Laura Castañón - News @ Northeastern

It’s not just your genes that are killing you. Everything else is, too.

Environmental factors drive the majority of our risk for non-communicable diseases, says Albert-László Barbási, Robert Gray Dodge Professor of Network Science at Northeastern. We need to be studying them.

by Laura Castañón January 23, 2020

Corn stalks and old plastic could be the new coal

Yiannis Levendis, Distinguished Professor of mechanical and industrial engineering at Northeastern, who was recently elected as a fellow to the National Academy of Inventors, has spent his career creating reusable products, cleverly repurposing our waste, and lighting a remarkable number of things on fire.

by Laura Castañón January 15, 2020

U.S. House passes legislation to regulate the ‘forever chemicals’ in your food, water, and air

A bill to establish federal regulations for a group of harmful chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday with bipartisan support. Phil Brown, director of Northeastern’s Social Science Environmental Health Institute, discusses the dangers these chemicals pose, and the challenges of regulating them.

by Laura Castañón January 10, 2020

Puerto Rico has weathered 500 earthquakes in two weeks. How does it rebuild?

The island is still recovering from the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria in 2017, which killed close to 3,000 people and knocked out power for months. Northeastern faculty have been working with humanitarian organizations to develop a project to facilitate that recovery.

by Laura Castañón January 9, 2020

Cannabis products are everywhere. But what do they actually do?

Researchers at Northeastern and Loyalist College in Ontario, Canada are teaming up to train graduate students in the analytical techniques required to investigate cannabis and help them understand the regulatory landscape in both Canada and the U.S.

by Laura Castañón January 8, 2020

The secret to better eyesight? Just add oxygen (and millions of years of evolution).

A study published by an international collaboration of researchers, including Northeastern professor H. William Detrich, recently revealed how a steady supply of oxygen helped vertebrates evolve better vision.

by Laura Castañón December 18, 2019

Meet the new dean of the College of Science

An accomplished leader in the scientific community, Sive is also a passionate innovator in higher education. She comes to Northeastern from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she has held leadership roles within the institute’s research enterprise.

by Laura Castañón December 13, 2019

These sponge-like gels can help grow new tissue, train immune cells, and deliver medication

Seven years ago, Sidi Bencherif, an assistant professor of chemical engineering at Northeastern, announced a breakthrough technology that could hold cells or treatments, and be injected under the skin through a needle. Now these cryogels are being used for immunotherapy, biosensors, tissue engineering, and cosmetic surgery.

by Laura Castañón December 12, 2019

You are what you eat. But what are you eating?

The USDA tracks only a fraction of the chemical compounds in our food. Giulia Menichetti, an associate research scientist at Northeastern’s Center for Complex Network Research, is trying to map all of them, to help us live longer, healthier lives.

by Laura Castañón December 10, 2019

What if birth control pills could be taken monthly, instead of every day?

Currently, oral contraceptives need to be taken at the same time every day to be effective. Ambika Bajpayee, an assistant professor of bioengineering at Northeastern, has created a birth control pill that needs to be taken just once per month.

by Laura Castañón December 4, 2019

Posts by Laura Castañón