Northeastern University
If you own a computer, chances are you have experienced the aftermath of a nasty virus at some point. In contrast, there have been no major outbreaks of mobile phone viral infection, despite the fact that over 80 percent of Americans now use these devices.
The age-old question of whether pride is the seventh sin or an adaptive virtue has been answered by two Northeastern University scientists. Contrary to popular belief, the researchers found that pride not only leads individuals to take on leadership roles in teams, but also fosters admiration, as opposed to scorn, from teammates.
Harvard, it turns out, may only get you so far. According to new research from Northeastern University economists Paul Harrington, Neeta Fogg and Thomas Harrington, it's one's college major -- rather than the college or university one attends -- that may just be the ticket into (or out of) a financially sound and rewarding professional life.
There are more than 200 known neuromuscular diseases affecting over 400,000 people in the United States alone. Among these are ''Lou Gehrig's Disease'' (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS), the inflammatory muscle diseases, and muscular dystrophy, which Jerry Lewis' annual Labor Day telethons have made known to many. And, if the telethons tell us anything (Lewis has done over 50), it's that finding suitable treatments for neuromuscular disease hasn't been easy. Part of the problem lies in the difficulty clinical researchers face in collecting accurate data on skeletal muscle.
Physical rehabilitation has traditionally consisted of arduously retraining the body on weight machines and other resistance devices, but with the growing interest in ''smart fluids,'' engineers envision a simple brace that can increase the resistance on a healing joint with the turn of a dial. ''Smart fluids,'' is a generic term for any particle-filled, oil-based suspension which changes its consistency in a magnetic or electric field. Mavroidis is working with electro-rheological fluids (ERFs) which go from liquid to solid the instant an electric field is applied; remove the field and the paste-like substance reverts to liquid.
The summer of 2004 promises to be bleak for millions of this nation's teenagers, many of who have already begun pounding the pavement in search of work -- mostly to no avail given the weakness in the jobs market for this age bracket. Based on an analysis of teen employment rates during the first three months of this year and projections from summer teen employment models developed by Northeastern University economist Andrew Sum.
You may be more prejudiced than you think, especially if you're angry and approached by someone of a different race, religion or creed. A new study reveals that the experience of anger causes automatic, immediate prejudices against those who are not a part of one's social group. The study has particular relevance for those in professions requiring quick assessment and action, especially for those in jobs like law enforcement and security.
With the recent revelations about steroid use in Major League Baseball and the bust last week of several Oakland Raiders players for drug abuse, a Northeastern University researcher who studies the link between steroid use and aggression, has recently found evidence that use of anabolic steroids may have long-term effects on players' behavior and aggression levels well after they stop using these performance enhancing drugs.
Researchers have developed an automated system that can swiftly map capillaries in a live tumor. What used to take days of manually tracing the vessels, now takes two minutes. The diagnostic tool, in use at Harvard Medical School and at Northeastern University, is a boon to oncologists who aim to understand how blood vessels form in tumors.
