https://phys.org/ en-us Latest news from Northeastern University A researcher analyzing reams of data. A traveler translating a foreign language. A student writing an essay. There are many ways that artificial intelligence has been proven to help an individual in a challenging situation. Northeastern University researcher Lorenzo Torresani wanted to test whether AI can help a group facing a challenge, and he found an interesting dataset with which to evaluate various popular AI models: sports footage. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-ai-big-game-play.html Machine learning & AI Tue, 02 Jun 2026 08:40:01 EDT news699607633 It's well understood that people tend to be naturally drawn to those with bubbly and extroverted personalities. And those outgoing and gregarious types may naturally consider themselves people-persons and gravitate toward others. But the feeling may not be mutual when it comes to the people with whom these extroverts are interacting. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-people-chatbots-similar-personality-traits.html Consumer & Gadgets Fri, 29 May 2026 11:40:10 EDT news699273361 We have high fidelity vinyl and home audio systems that rival the quality of the sound systems at the local movie theater and we even have high-quality recordings that we can listen to on our preferred personal music device. But there's just something about hearing live music as it's being played in real time. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-concert-brain-music-tightly-tempo.html Thu, 28 May 2026 12:00:10 EDT news699183822 Can an artificial intelligence tool, such as a chatbot, be held responsible if people committed crimes based on information they got from the tool? Should chatbots, which are programmed to closely mimic human thought patterns and are increasingly treated as companions, be subject to legal checks that acknowledge those tools' developing independence or autonomy? https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-ai-lawyers-creative.html Machine learning & AI Wed, 27 May 2026 18:00:02 EDT news699092721 Companies are sharing workers' identifiable information and online activity with third-party companies, including Microsoft, Google and Facebook, using employee monitoring software known as "bossware," new Northeastern University research has revealed. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-workers-party-companies-reveals.html Business Fri, 22 May 2026 16:20:05 EDT news698665839 From the weather to sports to the performance of the stock market, predictions are a regular feature of our lives. Most of these sectors rely on past data and models that can give us a decent sense of what to expect in the future. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-ai-future.html Thu, 21 May 2026 22:40:01 EDT news698572633 SpaceX seems to have mistaken shooting for the moon with shooting at the moon. Forecast to occur on Aug. 5, a five-story-long piece of a rocket from one of the private space exploration company's recent lunar missions is expected to hit the moon at around 5,400 miles per hour, around 24 times the speed of a Formula 1 racecar. As it currently stands, projections put the rocket's crash course with the moon at 2:44 a.m. Eastern Time. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-spacex-rocket-moon-space-private.html Space Exploration Wed, 20 May 2026 08:40:01 EDT news698479668 As every parent knows, an infant's early life is a series of milestones, from logging every development to regular checkups with the pediatrician to monitor body length, head circumference, and weight. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-infant-body-fat-cognitive-motor.html Sun, 17 May 2026 15:30:02 EDT news698037290 Physicians may one day be able to identify which patients with peripheral artery disease are most likely to develop complications and intervene earlier, thanks to a Northeastern University discovery. Peripheral artery disease is a common condition in which arteries found in the legs, arms and pelvis are partially or completely obstructed as a result of plaque buildup. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-genetic-patients-amputations.html Thu, 14 May 2026 08:52:01 EDT news697967461 The deaths of three people aboard a small cruise ship during a suspected outbreak of hantavirus demonstrate the potential deadliness of the rodent-borne illness. "Once somebody gets sick, once somebody comes in contact with hantavirus, they can develop severe illness fairly quickly," said Neil Maniar, director of Northeastern's master of public health program. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-hantavirus-small-cruise-ship-human.html Sun, 10 May 2026 10:00:01 EDT news697279825 Starting sometime in November, people who used ChatGPT began noticing some peculiar behavior: the AI chatbot would not shut up about goblins. So, OpenAI, the company behind the chatbot, began looking into it. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-chatgpt-goblin-problem-bigger-ai.html Machine learning & AI Thu, 07 May 2026 08:00:01 EDT news697359176 Fast-food workers in California may be earning more money, but their employers are cutting their hours to make up for the cost of higher pay. That's from a new study published in Applied Economic Letters in early March. Northeastern University postdoctoral research fellow Hitanshu Pandit, who was the author on the paper, used cellphone data to analyze the impact of a law that increased the Golden State's minimum wage for fast-food workers by 25%. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-fast-food-pay-california.html Economics & Business Mon, 27 Apr 2026 09:20:02 EDT news696499683 The molecules of a highly toxic plant, known for its bell-shaped purple and pink flowers and found in some home gardens, have long been used to regulate human heart muscles. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-toxic-traits-clues-safer-drugs.html Biochemistry Thu, 23 Apr 2026 12:20:11 EDT news696160862 People might not associate brain fog and fatigue with spring allergies, but these symptoms can make life just as miserable—or sometimes more—than the watery eyes, itchy noses, and congestion we typically associate with reactions to pollen. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-cranky-allergy-fatigue.html Wed, 22 Apr 2026 17:40:05 EDT news696075204 Getting people to change their behavior is a challenging task. From the Stanford Marshmallow Experiment to the Piano Stair Experiment, scientists have been trying to understand what motivates people to alter their actions for decades. Those hurdles are especially pronounced when it comes to climate change, where overcoming the intention-action gap is a major challenge. Just because someone is concerned about climate change doesn't mean they will change what they do on a daily basis. