Alexis Grimaud, a leading researcher in battery materials chemistry, has received the National Science Foundation CAREER Award to support his work on developing new battery materials with improved energy density and scalability. His project aims to explore complex materials that can be used as battery electrode materials.
A team of physicists from Boston College created a quantum nanocorral that can trap and control charged excitons, enabling precise electrical control of tiny light sources. The discovery opens up new ways to control hybrid charge, photon, and spin quantum states.
Researchers created a single-spin quantum microscope to observe magnetic states in atomically thin devices, introducing a conceptual shift in how magnetic transistors can be engineered. The device achieved an electrical on/off ratio of a million percent and a magnetic on/off ratio of 3000 percent.
A study by Boston College researchers found that scientific consensus is more influential than government opposition in persuading people to take action on environmental, health, and technology challenges. Americans are more likely to support policies and donate money when scientists and ordinary citizens endorse solutions.
A new study by Boston College researchers found that experiencing educational opportunities in all stages of childhood and adolescence is the best predictor of higher educational attainment and earnings for disadvantaged American youth. This includes living in an enriching home environment, attending high-quality childcare facilities, ...
Researchers found that phytoplankton in the eastern equatorial Pacific were fertilized by iron from the seafloor during ice-age transitions. This suggests a possible feedback loop connecting sea level, seafloor volcanism, and ocean biology, with potential implications for climate change.
Global rice paddy greenhouse gas emissions have doubled to approximately 1.1 billion tons of carbon dioxide annually since the 1960s, driven by area expansion and intensified residue incorporation. Practical farm changes such as optimizing water management and reducing excessive residue return can reduce emissions by about 10 percent w...
A cross-sectional study of over 76 million American children found that nearly 40% have had a family member criminally charged at some point during their childhood. Lower-level contact with the criminal justice system is associated with stigma, mental health struggles, and employment/educational disruptions, threatening children's well...
Researchers used a novel nitrogen isotope method to reconstruct ancient reef food webs, revealing that modern reefs have shorter and less diverse food chains. This loss of functional diversity makes modern coral reefs more prone to collapse, highlighting the need for conservation efforts.
Children across the globe exhibit similar cooperative behaviors, such as fairness and trustworthiness, that align with adult norms over age. As children get older, their behavior reflects local norms, but younger children tend to be self-interested.
A combination of weakened atmospheric removal and increased emissions from warming wetlands, rivers, lakes, and agricultural land led to the surge in methane levels. Climate variability amplified methane emissions across interconnected ecosystems, with key contributions from tropical Africa and Southeast Asia.
A new study found that recreational cannabis legalization in the US is driving increases in cannabis use among adults with historically lower consumption rates. Adults aged 60 years and older, female, white, or college-educated were most responsive to legalization, with significant increases in use.
Boston College researchers used piezoelectric nanoparticles to trigger macrophages, a key part of the body's immune response. The study suggests that this method could be used to activate immune cells specifically at an infection or tumor site, avoiding side effects associated with systemic administration of drugs.
Boston College researchers have developed an AI-assisted method to remove 'noise' from functional MRI brain data, a major obstacle for fMRI research. The new method, known as DeepCor, outperforms previous approaches and could pave the way for new discoveries about the brain and its disorders.
Researchers at Boston College have identified a novel bacterium that can thrive on spent battery waste, producing protons capable of leaching electrode materials. The bacteria, Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, also shows promise in recycling Li-Ion battery cathode materials using iron and stainless steel as food sources.
Hanqin Tian, Boston College Professor and Director of the Center for Earth System Science and Global Sustainability, has been honored with the 2025 AGU Bert Bolin Award. His research has fundamentally advanced understanding of biogeochemical cycles and their roles in the climate system.
Qiong Ma, Assistant Professor of Physics at Boston College, has been selected as a 2025 Moore Inventor Fellow for her groundbreaking work on twistronic artificial synapses. The fellowship award comes with $675,000 over three years and will support the purchase of new scientific equipment and funding for postdocs and student researchers.
The Lancet Countdown on Health and Plastics monitors the effects of plastic pollution on human health, citing $1.5 trillion in annual economic losses. Researchers track the life cycle of plastics to identify key drivers of harm, including production, use, and disposal.
Boston College researchers create MapID-tRNA-seq, a method to map chemical modifications and expression of human transfer RNA. The study reveals that tRNA expressions are largely dysregulated in cancerous cells compared to benign cells.
A new study by Boston College researchers found that nearly 90% of Christian leaders in the US believe in anthropogenic climate change, but most do not discuss it with their congregation. Informing Christians about this consensus can lead to increased willingness to address climate change and align with church values.
A 22-year study analyzing US youth data found that most adolescents decreased risky behavior, including substance use and violence, while reporting no signs of depression. However, a small proportion reported increased mental health concerns, highlighting the need for targeted prevention and treatment efforts.
A study found that automatically enrolling UK banking customers into text message alerts reduces overdrafts and unpaid item charges by 4-19%, resulting in potential savings of £170-£240 million. The researchers suggest this policy could benefit low-income customers, frequent over drafters, and financially vulnerable consumers.
A report by the Consortium for Children's Environmental Health calls for new laws to test chemicals for safety and toxicity before they enter markets. The authors propose a more precautionary approach to prioritize health protection over unconstrained production of synthetic chemicals and plastics.
A new study finds that heavy rains deliver the greatest amounts of fertilizer-derived nitrogen through creeks and rivers into the northern Gulf of Mexico. The research can be used to develop policies to protect the gulf from nutrient overloading, harmful algal blooms, and oxygen-depleted 'dead zones'.
