![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/files\/2019\/04\/resize-eso1907a-b.jpg\")
<\/p>\n1.\u00a0CTE Risk<\/span><\/h2>\n\n<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\nFor the first time, BU researchers can quantify just how damaging football play is<\/a> to the brain. In a study of the brains of 266 deceased former amateur and professional football players, researchers at the BU Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) Center, led by Ann McKee<\/a>, found that every year of playing American tackle football increases a person\u2019s risk of developing CTE by 30 percent. For every 2.6 years of play, a person\u2019s risk of developing CTE doubles. In a critical distinction between many previous CTE studies, the analysis included dozens of brains of former football players who did not have CTE.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n2.\u00a0Sound Silencer<\/span><\/h2>\n\n<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\nWhat sounds would you mute if you could? Would it be the sound of traffic whooshing by, the roar of jet engines in the sky, or a nearby construction site? Your wishes could soon be granted\u2014BU engineers, led by Xin Zhang<\/a>, discovered how to mathematically design an object that can block the sounds of anything<\/a>. The open, ring-shaped \u201cacoustic metamaterial\u201d cancels 94% of sound but still allows air and light to pass through its middle.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n3.\u00a0Energy Heats Up<\/span><\/h2>\n\n<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\nWith the climate getting hotter, people will increase their use of air-conditioning to cool off. But all the extra energy required to power air-conditioners could make a bad situation even worse: BU climate scientist Ian Sue Wing<\/a> projects that the world\u2019s energy needs<\/a> could be 25 to 58 percent higher by 2050. How we choose to generate the additional electricity for cooling will have big implications\u2014burning more coal and fossil fuels would emit more greenhouse gases and further compound the rate of global warming.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n4.\u00a0Ebola: Imposters vs. The Real Deal<\/span><\/h2>\n\n<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\nBeing unable to quickly distinguish between similar-looking fevers caused by Ebola or malaria was one of the major challenges that contributed to the 2014\u20132016 West Africa Ebola crisis. This problem inspired virologist John Connor<\/a> at BU\u2019s National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories<\/a> (NEIDL) to develop a diagnostic system that can identify Ebola<\/a>, malaria, and other lookalike fevers in a half hour or less. Best of all? The system is designed to work in remote locations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n5.\u00a0Memory Manipulation<\/span><\/h2>\n\n<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\nScience fiction is becoming science fact. BU neuroscientist Steve Ramirez<\/a> discovered that a small structure in the brain could hold the keys to future therapies<\/a> for depression, anxiety, and PTSD. In mice, he showed it\u2019s possible to heighten positive memories and reduce the emotional power behind negative ones. If you could dial down the emotional impact of your worst memory, would you?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n6.\u00a0Plastic Pollution<\/span><\/h2>\n\n<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\nWhen a group of undergraduate researchers in BU marine scientist Randi Rotjan<\/a>\u2019s lab went to Belize to study parrotfish feeding behaviors, they stumbled upon the discovery of a lifetime. They found microplastics in seagrass samples<\/a>, uncovering the harsh reality that all seafood chains\u2014many which lead to our own dinner plates\u2014are now contaminated with plastic.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n7.\u00a0Mental Health and Gender Identity<\/span><\/h2>\n\n<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\nThe largest survey to date of mental health in college students revealed that gender minority students\u2014whose gender identity differs from the sex assigned to them at birth\u2014are up to four times more likely to experience mental health problems than the rest of their peers. The findings of this study<\/a>, led by BU public health researchers Sarah K. Lipson<\/a> and Julia Raifman<\/a>, ought to spur higher education leaders into action to raise awareness of and better address the needs of gender minority students.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n8.\u00a0Brain Washing<\/span><\/h2>\n\n<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\nDid you know that toxins are literally flushed out of our brains while we sleep? BU neuroscientists published the first documented videos and images of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) wave activity<\/a> and blood flow during sleep. During non-REM sleep, our brains wash out toxic, memory-impairing proteins through large, slow waves of CSF. The takeaway? Prioritize getting enough Zs. It could help combat neurological and psychological disorders including autism and Alzheimer\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n9.\u00a0Media Savvy<\/span><\/h2>\n\n<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\nHow familiar are you with native advertising? Could you recognize which online content is news and which is a paid promotion? More than 9 out of 10 Americans can\u2019t tell the difference, found BU advertising researcher Michelle Amazeen<\/a> in a startling study<\/a> of how paid messaging is influencing the way people consume information. Most people surveyed in the study thought that the advertisement they were viewing on the New York Times<\/em> website was, in fact, a news article.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n10.