The Tufts Daily

A nurse was found guilty of gross neglect and negligent homicide last month in a high-profile medical error case that some health care professionals argue could set a bleak precedent for mistakes in medicine. RaDonda Vaught was working as a nurse at Vanderbilt University Medical Center when, on Dec. 26, 2017, she made a mistake […]

Largest microbe ever discovered could explain the link between prokaryotes and eukaryotes Microbes are generally supposed to be invisible to the naked eye, but in the Caribbean, a microbe that can grow up to two centimeters has been described, making scientists question what it really means for a cell to be a prokaryote, also known […]

COVID-19 vaccine boosters will be strongly recommended — but not yet required — for students across Tufts’ campuses, university officials told the Daily last week. Testing frequency and pandemic protocols are also currently expected to remain unchanged going into the Spring semester. The guidance comes alongside a rise in cases across the country and the […]

Throughout her career, Ayse Asatekin, associate professor of chemical and biological engineering at Tufts University, has sought to use filters to prevent illness and protect the environment. One mineral that performs this function is fluoride, which results in dental and skeletal fluorosis. Fluorosis is a degradation of bones or teeth that happens when fluoride is […]

Stop the genetic swap: Novel omicron variant may bear resemblance to common cold coronavirus strain The omicron variant, the newest COVID-19 strain, may be more contagious but cause milder symptoms than other coronavirus variants, a new study suggests. Venky Soundararajan, a bioengineer who co-wrote the study, explained to the Washington Post that as viruses evolve […]

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact communities around the United States and the world, certain trends have emerged surrounding infection rates and their link with prevention measures including surveillance testing, masking and vaccine mandates. Experts agree that, especially on college campuses, these measures are essential in curbing the spread of COVID-19.  The number of […]

New COVID-19 variant found across globe, raises questions about transmissibility A new COVID-19 variant labeled omicron has recently emerged in several countries, including South Africa, Botswana and Hong Kong, and contains dozens of mutations from the original alpha variant, leading many scientists to discuss its implications for COVID-19’s future. Although the moment when omicron first […]

Among the 3D printers throughout the room, Vincent Fitzpatrick, a postdoctoral biomedical researcher at Tufts University, holds up a gray unassuming piece of plastic, crisscrossed with a cage-like structure. Hidden beneath a series of support structures that have yet to be removed, he explains, lies a perfect replica of a patient’s bone — assembled from […]

Movies, TV shows, music albums, hotels, restaurants and many other things have rating systems that can help consumers decide which product is best for them. Foods are no exception. The Food Compass, a brand-new nutrient profiling system developed by a team at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, incorporates 54 food attributes across […]

DARTing across the cosmos: NASA’s plan to protect planet Earth  NASA plans to launch a spacecraft this week that, in late 2022, will intentionally crash into an asteroid, hopefully changing its trajectory. Planetary defense research has been conducted over the past several years in hopes of preventing foreseeable meteor crashes. Although scientists believe massive meteorites […]