“It’s a significant intellectual teaser,” says Slava Epstein, a microbial ecologist at Northeastern University in Boston, “why, after 150 years of the sweat and blood of smart, talented people, we can cultivate only a small proportion of microbes.”  

EVERY DAY, MILLIONS of people use Google to dig up information that drives their daily lives, from how long their commute will be to how to treat their child’s illness. This search data reveals a lot about the searchers: their wants, their needs, their concerns—extraordinarily valuable information. If these searches accurately reflect what is happening […]

Kim Lewis collects dirt. For the past decade, he and his colleagues—all scientists in Massachusetts—have asked friends and family around the United States to send them 1-gallon Ziploc bags of backyard soil. It might not seem like much, but it turns out that a little grime can hold a trove of groundbreaking scientific discoveries. In […]

“Why would anybody want to do that? Have you ever been down there and seen it’s packed with people?” says Peter G. Furth, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Northeastern University. “People love the energy they get from seeing other people, being with other people. Having a large pedestrian area helps make that possible. […]

But in the future, says Northeastern University researcher Nick Beauchamp, machine learning technology could change that. He’s developed an algorithm that could make it even easier for politicians to know exactly what to say to make us love them and hate their rivals. It’s a future that’s as fascinating as it is terrifying.

In a speech before the UN General Assembly on September 28, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani heralded the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action as a new chapter in Iran’s relations with the rest of the world. After a heated and largely politicized national debate, Congress is set to move forward with nuclear agreement. This treaty limits […]

The trend towards women becoming more involved in the professional sports world took another dramatic step in the right direction on Tuesday when the Oakland Athletics became the first Major League Baseball organization to hire a female coach COH +1.87%. Justine Siegal, who boasts a PhD in Sport and Exercise Psychology from Springfield College in Massachusetts, will be […]

Still, experts agree that nitrogen oxide (pdf) is a nasty pollutant. Once released into the air it quickly converts into nitrogen dioxide—a reddish-brown gas with a pungent odor—and then absorbs sunlight to transform into the yellow-brown haze that blankets cities. It is this smog that can exacerbate dozens of health problems, including asthma, bronchitis and […]

The Reverends Emmett G. Price III and Irene Monroe were back on Boston Public Radiofor their regular Monday feature, “All Revved Up.” Questions are paraphrased, and responses are edited where noted […]. We’ve talked a lot about Pope Francis’ impact on politics. Do you think his talks about climate change and immigration have any impact—religiously […]

Even without a law degree, students running the clinics can handle most cases. They draft contracts, check the availability of trademarks and work with investors. But there are limits. At Northeastern, for example, students don’t submit patent applications. “The students operate like a small startup law firm. They make decisions as group, they collaborate on […]

With the ink barely dry on its federal appeal to reinstate Tom Brady’s suspension for “more probabl(y) than not” being “generally aware” of footballs being purposely deflated, the NFL revealed last week that the marquee quarterback’s jersey is the top seller this season. Apparently, a significant share of the fan base believes Brady is innocent, […]

The Federal Reserve’s long-awaited September meeting ended with the Fed once again deciding not to raise interest rates. We have seen this movie before. Consider a society in which government has been traditionally run by the Old Guys political party. They are great believers in “prudent government,” and their definition of prudence includes balanced budgets; […]