Science

The science behind Olympic snow: Climate change and industrial snowmaking

By Kylie Liggett | February 12

The Winter Olympic Games, this year hosted in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, have increasingly had to rely on human-made snow due to climate change. Shrinking snowpacks, rising temperatures, fewer freezes and shorter snow seasons have led to an estimated 85% of competition surfaces in the 2026 Olympics requiring artificial snow. The two host cities this year have created massive artificial reservoirs to provide sources of water for snowmaking. Cortina d’Ampezzo itself has experienced a 3.6 degrees Celsius increase in average February temperature and 41 fewer freezing days annually since they first hosted the games in 1956.

---

Science

Tufts Professor Lisa Freeman wins inaugural Canine Health Discovery of the Year Award

By Verena Runstadler | February 12

Dilated cardiomyopathy is the most common cause of congestive heart failure in some large dog breeds, including doberman pinschers, Saint Bernards and Great Danes, and is often inherited. DCM causes thinning of the heart muscle, leading to a weakened heart with arrhythmias, or irregular heartbeats, and fluid buildup, that can ultimately result in heart failure. However, another form of the disease — diet-associated DCM — can affect many breeds of dogs and cats regardless of genetics.

---

Science

Winter Olympics 2026: How the brain handles high-speed fear

By Hande Naz Kavas | February 10

The Winter Olympics 2026 officially began last Friday in northern Italy. From ski jumping to curling, figure skating to snowboarding, lots of athletes will reach extraordinary speeds over the course of two weeks. As we perch on the edge of our seats, waiting for the start gun to fire or the start gate to drop, these athletes prepare to push the limits of physics. While their professionalism may deceive us into thinking we could do the same,we should remind ourselves of the fear we had when skiing ourselves down a snowy mountain for the first time or competing in front of an audience far smaller than a global one.

---

Science

An update on the flu season

By Shanzeh Haider | February 5

According to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, influenza activity is “high” across the state. From the week of Jan. 4 to Jan. 10, 498 cases of influenza were reported in Boston. While cases have decreased in past weeks, they are still persistent with 158 cases reported in the week of Jan. 18 to Jan. 24. With data through Jan. 17th, the state of Massachusetts reports 193 deaths in the current season, including six pediatric influenza deaths.

---

Science

New bioinformatics specialization to provide biology master’s students with a competitive edge

By Addison Dion | February 5

In an increasingly tech-driven world, specialization in bioinformatics will set graduate students in Tufts’ biology master’s program apart. Bioinformatics is a scientific subdiscipline situated at the intersection of biological and computer sciences. Through the use of computer technology, complex datasets from biological experiments can be effectively stored and analyzed.

---

Science

Dissertation Diaries: Nicholas Mandel

By William Nguyen | January 22

Welcome back to a new semester of Dissertation Diaries. As a reminder, this is the series where we highlight Ph.D. students at Tufts as they approach the end of their degree. This time, we will be highlighting Nicholas Mandel, a fifth-year Ph.D. student in the Sergei Mirkin Lab here at Tufts.

---

---

Science

A glimpse into the life of historical Tufts professor Amos Dolbear

By Hande Naz Kavas | January 20

Since 1852, numerous inventions and discoveries have been made at Tufts University. While recent patents receive significant recognition, earlier patents remain equally important and should not be overlooked. One of the inventors of these patents was Amos Dolbear (1837–1910). Following an unusual academic journey, Dolbear became the inventor of various machines, including models of wireless telephones and the electric gyroscope, which his son later described as “the first successful electric motor-driven gyroscope ever built to demonstrate the Earth’s rotation.”

---

Science

At the intersection of art and biology: LABLINES project launching soon at Tufts

By Addison Dion | January 15

LABLINES: “Linking Arts and Biology through Lines & Narrative for Engaging Science,” is set to launch at Tufts this semester. The initiative recently received a grant from the Tufts MUSE funding program, which supports “arts, humanities, and humanistic social sciences projects” that may otherwise have limited funding options.

---

Science

Book Review: 'Everything is Tuberculosis'

By Kylie Liggett | January 15

Tuberculosis is a disease that kills over 1 million people every year, so why is it that much of the Global North thinks of it as a disease of the past? Why is a curable disease still killing so many people? In his new book, “Everything is Tuberculosis,” John Green tackles the history and current reality of a disease that has, in many ways, shaped our world. “Everything is Tuberculosis” by John Green centers around answering the question of why access to the TB cure is limited in regions where the disease is most prevalent, challenging the plethora of assumptions that have been made about the disease throughout history.

---

Science

NextBrain: An AI-powered brain atlas

By Hande Naz Kavas | December 8

NextBrain released an open-to-the-public brain atlas that outperforms previous models in terms of resolution and region-of-interest mapping.

---

Science

It’s electric: New research on how bioelectricity informs cellular aging

By William Nguyen | December 5

Senescence is a process in which a cell ages and stops dividing but does not die. In keratinocytes, or skin cells, senescence is marked by depolarization of membrane potential (Vmem), the electrical potential difference across a cell membrane.

---

Science

The man-made neuron: The future of bioelectronic discoveries

By Jamie Song | November 25

Neurons are the specialized cells that allow our bodies to transmit impulses, like factories that process inputs. They send signals that help us catch a ball, recognize a favorite song or pull our hand away from something hot; their structure and electrical properties make these rapid responses possible.

---

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.

---

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.

---

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.

---

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.

---

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.

---

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.

---

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.

---

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.

---