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Science

Gut Microbiome Graphic
Science

The growing culture around fermentation

By Whitney Turner | October 8

Fermentation is all the rage these days, it seems. Whether it’s “gut-healthy” recipes that dominate your social media feed, “live culture” labels that stare back at you in the grocery store aisles or your best friend’s sourdough obsession, ...

Gut Microbiome Graphic
Science

The growing culture around fermentation

By Whitney Turner | October 8

Fermentation is all the rage these days, it seems. Whether it’s “gut-healthy” recipes that dominate your social media feed, “live culture” labels that stare back at you in the grocery store aisles or your best friend’s sourdough obsession, this fermentation craze has likely permeated your daily life. From homesteaders to political leaders, eating fermented foods is the hot new thing. But how new is it, really?

MMR Vaccine Graphic
Science

Measles, the outbreak at the intersection of politics and medicine

By Em Li | October 8

Most of us have never had to worry about measles. The name itself sounds rather medieval, and we’re happy to adopt a similar attitude toward the disease. It seems like something that plagues the history books, but has no bearing on our daily lives, yet you may have heard it discussed more often lately. So, what exactly is going on with measles in America? 

Scientific Mistakes in Tiktoks Graphic
Science

Your daily dose: Think twice before trusting Dr. TikTok

By Grace Lee | October 8

Between supplement stacks for “biohacking” your way to a near-perfect body and mind, “proteinmaxxing” and “fibermaxxing” to improve muscle growth and gut health and using beef tallow as a skincare product, advice on how to live a healthier life is everywhere on TikTok. No matter the topic — skincare, nutrition, mental health, fitness and beyond — what’s considered “healthy” seems to change every time you scroll.

Gabriella Floro Headshot
Science

Dissertation Diaries: Gabriella Floro

By Addison Dion | October 1

This installment of Dissertation Diaries highlightsGabriella Floro, a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in the Tufts University Department of Chemistry. Before coming to Tufts, Floro completed aBachelor of Science in Chemistry at Centre College.

Flu Virus Graphic
Science

The annual influenza season: The history behind the infamous virus

By Essey Tesfai | October 1

Every fall, right around the time Tufts students trade shorts for sweaters and Dewick-MacPhie Dining Center starts to push extra soup, an old and unwelcome guest shows up on campus: the flu. It happens so reliably that it’s easy to forget influenza’s strange, sometimes tragic history, one that stretches back centuries and has quietly shaped the way we think about disease and public health.

Lettuce 3
Science

Lettuce address this outbreak

By Shanzeh Haider | September 8

Have you been suspicious of your lettuce? Perhaps your TikTok feed is telling you to stop eating salad, or you’ve simply heard about an illness caused by contaminated produce from a friend. If you’ve been wondering what’s up with this lettuce-fueled frenzy, you’re in the right place. The U.S. is currently facing the largest outbreak of cyclosporiasis ever recorded.

Back to the Books
Science

Back to the Books: Four science-backed tips for academic success this fall

By Addison Dion | September 8

Are you a Biopsychology major looking to apply your neuroscience lessons to your study habits? Maybe you’re an undeclared freshman, wondering how neurotransmitters and fMRI studies could possibly relate to your time spent in Tisch. This semester, your days of relying on day-before cram sessions are over. Check out these four science-backed tips to help you crush your classes this semester. 

Quantum Article
Science

Tufts quantum information and quantum computing lab graduates final cohort of doctoral scholars

By Jaylen Daley | May 16

This spring marks the end of physics Professor Peter Love’s quantum information and quantum computing lab group’s time at Tufts. Starting July, the lab will relocate to the University of Toronto. However, this semester has been anything but boring, as four Ph.D. students defend their theses and receive their doctoral degrees. Over the course of their Ph.D.s, these students used math to develop models that can extract quantum information as effectively as possible and applied them to various circumstances related to scientific computing.

Undergraduate Biology Research Lab
Science

Bright futures await for Tufts biology students

By Shoshana Daly | May 15

The Tufts Department of Biology offers four undergraduate majors — biology, biochemistry, biopsychology and biotechnology — which, combined, account for roughly 12% of all majors completed by Tufts students over the past five years. Biology is the fourth largest major at Tufts, and the biology department has expanded rapidly in recent years, with five new, full-time faculty joining in the 2025–26 academic year alone.

TTC
Science

A student’s guide to surviving Physics 11

By Essey Tesfai | May 13

Diving straight into the foundational courses at Tufts can seem very daunting as a first-year engineering student. Between Chemistry 1, Biology 13 and Physics 11, the transition from high school to college is infamously steep. Physics 11, however, is known for a quirk that has made many students intrigued and terrified over the past two fall semesters: It’s completely ungraded.

Friedman School
Science

Combating childhood obesity through systemic changes

By Elliott Resnick | April 23

In 2009, ChildObesity180 was founded out of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University as an initiative to combat the trend of childhood obesity in the United States. The organization was formed by current Dean of the Friedman School Christina Economos, Professor Emerita Miriam Nelson and former chair of the Tufts Board of Trustees Peter Dolan.

META
Science

Meta knows what’s going on in your brain

By Hande Naz Kavas | April 23

Meta, which owns Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, recently released its scientific neural cognition model, TRIBEv2. Compared to a typical new Instagram update, this model represents a line of neuroscience research that scientists have been developing for decades. Meta is already well known for incorporating addictive algorithms into its social media platforms to predict users’ interests and engagement, in turn improving overall user experience. Its new model, released last month, achieves a highly accurate artificial brain model that shows which parts of the human brain activate in response to different visual, auditory and language stimuli. In simpler terms, scientists have built a copy of the human brain that can show what happens in your brain in response to what you hear, see and process.  

Merck_KGaA_01.jpg
Science

The patent cliff and the price of access

By Aria Chawla | April 16

The pharmaceutical industry’s looming ‘patent cliff’ is often framed as a Wall Street problem: Blockbuster drugs lose intellectual property protection, making room for generics to enter and causing company revenues to fall. But for patients, including college students who rely on family insurance, use prescription drugs themselves or are preparing to enter healthcare and biotech careers, the patent cliff is really a test of whether the healthcare system can turn the end of monopoly protection into lower costs and better access. 

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