Departments College of Science - News @ Northeastern

Associate Professor Rebeca Rosengaus studies social insect behavior and researches how insects control and contain pathogen outbreaks in their own colonies.

For ideas about fighting pandemics, look to termites and ants

Social insects like termites and ants have evolved many methods to combat disease. What can we learn from them in fighting human pandemics? A lot, says Rebeca Rosengaus, an associate professor and behavioral ecologist at Northeastern.

by Eva Botkin-Kowacki May 28, 2021

Students sitting on the grass on theBoston campus

Jump into June with these events

Build your career intelligence. Examine the future of epidemiology. Plan the perfect beach day. Here is a list of events to make the most of early June now that the summery weather has arrived.

by Ian Thomsen May 28, 2021

NAHANT, Mass. Northeastern students Jaxon Derow and Sahana Simonetti gather mussels for a research project at Northeastern’s Marine Science Center.

Northeastern’s award-winning coastal research campus in Massachusetts faces public vote

Nahant residents on Saturday will vote on whether to seize part of the property where Northeastern’s Marine Science Center conducts research to improve the sustainability of coastal communities facing the effects of climate change.

by Peter Ramjug May 13, 2021

She’s building better bones while encouraging diversity in science

Bone is the second-most commonly transplanted tissue, and yet current bone graft procedures come with significant drawbacks. One option is to take bone…

by Allie Nicodemo - contributor May 11, 2021

Visitors wear face masks while watching a presentation in a theater at the Aquarium of the Pacific on its first day of reopening to public in Long Beach, Calif. on March 16, 2021.

How soon will the COVID-19 pandemic end? It depends.

“It could be a matter of weeks,” says Alessandro Vespignani, whose team has created models projecting possible future outbreaks of COVID-19 in the U.S. for the CDC. But that depends on whether people’s real behavior continues to align with the Northeastern team’s scenarios.

by Eva Botkin-Kowacki May 5, 2021

The bottle sat in Bill Detrich’s refrigerator for nearly 15 years. Now, its time has come.

In 2004, Northeastern’s Bill Detrich had an idea ahead of its time: that scientists would one day sequence DNA from all of the Earth’s living creatures. Now, his efforts in anticipation of that genetics boom are paying off.

by Eva Botkin-Kowacki May 4, 2021

Sculpture meets science when Albert-László Barabási makes art from network patterns

Albert-László Barabási wanted to be a sculptor. Then he discovered physics and pioneered a new field of network science. Now, the Northeastern professor has art exhibits displaying his work in both Hungary and Germany.

by Eva Botkin-Kowacki April 29, 2021

Developing new disease treatments can take years. That's why Northeastern researcher Deisy Morselli Gysi and her colleagues looked at existing drugs to treat COVID-19. And now they have four strong contenders. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

Existing drugs may hold the key to curing COVID‑19

Developing new disease treatments can take years. That's why Northeastern researchers looked at existing drugs to treat COVID-19. And now they have four strong contenders.

by Eva Botkin-Kowacki April 28, 2021

Megan Carter and Sammy Shupe stand outside their co-op stations.

These athletes pursue championships while on co-op

Megan Carter, a sophomore who maintains a 4.0 grade point average in biology, was on co-op at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston while striving for a national title in women’s ice hockey. Here’s how she and other student-athletes learn to balance sports, academics, and co-op.

by Ian Thomsen April 27, 2021

He studies how proteins change in reaction to drugs

John R. Engen, the James L. Waters chair in analytical chemistry and distinguished professor of chemistry and chemical biology, received one of this year’s Excellence in Research and Creativity Award for his outstanding contributions to the field of mass spectrometry.

by Emily Arntsen April 21, 2021