College of Science Archives

Neurology, psychology and economics may explain why nostalgia is playing a larger than usual role in modern entertainment. Photo by Andrew Matthews/PA Images via Getty Images

The science of nostalgia: Why audiences can’t get enough of Star Wars, Top Gun and Stranger Things

From “Obi-Wan Kenobi” to the latest season of “Stranger Things,” our entertainment is more nostalgia driven than ever before. But what makes nostalgia such a powerful force in our lives? Two Northeastern professors break down what is going on in our brains and on our screens.

by Cody Mello-Klein June 9, 2022

Northeastern biology major Dillon Nishigaya, conducts cancer research in a Mugar lab. Nishigaya was inspired to student science after overcoming scoliosis.

These identical twins launched research careers – as freshmen

“It was a revelation” that he and his brother were able to participate in research in their first year at Northeastern, says Dillon Nishigaya. Dillon aims to become a doctor, based in part on his personal experiences with medicine.

by Ian Thomsen May 20, 2022

This 2003 electron microscope image made available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows mature, oval-shaped monkeypox virions, left, and spherical immature virions, right, obtained from a sample of human skin associated with the 2003 prairie dog outbreak. Monkeypox, a disease that rarely appears outside Africa, has been identified by European and American health authorities in recent days.

Experts weigh in: Is monkeypox the next COVID-19? Here's what we know.

The virus has unexpectedly spread to Europe, Australia, and North America, with the first U.S. patient undergoing treatment in Boston. “But it’s not something to panic about at this point,” says Brandon Dionne, an associate clinical professor in Northeastern’s department of pharmacy and health systems sciences.

by Ian Thomsen May 20, 2022

Adwoa Sefah, class of 2022 undergraduate commencement speaker, poses for a portrait.

Inspired by her mother, Adwoa Sefah approaches her Commencement speech with empathy

Life lessons of her mother enabled the cell and molecular biology major to deepen her sense of understanding during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her student speech May 13 at Northeastern’s undergraduate Commencement ceremony at Fenway Park will celebrate the gains that she and her classmates have made over the past four years.

by Ian Thomsen May 5, 2022

Could AI help imperiled marine species survive climate change?

Changing ocean conditions could drive marine species to extinction if they can’t adapt or move to more hospitable waters. Researchers say they could help—if they can accurately predict which individuals within a species will survive best, and where. Northeastern’s Katie Lotterhos is working to determine whether a machine-learning algorithm could make those predictions accurately.

by Eva Botkin-Kowacki April 20, 2022

Dacheng Lin, research associate professor of physics.

His out-of-this-world discovery: Signals from billions of light years away

Dacheng Lin, a Northeastern research associate professor, has identified a new class of high-energy signals that were created by a violent collision of two neutron stars. “This is about the fundamental physics of our universe,” Lin says.

by Ian Thomsen April 13, 2022

H William Detrich Professor of Marine and Environmental Sciences poses for a portrait at the Marine Science Center in Nahant, MA.

The legacy of H. William Detrich is rising with the Antarctic tide

Among his many achievements, the world-renowned professor of marine and environmental sciences is most proud of a Northeastern co-op program he launched a dozen years ago. It began with a work-study student washing dishes in the lab; months later, he was near the South Pole.

by Ian Thomsen April 7, 2022

Kalyn Green, resident of Durango, stands on the edge of the Animas River.

Are we part of nature, or separate from it? How you answer matters.

If you see humans as part of the natural world, you’re more likely to support stewardship of the environment, according to a new study by Northeastern psychology and environmental science researchers.

by Eva Botkin-Kowacki April 7, 2022

Breakthrough in quantum sensing provides new material to make ‘qubits’

Researchers at Northeastern say they’ve discovered that atomic defects in certain solid crystals may be key to realizing the potential of the quantum revolution.

by Tanner Stening March 8, 2022

Northeastern assistant physics professor Max Bi poses for a portrait in his office on Huntington Ave. Bi recently earned the Sloan research fellowship.

For Max Bi, physics + biology = a Sloan Research Fellowship

A dozen years after his PhD helped draw him to biology, the physicist has become the 12th Northeastern faculty member to earn the prestigious award. Bi’s study of cell behaviors is influencing treatments for cancer, asthma, and other diseases.

by Ian Thomsen February 22, 2022