous — enriched for either normal cells or cancerous cells. More>>
	Study: Loss of Rare Species Can Harm Ecosystems Here’s another reason to cheer for the little guy. A new study co-authored by Matthew Bracken, assistant professor of biology in Northeastern’s College of Science, has found that rare species from the bottom of the food chain can have a large impact on an ecosystem’s health. More>>
	3Qs: That’s, Like, Super Cooool A study published in December in the Journal of Voice found that female college students have popularized a linguistic fad called “vocal fry,” which has been described as a “guttural fluttering of the vocal chords” with a “lazy, drawn-out effect.” We asked Heather Littlefield, the head adviser for the linguistics program in the College of Science, to explain why young women have become known as bellwethers for vocal trends and popular slang. More>>
	For Physics Postdoc, New Evidence of Things Not Seen For more than two decades, Fermilab in Batavia, Ill., housed the world’s largest particle accelerator — the Tevatron Collider — which allowed scientists to study the most elementary units of matter. Last September, Fermilab shut down the Tevatron forever. International hopes of understanding some of the most fundamental mysteries of particle physics began to shift to CERN in Geneva, Switzerland, home of the younger, more energetic Large Hadron Collider (LHC). To many, Fermilab seemed like old news — until last week. More>>
	3Qs: It May be Daylight Saving, but We’re Losing an Hour This weekend we turn the clocks forward an hour for the return of daylight saving time, which means we lose an hour of sleep. We also have to do things an hour earlier than we did before relative to the natural light and dark cycles of the day and relative to our internal body clocks. Biology professor Fred Davis shares how daylight saving time affects our bodies and how simple adjustments can make the transition smoother for us. More>>
	Neal Pearlmutter Named New Director of Linguistics Program With much to be proud of, at the end of this semester, Janet will step out of her role as Program Director, and Neal Pearlmutter, Associate Professor of Psychology, will take over beginning in the fall semester. More>>
	Rare Species Can Have a Big Impact on Ecosystems Here’s another reason to cheer for the little guy. A new study by Northeastern University Assistant Professor Matthew Bracken and Brown University student Natalie Low finds that even the rarest species can have a large impact on the state of an ecosystem. The findings were published in the most recent issue of Ecology Letters. More>>
	Mapping the Depths of the Earth As they drove through the Okavengo Delta in Botswana, a team of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI) scientists and three Northeastern physics students encountered a wild elephant attempting to protect his home from the unlikely intruders. More>>
	3Qs: ‘Leaping’ into the Realm of Science Murray Gibson, dean of the College of Science, explores the science behind the leap year and explains the significance of the leap second. More>>
	3Qs: Analyzing ‘Linsanity’ New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin, the league’s first Asian-American player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent, has become the star of the sports world, averaging more than 22 points, eight assists and two steals per game in the first 12 starts of his young career. We asked three Northeastern experts to evaluate his success. More>>
	Packing a ‘Super’ Punch Over the years, superhero stories have delighted millions of fans through movies, television shows and comic books. But these tales can also teach us a lesson in physics, according to physics professor and author James Kakalios. More>>
	3Qs: Analyzing Why Sudden Drug Shortages Occur Drug manufacturers and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) scrambled earlier this month to address a sudden shortage of methotrexate, a 60-year-old drug that treats children with severe cases of leukemia and sarcoma. Graham Jones, the chair of the Chemistry and Chemical Biology Department in the College of Science, said the problem is likely to continue as fewer pharmaceutical companies produce drugs with slim profit margins and a small patient base. More>>
	How We Move: A Better Predictive Model for Human Mobility Patterns Filippo Simini and Albert-László Barabási of the Center for Complex Network Research present a new model for mapping human mobility patterns that could lead to more accurate predictions of the spread of infectious diseases and even knowledge. More>>
