A star scientist leaves Mass. to save his research

Harvard scientist John Quackenbush has done groundbreaking work on the links between disease and genetics. But he recently took his research to the University of Chicago. He told WBUR's Tiziana Dearing it was a necessary decision when he lost most of his funding at Harvard and no one stepped up to fill in that gap.




In this episode, we'll also catch up on the week's news, including:




• The prosecution rests its case in the trial (https://www.wbur.org/news/2026/10/27/matthew-farwell-trial-william-sandra-birchmore-death) of former Stoughton police officer Matthew Farwell, who's accused of killing 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore and her unborn child.


• A new study (https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2855918) from Boston University estimates that nearly 75% of NFL players who died between 2008 and 2023 had CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy. (Editor's note: Boston University holds WBUR's broadcast license. WBUR is editorially independent.)


• Massport's contest for the new "Voice of Logan" is down to eight finalists (https://www.wbur.org/news/2026/10/27/massport-voice-of-logan-competition-finalists) .


• A tour in the West End (https://www.wbur.org/news/2026/10/27/west-end-museum-halloween-tours-boston) presents some of the Boston neighborhood's dark and macabre history.