Category Archives: Biology

Biology's need for speed tolerates a few mistakes: Scientists find ... Science Daily In balancing speed and accuracy to duplicate DNA and produce proteins, researchers find evolution determined that speed is favored much more. and more » Here is the original post: Biology's need for speed tolerates a few mistakes: Scientists find ... - Science Daily … Continue reading →

MYSTIC The Mystic Aquarium has received a grant of $241,030 from the National Science Foundation to support a joint program with the University of Connecticuts Department of Marine Sciences at Avery Point. It will be a training session in marine biology for eight students and will run for three summers with a focus on how climate change and ocean acidification. Selected students will receive a stipend, housing, meals and travel allowances. Students will be recruited from minority ethnic groups, particularly American Indians and Alaskan Natives, as well as from schools where STEM research opportunities are limited, said Tracy Romano, chief scientist at the aquarium, who will lead the program with Michael Finiguerra, assistant professor in ecology and evolutionary biology at the university. Mystic Aquarium is the first aquarium in the country to be chosen for such a grant. More information about the program go to http://www.mysticaquarium.org/reu or email tromano@mysticaquarium.org or michael.finiguerra@uconn.edu. Catherine Hewitt From this section: Best-selling childrens author Brandon Mull connects with his fans in Pawcatuck More: Mystic Aquarium receives grant for marine biology training sessions ... - The Westerly Sun … Continue reading →

At a recent meeting, the subject of rampant drug addiction on the Cape came up. One of the men there shared that his grown daughter had died of a drug overdose. In addition to his sadness, he radiated profound guilt because he had been unable to rescue her. Why do our loving pleas so often fall on deaf ears when dealing with addiction? Part of the problem is that our brains are biologically wired in ways that make drugs both seductive and gripping. Not only may the addict have a genetic makeup that makes them more likely to abuse drugs, but their experience with the drug changes their brain in a way that drives intense craving, and difficulty stopping drug use even when the consequences are catastrophic. The molecules in our brains that underlie nervous system function and determine our behavior are invisible to us. Yet, they are critical to all our decisions, including drug-taking. Addiction has a biological basis. Habit-forming drugs, including opiates, alcohol, nicotine, cocaine, and others often act by mimicking our naturally-occurring hormones or neurotransmitters. They physically attach to the target receptor for naturally-occurring neurotransmitters. While the details vary between different drugs of abuse, the consequences of … Continue reading →

fox6now.com Discover the intricate biology, zoology and physiology of the world's ... fox6now.com MILWAUKEE -- Kramp spent the morning at the Milwaukee County Zoo to preview Body Worlds: Animal Inside Out. This special exhibit takes vistors on an ... and more » See the article here: Discover the intricate biology, zoology and physiology of the world's ... - fox6now.com … Continue reading →

As weve already noted, Texas recently concluded its science standards streamlining process and adopted language that supports critical thinking about evolution. At the November Board meeting, Center for Science & Culture Fellow Walter Bradley testified on the importance of inquiry-based science education. Dr. Bradleys testimony is especially powerful because he discusses his own background and how just memorizing stuff the opposite of critical inquiry initially turned him off from biology. I thought I would share this with you. He starts speaking at -3:07:05. You can click on the image at the top to go there and see and hear all of his comments. Excerpt: In reviewing the proposed streamlining, one of the concerns that I had in looking at the things that were being dropped out were things that primarily had to do with critical thinking, scientific reasoning and problem solving. I found that problematic for a very personal reason. When I was in tenth grade I took biology. Biology in those days was taught as sort of a, memorize a zillion details. I memorized all the details and I made a 99 percentile on my biology achievement test and I got invited to go to three different colleges for … Continue reading →

Researchers from Imperial College London report that they have re-engineered baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae)to manufacture penicillin, which, in lab experiments, had antibacterial properties against Streptococcusbacteria. The authors of the study ("Biosynthesis of the Antibiotic Nonribosomal Peptide Penicillin in Baker'sYeast"),which is published inNature Communications, say their new method demonstrates the effectiveness of using this kind of synthetic biology as a route for discovering new antibiotics. This could open up possibilities for using re-engineered yeast cells to develop new forms of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs from nonribosomal peptides such as penicillin, they add. Nonribosomal peptides are normally produced by bacteria and fungi, forming the basis of most antibiotics today. Pharmaceutical companies have long experimented with nonribosomal peptides to make conventional antibiotics. The rise of antimicrobial resistance means there is a need to use genetic engineering techniques to find a new range of antibiotics from bacteria and fungi. However, genetically engineering the more exotic fungi and bacteriathe ones likely to have antibacterial propertiesis challenging because scientists don't have the right tools and they are difficult to grow in a lab environment, requiring special conditions. Baker's yeast cells on the other hand are easy to genetically engineer. Scientists can simply insert DNA from bacteria … Continue reading →