	NEWS RELEASE: FDA Releases Draft Guidelines For Biosimilar Approval Pathway The FDA recently released draft guidelines for the Biosimilar Approval Pathway. These guidelines will give drug companies who are producing these generic drugs the opportunity to enter the market rapidly. Since 2009, Northeastern University has been working with the FDA and the biotechnology industry to give input on regulatory standards for approval of these next generation drugs. More>>
	A Pioneering Partnership to Cure Cystic Fibrosis Northeastern University and the Flatley Discovery Lab, a Boston-based independent nonprofit organization, have joined forces to develop a cure for cystic fibrosis. More>>
	VIDEO: What is Network Science? Albert-Laszlo Barabasi, Distinguished Professor of Physics and Director of the Center for Complex Network Research explains network science. More>>
	The Scales of Human Morality Discussing a Woody Allen film with a packed audience at the Coolidge Corner Theatre’s Science on Screen event on Monday night, David DeSteno, associate professor of psychology in the College of Science, asked, “Why do any of us sometimes act in ways that surprise ourselves…ways that, quite frankly, are out of character?” More>>
	Laser Show–for a Cure Physics professor Mark Williams and his research team reveal the mechanism of a well-known cancer drug using optical tweezers. More>>
	The Mysteries of Liquid Silicon: To Bond or Not to Bond For most people, basic science explains that matter can exist in just three simple phases--solid, liquid or gas. But condensed matter physicists are shattering those notions, and a team including Northeastern University scientists is producing research to reveal more complex phase diagrams. More>>
	3Qs: Understanding the Potential impact of the H5N1 Virus Network scientist Alessandro Vespignani discusses the motivations for and implications of controversial research that could yield a better understanding of the spread of influenza viruses. More>>
	Journey to a Super Battery Are you tired of constantly having to plug in your laptop? Research being conducted by Professor Sanjeev Mukerjee may make our dependence on outlet power a thing of the past. More>>
	Aging Studies Suggest Older People are Happier Researchers across the globe focus their efforts on increasing our life span because so many of us believe getting old stinks. But that may not be so, according to Derek Isaacowitz a newly appointed associate professor of psychology in the College of Science. More>>
	Dissecting Drowned Drumlin Fields Earth and environmental sciences associate professor Peter Rosen said Boston Harbor is home to the nation’s only “drowned drumlin field,” a group of elongated hills formed under glacial ice. More>>
	From the Crime Lab to the Chemistry Lab Adam Hall began his master’s degree program in chemistry and chemical biology at Northeastern while performing instrumental analyses on samples in the Massachusetts State Police crime lab. More>>
	Forecasting the Spread of Emerging Diseases If we can forecast the path of a hurricane or even the trajectory of a subatomic particle, why shouldn’t we also be able to forecast the spread of an emerging disease? That is the question Alessandro Vespignani, who was installed as Northeastern University’s Sternberg Family Distinguished University Professor of Physics on Tuesday in the Raytheon Amphitheater, began asking 10 years ago. More>>
	3Qs: Physicists Push for Underground Testing Facility Pran Nath, the Matthews Distinguished Professor of Physics at Northeastern University, is among a group of leading theoretical physicists who have asked the Department of Energy to develop a large underground neutrino facility to maintain U.S. leadership in the frontier of particle physics. We asked Nath to explain the facility and its value. More>>
	Bringing Chemistry to Music Shortly after receiving tenure more than a decade ago, Northeastern University professor David Budil was teaching Schrödinger’s wave equation to a class of physical chemistry students. To explain the concept that a higher harmonic of a fundamental wave corresponds to a particle of higher energy, Budil used the analogy of waves produced by a musical instrument. More>>
	Fall 2011 Dean's List The College of Science is proud to announce the names of the students receiving Dean’s List honors for the Fall 2011 semester. More>>
	A Partnership to Cure Sleeping Sickness African sleeping sickness, which currently affects 30,000 people, starts out like the flu. Patients complain of fever, headaches and joint pain. But if Trypanosoma brucei, the parasite that causes the illness, remains in the body long enough, it infiltrates the central nervous system and becomes fatal. More>>
	The Blues Doctor is in the House If members of the audience packing 318 Curry Student Center yesterday afternoon closed their eyes, they may have felt transported to a New Orleans blues bar — courtesy of the piano stylings of Murray Gibson, dean of the College of Science. More>>