\u00a0Gun Violence<\/span><\/h2>\n\n<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\nCould universal background checks be the key to reducing gun violence in America? BU public health researcher Michael Siegel<\/a> mined data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) to reveal that state gun laws restricting who has access to guns<\/a>\u2014not which types of guns are for sale\u2014significantly reduces rates of firearm-related homicides.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n11.\u00a0Digital Breadcrumbs<\/span><\/h2>\n\n<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\nBluetooth devices have become part of modern life, connecting our wearables and home electronics to the power of the internet. But a team of BU computer engineers led by David Starobinski<\/a> has found a vulnerability<\/a> in several high-profile Bluetooth-enabled devices\u2014including the popular activity-tracking Fitbit watch and smart pens\u2014that could allow third parties to track a user\u2019s whereabouts and behaviors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n12.\u00a0Portrait of a Black Hole<\/span><\/h2>\n\n<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\nAlthough black holes have long inspired fear and fascination in scientists and sci-fi storytellers alike, it wasn\u2019t until this year that astrophysicists could confirm without doubt what black holes actually looked like. Because they have so much mass, black holes absorb all light particles, making them undetectable against the vast, dark backdrop of space. At least\u2026until now. BU astronomers Alan Marscher<\/a> and Svetlana Jorstad<\/a> and a team of international collaborators finally captured the first image<\/a> of a black hole, finding that it looked much like we thought it would, based on Albert Einstein\u2019s theory of general relativity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nAuthor, Molly O\u2019Brien Gluck <\/strong>can be reached at mgluck@bu.edu. <\/span>View her profile<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nAuthor, Kat J. McAlpine <\/strong>is editor of <\/span>The Brink,<\/em> Boston University\u2019s news site for scientific breakthroughs and pioneering research. Kat has been telling science stories for nearly a decade, and prior to joining BU\u2019s editorial staff, publicized research at Boston Children\u2019s Hospital, Harvard University\u2019s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, and the University of Connecticut\u2019s School of Engineering.
\n<\/span>View her profile <\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From climate science to fake news, these discoveries are sure to keep making waves in the next decade 2019 will go down in history as the year that an international team of researchers, including two BU astronomers, captured the first image of a black hole. Photo courtesy of Event Horizon Telescope. Still looking for a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7048,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8],"tags":[89,111,189,26,585,25,143,215,564,586,265,587,397,41,13,84,5,165],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/federal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10987"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/federal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/federal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/federal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7048"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/federal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10987"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/federal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10992,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/federal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10987\/revisions\/10992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/federal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/federal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/federal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\nFor the first time, BU researchers can quantify just how damaging football play is<\/a> to the brain. In a study of the brains of 266 deceased former amateur and professional football players, researchers at the BU Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) Center, led by Ann McKee<\/a>, found that every year of playing American tackle football increases a person\u2019s risk of developing CTE by 30 percent. For every 2.6 years of play, a person\u2019s risk of developing CTE doubles. In a critical distinction between many previous CTE studies, the analysis included dozens of brains of former football players who did not have CTE.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n2.\u00a0Sound Silencer<\/span><\/h2>\n\n<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\nWhat sounds would you mute if you could? Would it be the sound of traffic whooshing by, the roar of jet engines in the sky, or a nearby construction site? Your wishes could soon be granted\u2014BU engineers, led by Xin Zhang<\/a>, discovered how to mathematically design an object that can block the sounds of anything<\/a>. The open, ring-shaped \u201cacoustic metamaterial\u201d cancels 94% of sound but still allows air and light to pass through its middle.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n3.\u00a0Energy Heats Up<\/span><\/h2>\n\n<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\nWith the climate getting hotter, people will increase their use of air-conditioning to cool off. But all the extra energy required to power air-conditioners could make a bad situation even worse: BU climate scientist Ian Sue Wing<\/a> projects that the world\u2019s energy needs<\/a> could be 25 to 58 percent higher by 2050. How we choose to generate the additional electricity for cooling will have big implications\u2014burning more coal and fossil fuels would emit more greenhouse gases and further compound the rate of global warming.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n4.