Shafaq Zia on Muck Rack

Shafaq Zia

Boston, Qatar, Watertown
As seen in: The New York Times, UOL, Harvard University, MIT News, Phys.org, Medical Xpress, STAT, Hartford Courant, The Scientist, Gazeta Wyborcza and
Covers:  Science, Health, and Technology
@MIT_Sciwrite and @MedillSchool alum • Covering research at @WhiteheadInst • Also in @NYTScience @mcgovernmit @TheScientistLLC @Spectrum @KSJatMIT @statnews

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Shafaq Zia’s Biography

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Science & Health Writer

Shafaq Zia’s Journalist Portfolio

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Stories by Shafaq Zia at STAT News

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Stories by Shafaq Zia at The DailyQ

Stories by Shafaq Zia at The DailyQ

Shafaq recently graduated from Northwestern University, where she pursued a degree in journalism and served a…

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Articles

New insights into a hidden process that protects cells from harmful mutations

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By Shafaq Zia
| MIT News
Some genetic mutations that are expected to completely stop a gene from working surprisingly cause only mild or even no symptoms. Researchers in previous studies have discovered one reason why: Cells can ramp up the activity of other genes that perform similar functions to make up for the loss of an important gene’s function. A new study published Feb.
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An Energy-Based Perspective on Microbial Food Web Structure

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By Shafaq Zia
| The Marine Biological Laboratory
The oceans are teeming with microbes like bacteria and phytoplankton that play an outsized role in climate regulation. These microorganisms absorb carbon, cycle nutrients, and form the base of the ocean food web. Yet despite their importance, scientists know relatively little about them: what they eat, how fast they grow, or how they interact with predators and each other.
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Inflammation jolts “sleeping” cancer cells awake, enabling them to multiply again

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By Shafaq Zia
| MIT News
Cancer cells have one relentless goal: to grow and divide. While most stick together within the original tumor, some rogue cells break away to traverse to distant organs. There, they can lie dormant — undetectable and not dividing — for years, like landmines waiting to go off. This migration of cancer cells, called metastasis, is especially common in breast cancer. For many patients, the disease can return months — or even decades — after initial treatment, this time in an entirely different organ.
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