	Speaking Up Last semester, the Alhomaizi sisters created a culturally compatible evidence-based campaign whose mission is to overcome the stigma attached to mental illness in the Middle East and shed light on the value of psychology as a scientific discipline. More>>
	A Call for an Evolved Understanding of Emotion Many scientists believe that all people experience and express the same biologically “basic” emotions — an idea they have attributed to evolutionist Charles Darwin and one that has shaped modern security training and law enforcement techniques.But that belief is not rooted in sound scientific study, says Northeastern’s Lisa Feldman Barrett, Distinguished Professor of Psychology in the College of Science. More>>
	Magnetic Breakthrough May Have Significant Pull Northeastern University researchers have designed a super-strong magnetic material that may revolutionize the production of magnets found in computers, mobile phones, electric cars and wind-powered generators. More>>
	Adding the Flavor to Food Science North American and Western European cuisines tend to use ingredients that share flavor compounds, while East Asian and Southern European cuisines tend to avoid ingredients that share flavor compounds, according to a study by Northeastern University network scientists. More>>
	3Qs: Searching for the “Holy Grail” of Physics Researchers at CERN, the European Center for Nuclear Research, reported earlier this week they are getting closer to discovering the Higgs boson, a subatomic particle that scientists believe will explain why everything in the universe has mass. The Higgs boson is considered to be the “Holy Grail” of particle physics, and finding it would be one of the greatest scientific advancements in decades. More>>
	Research Partnership to Focus on Infrared Imaging The Electronic Materials Research Institute at Northeastern University has signed a three-year cooperative research agreement with the United States Army Research Laboratory at Adelphi, MD., to design graphene-based technology for use in low-cost infrared imaging applications for the military. The project is in collaboration with DARPA. More>>
	Recipe for success Analyzing the lipid content of dried animal skin on co-op last summer with the University of Crete in Greece has inspired fourth-year chemistry major Victoria Ronga to pursue a career as a food chemist. More>>
	A Meeting of the Minds The new Affective Science Institute (ASI) at Northeastern hosted its first event on December 1. ASI will be a nexus for collaboration, training and the exchange of ideas between researchers and scholars who study emotion and related fields in the New England area. More>>
	World-Renowned Researcher Elected to the Academy of Europe World-renowned statistical physicist Alessandro Vespignani has been elected to the physics and engineering sciences branch of the Academy of Europe for his research on the spread of epidemics. More>>
	Smashing Photons Into Matter Northeastern University physics professor Arun Bansil has received a three-year, $1 million grant from the United States Department of Energy to develop the next generation of theoretical tools to understand what happens when photons are smashed into materials that transform into new states of matter. More>>
	Marine Science Center Merges With Dept. of Earth and Environmental Sciences The College of Science is happy to announce the merging of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and the Marine Science Center. More>>
	Nanotechnology’s Reach, from Swords to Solar Cells Nanotechnology may be an emerging field of study, but it’s actually been around for a number of centuries, said Murray Gibson, founding dean of the College of Science at Northeastern University. More>>
	Neutralizing HIV Function Northeastern researchers have played a key role in studying how antibodies that neutralize HIV function are structured, a further step in ongoing global efforts by scientists to develop a vaccine for the pandemic virus that causes AIDS. More>>
	VIDEO: Exploration and Discovery with Northeastern's Math Department Northeastern University's Department of Mathematics is highlighted in this video. Learn about the program and some of the co-op opportunities available to our math majors. More>>
	In Biotech and Health Sciences, Values Above All Else Mark Levin, who has built and operated biotechnology companies for more than 25 years, says new businesses must strive to create value. More>>
	Understanding Complex Networks Northeastern University network scientists David Lazer and Alessandro Vespignani have been awarded $1.1 million as part of a $1.8 million grant from the National Science Foundation to analyze the interdependence between complex networks in natural, social and technological systems. More>>
