Sarah J. Jackson, an assistant professor of communication studies at Northeastern University, explained why this seemingly innocent symbol has come under fire. “While symbolic communication can often mean a lot to the person wearing the symbol, sometimes it’s missed by the larger society,” she said. For one thing, a safety pin is something that can […]

Riding a bike around Boston and environs can be a risky proposition: In the first four months of 2016, eight people were killed and 307 injured from bicycle crashes on Boston streets. In Cambridge, two bicyclists have been killed this year. At noon, a Northeastern University professor will urge a City Council committee to consider […]

For a president with a populist base — and a seemingly populist streak — the public anger may be hard to ignore. Moreover, Trump can be a wild card. He did sound off, albeit briefly, about prescription drug prices during the campaign. And he’s yet to issue any policy proposals. “He’s against price controls and […]

All of these data have enabled casinos to specifically target their most reliable spenders, primarily problem gamblers and outright addicts. Despite those customers’ big losses—or rather, because of their losses—the casinos lure them to return with perks that include complimentary drinks and meals, limo service, freebies from the casino gift shop, golf excursions for their […]

For planet Earth, these are worrying times. Not least because Myron Ebell, a notorious global warming sceptic, is now leading the effort to flesh out President-elect Donald Trump’s talk of dismantling US climate change regulation. Trump and Congressional Republicans campaigned on a pledge to undo all of Barack Obama’s major climate change-related actions, including rescinding […]

Bitterness. Hostility. Rage. The varieties of anger are endless. Some are mild, such as grumpiness, and others are powerful, such as wrath. Different angers vary not only in their intensity but also in their purpose. It’s normal to feel exasperated with your screaming infant and scornful of a political opponent, but scorn toward your baby […]

Anthony Di Mari of Northeastern University’s School of Architecture dreamed up these piezoelectric trees to help irrigate public parks and light them at night. The piezoelectric trees contain a polycarbonate and mesh infill that collects water from rainfall and airborne moisture. The water is then distributed through a shallow underground irrigation system with the help […]