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Northwestern University has created a $200,000 Nemmers Prize in Earth Sciences, the University announced today. The inaugural prize will be awarded in 2018 and every other year thereafter. The prestigious prize is the fifth Nemmers Prize established by Northwestern. The others are in the fields of economics, mathematics, music composition and medical science.

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Illness-related fatalities among U.N. peacekeepers are growing at a significant rate, despite the fact that overall U.N. fatalities are not substantively on the rise, according to new Northwestern University research.

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The violence that women in disadvantaged neighborhoods experience and witness can result in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and full diagnoses, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study that examined a disadvantaged Chicago neighborhood.

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Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered for the first time that the rhythm of breathing creates electrical activity in the human brain that enhances emotional judgments and memory recall. These effects on behavior depend critically on whether you inhale or exhale and whether you breathe through the nose or mouth.

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Christopher Udry, one of the foremost U.S. authorities on development in Africa, will join Northwestern University as professor of economics, effective July 1, 2017. Currently the Henry J. Heinz II Professor of Economics at Yale University, Udry is particularly focused on agriculture and the rural economy of sub-Saharan Africa.

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Northwestern University and Qatar Foundation International (QFI) are partnering in an Arabic teachers’ council that connects university-level educators with K-12 and private school teachers through a community of support and collaboration.

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Northwestern University senior Daniel Kinch, a dual-degree student in physics and math, explains in a word why he won the coveted Marshall Scholarship to study in the United Kingdom: perseverance.

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Executive education through Master of Science in Communication program Learn latest in evidence-based crisis planning from leading scholars, experts Experience a cyber crisis in real-time in an interactive, hands-on simulation

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A Northwestern Medicine study published today (Dec. 5) in JAMA Pediatrics found that seven common moisturizers would be cost effective in preventing eczema in high-risk newborns. By using the cheapest moisturizer in the study (petroleum jelly), the cost benefit for prophylactic moisturization was only $353 per quality-adjusted life year – a generic measure of disease burden that assesses the monetary value of medical interventions in one’s life.

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Cast and crew boast more than 150 Northwestern students Runs Jan. 20–28 at Cahn Auditorium in Evanston Tickets on sale Nov. 28 – Five performances only

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First woman of color in space to deliver keynote Jan. 23 National poetry slam champion and educator to speak Jan. 16 Events include candlelight vigil, oratorical contest and more

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A new Northwestern study abroad program will allow students to study the psychological impact of war in post-Soviet countries Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

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Why do some animals have extravagant, showy ornaments -- think deer antlers, peacock feathers and horns on beetles -- that can be a liability to survival? Northwestern University researchers have a possible explanation for this puzzling phenomenon of evolution.

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A Northwestern University research team has developed a first-of-its-kind soft, flexible microfluidic device that easily adheres to the skin and measures the wearer’s sweat to show how his or her body is responding to exercise. A little larger than a quarter and about the same thickness, the simple, low-cost device analyzes key biomarkers to help a person decide quickly if any adjustments, such as drinking more water or replenishing electrolytes, need to be made or if something is medically awry.

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EVANSTON - A concert of chamber music selections by premier British composers will round out the December programming at the Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music. Previously announced programs include Duke Ellington’s jazz arrangement of the Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker Suite,” historically authentic performances of Handel’s “Messiah,” seasonal favorites performed by the Symphony Orchestra and the beloved holiday classic, Festival of Lessons and Carols, featuring the Alice Millar Chapel Choir, Philharmonia and Millar Brass Ensemble.

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Even when people know better, they often rely on inaccurate or misleading information to make future decisions. But why are we so easily influenced by false statements?

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“Saving Mes Aynak,” the documentary by a Northwestern University filmmaker about a race to save the 5,000-year-old Buddhist archaeological site from destruction, has been released on DVD and digitally by iTunes and Amazon. The film is expected to debut on Netflix in January.

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Jonathan Holloway, Dean of Yale College, has been named provost of Northwestern University, Northwestern President Morton Schapiro announced today.

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The first Ph.D. program in health care quality and patient safety program in the country -- at Northwestern Medicine -- aims to prevent the annual 440,000 deaths from medical errors in the United States through innovative curriculum.

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New Northwestern Medicine research on the brains of individuals 90 years and older who had superior memories until their deaths revealed widespread and dense Alzheimer’s plaques and tangles in some cases, considered full-blown Alzheimer’s pathology.

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Critical legal, ethical, financial and political issues that affect high-profile litigation will be the focus during an upcoming conference hosted by Northwestern Law, Nov. 16 and 17 at the Law School. Wednesday afternoon features an interview with Chief Judge Diane Wood, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.  

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A diverse group of Chicago journalists have received Social Justice News Nexus fellowships from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications. The fellows will report on environmental and energy justice over the next six months, producing in-depth investigative and immersive stories on topics including illegal dumping, air pollution monitoring, food deserts, renewable energy jobs, and contamination and industrial development in minority neighborhoods.

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Northwestern University political science professors Alvin B. Tillery Jr., Jaime Dominguez and Laurel Harbridge are available to comment on the presidential election in its final stretch – early predictions, impact of Latino voters, what to make of tightening polls and more.

