Category Archives: Biology

UCCs Centre for Research in Vascular Biology has developed a device that promotes the bypass of arterial obstructions, potentially removing the need for major surgery. Worldwide, there are approximately three million open heart coronary bypass and peripheral artery bypass operations each year. These procedures involve major surgery with inherent risks of anaesthesia, ventilation, surgical trauma and potential complications, such as kidney failure and wound infection. Around 20% of all patients requiring surgery are unable to undergo such bypass procedures because of the poor status of their arteries or co-existing illness that would make the risk of surgery too great. Publishing in the latest issue of the prestigious journal Biomaterials, the research project (led by Professor Noel Caplice in UCC with collaborators in the Mayo Clinic, USA) has developed a vascular cell delivery device and tested it successfully in a large animal model with similar sized arteries to humans. The device is inserted via a keyhole procedure through the artery to the site of obstruction and promotes micro-bypass of this obstruction over a four week period. This results in the return of normal heart function and a recovery of full exercise capacity. Professor Noel Caplice, director of the Centre for Research … Continue reading →

Biology Morphology of Flowering Plants part 25 (Aestivation: types) CBSE class 11 XI Biology Morphology of Flowering Plants part 25 (Aestivation: types- vexillary, imbricate, twisted, valvate) CBSE class 11 XI. By: ExamFearVideos … Continue reading →

Biology Department For More Information go to: http://www.mssu.edu/academics/arts-sciences/biology/ By: Missouri Southern State University … Continue reading →

NASA's Space Biology Program will fund 26 proposals to investigate how microbes, cells, plants and animals respond to changes in gravity. The research will be conducted aboard the International Space Station. The research will help uncover new basic knowledge that other NASA researchers and engineers can use to solve problems confronting human exploration of space or that could lead to new biological tools or applications on Earth. Proposals were in response to the NASA Research Announcement (NRA) NHH14ZTT001N, "Spaceflight Research Opportunities in Space Biology." The selected proposals come from 17 institutions in nine states and include 16 principal investigators who will be receiving their first Space Biology grant award. When fully implemented, the grants are worth a total of about $12.6 million during a one- to three-year period. The research will apply 21st-century genetics theories and new tools to study RNA and DNA. The objective is to learn how these building blocks of life regulate and sustain normal health, repair injuries and regulate growth, metabolism, reproduction and development during adaptation to microgravity. The space station will be used as a platform to study the behavior and evolution of microbes and evaluate the effects of long-term spaceflight on additional organisms such … Continue reading →

A study recently published in the journal Carcinogenesis by researchers at the University of Kansas shows a new role for the protein adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) in suppressing colorectal cancer -- the second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S. Lead author Kristi Neufeld, associate professor in the Department of Molecular Biosciences and co-leader of the Cancer Biology program at the KU Cancer Center, has spent the better part of her career trying to understand the various activities of APC, a protein whose functional loss is thought to initiate roughly 80 percent of all colon polyps, a precursor to colon cancer. Neufeld, along with her postdoctoral fellow Maged Zeineldin, undergraduate student Mathew Miller and veterinary pathologist Ruth Sullivan, now reports that APC found in a particular subcellular compartment, the nucleus, protects from inflammation as well as tumor development associated with chronic colitis. Whether APC reaches the nucleus may well affect the ability of intestinal stem cells to produce differentiated cells with specialized functions, Neufeld said. "It's not widely appreciated, but there is still plenty of cell growth going on in adults, with the colon being a good example," she said. "On average, we shed and replace about 70 pounds of … Continue reading →

A 33-year-old University Place high school teacher pleaded guilty Thursday to having sex with a 17-year-old female student. Michael Allen, a biology teacher at Curtis High School, made the guilty plea in Pierce County Superior Court to charges of first-degree sexual misconduct with a minor and violation of a no-contact order. According to court documents, Allen had sex multiple times with the 17-year-old student. After he was arrested and charged, Allen continued to communicate with the victim, ignoring the court's no-contact order. He is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 2. "Our schools should be safe havens," said Prosecutor Mark Lindquist. "This teacher abused the trust of his position and is being held accountable." Court files show that Allen and the victim, who was his teacher's aide, began exchanging phone calls and text messages in January 2014. On Jan. 17, school administrators learned the two were spending time together, and they placed Allen on administrative leave. He was told not to contact the victim. During an internal investigation, administrators reviewed the victim's phone records and found thousands of messages she exchanged with Allen, including after Allen was placed on leave, according to the case file. School administrators contacted the University Place … Continue reading →