	Robotic Dragon, an Unlikely Teacher David DeSteno, an associate professor of psychology at Northeastern, and researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University, are examining how social robots can aid preschoolers in language learning, which DeSteno said, isn’t possible with current computer-based learning. More>>
	NUScience Magazine Releases Latest Issue The College of Science is pleased to present the latest issue of NUScience Magazine! This issue is a collaboration between the NUScience Magazine Team and the College. Enjoy! More>>
	The Icefish: Adapting and Evolving to Survive Extreme Environments In this film, Northeastern Prof. William Detrich talks about the icefish --an unusual fish found in Antarctica that is able to survive in some of the coldest waters on earth. More>>
	Facilitating the Next Frontier of Medical Science Northeastern University recently hosted top researchers, advocates and industry experts earlier this month for an engaging discussion about the future of biopharmaceuticals, considered by many to be the cutting edge of medical science in America. More>>
	Scientific Discovery and Self Discovery Emily Batt, a senior physics major, was one of 16 students from Northeastern’s College of Science who presented work and research from their co-op jobs in an annual exposition held last week in the Curry Student Center Ballroom. More>>
	Getting the Dirt on Our Nation's Soil They are piled on shelves, strewn across tables and tucked into filing cabinets lining the lab in Hurtig Hall, hundreds of small plastic bags of farm soil—Just don’t call it dirt. More>>
	Providing Context for Perceiving Emotion It’s long been said, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” According to new research by Lisa Feldman Barrett, Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Northeastern University, that adage is certainly true when it's applied to our ability to read emotions in a person’s facial expression. More>>
	Forecasting the Future of Health and Science World-renowned statistical physicist Alessandro Vespignani is the weatherman of network science. More>>
	A Global Push to Unlock the Genome A Northeastern chemistry professor is a leader in the international effort to advance the understanding of human genetics and genomics by assigning each of the 23 pairs of human chromosomes for in-depth study by research groups in different countries. More>>
	Targeting Diseases Beyond Our Borders Northeastern University researchers recently returned from a four-day workshop in Kenya, where they worked with local health experts to develop strategies for combating neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) throughout the African nation. More>>
	For Marine Biology Students, a Sea Change Now in its 28th year, the Three Seas Program enables students to study and conduct research in three diverse environments with many of the world’s leading marine scientists. More>>
	VIDEO: The Science Behind Sound and Speech Professor of Psychology in the College of Science, Iris Berent, researches the ability to identify sounds as speech, finding that it is linguistic structures as opposed to acoustic properties that distinguish language. More>>
	Her 'Musical Awakening' Six years ago, Sabrina Rabello, a postdoctoral research associate for Northeastern’s Center for Complex Network Research, began playing the piano to escape from the “very introspective” world of applied mathematics. More>>
	Using Math to Explore the Universe Alina Marian, a new associate professor of mathematics in Northeastern University’s College of Science, thinks of geometry not just the study of shapes but a look into heart of the universe and its origins. More>>
	How Linguistic Chickens Help Spot Spoken-Eggs In a study published in the journal Frontiers in Language Sciences, researchers led by Prof. Iris Berent of Northeastern University show that our ability to identify sounds as speech critically depends on linguistic structures as opposed to acoustic properties. More>>
	Shaking Up the Heme Molecule Experimenters at Northeastern University and Argonne National Laboratory have developed a new technique for studying the vibrational properties of a protein at low frequencies. More>>
	Ice Cream, But Hold the Ice For making economical ice cream, liquid nitrogen certainly isn’t the best choice. But for the budding chemist looking to make a tasty treat from scratch — and draw a sizable crowd on campus while doing it — it beats plain old ice any day. More>>