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-children-good-parents-eco-friendly.html Environment Wed, 22 Apr 2026 12:00:03 EDT news696072181 The first sign that retired accountant Kathey Parcels had torn her left rotator cuff was pain, sudden and acute pain. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-rotator-cuff-aging-pain-isnt.html Mon, 20 Apr 2026 21:40:03 EDT news695900159 Scientific models have predicted that climate change will drive oceans in the Northern Hemisphere to warm faster than oceans in the Southern Hemisphere. However, observational data over the last 70 years show the opposite—that Southern Hemisphere oceans are warming faster. New research from Northeastern University explains why. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-climate-ocean-diverge-drought.html Earth Sciences Mon, 20 Apr 2026 14:00:05 EDT news695903526 It's a catchy tune, but The Lovin Spoonful's "Summer in the City" doesn't paint the picture of an appealing environment with its description of a sidewalk as "hotter than a match head." New research from Northeastern University may offer relief from those conditions, however, finding that extreme heat and air pollution don't necessarily go hand in hand when the concrete jungle is made a little more green. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-hazy-hot-shady-street-trees.html Environment Tue, 14 Apr 2026 10:00:08 EDT news695378882 U.S. cities are rapidly becoming urban heat islands, where these cities are significantly warmer than their surrounding area. Vast expanses of asphalt and concrete trap heat, while large, densely packed buildings disrupt wind flow and intensify the effect. But beyond parking lots and skyscrapers, recent research points to highways as another cause behind America's urban heat islands. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-highway-widening-cities-faster-curb.html Environment Fri, 10 Apr 2026 18:00:04 EDT news695028398 Since 2017, a personalized immunotherapy called Chimeric Antigen Receptor, or CAR-T cell treatment, has worked wonders to treat patients with blood cancers such as leukemia. But when it comes to treating solid tumor cancers, such as lung, breast and kidney cancers that make up the bulk of these malignancies, this type of immune cell therapy has fallen short. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-gene-obstacles-treatment-common-cancer.html Fri, 10 Apr 2026 14:00:01 EDT news695045941 They're oily. They're bony. They have a strong fishy smell, salty taste and soft texture that doesn't appeal to many. Yet, canned sardines appear to be having a moment. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-sardinemaxxing.html Thu, 09 Apr 2026 18:40:01 EDT news694944141 Seasonal monsoon rains in India turn crops lush and fill essential water reservoirs. They can also cause roads to flood and bring train travel to a standstill, impacting the economic heartbeat of cities and towns. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-roads-lines-india-monsoon.html Environment Thu, 09 Apr 2026 11:40:06 EDT news694948922 An Iran-linked hacktivist group recently claimed to have hacked into the private emails of Kash Patel, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, posting photos and documents online. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-hacks-doxxing-deepfakes-overexposed-society.html Political science Wed, 08 Apr 2026 09:10:01 EDT news694857481 A doctor orders an X-ray for a patient with a knee ache. The bones look fine, and the most likely prognosis is arthritis, which occurs when the soft tissue between joints breaks down. But X-rays are much better with hard tissues like bone, which absorb X-rays and turn white in an image, while soft tissue allows most of the X-rays to pass through. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-ray-soft-tissue-contrast-agent.html Tue, 07 Apr 2026 11:30:02 EDT news694779661 Fossil fuel companies say that they want to be on the front lines of renewable energy, with advertisements, social media, and even their own shareholder corporate reports espousing their commitment to green energy and combating climate change. However, research out of Northeastern University says otherwise. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-expose-fossil-fuel-companies-communications.html Business Mon, 06 Apr 2026 07:30:01 EDT news694678826 A declaration of remission doesn't mean a cancer patient's illness is fully gone. Many cancer survivors face lingering symptoms that lead to both physical discomfort and mental strain. Even though there are some commonalities, the symptoms themselves are highly variable between individuals and difficult to predict, says Marilyn Hammer, professor of nursing at Northeastern University. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-cancer-survivors-symptom-burden.html Thu, 02 Apr 2026 14:40:03 EDT news694354965 In the Interdisciplinary Science and Education Complex on Northeastern's Boston campus, models of human bones line shelves alongside machines that measure how much force it takes to break the real things. It's the lab of Sandra Shefelbine, a professor of bioengineering and mechanical and industrial engineering, who studies bone biomechanics. That includes how bone develops, adapts, and changes in various conditions, such as with "hip hinge" sports, like hockey, that require players to bend over in a forward position. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-women-quest-representation-medical.html Wed, 01 Apr 2026 22:50:03 EDT news694258540 Astrophiles are eagerly awaiting the launch of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Artemis II on Wednesday, which is set to be the most powerful rocket launch on record and will send human beings back toward the moon for the first time in over 50 years. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-artemis-ii-space-politically-important.html Space Exploration Wed, 01 Apr 2026 11:50:01 EDT news694250173 Every three to five years, Puerto Rico, a territory of the United States in the Caribbean, experiences epidemic levels of dengue fever, a disease carried by mosquitoes that causes a range of flu-like symptoms, including aches and muscle pains, nausea, headaches, and fever. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-reevaluates-economic-burden-dengue-puerto.html Tue, 31 Mar 2026 18:00:03 EDT news694174690 Two Northeastern University researchers want to make life better for people who've experienced serious physical trauma, the kind caused by bad car accidents or from injuries sustained during wartime; such procedures are crucial. That process takes on an added layer of complication when damage occurs to the nervous system. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-nasal-stem-cells-nerves-regrow.html Mon, 30 Mar 2026 19:20:01 EDT news694079197