Scientists analyzed rock samples from four Andes Mountains glaciers, finding they are smaller now than any time in the past 11,000 years. This suggests the tropics have already warmed beyond predicted limits, crossing a critical benchmark for glacier classification.
A new study reveals that age-adjusted suicide rates decreased for White individuals in the US but increased for Asian American or Pacific Islander youths during the same timeframe, highlighting the need for targeted interventions to support this growing population
Researchers at Boston College found male dragonfish have evolved larger eyes to detect females who produce less light, closing a bioluminescent detection gap. This is the second known case of sexually dimorphic eye-size in fishes and highlights the unique adaptations of deep-sea species.
Human-caused nitrous oxide emissions accelerated globally, reaching a record high in 2022, with the agricultural sector accounting for 74% of emissions. The use of chemical fertilizers and animal manure is particularly significant contributors to this growth.
A study analyzing nearly 900,000 high school students found that cannabis legalization and retail sales have limited associations with adolescent substance abuse. The researchers discovered modest decreases in cannabis, alcohol, and e-cigarette use following recreational cannabis legislation.
A team of scientists has discovered dual topological phases in an intrinsic monolayer crystal, revealing new rule-bending properties in a quantum material. The discovery introduces a novel effect, known as the dual topological insulator or quantum spin Hall insulator, which exhibits zero electrical conductivity within its interior.
Hilary Palevsky's research focuses on marine biogeochemistry, and her NSF CAREER Award will support the creation of educational videos to guide students using remote ocean monitoring data. She aims to clarify the mechanisms behind the ocean's biological pump, which plays a crucial role in removing anthropogenic carbon from active cycling.
A new tool using electrocatalysis enables precise modification of site-specifically incorporated 5-hydroxytryptophan residues on many different proteins, including full-length therapeutic antibodies. The eCLIC method has potential applications in developing novel biotherapeutics and protein-based research tools.
A Boston College biologist is studying the mechanisms of viral insulins to develop novel therapeutics for a range of human diseases, including cancers. The researcher has identified six viruses that mimic human insulin and IGF-1, which can block an important receptor, leading to potential affordable treatments.
A team of researchers from Boston College has observed electronic nematic order as a stand-alone phase in a titanium-based Kagome metal. The study revealed the presence of electronic unidirectionality without charge density waves, which challenges current understanding of this phenomenon.
A new matching system enabled by Boston College economists facilitates the world's first four-way liver exchange and a cascade of additional matches. The system increases the number of transplants that can be matched among a larger group of participants, expanding capacity beyond traditional two-way exchanges.
A new study found that the Pacific Ocean's western boundary current significantly strengthened due to global warming, contributing to intensified equatorial undercurrents and increased sea surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific. This change has been linked to enhanced El Niño events.
Researchers aim to investigate the link between gut microbes and Type 1 diabetes. Emrah Altindis's lab seeks to understand how a protein found in certain bacteria may trigger the onset of T1D.
In a post-truth era, Americans tend to trust information sources with good intentions over those with malicious intent. When presented with claims of fact, participants classified them as true more often if the source was trying to provide an approximate account rather than a precise one.
The Minderoo-Monaco Commission on Plastics and Human Health issues a sweeping new report highlighting the far-reaching health hazards of plastics across their life cycle. The report examines the economic, health, environmental, and social costs associated with plastics from extraction to end states.
Researchers have developed a method to transform lignin, a biopolymer found in biomass, into chemically recyclable plastics using light. This breakthrough could advance the circular plastic economy by producing next-generation materials with reduced waste.
The team developed a technology to globally assess Fe-S cluster binding in an entire proteome without laborious protein purification or radioisotopes. The study found differential sensitivity of iron-sulfur clusters to iron limitation and pathway impairment, prioritizing iron-sulfur cluster delivery in E. coli.
Researchers at Boston College have developed a new catalytic approach that enables concurrent control of multiple convergences and selectivities in intermolecular amination of allylic carbon-hydrogen bonds in alkenes. The cobalt-based system exploits unique features of homolytic radical reaction to form desired amine products in a high...
A team of researchers led by Boston College Assistant Professor Brian Zhou developed a new quantum sensor technique to image and understand the origin of photocurrent flow in Weyl semimetals. They found that the electrical current flows in a four-fold vortex pattern around where light is shined on the material.
A new study found that anti-Asian discrimination during the pandemic led to a nearly 20-percent drop in business at Chinese restaurants, resulting in an additional $7.4 billion in lost revenue. The researchers also found a strong link between political rhetoric blaming China for COVID-19 and the decline in business.
Researchers will use new technologies to tag and measure newly created proteins, studying protein lifespan in immune cells. The goal is to understand protein dynamics on a large scale, addressing a knowledge gap in biology.
Researchers found that consumers are 25% less likely to purchase low-availability items when told supply is low, resulting in a 5.3% increase in revenue per customer. Online retailers can benefit from this strategy by managing customers' expectations and improving decision-making.
A team of scientists found that the largest open ocean dead zone in the eastern Pacific Ocean emerged eight million years ago due to increasing nutrient content. This natural phenomenon was caused by changes in weathering and erosion on land, leading to a major transition in terrestrial ecosystems.
Researchers at Boston College found air-pollution-related disease, death and IQ loss occur in every city and town in Massachusetts. The study estimated a cumulative impact on childhood cognitive development of almost 2 million Performance IQ points lost.
Researchers at Boston College have discovered a new particle known as the axial Higgs mode, a magnetic relative of the mass-defining Higgs Boson particle. The detection was made possible by using light scattering and quantum simulator techniques in a tabletop experiment at room temperature.
Researchers used AI to compare brain images of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder to computer-generated simulations, revealing links between brain anatomy and symptoms. The discovery could help understand ASD causes and develop targeted interventions.