	Developing Bacterial Robots for Hazardous Duty Northeastern University biology professor Joseph Ayers is part of a team of scientists who have received a three-year, $600,000 grant from the Office of Naval Research to create a fleet of micro-robots designed to locate explosive compounds from hundreds of thousands of live mines that have been hidden underwater since World War I. More>>
	COS Welcomes New Faculty Members Dean Murray Gibson recently announced the hiring of nine new College of Science faculty members. These brilliant scholars will bring innovative and cutting-edge research to the University and help educate our eager students in their areas of study. Welcome to Northeastern! More>>
	A ‘Ray’ of Light on Complex Systems Ginestra Bianconi, an assistant professor of physics at Northeastern University, was part of a team of scientists who discovered an innovative way of using external stimuli, such as x-rays, to bring disorganized oxygen atoms to a state of equilibrium in only one day—a process that would normally take months to accomplish. More>>
	Youths Shore Up Their Science Knowledge From the coastal shores of Northeastern’s Marine Science Center (MSC) in Nahant, Mass., high school students this summer found themselves contributing to a massive global mission to assess ocean life. More>>
	Nurturing a Seed of Discovery Network scientists at Northeastern University have collaborated with an interdisciplinary team of colleagues in cell biology and interactive data acquisition to create the first large-scale map of a plant’s protein network. More>>
	Scoping Out the Changing Planet from Afar On co-op with an environmental consulting firm in Vancouver, Canada, called ESSA Technologies, Northeastern University senior Emily Snead tested remote-sensing tools that will be used to pinpoint the impact of climate change on forest life. More>>
	Google Algorithm Links to Cancer Detection World-renowned network scientist Albert-László Barabási, and Gourab Ghoshal, a postdoctoral research associate in Barabási’s lab at Northeastern, recently analyzed the revolutionary link analysis algorithm used by the popular search engine. More>>
	A ‘Springboard’ to Propel Her Research Forward In June, Emily Corcoran, who is pursing a PhD in chemistry, received career advice from Ei-ichi Negishi, who won the 2010 Nobel Prize in chemistry. More>>
	3Qs: When Oil and Water (and Land) Mix Last year it was the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and then another in China in early June and just last week, Montana suffered an oil spill, with an estimated 42,000 gallons dumping into the Yellowstone River. Jennifer Cole, director of the Environmental Studies Program at Northeastern, discusses how oil spills affect wildlife and irrigation, and emphasizes the need to reevaluate our dependence on fossil fuels. More>>
	3Qs: Immorality Driven by Corrupting Influences Notorious Boston gangster James "Whitey" Bulger — who eluded authorities for more than 16 years — is accused of murdering 19 people. Here, David DeSteno, associate professor of psychology at Northeastern University, who studies the role of emotion in social cognition and social behavior, assesses the mind of crime figures like Bulger and those who exalt them as heroes. More>>
	Prof. David Budil Named Associate Dean for Research We are pleased to announce the appointment of Professor David Budil as Associate Dean for Research in the College of Science (COS) at Northeastern University, effective September 1, 2011. More>>
	Network Scientist Awarded International Prize for Research Albert-László Barabási, a world-renowned network scientist at Northeastern University, has received the 2011 Lagrange-CRT Foundation Prize for his body of research on complex networks in natural, technological and social systems. More>>
	Gossip Triggers Defensive Response Unflattering gossip about our friends, family members — even down-and-out movie stars — shapes our visual perception of these individuals and provides a looking glass into how we subconsciously protect ourselves from harm, according to a new study led by a neuroscientist at Northeastern University. More>>
	From Co-Op To President: Ouellette’s Journey to the Top Back in 1976, David Ouellette was looking for a co-op through Northeastern. In fact, the opportunities available through co-op are what attracted the chemistry major to the University. More>>
	'Nature' Cover Story Features Research By Prof. Barabási, Collaborators Research by Northeastern University Prof. Albert-László Barabási and Yang-Yu is offering a fascinating glimpse into how greater control of complex systems, such as cellular networks and social media, can be achieved by merging the tools of network science and control theory. More>>
	Jellyfish ‘Fingerprints’ Annette Govindarajan is fascinated with studying jellyfish, specifically their complex life cycles. That passion was forged years ago after working with hydrozoans, a jelly of the stinging variety. More>>
