Bioengineers at Tufts University School of Engineering have developed a new silk-based microneedle system able to deliver precise amounts of drugs over time and without need for refrigeration. The tiny needles can be fabricated under [...]
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A novel mechanism regulating stress is identified
Neuroscience researchers from Tufts have demonstrated, for the first time, that the physiological response to stress depends on neurosteroids acting on specific receptors in the brain, and they have been able…
Our perceptions of masculinity and femininity are swayed by our sense of touch
Gender stereotypes suggest that men are usually tough and women are usually tender. A new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, finds these stereotypes have some real bodily truth for our b…
Partners who had powerful faces in college lead profitable law firms
Los Angeles, CA (October 21, 2010) Law firms are more profitable when they are led by managing partners who have faces that look powerful, according to a study in the current Social Psychological and Personality Science (published by SAGE).
Appea…
Shock tactics: Bioelectrical therapy for cancer and birth defects?
Stem cell therapies hold increasing promise as a cure for multiple diseases. But the massive potential of a healthy stem cell has a flip side, as faulty regulation of stem cells leads to a huge range of human diseases. Even before birth, mistakes ma…
Research shows TV carries messages that influence infants’ behavior
What do infants learn as they watch people talk or act in a certain manner? If a television is on in a room, how much do infants pay attention to it? These are questions Donna Mumme, assistant professor of psychology at Tufts University, answers in her study, “The Infant as Onlooker: Learning from Emotional Reactions Observed in a Television Scenario.” Co-authored by Anne Fernald of Stanford University, the article is published in the January/February issue of Child Development, the publication of the Society for Research in Child Development.
How you respond to high-fat diet is linked to genes
Maybe people who eat fatty foods without negative health consequences really haven’t sold their souls to the devil. They may just have good genes. The link between dietary fat intake and heart disease is hardwired into our genes, according to research reported today. “This genetic mutation helps explain why some people are able to adapt to a Western high-fat diet, while others are not able to,” says lead author Jose M. Ordovas. The fat risk is greatest for people who have a specific genetic mutation in the hepatic lipase (LIPC) gene that is involved in the way high-density lipoprotein (HDL) ? “good cholesterol” ? is metabolized. The mutation is called ?514 (C/T) LIPC, and occurs in the promoter (or expression) region of the LIPC gene encoding the ?514 T allele.