\u00a0Ebola: Imposters vs. The Real Deal<\/span><\/h2>\n\n<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\nBeing unable to quickly distinguish between similar-looking fevers caused by Ebola or malaria was one of the major challenges that contributed to the 2014\u20132016 West Africa Ebola crisis. This problem inspired virologist John Connor<\/a> at BU\u2019s National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories<\/a> (NEIDL) to develop a diagnostic system that can identify Ebola<\/a>, malaria, and other lookalike fevers in a half hour or less. Best of all? The system is designed to work in remote locations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n5.\u00a0Memory Manipulation<\/span><\/h2>\n\n<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\nScience fiction is becoming science fact. BU neuroscientist Steve Ramirez<\/a> discovered that a small structure in the brain could hold the keys to future therapies<\/a> for depression, anxiety, and PTSD. In mice, he showed it\u2019s possible to heighten positive memories and reduce the emotional power behind negative ones. If you could dial down the emotional impact of your worst memory, would you?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n6.\u00a0Plastic Pollution<\/span><\/h2>\n\n<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\nWhen a group of undergraduate researchers in BU marine scientist Randi Rotjan<\/a>\u2019s lab went to Belize to study parrotfish feeding behaviors, they stumbled upon the discovery of a lifetime. They found microplastics in seagrass samples<\/a>, uncovering the harsh reality that all seafood chains\u2014many which lead to our own dinner plates\u2014are now contaminated with plastic.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n7.\u00a0Mental Health and Gender Identity<\/span><\/h2>\n\n<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\nThe largest survey to date of mental health in college students revealed that gender minority students\u2014whose gender identity differs from the sex assigned to them at birth\u2014are up to four times more likely to experience mental health problems than the rest of their peers. The findings of this study<\/a>, led by BU public health researchers Sarah K. Lipson<\/a> and Julia Raifman<\/a>, ought to spur higher education leaders into action to raise awareness of and better address the needs of gender minority students.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n8.\u00a0Brain Washing<\/span><\/h2>\n\n<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\nDid you know that toxins are literally flushed out of our brains while we sleep? BU neuroscientists published the first documented videos and images of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) wave activity<\/a> and blood flow during sleep. During non-REM sleep, our brains wash out toxic, memory-impairing proteins through large, slow waves of CSF. The takeaway? Prioritize getting enough Zs. It could help combat neurological and psychological disorders including autism and Alzheimer\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n9.\u00a0Media Savvy<\/span><\/h2>\n\n<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\nHow familiar are you with native advertising? Could you recognize which online content is news and which is a paid promotion? More than 9 out of 10 Americans can\u2019t tell the difference, found BU advertising researcher Michelle Amazeen<\/a> in a startling study<\/a> of how paid messaging is influencing the way people consume information. Most people surveyed in the study thought that the advertisement they were viewing on the New York Times<\/em> website was, in fact, a news article.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n10.\u00a0Gun Violence<\/span><\/h2>\n\n<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\nCould universal background checks be the key to reducing gun violence in America? BU public health researcher Michael Siegel<\/a> mined data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) to reveal that state gun laws restricting who has access to guns<\/a>\u2014not which types of guns are for sale\u2014significantly reduces rates of firearm-related homicides.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n11.\u00a0Digital Breadcrumbs<\/span><\/h2>\n\n<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\nBluetooth devices have become part of modern life, connecting our wearables and home electronics to the power of the internet. But a team of BU computer engineers led by David Starobinski<\/a> has found a vulnerability<\/a> in several high-profile Bluetooth-enabled devices\u2014including the popular activity-tracking Fitbit watch and smart pens\u2014that could allow third parties to track a user\u2019s whereabouts and behaviors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n12.\u00a0Portrait of a Black Hole<\/span><\/h2>\n\n<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\nAlthough black holes have long inspired fear and fascination in scientists and sci-fi storytellers alike, it wasn\u2019t until this year that astrophysicists could confirm without doubt what black holes actually looked like. Because they have so much mass, black holes absorb all light particles, making them undetectable against the vast, dark backdrop of space. At least\u2026until now. BU astronomers Alan Marscher<\/a> and Svetlana Jorstad<\/a> and a team of international collaborators finally captured the first image<\/a> of a black hole, finding that it looked much like we thought it would, based on Albert Einstein\u2019s theory of general relativity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nAuthor, Molly O\u2019Brien Gluck <\/strong>can be reached at mgluck@bu.edu. <\/span>View her profile<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nAuthor, Kat J. McAlpine <\/strong>is editor of <\/span>The Brink,<\/em> Boston University\u2019s news site for scientific breakthroughs and pioneering research. Kat has been telling science stories for nearly a decade, and prior to joining BU\u2019s editorial staff, publicized research at Boston Children\u2019s Hospital, Harvard University\u2019s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, and the University of Connecticut\u2019s School of Engineering.
