Departments Department of Biology

Graduate student Suzanne Stasiak is part of a team of researchers studying how smooth muscle cells in the human airway behave to trigger asthma. Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

Cells in your airway talk to each other. For some, what they say can trigger an asthma attack.

Conventional asthma research has largely focused on diseased cells in human airways. But now, researchers at Northeastern have found that asthma attacks are not only the result of diseased cells acting up—healthy cells get caught up in the mix, too.

by Roberto Molar Candanosa August 24, 2020

Social insects like this termite have evolved multiple strategies over millions of years to keep pathogens from wiping out their colonies. Perhaps it’s time we learned from them. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

What can ants and termites teach us about fighting disease?

Social insects have evolved multiple strategies over millions of years to keep pathogens from wiping out their colonies. Perhaps it’s time we learned from them, says Rebecca Rosengaus, an associate professor in marine and environmental sciences.

by Laura Castañón August 18, 2020

Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

Our drinking water was always full of microbes. Are the wrong ones thriving in the pandemic?

It’s been months, and life has changed dramatically across the planet. Zooming in where only a microscope can see, Northeastern researchers are trying to determine how the lifestyle changes caused by COVID-19 might be helping harmful bacteria grow in our drinking water.

by Roberto Molar Candanosa June 25, 2020

Abhishek Mogili, a third-year biology and political science student at Northeastern, works as a department technician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Photo by Adam Glanzman for Northeastern University

He’s preparing the ER for a surge of COVID-19 patients. There’s nowhere else he’d rather be.

Every night at 8 p.m., as many of us are winding down for the evening, Abhishek Mogili pulls a mask over his face and wriggles his hands into purple nitrile gloves. He’s ready to begin another 12-and-a-half-hour shift in the emergency department at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

by Khalida Sarwari March 27, 2020

Samples of skin tissue from older mice are helping Justin Crane, an assistant professor of biology at Northeastern, explore anti-aging mechanisms important for skin health. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

We know exercise is good for your skin. This protein mimics those effects in mice.

Skin cells lose their ability to heal themselves with age. Northeastern biologist Justin Crane is testing how a new treatment to heal wounds in older mice can help researchers understand the cellular mechanisms of aging and healing in the skin cells in elderly people.

by Roberto Molar Candanosa January 17, 2020

Kim Lewis, University Distinguished Professor of biology in the College of Science, and Yu Imai, a postdoctoral research associate at Lewis’ lab, discovered a new class of antibiotics that could help fight drug-resistant gram-negative bacteria. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

A new antibiotic has been hiding in the gut of a tiny worm. It may be our best weapon against drug-resistant bacteria.

Kim Lewis, University Distinguished Professor of biology, says we are in the midst of a global antibiotic resistance crisis. A new class of antibiotics discovered in his lab could be our best hope against some of the nastiest superbugs out there.

by Roberto Molar Candanosa November 20, 2019

The salamander that eats its siblings’ arms could one day help you grow a new one

Lots of amphibians can regrow limbs after an injury. But no species does it better than the axolotl, a salamander that can regenerate fully developed organs at any point in its life. Now, Northeastern associate professor James Monaghan is testing whether these amphibious superpowers can be transferred to humans.

by Emily Arntsen October 21, 2019

Northeastern graduate Ayo Oshinaike has built a platform to simplify recipe hunting and cooking for millennials who crave convenience. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

Learn how to cook like Gordon Ramsay, from the comfort of your own phone

Northeastern graduate Ayo Oshinaike has built a platform that will simplify recipe hunting and cooking for people who crave convenience.

by Khalida Sarwari September 2, 2019

The axolotl, an odd-looking salamander from Mexico, can regrow its limbs, organs, and even parts of its eyes flawlessly, and without scarring. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

This salamander can regenerate limbs like Deadpool. Can it teach us to do the same?

Scientists are studying how the axolotl can regrow injured or lost body parts flawlessly, and without scarring, to see if humans could develop the same regenerative ability.

by Laura Castañón July 22, 2019

Student Nohelly Derosiers transfers <i>C. elegans</i> in Javier Apfeld’s lab at the Mugar Life Sciences Building. Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

How long will we live? The answer isn’t in a crystal ball. But it might be in our brains.

Northeastern biology professor Javier Apfeld can extend the lifespan of a worm by manipulating how its brain processes information. Now he wants to know why in the hopes that maybe worms can teach us something about our own mortality.

by Emily Arntsen July 5, 2019