Nauhardt/Thinkstock Sure, the U.S. military has deployed the power of biology and nature before. For instance, the Navy trains dolphins to detect underwater mines. The Army Research Office studies life sciences to find new ways to better soldier protection and performance. And during the Vietnam War, the military experimented with weather manipulation. In recent years, however, the militarymostly under the umbrella of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agencyhas created a new suite of programs that take a very different approach to harnessing the power of nature: synthetic biology. Among other initiatives, researchers at DARPA are attempting to engineer insects to deliver protective genes to plants; to transform bacteria and yeast into factories to produce on-demand chemicals and fuels; and to develop methods to reverse any threats posed by gene drives. (Gene drives are a mechanism, both natural and human-induced, that drives genetic traits through a population, in some instances to suppress a population.) Your Cheat-Sheet Guide to Synthetic Biology What Exactly Is Synthetic Biology? Its Complicated. Can You Patent an Organism? The Synthetic Biology Community Is Divided. The U.S. Regulations for Biotechnology Are Woefully Out of Date Synthetic Biology and Queer Theory Are Cutting Down the Tree of Life You … Continue reading →

From 2008 to 2014 the United States investedaround $820 million in synthetic biology research. About 0.07% as much money went to synthetic biology projects through crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter, Indiegogo, or Experiment.com. Of those crowdfunded projects, the Kickstarter campaign called Glowing Plants was by far the most well-funded. Glowing Plants, like its name suggests, aimed to genetically engineer plants that could light up using the genes from fireflies. After a tenuous four years of alternative funding and backup plans, the goal of making a brightly glowing plant is officially shelved.The question is whether Glowing Plants will continue to be the high mark for crowding funding of synthetic biology or whether there are future successes out there. In 2013, Antony Evans got well overseven times his $65,000crowdfunding goal to engineer plants that light up. The pitchlaid out an ambitious plan for howthis fun glowing plant fit into the promise of synthetic biology. It was nothing like a technical grant proposal that a synthetic biology researcher usually submits for funding. It was selling the idea of a synthetic biology product that you could put on your desk. A fun novelty item thats more play than work. Unfortunately, technical hurdles exist even for … Continue reading →

Magic Mushrooms Mushrooms are our favorite fungi. From savory dishes to surprising video game power-ups we cant seem to get enough of the little things. Whats more interesting, however, is the fact that mushrooms can be far more relevant to our own progress as a society than we imagined. The Neonothopanus gardneri and Neonothopanus nambiare two distinct species of glow-in-the-dark mushroom found in Brazil and Vietnam respectively, that have reshaped our perspective on bioluminescence permanently. While we have a soundunderstanding of insects, sea creatures, and even frogs weve been bemused by bioluminescent fungi until now. Researchers from Russia, Japan, and Brazil have finally pinned down the reason forthe elusive phenomena that are glowing mushrooms. They published their discovery inScience Advances. As most luminousspeciesin our lovely ecosystem, the estimated 80 of about 100,000 mushroom species that produce their own light do so to attract insects that can spread their spores toother places in hopes of colonizing new territories. So now that we know the why, what about the how? Theanswer lies in the aptly named molecule,luciferin, a compound commonin bioluminescent reactions. When this compound reacts with oxygen, the reaction produces oxyluciferin, a light-emitting substance. This electrically charged substance then returns to … Continue reading →

Dr. Les Reed, president of Centra Medial Group, with Katie Ferguson17 and her researchadvisor, Linda Fink of Sweet Briars biology department. Katherine Katie Ferguson 17 has been named the inaugural recipient of a research prize created last year by Centra Health Systems Centra Medical Group through a partnership with Sweet Briar College. Ferguson, a biology major and chemistry minor from Hampstead, N.C., won the 2016 Centra Award for Excellence in Student Scientific Research and Collaborative Innovation for her project Mapping the Density and Distribution of Hydrilla verticillata in Sweet Briar Colleges Lower Lake. Her work was selected by the Colleges Honors Committee, which evaluated proposals submitted by students. Dr. Les Reed, president of Centra Medical Group, presented the $500 prize to Ferguson on campus Wednesday, May 3. President Phil Stone of Sweet Briar officiated the brief ceremony. Centra established the annual award in August 2016 to reward a student researcher from Sweet Briar for a completed project in the areas of science and technology or science and medicine. The company, based in Lynchburg, is a regional health care system serving more than 380,000 people throughout Central and southern Virginia. The prize, according to its mission statement, is part of an … Continue reading →