It is a method of killing as old as the act of killing itself. Employed by the ancient Greeks and Romans, referenced in the Koran and the Bible. A staple of the Crusades and medieval Europe, and practised in some parts of that continent as recently as the Second World War. A method still preferred […]

We tend to think of popular culture as an amorphous, unquantifiable thing — the stuff of critics and marketers and tenuous trend pieces. But thanks to the work of academics like Northeastern University history professor Benjamin Scmidt, who applies computer science and digital techniques to the humanities, we actually have far more objective, data-based insight […]

In the past week, world leaders have started using a mathematical term when they talk about the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. “It’s spreading and growing exponentially,” President Obama said Tuesday. “This is a disease outbreak that is advancing in an exponential fashion,” said Dr. David Nabarro, who is heading the U.N.’s effort against Ebola. […]

Right now we’ve had more than 5,000 cases of Ebola and at least 2,600 people have died. Some scientists, like Alessandro Vespignani at Northeastern University in Boston, are taking numbers like that and putting them into computer models to see where this epidemic is going. “You know, for instance, in our modeling, by mid-October, we’re […]

The next big thing in three-dimensional printing is small — so small it’s practically two-dimensional. A machine unveiled Wednesday by Northeastern University promises to speed up the manufacturing and drive down the cost of everything from consumer electronics to prescription drugs by printing in ultra-thin layers as minuscule as 20 nanometers. That’s 1,000 times thinner […]

Cell phone carriers are battling for your business by cutting prices, ditching contracts, and offering to pay your fee to switch. Act fast to lock in your savings. If you’re unhappy with your cell phone service—and really, who isn’t?—now might be a unique time to either renegotiate your contract or move to a new carrier. […]

William Dickens, chairman of the economics department at Boston’s Northeastern University and a leading expert on joblessness, said the persistence of the long-term unemployment problem six years after the financial crisis points to one thing: that policy makers should take the problem more seriously. “It may take a very aggressive policy, including accepting some inflation, […]

“Describe your background and how it qualifies you for this job.” While you wouldn’t be surprised to hear that request in an interview, it may put terror in the heart of any new college graduates without much practical experience. In many cases, even those who earn a college degree come up short when it comes […]

Mary L. Bonauto was on a recent getaway to Little Cranberry Island, a lovely spot off the coast of Maine where cellphone service can be spotty. So it took a while before she saw that someone had tried to reach her about a half-dozen times. “They kept calling,” the civil rights lawyer recalled Wednesday. “I […]

True to form, Mary Bonauto didn’t even know she had been nominated for a MacArthur grant. The unassuming yet tenacious civil rights lawyer from Portland has systematically taken the fight for marriage equality into courtrooms across the country, leading a charge that has seen 19 states legalize same-sex marriage in the past 10 years. While […]

For now, Massachusetts car buyers should not expect a significant ripple effect from Monday’s ruling, said John E. Kwoka, an economics professor at Northeastern University who submitted an unsolicited friend-of-the-court brief in support of Tesla. Major automakers like Toyota, Ford and General Motors are still prohibited from opening direct-sale dealerships because of their existing relationships […]

Erika Murray, the mother of four children found living in horrible squalor in August, remains in jail on charges of child neglect. She may face additional charges and is reportedly on suicide watch. As for the house on St Paul Street, it now sits largely empty after cleaning crews hauled away more than two dumpsters […]