Science & Technology

Billions of tons of plastic are choking the ocean. She’s here to help clean it up.

Northeastern graduate Amanda Dwyer did her doctoral research on how corals change their behavior to survive changing conditions in the oceans. Her next task is help reduce the impact of billions of tons of plastic in the world’s oceans.

by Roberto Molar Candanosa January 23, 2020

We know exercise is good for your skin. This protein mimics those effects in mice.

Skin cells lose their ability to heal themselves with age. Northeastern biologist Justin Crane is testing how a new treatment to heal wounds in older mice can help researchers understand the cellular mechanisms of aging and healing in the skin cells in elderly people.

by Roberto Molar Candanosa January 17, 2020

He’s on a quest to find the patterns that built everything around us

Gregory Fiete, a professor of physics at Northeastern, is exploring the electrons of materials that could catalyze a new technological era based on quantum systems.

by Roberto Molar Candanosa January 13, 2020

He’s training computers to find new molecules with the machine learning algorithms used by Facebook and Google

Using the same techniques that help social media algorithms learn about you, Northeastern assistant professor Steven Lopez is training machine learning algorithms to find millions of new molecules and help make materials for cancer therapy, renewable energy, and other important technologies.

by Roberto Molar Candanosa January 6, 2020

Superconductor or not? They're exploring the identity crisis of this weird quantum material.

Northeastern researchers have used a powerful computer model to probe a mysterious class of copper-based materials that can be turned into superconductors. Their findings offer tantalizing clues for a decades-old mystery, and a step forward for quantum computing.

by Roberto Molar Candanosa January 2, 2020

The deep ocean is not on fire. So what’s all that soot doing in there?

Until recently, scientists thought rivers moved black carbon from soil to the ocean. But new research by a team that included Aron Stubbins, an associate professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Northeastern, overturns this long-established idea.

by Roberto Molar Candanosa November 27, 2019

A new antibiotic has been hiding in the gut of a tiny worm. It may be our best weapon against drug-resistant bacteria.

Kim Lewis, University Distinguished Professor of biology, says we are in the midst of a global antibiotic resistance crisis. A new class of antibiotics discovered in his lab could be our best hope against some of the nastiest superbugs out there.

by Roberto Molar Candanosa November 20, 2019

Arun Bansil, a theoretical physicist at Northeastern, has discovered new properties in the chemical element bismuth that could prevent supercomputers from frying and enable the production of low power electronics. Photo by iStock

This exotic crystal is fueling the quantum revolution

Arun Bansil, University Distinguished Professor of Physics at Northeastern, has discovered new properties in the chemical element bismuth that could prevent supercomputers from frying and enable the production of low power electronics.

by Roberto Molar Candanosa September 11, 2019

This satellite image, taken on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2019 and provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, shows Hurricane Dorian moving off the east coast of Florida in the Atlantic Ocean. NOAA via AP

The first line of defense for Hurricane Dorian is the shoreline

Natural barrier habitats such as marshes, mangroves, and dunes along coastlines can help protect coastal communities from storm surges like the ones expected as Dorian approaches the East Coast, says Steven Scyphers, an assistant professor of marine and environmental sciences at Northeastern.

by Roberto Molar Candanosa September 3, 2019

Neri dos Santos Silva watches an encroaching fire threat after digging trenches to keep the flames from spreading to the farm he works on, in the Nova Santa Helena municipality, in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil, on Friday, Aug. 23, 2019. Under increasing international pressure to contain fires sweeping parts of the Amazon, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro recently authorized use of the military to battle the massive blazes. AP Photo/Leo Correa

The Amazon rainforest has been burning for weeks. Here’s why that matters.

The ongoing wildfires in the Amazon could worsen because of deforestation, says Aron Stubbins, a Northeastern professor of marine and environmental science.

by Roberto Molar Candanosa August 26, 2019