Science

Infection on campus: Understanding the illnesses that spread among college students

By Aria Chawla | November 24

College campuses are uniquely efficient environments for spreading infectious diseases. Students live in close quarters, share dining spaces, attend crowded classes and frequently exchange drinks, utensils or vapes — all behaviors that accelerate viral and bacterial transmission. Because of these conditions, illnesses such as strep throat, infectious mononucleosis, norovirus and oral herpes tend to circulate widely among young adults. Understanding how these diseases spread, what symptoms to monitor and how to prevent outbreaks is integral for the protection of students’ individual health and the wellbeing of their campus communities.

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Science

MIT After Dark: Sleep, dream, wake

By Shoshana Daly | November 20

It was 6 p.m. on a Thursday in November, and I was heading to a hidden gem of Cambridge: the MIT Museum. Getting off the Red Line at Kendall/MIT, I was surrounded by darkness, but as soon as I walked through the doors to the museum’s After Dark Series event, I was met with a rush of light and excitement. A monthly adults-only program, After Dark lies at the intersection of art and science. Each month has a different theme, with past events ranging from artificial intelligence to rhythm, birds, oceans and beyond. This November’s session, “Sleep, Dream, Wake,” accompanied the launch of a new exhibition, “Lighten up! On Biology and Time,” which explores the connection between living organisms and cycles of light and darkness.

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Science

Whooping cough cases increase in multiple US states

By Shanzeh Haider | November 14

Multiple U.S. states have reported increased cases of whooping cough this year. On Nov. 3, the Texas Department of State Health Services published a release indicating a “significant increase” in whooping cough cases, with 3,500 reported from January through October 2025. According to the department, this is four times greater than the number recorded over the same period in 2024. On Nov. 5, the Mississippi State Department of Health reported that whooping cough cases have “dramatically increased” this year, with 130 cases so far. The West Virginia Bureau for Public Health also reported a notable rise, with 126 cases since Jan. 1 — the largest increase the state has seen since 2010. States including Florida and Louisiana have reported higher rates as well.

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Science

Tasha Van Zandt’s ‘A Life Illuminated’ shines the spotlight on Dr. Edith Widder, Tufts alum

By Addison Dion | November 13

“A Life Illuminated,” a 2025 documentary by Tasha Van Zandt about famed marine biologist Dr. Edith Widder, premiered for Boston audiences on Oct. 22. The historic Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline hosted the first evening of the 2025 GlobeDocs Film Festival, an annual event premiering documentaries produced by the Boston Globe. A Q&A session with key players in the documentary filming process followed the screening.

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Science

DIRAS3: A new target for KRAS-driven cancers

By Demarie Hao | November 12

Responsible for nearly 10 million deaths worldwide in 2020, cancer consistently ranks among the leading causes of death each year. Brought on by genetic mutations and external risk factors, cancer is characterized by the transformation of normal cells into tumor cells. These mutated genes often encode for proteins responsible for regulating cell growth and cell death. When these processes are dysregulated, normal cells begin to proliferate uncontrollably and become cancerous.

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Science

Dissertation Diaries: Bridget Moynihan

By Kylie Liggett | November 5

Welcome to the seventh installment of “Dissertation Diaries.” We will be highlighting Bridget Moynihan, a final-year Ph.D. candidate researching offshore wind energy engineering at Tufts University. Moynihan researches offshore wind turbines, using structural health monitoring instrumentation along with the subsequent data to analyze and predict the extent to which the turbines are degrading and need maintenance or upgrading.

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Science

How environmental science informs environmental policy

By William Nguyen | November 4

In recent years, the United States has faced rising concerns regarding climate change. Communities across the country have noted an increase in wildfires, heat waves and powerful hurricanes. These challenges have spurred debate among legislators, scientists and community members about how to maintain human livelihood while addressing issues such as biodiversity loss and pollution.

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Science

Autumn interrupted by nature’s challenges

By Michelle Zhu | November 4

The vibrant transformation of leaves into shades of red, orange and yellow marks the transition from summer into the cooler months. With Boston ranked among the most beautiful autumn cities, its fall foliage is a popular attraction for both locals and tourists. This season, however, the picturesque scenery is threatened by increasing environmental stressors on the region’s trees.

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Science

Accessible, low-cost biomedical innovations at Tufts’ research lab

By Hande Naz Kavas | October 28

From ingestible pills that track gut health to smart bandages that can autonomously provide required treatment to wounds, Tufts University’s Sonkusale Research Lab has been engineering impactful patents with feasibility principles. The lab differs from ordinary research centers because of the high value it places on the feasibility and accessibility of its solutions. The lab’s mission is to build innovations that users can afford and reproduce without expensive materials. In my interview with Sameer Sonkusale, we discussed how their lab facilitates interdisciplinary collaboration and maximizes the accessibility of their innovations, as well as some of their current projects.

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Science

Tufts researchers redefine how students learn STEM

By Grace Lee and Aisha Karim | October 23

As enrollment numbers for the introductory chemistry and physics courses reach around 600 students each this semester, the need to understand how students learn in STEM classes only becomes more crucial.

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Science

Dissertation Diaries: Machlan Sawden

By Demarie Hao | October 22

Welcome to the sixth installment of “Dissertation Diaries.” We will be highlighting Machlan Sawden, a fifth-year Ph.D. student in the Shruti Sharma Lab at the Tufts Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.

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Science

Nobel Prize awarded for discovery of the peacekeepers of our immune system

By Jamie Song | October 17

Each year, six Nobel Prizes are awarded in the fields of physiology or medicine, physics, chemistry, economics, literature and peace work. This year, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi for their groundbreaking discoveries in peripheral immune tolerance — the mechanism by which the immune system prevents itself from attacking the body’s own cells.

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Science

Understanding drivers of antimicrobial resistance in rural Malawi

By Shoshana Daly | October 16

The clinical approval of penicillin in 1945 kicked off a 25-year period that is now commonly referred to as ‘the golden age of antibiotic discovery,’ in which antibiotic discovery progressed at a dizzying pace. In the nearly 80 years since antibiotics emerged on the scene enmasse, their usage has ballooned. Now antibiotics can be found in a plethora of industries, from human medicine to agriculture to livestock.

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Science

NDM-CRE infections rise in the US

By Shanzeh Haider | October 16

The United States is facing an increase in human infections by drug-resistant bacteria. One such bacteria, called New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase-producing carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales, is considered especially dangerous due to the fact that the bacteria are “resistant to some of the strongest antibiotics available.”

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Science

A look inside the Tufts laboratory fighting drug-resistant bacteria

By Verena Runstadler | October 16

Throughout the past few decades, antimicrobial resistance has been on the rise as a result of increased antibiotic use. Like an arms race played out on a tiny scale, pathogenic microbes develop mechanisms to survive against the antibiotics used to kill them, rendering those antibiotics less useful in treating infections.

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Science

Climate change in our cities

By Kylie Liggett | October 9

As the effects of climate change become increasingly visible, cities face unique challenges but are also positioned to be leaders in sustainability and adaptation. Some of the most prominent effects of climate change in cities include rising sea levels and increased temperatures — as well as higher rates of heat waves — which is exacerbated by the urban heat island effect, where urban areas experience warmer weather than rural areas. Urban areas also experience greater food and water scarcity than their surrounding areas.

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Science

Dissertation Diaries: Chantal Aaron

By William Nguyen | October 9

Welcome back to the fifth installment of “Dissertation Diaries.” This week, we will be highlighting Chantal Aaron, a fifth-year Ph.D. student in The Elizabeth Byrne Lab at the Tufts Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.

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