Archive - News @ Northeastern

Will ‘red flag’ gun laws prevent mass shootings?

The “red flag” gun laws supported by President Donald Trump and, increasingly, members of Congress, are a step toward reducing gun violence and gun deaths, but they’re only part of the solution, says Matthew Miller, a Northeastern professor who studies firearm-related violence.

by Molly Callahan August 12, 2019

A nurse and pharmacist admit 10-year old Lopeto Losile to the new ward of the Chemolingot Sub-County Hospital. Losile’s father observes the process. Photo by Natalia Jidovanu for Northeastern University

A disease you may not have heard of kills 20,000 people every year. It doesn’t have to.

BARINGO COUNTY, Kenya—To combat visceral leishmaniasis, the second-most deadly parasitic disease after malaria, Richard Wamai, an associate professor of cultures, societies, and global studies at Northeastern, helped to build a research and treatment center in Kenya that opened late last month.

by Anthony Kuria Wanjiru - contributor August 12, 2019

An image of co-author John D. Wood's eye created using artificial intelligence. Courtesy of Nada Sanders

Ignore the hand-wringing. Get ready for the disruption.

Organizations that take a measured and piecemeal approach to implementing emerging technologies will fall off the map and fade into irrelevance, writes Northeastern professor Nada R. Sanders, co-author of the forthcoming book The Humachine.

by Khalida Sarwari August 9, 2019

Toni Morrison’s groundbreaking novels about black history and identity helped to advance issues of civil rights and racial justice. The author was the keynote speaker at an event at Northeastern University in 2013, and afterward, she met with families who’d lost a relative to racial violence. Photo by Mary Knox Merrill/Northeastern University

Toni Morrison’s influence extends beyond literature

Morrison, whose groundbreaking novels about black history and identity opened the door for scores of authors who followed, also helped to advance issues of civil rights and racial justice.

by Molly Callahan August 9, 2019

‘We felt like rock stars’

Northeastern students performed nine concerts for the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra in front of sold-out crowds in eight cities in Brazil.

by Irvin Zhang August 9, 2019

Sarah Ostadabbas, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, and doctoral student Shuangjun Liu use a manikin to test their camera setup. Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

They know how you’ve been sleeping

The positions we take in our sleep can have implications for our health, including affecting the symptoms of conditions like sleep apnea or carpal tunnel syndrome. Sarah Ostadabbas, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Northeastern, and her team built a data set of sleeping positions and used it to train algorithms to recognize and identify the pose of a sleeping person.

by Laura Castañón August 8, 2019

What people who don’t like music might tell us about social interaction

About 5 percent of people don’t like music. After tracking some of them down, Northeastern professors Psyche Loui and Ajay Satpute will study how this phenomenon might relate to struggles with social interaction—and teach us better ways to treat it.

by Aria Bracci August 8, 2019

They’re ensuring that quality medication gets to the patients who need it

Northeastern’s Biopharmaceutical Analysis Training Laboratory, which trains individuals in manufacturing and regulating drugs, has received a $4.3 million grant from the Massachusetts Life Science Center. The laboratory will open a new facility this September.

by Laura Castañón August 8, 2019

Think you know Northeastern? Test your knowledge with this trivia challenge.

When was Northeastern founded? What team did the Huskies beat in the 1988 Beanpot Championship? And what was the name of the university’s first mascot?

by Cam Sleeper August 8, 2019

Six epidemics from American history show how urban design affects our health

What does tuberculosis have to do with your neighborhood park? What does cholera have to do with city grids? Sara Jensen Carr, an assistant professor of architecture at Northeastern, reveals how epidemics, chronic illnesses, and “social diseases” shape the places where Americans live.

by Emily Arntsen August 8, 2019