\n<\/span>View her profile <\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From climate science to fake news, these discoveries are sure to keep making waves in the next decade 2019 will go down in history as the year that an international team of researchers, including two BU astronomers, captured the first image of a black hole. Photo courtesy of Event Horizon Telescope. Still looking for a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7048,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8],"tags":[89,111,189,26,585,25,143,215,564,586,265,587,397,41,13,84,5,165],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/federal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10987"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/federal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/federal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/federal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7048"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/federal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10987"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/federal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10992,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/federal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10987\/revisions\/10992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/federal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/federal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/federal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
For the first time, BU researchers can quantify just how damaging football play is<\/a> to the brain. In a study of the brains of 266 deceased former amateur and professional football players, researchers at the BU Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) Center, led by Ann McKee<\/a>, found that every year of playing American tackle football increases a person\u2019s risk of developing CTE by 30 percent. For every 2.6 years of play, a person\u2019s risk of developing CTE doubles. In a critical distinction between many previous CTE studies, the analysis included dozens of brains of former football players who did not have CTE.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n What sounds would you mute if you could? Would it be the sound of traffic whooshing by, the roar of jet engines in the sky, or a nearby construction site? Your wishes could soon be granted\u2014BU engineers, led by Xin Zhang<\/a>, discovered how to mathematically design an object that can block the sounds of anything<\/a>. The open, ring-shaped \u201cacoustic metamaterial\u201d cancels 94% of sound but still allows air and light to pass through its middle.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n With the climate getting hotter, people will increase their use of air-conditioning to cool off. But all the extra energy required to power air-conditioners could make a bad situation even worse: BU climate scientist Ian Sue Wing<\/a> projects that the world\u2019s energy needs<\/a> could be 25 to 58 percent higher by 2050. How we choose to generate the additional electricity for cooling will have big implications\u2014burning more coal and fossil fuels would emit more greenhouse gases and further compound the rate of global warming.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Being unable to quickly distinguish between similar-looking fevers caused by Ebola or malaria was one of the major challenges that contributed to the 2014\u20132016 West Africa Ebola crisis. This problem inspired virologist John Connor<\/a> at BU\u2019s National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories<\/a> (NEIDL) to develop a diagnostic system that can identify Ebola<\/a>, malaria, and other lookalike fevers in a half hour or less. Best of all? The system is designed to work in remote locations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Science fiction is becoming science fact. BU neuroscientist Steve Ramirez<\/a> discovered that a small structure in the brain could hold the keys to future therapies<\/a> for depression, anxiety, and PTSD. In mice, he showed it\u2019s possible to heighten positive memories and reduce the emotional power behind negative ones. If you could dial down the emotional impact of your worst memory, would you?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n When a group of undergraduate researchers in BU marine scientist Randi Rotjan<\/a>\u2019s lab went to Belize to study parrotfish feeding behaviors, they stumbled upon the discovery of a lifetime. They found microplastics in seagrass samples<\/a>, uncovering the harsh reality that all seafood chains\u2014many which lead to our own dinner plates\u2014are now contaminated with plastic.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The largest survey to date of mental health in college students revealed that gender minority students\u2014whose gender identity differs from the sex assigned to them at birth\u2014are up to four times more likely to experience mental health problems than the rest of their peers. The findings of this study<\/a>, led by BU public health researchers Sarah K. Lipson<\/a> and Julia Raifman<\/a>, ought to spur higher education leaders into action to raise awareness of and better address the needs of gender minority students.