While a number of researchers are modeling the spread of Ebola in West African countries besieged by the deadly virus, a group led by Alessandro Vespignani at Boston’s Northeastern University has used air traffic connections to explore how the disease might spread to the rest of the world. The study, published last month in PLOS […]

There could be as many as two dozen people in the U.S. infected with Ebola by the end of the month, according to researchers tracking the virus with a computer model. The actual number probably will be far smaller and limited to a couple of airline passengers who enter the country already infected without showing […]

It’s not the first time people seeking attention have taken advantage of an unfolding crisis or tragedy to spread panic. After Sept. 11 and around its anniversary, bomb threats have led to numerous buildings being evacuated. This September, a Manhattan man was arrested for making 61 prank calls threatening a terrorist attack. People have screamed […]

For many in Boston, housing is a huge challenge. From price to availability, finding a place where you want to live — and that you can afford — is tough. That there are simply too many people who want to live here and not enough places to meet that demand. It’s a problem that will […]

The idea that people can become invested in a non-human figure like the Prof or Apple’s Siri is not radically new; sometimes, at least in Hollywood, they even fall in love. But, outside of the entertainment industry, fully animated guides have struggled to take hold. Timothy Bickmore, a professor of computer science at Northeastern University, […]

NSF grants to some 50 professors across the country are now being investigated by the Republican-controlled committee. More than a dozen of the researchers, in comments to The Chronicle, said they had little idea what the politicians were seeking, but warned of a dangerous precedent in what they described as a witch hunt.

The announcement came after Wednesday’s meeting of the Boston Foundation’s board of directors. At the meeting, the board approved about $1.63 million in discretionary grants that the foundation plans to make during the next quarter. Among other groups in line for grants is Northeastern University. Northeastern is in line for a one-year, $50,000 grant for […]

While concrete doesn’t corrode easily, steel does, Kevin Hartnett explains in an article for the Boston Globe. Climate change could hasten two natural processes: carbonation, where carbon dioxide gets into the concrete, and chloration, when chloride ions in water get into it. Both processes cause steel to corrode and expand, destroying the concrete from the […]

The U.S. experience, where generic drugs made up 85 percent of the market, showed that high IP standards were compatible with “fulsome access to medicines,” said Mark Elliot from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Intellectual Property Center. But Northeastern University law professor Brook Baker said there were several proposals in the draft which would […]

Stocks plummeted Wednesday amid heavy waves of selling as jittery investors responded to a broad array concerns, from disappointing economic data in the United States to slowing European and Asian economies to the spread of the Ebola virus. With the Federal Reserve unwinding stimulus policies that supported the recovery, investors are becoming uncertain about the […]

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa has claimed the lives of at least 4,033 people so far, including, last week, Thomas Eric Duncan in the United States. The toll is likely greater because many cases go unreported, according to the World Health Organization. Here are charts and maps that will help you understand the path […]

Experts, however, argue that online companies are not doing enough watch their networks and identify nefarious activity, as well as encrypt data prior to it being stored. “Service providers can block brute-force attacks. For example, if you see the same IP address logging in 100 times, that’s something you should check,” said Engin Kirda, a […]