One of the more recognizable voices in the world belongs to Stephen Hawking—although, of course, it is not actually the famous scientist’s voice at all, but one that’s computer-generated in response to his facial motions. He’s been using a synthesizer to speak for almost 25 years now, his voice and ability to move lost long […]

Given that one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s stated reasons for invading Crimea was to prevent “Nazis” from coming to power in Ukraine, it is perhaps surprising that his regime is growing closer by the month to extreme right-wing parties across Europe. But, in both cases, Putin’s motives are not primarily ideological. In Ukraine, he […]

Can a fleet of undersea robots designed in Massachusetts help solve the mystery of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370? They’ve done this kind of thing before. In 2011, robot subs from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution tracked down the remains of an Air France plane that had crashed into the Atlantic Ocean two years earlier. Now, […]

When the second edition of an online course on effective giving starts next month, students will have a chance to learn from actor Patrick Dempsey, billionaire Warren Buffett and other prominent philanthropists. Students in the free class that’s scheduled to start on April 2 also will be able to help decide how to give away […]

But it’s not just your friends who will reap the benefits of your gratitude. This 2006 study by Monica Y. Bartlett and David DeSteno at Northeastern University shows that the compassion inspired by gratitude reaches outside a person’s social circle, extending to strangers. “If you’re feeling gratitude, you’re more likely not only to help a […]

Across the street from Amazon headquarters, flanked by a prestigious biology institute on one side and a Filipino-Vietnamese food truck on the other, sitsa storefront in a booming biotech enclave of the city. The space is decked in red and white, with modernist lounge chairs and molecule-shaped sculptures suspended from the ceiling. Welcome to Northeastern […]

There is a fundamental obstacle to most conversations about income inequality: Just about everyone likes to believe that they are average. Whether you make $32,000 or $200,000, you tend to think that you earn at or about the US’s median income. Of course, this can’t be true — actual US median income is about $51,000. […]

The Massachusetts unemployment rate slipped below the nation’s for the first time since November as employers added nearly 4,000 jobs last month, the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development said Thursday. Unemployment in February fell to 6.5 percent from 6.8 percent in January, the state reported. Nationally, the rate rose slightly last month, […]

Sometime in the late 1940s, two young Latin musicians in New York, Joe Loco and Tito Puente, sat down to compose songs for a new album by the bandleader Pupi Campo. Mostly, they wrote in a language and style intended for the city’s postwar wave of Cuban and Puerto Rican newcomers, the obvious audience. The […]

Conspiracy theories run rampant on Facebook. Why? Well, sometime between posting that umpteenth puppy picture and sharing just another photo of their adorable newborn nephew, your friends read a headline and automatically assume it’s true, sharing the story in outrage before taking the time to dig deeper. People fluent in satire like Andy Borowitz, or […]

Overlooking the valley, mighty Mount Rainier has been dormant since its last eruption around 1100 AD. But its activity – combined with its proximity to Seattle and Tacoma – makes any eruption there one of the most dangerous in the world, according to the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior’s Decade […]

In theory, a missing, fully operational commercial airliner in the wrong hands could be really dangerous. But this is one threat that America is prepared to handle. Decades of Cold War anxiety about incoming nuclear weapons have translated into closely monitored U.S. air space. You can’t fly a big plane into U.S. skies without the […]