College of Science Archives

silhouette of a womans head with blue neuro map overlaid

When we think about nature vs. nurture, we’re biased. Here’s why.

Are humans born with hard-wired abilities, or do we learn them? If you take a guess, you may be wrong. And Northeastern professor of psychology Iris Berent now knows why.

by Eva Botkin-Kowacki September 20, 2021

silhouettes of two firefighters standing in front of massive wilfdire

Is wildfire soot leaving a mark on the world’s oceans?

When clouds of smoke and ash billow out over the ocean, stretching away from the wildfires that are their source, they might not just affect the air quality, according to research by Aron Stubbins, associate professor of marine and environmental sciences at Northeastern.

by Eva Botkin-Kowacki September 17, 2021

To safeguard key coastal ecosystems, this scientist starts by talking to the local anglers

“Fishermen spend the bulk of their year, if not every day, on the water and the vast majority of scientists only get to spend a small number of days on the water,” says Steven Scyphers, assistant professor of marine and environmental sciences at Northeastern. “But we’re both trying to understand the same system.”

by Halle Marchese - contributor September 13, 2021

Adrian Feiguin (left), Associate Professor of Physics at Northeastern, and Arun Bansil (right), University Distinguished Professor of Physics. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

Using this billion-dollar laser, physicists hope to probe the quantum world for new discoveries

A group of theoretical physicists at Northeastern have received a $2.7 million grant from the Department of Energy as part of a project aimed at developing a set of machine-learning tools and associated software that will help researchers better interpret quantum images produced by one of the world’s largest lasers, the billion-dollar Stanford Linear Accelerator.

by Tanner Stening September 10, 2021

Chemistry and Biochemistry Professor Carla Mattos works in Hurtig Hall at Northeastern. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University

This mysterious on-off switch holds clues to new cancer treatments

One-third of all human cancers are caused by mutations found on a protein called RAS, explains Carla Mattos, professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Northeastern. “The ultimate goal is to make drugs that stop this type of cell proliferation,” she says. “But the problem is, we don’t even know how RAS works normally.”

by Emily Arntsen - contributor September 7, 2021

man in a blue jacket running on a bridge

Their co-op contributed to advancing new research on Alzheimer’s and brain health

Sabrina Bond and Sofia Mazuera, fourth-year neuroscience students, received co-authorship credit for a published study that yielded new insights into Alzheimer’s and other neurological diseases.

by Peter Ramjug August 30, 2021

drawing of a coronavirus looming over a sitting man

How the dark shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic is changing our brains

For many people, a year and a half feeling stressed out has worn on us. And the emotional long-haul of the pandemic could have lingering effects within your mind and body. “When you’re living with that kind of uncertainty, that is going to change the way your brain is going to work,” says Rebecca Shansky, associate professor of psychology at Northeastern.

by Eva Botkin-Kowacki August 27, 2021

If we don’t halt climate change, the world’s oceans may never be the same.

As much as 95% of the climates in the surface ocean that exist today could completely disappear within 80 years—but it’s not too late to change, according to new research led by Katie Lotterhos, associate professor of marine and environmental sciences at Northeastern.

by Eva Botkin-Kowacki August 26, 2021

One of Stephen Schneider's priorities as the new arborist is improving record-keeping of plant collections to benefit researchers decades from now. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University

He cultivates the campus’s ‘urban forest’ with an eye on the future

All it took was a botany class at Northeastern to change Stephen Schneider’s career path. Today he’s in charge of keeping thousands of the trees and shrubs in the university’s arboretum healthy.

by Peter Ramjug August 26, 2021

This superbug dodges antibiotics. He's finding a way to kill it.

Superbugs are a persistent challenge for hospitals. On a given day, about one in every 31 hospital patients has an infection contracted in a healthcare facility, according to the CDC. And most are antibiotic resistant. Edward Geisinger, assistant professor of biology at Northeastern, is finding a way to disarm one of those damaging pathogens.

by Eva Botkin-Kowacki August 16, 2021