BU Researchers Use “Digital Twins” to Predict Language Recovery After Stroke
By Brendan Galvin For people recovering from a stroke, relearning how to communicate can be one of the biggest rehabilitation challenges. For bilingual patients, the challenge is even greater. Which language should their speech therapy focus on? A recent study published in npj Digital Medicine explores how artificial intelligence-powered “digital twins” can help answer that […]
Study Finds Widespread Signs of Wash Trading in NFT Markets
Using machine-learning models and blockchain data, BU researcher Gerry Tsoukalas and collaborators identified suspicious patterns across major exchanges. By Brendan Galvin Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, became a symbol of the digital asset boom, with buyers spending huge sums on blockchain-based art, collectibles, and virtual items. Yet new research suggests that much of that activity may […]
Boston University’s Ioannis Paschalidis Inducted into 2026 AIMBE College of Fellows
Prestigious Honor Recognizes the Most Accomplished Researchers in Medical and Biological Engineering By Maureen Stanton The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) has inducted Ioannis (Yannis) Paschalidis into its 2026 College of Fellows. This peer-elected membership is among the highest professional distinctions in the field, honoring the top two percent of medical and […]
Sharing open-source use of PandemIQ Llama LLM code
By Cassandra Kennedy (BEACON) The Biothreats Emergence, Analysis and Communications Network (BEACON) announced public availability of PandemIQ Llama, an open-source, domain-trained large language model designed specifically for pandemic surveillance and biothreat analysis. BEACON, based at Boston University’s Center on Emerging Infectious Diseases (CEID), is a web-based platform and accompanying public health program which aims to address this need by […]
What Will the Climate Look Like in 10 Years?
Elizabeth Barnes Explores how Data-driven Models can Improve Forecasts from Days to Decades By Molly Glass, The Brink Predicting climate is incredibly complex because it depends on huge, constantly changing datasets like temperature, wind, and ocean conditions. Since both AI and Earth science deal with massive data and pattern-finding, combining them can help scientists better […]
From Research to Policy Impact: BU’s Allison Portnoy Models RSV Prevention From Newborns to the Elderly
With NIH support, Portnoy is building the first dynamic model to guide country-specific RSV prevention strategies across all ages By Maureen Stanton With flu season upon us, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) cases are already rising. A leading cause of hospitalization in infants and older adults, RSV sends tens of thousands of people to the hospital […]
Large Language Models Advance Healthcare and Public Health
By Chloe de Leon, College of Engineering Large language models (LLMs) are rapidly transforming healthcare and public health, moving beyond buzzworthy tools into real-world clinical and research applications. Yannis Paschalidis, Hariri Institute Director and Distinguished Professor of Engineering, and his team at Boston University are at the forefront of that shift, using advanced AI systems […]
City Trees Have Their Own Microbiomes—and Urban Living Is Changing Them
Urban trees play a vital role in maintaining the health of cities and their residents by cooling neighborhoods, filtering air pollution, supporting biodiversity, and enhancing human well-being. However, these benefits are deeply connected to the tree microbiome—the community of microorganisms that supports tree health and resilience. As urbanization increases and cities face growing challenges from […]
BU Scientists Advance Efforts to Predict the Behavior of Bacterial Colonies
Using COMETS simulations, researchers showed how metabolism, nutrient use, and physical growth shape colony structure and genetic diversity By Maureen Stanton Microbes — tiny organisms invisible to the naked eye — rarely live in isolation. They form dynamic communities that shape ecosystems in our bodies, soils, oceans, and industries. Despite their microscopic size, these communities […]
AI Breakthrough Offers New Path to Designing Next-Gen Materials
By Maria Yaitanes Every material’s properties—like strength or flexibility—depend entirely on how its atoms are arranged and bonded. Even with the same element, like carbon, small structural changes can lead to vastly different results: a diamond’s tight geometric bonds makes it hard, while graphite’s loose, layered structure makes it soft. Amorphous carbon describes a carbon […]