	'Out of Character' Featured in Sunday's Globe Northeastern University Psychology professor David DeSteno's book Northeastern University Psychology professor David DeSteno's book "Out of Character: Surprising Truths About the Liar, Cheat, Sinner (and Saint) Lurking in All of Us" appeared in the "Ideas" section of the Boston Globe. Check it out! More>>
	Unraveling The Mysteries of High Temperature Superconductors Northeastern University Prof. Arun Bansil and his team have discovered new clues toward unraveling how superconductivity can remain intact at higher temperatures More>>
	'Out of Character' Lands in the Pages of USA Today Northeastern University Psychology professor David DeSteno's book "Out of Character: Surprising Truths About the Liar, Cheat, Sinner (and Saint) Lurking in All of Us" was featured in USA Today on Tuesday, May 2. You can read the article here! More>>
	Doughnuts, Soccer Balls and Exotic Topological Insulators If you’re familiar with topology, you will know that a doughnut and a coffee cup are the same--topologically speaking--but differ from a soccer ball. Researchers here at Northeastern University are taking that idea a step further. More>>
	Northeastern Alumnus Creates Scholarship For Medical Research Students A Northeastern University alumnus is helping future researchers advance in the field of medicine. More>>
	Math, Biochemistry Major Wins Goldwater Scholarship Northeastern junior Jose Orozco recently won a 2011 Goldwater Scholarship, an honor that recognizes outstanding undergraduate academic achievement in mathematics, natural sciences, and engineering. More>>
	Fish May Change The Way We Look At Spinal Cord Injuries Spinal cord injuries are devastating, but fish may be the key to finding a cure. More>>
	Revising A Classical Model Of Sympatric Speciation A snail discovery is promising to shake up the age-old concept of species formation. More>>
	Physics Dept. Unveils New Undergrad Video Check out the latest video featuring Northeastern University's Physics Department! More>>
	PRISM Helping Students Choose A Career Path In Science Corinne O’Neill – a freshman biology major – knew that Northeastern University’s PRISM program would help enhance her time here as a student, but she didn’t know how valuable it really would be until attending classes More>>
	Deaf Cultural Ties Likened To Ethnic Group Bonds Harlan Lane, distinguished professor of psychology, has coauthored a new book on Deaf culture asserting that sign-language users have many of the characteristics of a distinct ethnic group. More>>
	Lionfish Roar Into Tropical Waters Invasive species can wreak havoc on ecosystems. Researchers have struggled in recent years to combat the presence of lionfish — which are native to the Indo-Pacific waters. Annette Govindarajan, an instructor in Northeastern University’s Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, explores the dangers that this fish and other invasive species present. More>>
	Those Journal Articles Are Not Always Dry You might think articles in psychology journals are pretty deadly, and we admit they can be long and technical. But, if you read past the details, you will often find timely and fascinating findings that actually bear on real life. More>>
	Young Chemists to Participate In International Event At Northeastern American Chemical Society (ACS) Pres. Nancy Jackson will be visiting Northeastern University next week to speak to students as part of the International Year of Chemistry (IYC). More>>
	Drug Discovery Research Take Professors To India Three chemistry professors from Northeastern University are traveling to India this week to discuss their work in the field of drug discovery. More>>
	Professor Profile: The DNA Stretcher Northeastern professor Mark Williams is using a technique called DNA stretching to study HIV replication. More>>
	After Peru, It's Can Do Northeastern student Shane Smith works in a Peruvian public health clinic and comes home ready to take on every challenge. More>>
	COS Introduces New Communications Coordinator The College of Science is delighted to welcome Lori Lennon as our full-time Senior Writer and Communications Coordinator. More>>
	Prof. Mabrouk Named Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Professor Patricia A. Mabrouk has been named Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the College of Science. More>>
	The COS Dean's List, Fall 2010 The College of Science is proud the announce the names of the students receiving Dean’s List honors for the Fall 2010 semester. More>>
	A Cellular Roadmap for Medical Researchers Advances in network science to map the complexity of human cells promises to offer significant new resources for health professionals striving to cure disease, according to a new paper coauthored by Professor Albert-László Barabási. More>>
