Northeastern Global News

3 days ago | news.northeastern.edu | Cyrus Moulton

Generation X grew up with analog technology. Millennials entered the digital age. Now a new generation is embracing artificial intelligence. In a keynote address in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Northeastern President Joseph E. Aoun said universities will have to adapt to the “AI Generation” by emphasizing lifelong experiential learning and teaching students about the possibilities — and limitations — of machines.

3 days ago | news.northeastern.edu | Patrick Daly

LONDON — Newly elected Polish President Karol Nawrocki is up for a fight — both figuratively and literally. A former amateur boxer, he admitted during the presidential campaign to taking part in “noble” fights with other football fans to defend the honor of his beloved team, Lechia Gdansk (he reportedly has the team’s emblem tattooed on his torso). The fighting spirit shown by the Donald Trump-backed conservative politician has also been exhibited in his views on Ukraine.

3 days ago | news.northeastern.edu | Cyrus Moulton

They have sparked lawsuits, a “new nicotine gold rush,” and even support groups for those looking to quit using them. But are Zyn pouches the latest health hazard promoted by “Zyn-fluencers” — or a promising smoking cessation device? Northeastern University addiction specialist Robert Leeman says it’s too soon to tell. “There’s a potential smoking cessation benefit, but more data are needed,” says Leeman, professor and chair of the Department of Health Sciences at Northeastern University.

3 days ago | news.northeastern.edu | Patrick Daly

LONDON — The United Kingdom and the state of Massachusetts have very different stances when it comes to cannabis possession. Massachusetts law allows a person to carry up to 1 ounce of marijuana on them. In Britain, the same act could land someone in prison for up to five years, present them with an unlimited fine — or even both. A report by the London Drugs Commission wants to soften that approach, calling for personal use of cannabis to be decriminalized.

4 days ago | news.northeastern.edu | Cesareo Contreras

A massive plume of sand and dust has crossed the Atlantic Ocean and is expected to hit Florida and other Gulf Coast states by midweekSheila Puffer, a Northeastern University international business professor who studies the sand industry, says the plume is “more of a meteorological event than a geological one” that happens on an annual basis. The plume originated some 5,000 miles away in the Saharan desert of Africa days before, Puffer explains, to form what is called the Saharan air layer.