Science

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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Science

In loving memory: Jane Goodall

By Shoshana Daly | October 3

On Wednesday, Jane Goodall passed away. She was 91. I was one when I first heard Jane Goodall speak. It was at my father and aunt’s Ph.D. graduation at Syracuse University in 2005. While I do not remember that speech, I think it may have unconsciously seeped into my little brain and shaped me into the person I am today.

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Science

Dissertation Diaries: Udathari Kumarasinghe

By Addison Dion | October 2

This installment of “Dissertation Diaries” highlights Udathari Kumarasinghe, a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Tufts University. Before Tufts, Kumarasinghe completed a Bachelor of Science in Physics at the University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka.

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Science

The grind behind the grind

By Grace Lee | October 2

Midterm season is upon us all too soon; hopeful promises to ‘lock in’ loom large, and caffeine consumption reaches new heights, whether in the form of a tea, coffee, energy drink — or all three. Caffeine seems to transform from a fun little drink into a necessary ingredient in study routines. But, although we know that caffeine does in fact do something, the ways in which it works — and works less well the more you drink — can seem like a mystery. So, what’s the science behind the sip?

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Science

Keeping inner thoughts ‘private’

By Hande Naz Kavas | September 25

Last month, a spark was ignited within the scientific community as a team of researchers demonstrated a scientific method for decoding one’s inner thoughts. The team implanted microelectrode arrays in the brain tissues of four BrainGate2 patients who lost their ability to speak due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Each patient was then asked to perform various tasks, including responding to spontaneous questions, counting shapes and reading sentences, while the researchers collected electrical data from their brains to analyze their thoughts. This electrical data was then used to mechanically build an alternative communication channel.

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Science

Guillain-Barré syndrome explained: The rare paralytic disease surging in Gaza

By Aria Chawla | September 25

Amid the near-total Israeli blockade, those in Gaza are facing a new threat to their lives — paralytic diseases. According to Nasser Hospital’s head of pediatrics, Dr. Ahmed Al-Farra, “Before the war, we used to see one case of Guillain-Barré syndrome yearly, but in the last three months, we have already diagnosed nearly 100 cases. We are seeing an outbreak of acute flaccid paralysis as a result … Patients are fatigued, unable to stand or sit. Then, as the paralysis increases, it affects patients’ respiratory muscles and can lead to respiratory failure. This can, in some cases, result in cardiac arrest.” 

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Science

Dissertation Diaries: Bradley Pedro

By William Nguyen | September 24

Welcome to the third installment of “Dissertation Diaries.” This week, we will focus on Bradley Pedro, a fifth-year biology doctoral candidate in the Romero Lab at Tufts!

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