	Call for White Papers on COS Research Initiatives For the next step in the Experience Science Northeastern 2015 strategic planning exercise, the College of Science is developing white papers on research initiatives. More>>
	Brain Biology May Dictate Social Networks A new study by a Northeastern University researcher and her colleagues indicates that the size of a certain part of the human brain plays a significant role in determining the breadth of social relationships. More>>
	Bird Watching Lessons A Northeastern researcher applies big-bird biomechanics to improving prosthetics. More>>
	Shedding Light on Protein, and a Future While on a research co-op in London, senior Brendon Kellner investigated the inner workings of certain proteins through state-of-the-art ultrafast lasers. More>>
	Improving Electric Field Sensor Technology Northeastern University has received a $1.5 million subcontract award to develop a nanotechnology-based electric field sensor. More>>
	Sweet Emotion Distinguished Professor of Psychology Lisa Feldman Barrett discusses her research, addresses common misconceptions about emotions, and shares insight about the human mind as a "recipe book." More>>
	Advice from Young Veterans of the Research Lab At a Northeastern University Town Hall on research, accomplished students say opportunities to do advanced science are here for the taking. More>>
	Researchers Made the Call on "Zombie Virus" Northeastern researchers predicted last year that major Smartphone viruses will become a real threat once a particular operating system approaches a 10 percent market share. Based on recent reports, it appears their predictions have been realized. More>>
	Psychology Department in the News: "Angry People See Guns" The research of graduate student Jolie Baumann and her advisor David DeSteno—which pertains to emotion and threat detection—was highlighted in a recent article in the Wall Street Journal. More>>
	Warming Seas May Imperil Antarctic Icefish William Detrich, professor of biochemistry and marine biology has been awarded $639,000 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to advance his research on the effects of global warming on Antarctic fish and the role of these fish in the Antarctic food chain. More>>
	Northeastern Receives $8M for Renewable Energy Research Northeastern’s Center for Renewable Energy Technology (NUCRET) has received six federal grants totaling more than $8 million to conduct research that will primarily focus on powering the next generation of electric cars and consumer products. More>>
	Neuroscientist Receives $1.6 Million NIH Grant Professor Dagmar Sternad was recently awarded a five-year $1.6 million NIH grant from to investigate how humans acquire and control sensorimotor skills—the ability to coordinate sensory experiences, such as seeing and hearing, with physical actions. More>>
	Doing the Math on Where People Go Network scientists at Northeastern University have created a mathematical model that can simulate human mobility over the course of several months or even years. More>>
	A Common Flower with Uncommon Value Two Northeastern professors studying the potential of the Madagascar periwinkle plant to yield new cancer-fighting drugs have received a $550,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to advance their research. More>>
	The Future of Drug Development John Engen, associate professor of chemistry and chemical biology, is at the forefront of research that will advance drug discovery and development by making it easier to analyze certain kinds of proteins, their role in disease, and their interactions with drugs and each other. More>>
	Racing Down the Neural Highway Two Northeastern University researchers took part in a highly selective international competition that seeks to unravel the mysteries of the brain’s neural networks, thereby laying groundwork for breakthroughs in the field of neuroscience. More>>
	Exploring Behavioral Neurobiology Professor Günther K.H. Zupanc discusses his research in the field of neuroethology, and the creative process behind his work, "Behavioral Neurobiology: An Integrative Approach." More>>
	A Matter of Trust What can a wide-eyed, talking robot teach us about trust? A lot, according to Prof. David DeSteno and his colleagues, who are researching how humans decide to trust strangers — and if those decisions are accurate. More>>
	Ant Colonies Share Disease Resistance Associate Professor of Biology Rebeca Rosengaus and her team of student researchers have discovered that the social feeding habits of carpenter ants reduce disease transmission and widespread infection within the colony. More>>