A cancer cell: Systems Biology Ireland is designing new therapeutic approaches based on a systems-level, mechanistic understanding of cellular networks Once upon a time, biology meant zoology and botany, the study of animals and plants. The invention of the microscope shifted the emphasis to the level of cells, and more recently the focus has been at the molecular level. Traditionally, the life sciences were attractive for young people who were passionate about science but who disliked mathematics or felt they were not good at it. But mathematics now plays a vital role in biology, and students need mathematical skills. Biological systems are hugely complex, but simple mathematical models can isolate and elucidate key elements and processes and predict crucial aspects of behaviour. Many problems in biology have been solved using mathematics already developed in other areas network analysis, group theory, differential equations, probability, chaos theory and combinatorics but completely new mathematical techniques may be required to solve some tough problems in the life sciences. The shape of a protein is an essential factor in determining its functions. For example, haemoglobin has a complex folded shape that enables it to pick up an oxygen molecule and drop it where it is … Continue reading →

Published: Sunday, August 17, 2014 at 5:10 p.m. Last Modified: Sunday, August 17, 2014 at 5:10 p.m. DAYTONA BEACH The National Science Foundation has awarded a grant of $400,000 to Bethune-Cookman University that will benefit biology students. The grant supports the colleges Targeted Infusion Project: Developing Quantitative Expertise in the Undergraduate Biology Curriculum (QEUBiC). The project is directed by professors Raphael D. Isokpehi, Elizabeth R. Congdon and Katharina C. Wollenberg Valero. The award started Friday runs through July 2017. This grant aligns with our vision to make Bethune-Cookman University a great institution that offers an outstanding education, said B-CU President Dr. Edison O. Jackson. We strive to offer our students a relevant, dynamic education that prepares them for a globalized marketplace. The project at at B-CU seeks to enhance undergraduate education in the biology department by developing a curriculum that focuses on quantitative expertise, Isokpehi said. Students will be taught how to work with large data sets to understand biological systems and to solve problems in biology. Assessment metrics that integrate quantitative literacy, scientific literacy and strategic learning will be developed as part of the overall evaluation of the project, Isokpehi said. Three new biology courses will be created through … Continue reading →

For the first time in the history of engineering studies, we are introducing Biology as a subject for engineers. Science has been the foundation for engineering and has played a great role in its development. In order to provide an insight into health sciences, the academic council decided to introduce Biology for engineers, said K. Mallikharjuna Babu, Principal of BMS College of Engineering, while welcoming the new batch of B.E. and B.Arch students for 2014. The chief guest was B.S. Sonde, former Vice-Chancellor, Goa University. Pulse Jain University, School of Commerce and Management Studies, organised the annual inter-collegiate dance fest Pulse recently. Participants from around 20 colleges from Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai and Pune performed. Actors Satish and Sindhu from the blockbuster movie Lucia and Rakshit Shetty and Aishani Shetty added glamour to the programme. Induction Day The 18th induction day celebrations were organised at the Shirdi Sai Engineering College. The chief guest was S. Ravichandran, AGM, Ashok Leyland Ltd. Sai Prakash Leo Muthu, CEO and Managing Trustee, Sai Ram Group of Institutions, in his presidential address, said these days acquiring an engineering degree is not sufficient; updating the technological knowledge is extremely essential. The chief guest honoured the college and … Continue reading →

Jim Aiken, 71, was hired in 2003 as CEO and president of the Keystone Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology. Since he started, the Symposia has increased the number of annual conferences it holds by about 50 percent to almost 60 per year. Its also grown its footprint. It used to just hold meetings in North Americas resort towns. It has since expanded them to locations across the globe in an effort to improve science and medicine in developing nations and regions. With an annual budget of $15 million, its one of the largest, if not the largest, nonprofit organization in Summit County. Aiken grew up in Vermont. He received a bachelors degree in biology from Dartmouth. He earned a doctorate in pharmacology from University of Vermont and completed his post-doc education at Royal College of Surgeons of England. Hes followed in his fathers footsteps in the fields of public health and art, making him a type of modern Renaissance man. After spending more than three decades as a researcher in the pharmaceutical industry, he found himself drawn to the nonprofit sector. He recently retired from the Symposia, and hes planning to move with his wife to Seattle. But I … Continue reading →