How "Fake News" Influences the Beliefs and Decision-Making of Individuals and Governments
Tufts University
Kelly M. Greenhill, Ph.D., a political science professor in the School of Arts and Sciences at Tufts University, has been awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Fellowship to further her research on how rumors, conspiracy theories, myths, propaganda, and entertainment media influence the beliefs and decision-making of individuals and governments. The NEH, which announced the fellowship today, is one of the largest independent funders of humanities programs in the United States.
Researchers have discovered a possible explanation for a genetic error that causes over a dozen neuromuscular and neurodegenerative disorders.
High school girls with body image behavioral misperceptions are more likely to have had at least one alcoholic drink, as well as engaged in episodes of heavy drinking, than their peers without these misperceptions.
A new commentary cautions that the Food and Drug Administration’s ban on triclosan and 18 other biocidal chemicals that promote antibiotic resistance is only a starting point. Triclosan’s long-term impact, as well the risks substitute chemicals may pose, must also be addressed.
Learning by taking practice tests, a strategy known as retrieval practice, can protect memory against the negative effects of stress, report scientists from Tufts University in a new study published in Science on Nov. 25.
Tufts University School of Dental Medicine celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Tufts Dental Facilities, a network of clinics in Massachusetts that provides comprehensive oral health care for patients with disabilities.
An epidemiological analysis of data from 1,685 adult Americans finds that regular consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, but not diet soda, is associated with increased risk of prediabetes and increased insulin resistance.
New study finds that beta-cryptoxanthin, a carotenoid primarily found in plants, reduces lung cancer development and invasiveness in mouse and cell models. The results support human epidemiological studies associating high beta-cryptoxanthin intake with lower risk of lung cancer in current smokers.
Silencing SIRT2, a member of the sirtuin family of enzymes, reduces the invasiveness of basal-like breast cancer cells in culture and inhibits tumor growth in mice, according to new research led by scientists from Tufts University School of Medicine.
David R. Walt, Ph.D., has been elected to the prestigious and exclusive National Academy of Medicine, one in a series of accolades from the national and international scientific communities in recognition of his stellar career as a chemist, engineer, innovator and entrepreneur.
Survivors of childhood cancer have poor adherence to federal dietary guidelines in adulthood, a new study finds. Diets lacking essential nutrients may exacerbate the chronic disease burden in a group already at an elevated risk for developing new conditions.
High folate (vitamin B9) consumption is associated with an increased risk for a nerve-damage disorder in older adults who have a common genetic variant linked to reduced cellular vitamin B12 availability
A new study finds that children and teens with autism spectrum disorder may be more likely to be obese and stay obese during adolescence than their peers without autism spectrum disorder.
Nikhil U. Nair, Ph.D., of Tufts University School of Engineering, has been honored with the 2016 National Institutes of Health Director's New Innovator Award for his work on engineering naturally-occurring, safe, gut bacteria to treat inborn errors of metabolism (IEMs), a relatively poorly-studied family of debilitating genetic disorders that affect patients from birth.
Structural virologist Ekaterina Heldwein of Tufts University School of Medicine will map out herpesviruses thanks to a five-year Faculty Scholars grant, a new program sponsored by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Simons Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
A $15 million gift from the Jaharis Family Foundation will provide medical students at Tufts University School of Medicine with a new, state-of-the-art gross anatomy lab and scholarships for students focused on family medicine.
Tufts University researchers have discovered a new technique for generating rapidly-differentiating human neural stem cells for use in a variety of tissue engineering applications, including a three-dimensional model of the human brain, according to a paper published today in Stem Cell Reports.
A new analysis of 100 million Medicare records from US adults aged 65 and older reveals rising healthcare costs for infections associated with some disease-causing bacteria, such as Legionella, which can live inside drinking water distribution systems and household plumbing
The glycemic index value of a food can vary by 20 percent within an individual and 25 percent among individuals, according to the results of a controlled feeding trial in 63 healthy adults. The findings suggest glycemic index has limited value in predicting how foods affect blood sugar levels.
Hospitalizations for infective endocarditis, a heart valve infection often attributed to injection drug use, increased significantly among young adults, particularly whites and females. The findings shed light on the healthcare burdens and shifting demographics associated national opioid epidemic.
Starting dialysis treatment for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) should be a shared decision made by an informed patient based on discussions with a physician and family members. However, many older dialysis patients say they feel voiceless in the decision-making process and are unaware of more conservative management approaches that could help them avoid initiating a treatment that reduces their quality of life, according to a study led by Tufts University researchers.
