Do you know about the Policy School’s Open Classroom series? I didn’t until I stumbled into the tail end of last week’s session on the obesity epidemic. Here’s the deal, in the OC’s* own words: “Each semester we select one graduate-level seminar and open it up to the public…. Each week we feature prominent guest ...
Ed Yong might be my favorite blogger. He’s certainly the most prolific one I’m aware of (don’t sign up for his twitter feed if you don’t want to be inundated all day long — how do people keep up with that sort of thing?!). But more importantly he’s entertaining and good at what he does. ...
There are approximately 5 nonillion bacteria on earth (where a million has six zeros after the one, a nonillion has 30 zeroes). The microorganisms that live in the environment and in animal “microbiomes” (the collection of all the bacteria that call an animal home) represent the most diverse group of species around. They can be ...
This may not be news to the rest of the world…but it’s news to me and might be news to you. I learned this morning from Professor Günther Zupanc that a teleost fish can grow a new backbone if you cut it in half. I used to do this to earth worms in my sandbox ...
The other day I met pharmacy professor Roger Edwards, whose research focuses on the health benefits of breastfeeding. Edwards, who has a background in policy and improvement in public health, became interested in the area when he saw his wife struggle to fight societal and hospital norms in her determination to breast feed the first ...
Last week Coca Cola and Pepsi announced they would change the processing method for the molecule that gives our favorite soft drinks their caramel color, after California placed a chemical byproduct of the method on its list of known carcinogens. According to a study commissioned by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), ...
Anthony D’Onofrio studies dirt…or the bacteria that grow on dirt, to be more specific. He is a post-doctoral researcher in the Antimicrobial Discovery Center led by Professor Kim Lewis in the biology department and has started a non-profit educational organization, along with Professor Lewis, called Sample America to help him with a somewhat impossible task: ...
Since I arrived, I’ve heard a lot of talk about Heather Clark’s nano-sensors around campus. I finally got the chance to meet her this morning and learn more about her work. By now, most of the Northeastern community is familiar with the smart-phone app that a couple of Clark’s grad students designed to help people ...
The nation’s healthcare system is facing a financial crisis. It’s not big news. We’ve all known it for years. The planet (and the economy) is struggling to accommodate the largest population it’s ever had in a time when people are living longer than ever. “Everyone agrees that something needs to change, but how it will ...
Of the 700,000 new stroke cases each year, only 37% regain the ability to walk. That means more the 440,000 people requiring mobility assistance are added to the overburdened healthcare system annually — and that’s just stroke patients. Rehabilitation is obviously a key component to changing these statistics, but without quantitative data not much can ...
Nanotechnology is a huge field. When I worked at a nanomaterials start-up my dad would often ask me about developments in nanomedicine and I had no clue what to say. Nanotechnology enables new applications in medicine, electronics, materials — pretty much anything you can imagine. But, fundamentally, it’s pretty simple: It’s about making things so ...
Dagmar Sternad could compete for most passionate researcher on campus and land a seat near the top. Her stern gaze and flaming red hair only add to her intensity. Sternad is a professor of biology, electrical and computer engineering and physics, but as she says, “don’t even try to label me.” Her work, which focuses ...