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Did you know that toxins are literally flushed out of our brains while we sleep? BU neuroscientists published the first documented videos and images of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) wave activity<\/a> and blood flow during sleep. During non-REM sleep, our brains wash out toxic, memory-impairing proteins through large, slow waves of CSF. The takeaway? Prioritize getting enough Zs. It could help combat neurological and psychological disorders including autism and Alzheimer\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n How familiar are you with native advertising? Could you recognize which online content is news and which is a paid promotion? More than 9 out of 10 Americans can\u2019t tell the difference, found BU advertising researcher Michelle Amazeen<\/a> in a startling study<\/a> of how paid messaging is influencing the way people consume information. Most people surveyed in the study thought that the advertisement they were viewing on the New York Times<\/em> website was, in fact, a news article.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Could universal background checks be the key to reducing gun violence in America? BU public health researcher Michael Siegel<\/a> mined data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) to reveal that state gun laws restricting who has access to guns<\/a>\u2014not which types of guns are for sale\u2014significantly reduces rates of firearm-related homicides.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Bluetooth devices have become part of modern life, connecting our wearables and home electronics to the power of the internet. But a team of BU computer engineers led by David Starobinski<\/a> has found a vulnerability<\/a> in several high-profile Bluetooth-enabled devices\u2014including the popular activity-tracking Fitbit watch and smart pens\u2014that could allow third parties to track a user\u2019s whereabouts and behaviors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Although black holes have long inspired fear and fascination in scientists and sci-fi storytellers alike, it wasn\u2019t until this year that astrophysicists could confirm without doubt what black holes actually looked like. Because they have so much mass, black holes absorb all light particles, making them undetectable against the vast, dark backdrop of space. At least\u2026until now. BU astronomers Alan Marscher<\/a> and Svetlana Jorstad<\/a> and a team of international collaborators finally captured the first image<\/a> of a black hole, finding that it looked much like we thought it would, based on Albert Einstein\u2019s theory of general relativity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Author, Molly O\u2019Brien Gluck <\/strong>can be reached at mgluck@bu.edu. <\/span>View her profile<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Author, Kat J. McAlpine <\/strong>is editor of <\/span>The Brink,<\/em> Boston University\u2019s news site for scientific breakthroughs and pioneering research. Kat has been telling science stories for nearly a decade, and prior to joining BU\u2019s editorial staff, publicized research at Boston Children\u2019s Hospital, Harvard University\u2019s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, and the University of Connecticut\u2019s School of Engineering. From climate science to fake news, these discoveries are sure to keep making waves in the next decade 2019 will go down in history as the year that an international team of researchers, including two BU astronomers, captured the first image of a black hole. Photo courtesy of Event Horizon Telescope. Still looking for a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7048,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8],"tags":[89,111,189,26,585,25,143,215,564,586,265,587,397,41,13,84,5,165],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/federal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10987"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/federal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/federal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/federal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7048"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/federal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10987"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/federal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10992,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/federal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10987\/revisions\/10992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/federal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/federal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/federal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}2.\u00a0Sound Silencer<\/span><\/h2>\n
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3.\u00a0Energy Heats Up<\/span><\/h2>\n
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4.\u00a0Ebola: Imposters vs. The Real Deal<\/span><\/h2>\n
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5.\u00a0Memory Manipulation<\/span><\/h2>\n
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6.\u00a0Plastic Pollution<\/span><\/h2>\n
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7.\u00a0Mental Health and Gender Identity<\/span><\/h2>\n
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8.\u00a0Brain Washing<\/span><\/h2>\n
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9.\u00a0Media Savvy<\/span><\/h2>\n
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10.\u00a0Gun Violence<\/span><\/h2>\n
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11.\u00a0Digital Breadcrumbs<\/span><\/h2>\n
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12.\u00a0Portrait of a Black Hole<\/span><\/h2>\n
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\n<\/span>View her profile <\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"