	Northeastern Appoints "Founding Dean" of New College of Science As the College of Science's first dean, Gibson has the opportunity to chart a new and innovative path, while building on Northeastern's significant strengths across a range of scientific fields. More>>
	Food- and Water-Inspectors to the Stars Grace Bacharach works in a NASA lab in Houston testing samples of water that astronauts will drink on space missions. More>>
	The Path to Discovery Now Chairman of the Department of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University, and Physician-in-Chief at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Schafer was first drawn to medical research during his time as a young student in the Department of Biology. More>>
	Unlocking the Mysteries of Crack Formation In possible breakthrough for creating crack-proof materials, Northeastern scientists are first to develop computer models for how cracks form and spread in solids, from synthetics to human bone. More>>
	Breakthrough in Tracking a Cause of Chronic Infections A discovery by biology professor Kim Lewis and his team reveals for the first time the mechanism by which bacteria maintain a chronic infection in spite of aggressive therapy with antibiotics. More>>
	Learning Sustainability from the Rainforest If he wasn't caring for endangered spider monkeys, junior biology major Zack Kennedy was securing turtle eggs against poachers during a co-op last fall in the Taricaya Ecological Reserve in Peru's Amazonian rainforest. More>>
	Three Seas Offers Immersion in Marine Research For undergraduate students, the opportunity to work side-by-side with leading faculty researchers can be a life-changing experience. So what is it like for students to spend day in and day out, living and working with top researchers for months at a time? More>>
	Human Behavior is 93 Percent Predictable, Research Shows Distinguished Professor of Physics Albert-László Barabási and his team studied the mobility patterns of anonymous cell-phone users and concluded that, despite the common perception that our actions are random and unpredictable, human mobility follows surprisingly regular patterns. More>>
	Breakthrough Technology for Testing Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Drugs In a breakthrough development for early drug research, Northeastern University scientists are now able to test, in real time, the impact of new drugs being developed to treat neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. More>>
	Advancing Global Learning Currently fulfilling her four-month Fulbright grant in India at the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in Varanasi, Professor Phyllis Strauss is researching DNA repair of the cell’s genetic material during the earliest stages of embryo development in mice. More>>
	Nanotechnology Collaboration Aimed at Curing Cancers Researchers at Northeastern's Electronic Materials Research Institute (eMRI) are collaborating with two Harvard Medical School researchers to develop a nanotechnology-based "smart implant" to treat cancer. More>>
	Physics Rules Network Dynamics Facebook, Google, and other expansive Internet sites share important characteristics with complex biological systems, says physicist Ginestra Bianconi—both contain a vast number and variety of linkages that can be better understood through network theory. More>>
	Northeastern Microbiologist Wins Funding to Solve a Mystery Professor of Biology Slava Epstein has won a prestigious million-dollar grant to do something scientists in the last hundred years have been unable to do: grow oral- disease causing organisms in a laboratory. More>>
	Investigating Infectious Diseases Northeastern biologist Kim Lewis has received a $5.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to investigate why antibiotics are not effective for certain infectious diseases. More>>
	Robotic Bee-Havior Biology professor Joseph Ayers will collaborate with a team of researchers from Harvard University to develop micro flying robots with the technology to emulate the bees’ brain, body and collective behavior. More>>
	Discovery Connection Northeastern mathematicians, physicists and biologists will connect with first- and second-year Northeastern students to provide mentoring and engage them in math and science research through interdisciplinary seminars, a Summer Discovery Experience between freshman and sophomore years and research-related co-ops and internships. More>>
	Examining the Sound-Patterns of World Languages To better understand the human capacity for language, Northeastern psychology professor Iris Berent is searching for common sound patterns—simple syllables like “ba”—that are universally preferred across all human languages. More>>

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