Category Archives: Biology

01 Crash Course Biology 33 Great glands Your endocrine system By: Free Education … Continue reading →

Marine biology experts including a Texas scientist are calling out an Australian activist for allegedly faking a shark attack for publicity. Elissa Sursara, a 26-year-old environmental activist from Australia, said she felt "privileged" after being bitten by what was believed to be a small shark last year, The New Zealand Herald reported. "I think they're amazing. I feel privileged to have had such an encounter. Not many people can say they have had an encounter like that," Sursara said, adding that the attack made her "more obsessed with sharks than ever." Sursara posted photos of stitches she received resulting from the attack on her Instagram profile, leading social media watchers to question whether the accident was faked. That includes Drew Scerbo, a marine biologist at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi,who told 9News in Australiathat Photoshop analysis on the image that circulated through social media confirmed it was doctored. "While I was trying to determine the possible species involved in the alleged incident, I noticed that several of the surgical staples in the image were identical," Scerbo said. "Using a 'clone stamp' tool and 'free transformation' application, I can verify that there are four pairs of identical staples in the same image." … Continue reading →

JUDY WOODRUFF: Imagine a world where mushrooms can be turned into furniture, algae can be used to conduct electricity, and glowing plants can replace streetlights. Those are examples of whats become known as biohacking, a diverse movement that is gathering steam, converts and controversy. NewsHour special correspondent Spencer Michels explains. SPENCER MICHELS: In private and university labs, students and volunteers are messing with biology. They are engaged in whats become known as biohacking. Stanford bioengineering Professor DREW ENDY: DREW ENDY, Stanford University: Hacking is a positive term, and it means learning about stuff by building, and trying to make things and seeing what happens. SPENCER MICHELS: Thats what theyre doing at Berkeley BioLabs. Biohackers here are delving into biological systems, trying to figure out how the DNA in plants is controlled, how to build an inexpensive photometer for biological research, and how to use algae to make batteries. MAN: Youre not making electricity. Youre storing electricity that you can recover later. SPENCER MICHELS: This is one of a growing number of biohacking locations, mostly off campus, where biology has become a citizen sport, a place where anyone with or without training can do hands-on biology, and perhaps change the world. … Continue reading →

Bioengineer Drew Endy shares his vision to reprogram biology as a precision manufacturer and possibly change civilization as we know it. Did we talk about my pine tree? says Drew Endy. I nod. I have heard his pine tree spiel (and you will, too). So he turns to another example to make his point: a plastic garbage can near his office door. His plan is simple: fill up the can with sawdust, add some programmed wood fungus, as he calls it, and leave. I come back a week later, and I shake out all the extra loose sawdust and spent materials, and out comes my new laptop, he says. Are you serious?... Subscribe and get 10 issues packed with: Registration is FREE and takes only a few seconds to complete. If you are already registered on DiscoverMagazine.com, please log in. Read the original here: Rewiring Nature With Synthetic Biology … Continue reading →

Foster City, CA (PRWEB) September 24, 2014 In "Sex, Love and DNA: What Molecular Biology Teaches Us About Being Human," author Peter Schattner draws on his 30 years experience as a scientist in academia and industry to show how proteins and DNA affect our lives: from influencing how we make our choices in sex and love and how we communicate, to affecting our emotions and the processes by which we age and die. Written in language that anyone can understand, "Sex Love and DNA" explores the amazing world of molecular biology through stories of people who dont feel pain because of rare genetic variants, children whose DNA enables them to perform feats of strength, and people who can't speak or read simply because they lack certain proteins. This engaging and entertaining book doesnt merely describe how proteins and DNA shape our lives; it is not a dry biology textbook. Instead it is a collection of fascinating stories of people with unusual traits and of animal experiments that illuminate how our biological makeup affects us. Through these stories, Schattner helps readers understand: Peter Schattner is a scientist, educator and writer with 30 years of research experience in molecular biology, genetics, biomedical … Continue reading →

