Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a bacterium that is resistant to many antibiotics. It is responsible for several chronic infections such as osteomyelitis, endocarditis, or infections of implanted medical devices. These infections are often incurable, even when appropriate antibiotics are used. Senior author of the study, Prof Kim Lewis of Northeastern University, suspected that a different adaptive function […]

It’s not an overstatement to say it gets frigid in Boston. So the company Mike Behan started while attending Northeastern University began by selling slouchy knit hats and scarves. It has since grown to support its main mission of helping women farmers in Kenya. Behan, CEO and co-founder of Njabini Inc., graduated from Northeastern this year. […]

Fifteen-year-old Marianne Mahoney is something of a secret weapon for the Northeastern University women’s ice hockey team. The Newton teen has the congenital disorder spina bifida, and is in a wheelchair, and she’s ever present at Husky games. “Marianne helps our players learn how to deal with adversity,” said Northeastern coach Dave Flint. “Our kids […]

Northeastern University’s Distinguished Professor of Biology Kim Lewis has overcome a leading public health threat: treating and eliminating methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus, more commonly known as MRSA, or a “superbug”. The new, groundbreaking study was published Wednesday in the journal Nature. The “superbug” infects approximately 1 million Americans each year and kills tens of thousands. MRSA can […]

Scientists Wednesday unveiled a drug combination that destroys antibiotic-resistant germs in mice, potentially opening a new front against chronic and relapsing infections in humans. Big Pharma had been closely interested in a compound dubbed acyldepsipeptide (ADEP), only to drop it when some germs became resistant to it. But scientists in the United States reported that, […]

Bacterial antibiotic resistance is widespread and presents ongoing challenges in treating infections. A less widely known—but equally challenging—problem is antibiotic tolerance, where bacteria called persisters are not sensitive to antibiotics because the drugs’ targets are inactive in these dormant cells. Kim Lewis’s group at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, had previously shown that persisters give biofilms their drug-tolerant properties. Now, […]

Housing is more expensive in greater Boston than just about anywhere else in the country. Here’s how tough it is for families: Half of them who rent in this city pay almost a third of their paychecks to their landlords. A quarter of them pay more than half. As a former candidate for mayor of […]

Earlier this year, Massachusetts had regained all of the jobs lost in the last recession, but the economy has since created jobs more slowly than expected. Employers cut jobs in five of the first eight months of 2013, state statistics show, and the unemployment rate has risen nearly a point since March, when it fell […]

For years, scientists and science writers have been sounding loud alarmsabout drug-resistant bacteria that can shrug off our most potent antibiotics. They are hard to kill, and so kill us with greater ease. These superbugs are undeniably worrying but they’re only part of the problem—it is entirely possible for bacteria to defy antibiotics without actually resisting them. […]

PreApps, Boston • Tagline: “Changing the way mobile apps are built and discovered” • Seeking $750,000 • Why notable: Alum of Northeastern’s IDEA accelerator; advisors include former Apple and Apperian executive Chuck Goldman   Splashscore, Boston • Tagline: “Performance-based influencer advertising” • Seeking $500,000 • Why notable: Alum of Betaspring and Northeastern University IDEA accelerators; […]

“There is a clear and present danger that sequestration will damage America’s pre-eminence in scientific research and higher education over the long-term,” said Northeastern University President Joseph Aoun. “Given the impact we already have seen, we urge the members of the House and Senate who are negotiating funding for FY2014 and beyond to end sequestration, enable […]

Standing steps from Northeastern’s 3D printing studio Thursday night, visiting professor Janos Stone urged the huddled crowd of intrigued, inquiring students, “3D printing has barely been explored.” The university ushered in November by hosting a 3D Printing Week, in an effort to acquaint the community with the cutting-edge tools newly available on the second floor of […]