Science

The 2024 Triple E Outbreak: All you need to know

By Shanzeh Haider | October 18

In August 2024, a man from Worcester County was infected with the Eastern equine encephalitis virus, the first human case in Massachusetts since 2020. The virus, also known as Triple E, can severely impair the human nervous system and cause illness, potentially proving fatal.

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Science

Mpox outbreak highlights the importance of information in medicine

By Jaiden Rodgers | September 3

Ten thousand doses of mpox vaccines arrived in Nigeria on Aug. 27, courtesy of the U.S. government, in response to the World Health Organization's Aug. 14 declaration of a public health emergency of international concern regarding an outbreak of a new strain of mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

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Science

Meet Professor Shelly Peyton, incoming biomedical engineering chair

By Meg Radke | May 18

Professor Shelly Peyton will be joining the Tufts Department of Biomedical Engineering in July. The department was founded in 2002 and chaired by Professor David Kaplan. Kaplan stepped down in 2022, and Professor Sergio Fantini has served as the interim chair over the past two years until Peyton takes over. Last week, I was able to sit down and interview her about her background and her plans as the new chair.

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Science

Life in STEM: Mike Kourkoulakos on the Daily, future plans in biology

By Adi Raman | May 17

Mike Kourkoulakos has loved everything science and engineering-related from a young age, but it was during his sophomore year of high school when he really started to feel “connected to biology.”After taking two biology classes in high school, Kourkoulakos decided that biology was his calling and what he wanted to pursue in college.

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Science

Q&A: Diana Reiss decodes the dolphin Rosetta Stone

By Amelia Macapia | May 16

Although dolphins are recognized for their large brains and intricate social structures, the extent of their self-awareness was not widely acknowledged until Diana Reiss, a professor at the cognitive and comparative psychology program of The City University of New York, published her groundbreaking work. As a leading expert in dolphin communication and cognition, Reiss introduced innovative mirror self-recognition tests. By strategically marking dolphins in an area not visible to them, such as above their eyes, Reiss observed their reactions to seeing their reflections and playful investigations of marked body parts. These behaviors were traditionally associated only with humans and great apes, yet Reiss’ groundbreaking work revealed that dolphins also exhibit self-awareness.

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Science

Sounds of seagrass

By Amelia Macapia | April 29

Dr. Megan Ballard discusses listening to seagrass for studies on carbon sequestration and what we can learn about environmental change through underwater acoustics. 

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Science

Three dimensions of humpback whale communication

By Amelia Macapia | April 5

Amelia Macapia (AM): Whale songs can travel vast distances, and if they are using their songs to communicate with one another, they are not just doing so across space, but also across time. That concept flashed briefly in your documentary “Fathom.” I came across a recent quote in an article by Elizabeth Kolbert in The New Yorker, suggesting that a call “made by a humpback whale near Bermuda would take 20 min to reach a humpback whale swimming off the coast of Nova Scotia, and if the Canadian whale answered immediately, it would be 40 min before the Bermuda whale heard back.” So, are the whales receiving information from the past and present simultaneously? And how are they registering that?

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Science

Do whales think about tomorrow?

By Amelia Macapia | March 29

Editor’s Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Amelia Macapia: Let’s start with whale culture. This isn’t a figure of speech but rather an observation that whales communicate. Now, maybe everyone thinks all animals communicate, but you mean something very specific. What is that?

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Science

Dr. Jan Pechenik discusses intertidal animals and changing tides

By Amelia Macapia | March 13

Humans are tampering with the selective forces acting on organisms all over the planet and accelerating the rates at which selection is occurring. Dr. Jan Pechenik, professor emeritus of marine biology at Tufts University, suspects that one group of organisms is going to outlast many others: intertidal marine animals. They endure extreme fluctuations in their environment, particularly temperature changes, better than many others.

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Science

US healthcare regression: Syphilis on the rise

By Anish Guggilam | March 7

In recent decades, the U.S. has been well on its way to eradicating syphilis. Now, a recent spike in cases of the infectious disease is slowing these efforts. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of people with syphilis has increased from fewer than 5,900 in 2000, to more than 207,000 in 2022.

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Science

Edie Widder on bioluminescence and seeing in the dark

By Amelia Macapia | March 6

How can a creature that can grow as tall as a four-story building be hidden from human eyes for so long? Oceanographer Edie Widder was the first person to capture video of the giant squid in its natural habitat, transporting the legendary Kraken from ancient mythology to the modern world. She invented a groundbreaking technique to lure in the squid with a deep sea “scream,” modeling the startling bioluminescent display of the Atolla jellyfish. Below, Widder joins me for a conversation on what we have to lose before the ocean is known. 

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Science

Queerness in STEM: Dr. André K. Isaacs holds Runway Q&A at Tufts

By Jaiden Rodgers | March 1

On Feb. 24, the LGBT Center and the Center for STEM Diversity hosted Dr. André K. Isaacs, associate professor of chemistry at College of the Holy Cross, in Breed Memorial Hall for a talk and Q&A focusing on queer identity in STEM.

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Science

The MiniTouch: A new future for artificial limbs

By Anish Guggilam | February 27

Thanks to recent technological developments, amputees can now sense temperature through prosthetic limbs. Known as the MiniTouch, this heat-sensitive prosthetic hand has a thermal sensor embedded within it, allowing for a realistic sensation of temperature.

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Science

Life in STEM: Daily alumnus Alex Viveros on pursuing science journalism

By Adi Raman | February 22

Growing up in Palo Alto, Calif., Alex Viveros (LA’22) loved both science and reading but did not initially know how to combine his interests. “I was always kind of torn between both of them,” he said. He was fascinated with anatomy and physiology, excited to participate in heart dissections and by reading books with atlases of the human body.

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Science

Understanding the unique science behind Alzheimer’s onset

By Anish Guggilam | February 9

Until very recently, it was believed that Alzheimer’s disease, a progressive neurological disease that causes memory loss, develops from a combination of intrinsic genetic and environmental risk factors. However, a January 2024 study suggests that some individuals may have acquired it from contaminated ...

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Science

Life in STEM: Michael Moore on the right whale and declining marine populations

By Amelia Macapia | February 1

Below is an interview with Michael Moore, a senior scientist and veterinarian at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Much of Moore’s career has been dedicated to research on the health and growth of North Atlantic right whale populations. In his book, “We Are All Whalers: The Plight of Whales and Our Responsibility,” Moore links the collapse of the species to damage from shipping and fishing trauma. Below Moore joins me for a discussion on the immediate jeopardy of the North Atlantic right whale, and how we all contribute to the right whale’s extinction risk through supply chains and consumer demand.

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Science

The uncanny valley vs. Hollywood’s immortal vision

By Jaiden Rodgers | January 26

What will live on after your death? According to Hollywood, it won’t just be your children, accomplishments or legacy. In fact, for many of the most acclaimed silver screen performers, the term “death” may be an exaggeration. Technological advancements in CGI and artificial intelligence made during the past 15 years are paving the way for the film industry to keep its actors evergreen, defying death and reversing age.

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