A file photo of the real Knut Schmidt-Nielsen, not the bronze one, standing with the enigmatic camel statue dedicated to him and his work. By Olivia Zhu The camel statue between the Biology Building and Gross Hall is a staple of Dukes campus, but the significance behind this landmark is generally unknown. On Monday, September 22, faculty from the Biology Department gathered for a dedication to remember the man behind the camel statue (or rather, in front of it), Dr. Knut Schmidt-Nielsen, who died in 2007. Knut Schmidt-Nielsen, who would have turned 99 this Wednesday, was the father of comparative physiology and integrative biology and a James B. Duke professor at Dukes Biology Department starting in 1952. Schmidt-Nielsen studied the physiology of the camels nose, received the International Prize for Biology, and wrote the authoritative text on animal physiology. Dr. Stephen Wainwright, who was present at the dedication, commissioned the camel to British sculptor Jonathan Kingdon, who finished the bronze camel statue in 1993. The inscription for the statue, Tell me about yourself, Camel, that I may know myself, encapsulates Schmidt-Nielsens outlook on physiology. According to Dr. Steven Vogel, who was recruited to Dukes faculty by Schmidt-Nielsen 49 years ago, … Continue reading →

PhD Biology - Study at Maynooth University - Carla Surlis If you're interested in studying for a PhD in Biology at Maynooth University please visit our website here: https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/study-maynooth/... By: GoMaynooth … Continue reading →

Administrators behind the revamping of Molecular and Cellular Biology did not have to wait long to gauge the popularity of their new programs, courses, and requirement changes, said Alexander F. Schier, department chair of MCB. MCB 60: Cellular Biology and Molecular Medicine, our new gateway course, has enrolled more than 100 students, twice as many as expected, Schier said. After bringing on more teaching fellows to accommodate high enrollment, Schier, along with his MCB 60 teaching partners Vladimir Denic and Briana Burton, was eager to begin the new class, which implements curricular changes that relate lessons from the classroom to the science seen in news stories. The changes we made became possible because molecular and cellular biology has become highly relevant for understanding human physiology and disease, said Schier. It is now possible to directly connect most of the biological mechanisms we teach to human disease, ranging from cancer to Ebola. The teaching team has worked to leverage the increasing relevance of science at the molecular level to stories of outbreaks and popularly reported science. Highlighting these connections will help make the material more accessible to a broad range of students, Schier said. When you spend all your time in … Continue reading →

| Published 13 hours ago TO THE EDITOR: Many parents, knowing very well that their adult children will not have the opportunity to learn a biblical perspective of creation at public universities such as our 17 campuses in the UNC system, tend to send their kids to private schools where biology is taught with the book Biology: Gods Living Creation. Moreover, these church-going parents often home-school their children. Dr. William D. Snider of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine recently expressed his serious concern that the the contents of the book Biology: Gods Living Creation are responsible for misconceptions of basic biological concepts. One of our nations founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, insisted that our national Constitution should separate church and state, and as a consequence, we, in our great nation, developed our curriculum both in public schools and colleges to use books like the textbook of biology by Ken Miller and Joe Levine. In recent years, there is a significant body of new knowledge that supports the view that creation as narrated in Genesis and biological evolution as advocated by Charles Darwin and neo-Darwinist scholars are not mutually exclusive and, if properly interpreted and explained, students need not … Continue reading →

Dr. Lauren Yaich, associate professor of biology, and alumnus John Foerstner will be honored by the University of Pittsburgh at Bradfords Alumni Association during Alumni and Family Weekend Oct. 3-5. Yaich will accept the PBAA Teaching Excellence Award, and Foerstner will receive the Dennis Lowery PBAA Distinguished Volunteer Award. Both will be recognized at the PBAA Awards Brunch and Athletic Hall of Fame Induction at 10:30 a.m. Oct. 5 in the Mukaiyama University Room. The cost is $15 for adults; $6 for children ages 6-12; and free for children 5 and under. For registration, visit the website http://www.upb.alumni.org/afw or call 814-362-5091. Yaich has taught at Pitt-Bradford since 1998. In addition to her work in the classroom, where she teaches cell and molecular biology; genetics; developmental biology; cell biology and special topics, she has served as chairwoman of the Division of Biological and Health Sciences and associate dean of academic affairs. Dr Yaich is an excellent professor and a great person to be viewed as a positive role model for students pursuing biological degrees and jobs, wrote Julia Pesce, who nominated her. She is known on campus for her work to encourage girls and young women to enter STEM (Science, Technology, … Continue reading →