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A Northwestern University study of the collaboration patterns sheds light on how the experiences of STEM female and male faculty vary. Researchers have found that female faculty (in six different disciplines) have as many collaborators, or co-authors, as male faculty and that female faculty tend to return to the same collaborators a little less than males. But they also found that females are underrepresented in large teams in genomics (a subdiscipline of molecular biology), which could indicate a negative cultural milieu.

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Scientists have identified for the first time the region in the brain responsible for the “placebo effect” in pain relief, when a fake treatment actually results in substantial reduction of pain, according to new research from Northwestern Medicine and the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC). Pinpointing the sweet spot of the pain killing placebo effect could result in the design of more personalized medicine for the 100 million Americans with chronic pain.

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What you tweet says a lot about your politics and who you are going to vote for in this highly volatile presidential election, according to TweetCast, an online tool developed by Northwestern University computer scientists. The algorithm, trained on Twitter users, can predict whether citizens will vote for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. Perhaps more surprising, the tool also predicts which states will go blue or red (Democrat or Republican).

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Northwestern University’s Mercouri Kanatzidis has received the 2016 Samson Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation in Alternative Fuels for Transportation. Totaling $1 million, the Samson Prize is the world’s largest monetary prize awarded in the field of alternative fuels. Kanatzidis equally shares the prize with MIT’s Gregory Stephanopoulos. The two researchers are being honored for their innovative scientific contributions to alternative fuel development. Kanatzidis’ citation notes his “seminal contributions in the design of nanostructured thermoelectric materials, which convert heat to electricity.”

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Sir Fraser Stoddart, Board of Trustees Professor of Chemistry in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University, today (Oct. 5) was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

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Northwestern University scientists have discovered a new pathway in the brain that can be manipulated to alleviate depression. The pathway offers a promising new target for developing a drug that could be effective in individuals for whom other antidepressants have failed.

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A Northwestern University research team has developed a 3-D printable ink that produces a synthetic bone implant that rapidly induces bone regeneration and growth. This hyperelastic “bone” material, whose shape can be easily customized, one day could be especially useful for the treatment of bone defects in children. Antibiotics also can be incorporated into the ink to reduce infection. The printed biomaterial’s many unique properties set it apart from current bone repair materials.

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Stress of racial discrimination may help explain racial/ethnic differences in achievement

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The Northwestern University Center for Public Safety (NUCPS) is offering a two-day workshop on research-proven strategies for improving and strengthening police-community relations.

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Relying on clinical symptoms of memory loss to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease may miss other forms of dementia caused by Alzheimer’s that don’t initially affect memory, reports a new study.

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A research team led by a Northwestern University scientist has discovered that male animals, through their invisible chemical “essence,” prime female animals for reproduction but with the unfortunate side effect of also hastening females’ aging process.

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A research team led by a Northwestern University scientist has discovered that male animals, through their invisible chemical “essence,” prime female animals for reproduction but with the unfortunate side effect of also hastening females’ aging process. The females sense the two signals and respond by altering their physiology. These findings in roundworms, which echo those made in mammalian studies, could lead to therapies that delay puberty and prolong fertility in humans as well as combat aging.

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Women’s decreased ability to produce healthy eggs as they become older may be due to excessive scarring and inflammation in their ovaries, reports a new study in mice. This is the first study to show the ovarian environment ages and that aging affects the quality of eggs it produces. These findings could result in new treatments that preserve fertility by delaying ovarian aging.

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The number of new cases of metastatic prostate cancer climbed 72 percent in the past decade from 2004 to 2013, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study. The authors suspect the recent trend of fewer men being screened and more aggressive disease may be contributing to the rise. The largest increase in new cases was among men 55 to 69 years old, which rose 92 percent in the past decade. This rise is troubling because men in this age group are believed to benefit most from prostate cancer screening and early treatment.

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Two Northwestern University neuroscientists have identified the neurochemical signal likely missing in Parkinson’s disease by being the first to discover two distinctly different kinds of neurons that deliver dopamine to an important brain region responsible for both movement and learning/reward behavior. The findings provide a new framework for understanding the role of the dopamine system in movement control and learning/reward and how dysfunction of the dopamine system can result in a range of neurological disorders.

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The OpEd Project’s Public Voices Fellowship, first launched at Northwestern five years ago, is seeking a new crop of underrepresented voices. First piloted at Yale, Stanford and Princeton universities, the international initiative is expanding across the country to increase the range of voices and the quality of ideas heard in the world.

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Northwestern University will soon begin a search for the next dean of the School of Education and Social Policy (SESP). This individual will succeed Dean Penelope Peterson, who is retiring from Northwestern on Aug. 31, 2017.

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The new window onto the universe just opened a little bit wider. For the second time in history, an international team of scientists, including Northwestern University astrophysicists and a laser scientist, has detected gravitational waves and a pair of colliding black holes. This time, the gravitational waves resulted in a longer signal, or chirp, providing more data. The higher-frequency gravitational waves from the lower-mass black holes of the second pair better spread across the LIGO detectors’ sweet spot of sensitivity.

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Northwestern University astrophysicists have predicted history. They show their theoretical predictions last year were correct: The historic merger of two massive black holes detected Sept. 14, 2015, could easily have been formed through dynamic interactions in the star-dense core of an old globular cluster. These binary black holes are born in the cluster’s chaotic “mosh pit,” kicked out of the cluster and then eventually merge into one black hole. LIGO’s first detection of colliding black holes is perfectly consistent with the Northwestern model.