Genetic research is a valuable tool in understanding diseases and their prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. However, significant obstacles limit the clinical use of this knowledge to all groups. Genetic applications in healthcare must advance in a way that reduces racial and ethnic disparities.
Mantis shrimp, often brightly colored and fiercely aggressive sea creatures with outsized strength, use both the ultraviolet reflectance of their color spots and chemical cues when fighting over resources, according to research led by a Tufts University doctoral candidate.
Students, family, and faculty celebrate the 26 Massachusetts high school students who participated in Tufts University School of Medicine’s 2016 Teachers and High School Students program. The program provides clinical and lab experiences to students of diverse backgrounds interested in careers in medicine or science.
A new “food-print” model that measures the per-person land requirements of different diets suggests that, with dietary changes, the U.S. could feed significantly more people from existing agricultural land.
Eating more unsaturated fats in place of either dietary carbohydrate or saturated fat reduces blood sugar, insulin levels, and other metrics related to type 2 diabetes, according to a new meta-analysis of data from 102 randomised feeding trials in adults.
For the first time, researchers led by Tufts University engineers have integrated nano-scale sensors, electronics and microfluidics into threads – ranging from simple cotton to sophisticated synthetics – that can be sutured through multiple layers of tissue to gather diagnostic data wirelessly.
Eating less may help us lead longer, healthier lives, according to new results from a large, multicenter study led by Tufts researchers. The paper reveals that a 25 percent reduction in calories can significantly lower markers of chronic inflammation without negatively impacting other parts of the immune system.
A study by researchers at Tufts University School of Medicine found that on average offensive linemen from a Division III college football conference weighed 38 percent more in 2014 than they did in 1956, while the average male’s weight over the same time increased only 12 percent.
Seventeen college students from across the country are at Tufts University’s Boston campus for ten weeks to experience life in a lab. The Building Diversity in Biomedical Sciences program provides research and career training to students typically under-represented in biomedical sciences.
Neurons in the brain that control hunger are regulated by AMPK, a protein activated during fasting, report researchers from Tufts University. The study sheds light on the biological mechanisms that regulate feeding behavior, and serves as a potential model for the broad study of synapse formation.
A study published today in the Journal of Neuroscience led by Yongjie Yang of Tufts University School of Medicine identifies an astroglial trigger mechanism as contributing to symptoms of fragile X syndrome in mice.
Tufts scientists have identified factors linked to why individual mycobacteria of the same genetic background can respond differently to antibiotics. The findings shed light on the complexity of antibiotic tolerance and may improve the future design of drug regimens.
The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, officially becomes part of Tufts University's School of Arts and Sciences on July 1, 2016. Now named the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University, the school is extraordinary in being both part of a major research university and affiliated with a world-class museum.
An epidemiological study analyzing the association of butter consumption with chronic disease and mortality finds that butter was only weakly associated with total mortality, not associated with heart disease, and slightly inversely associated (protective) with diabetes.
Researchers at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine and the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at Tufts, led by Jonathan Garlick, have established for the first time that skin cells from diabetic foot ulcers can be reprogrammed to acquire properties of embryonic-like cells.
A global consortium of researchers banded together to conduct an epidemiological study analyzing specific omega-3 fatty acid biomarkers and heart disease. They found that blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids from seafood and plant-based foods are associated with a lower risk of fatal heart attack.
Tufts University microbiologist Cecilia A. Silva-Valenzuela, Ph.D., has been named one of ten Latin American Fellows in the Biomedical Sciences by The Pew Charitable Trusts. Working in Andy Camilli’s lab, she is studying the use of phages to help stop the spread of cholera.
Shuchin Aeron, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering in Tufts University’s School of Engineering, has received a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and U.S. Department of Energy.
Using data from criminal cases of animal abuse, researchers from Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) have demonstrated that motor vehicle accidents and non-accidental blunt force trauma cases in dogs and cats present with different types of injuries. The research, which appears online in advance of the September 2016 print edition of the Journal of Forensic Sciences, can help in the effort to uncover and address animal abuse.
Twenty-one members of the Class of 2016 will be the first graduates of Tufts University’s Bridge to Liberal Arts Success at Tufts (BLAST), a program to support and develop undergraduates who are the first in their families to attend a four-year college or who have attended under-resourced high schools.