Category: 2017-18

Figure 1. Brood of chickens frolicking in a pen house
2017-18

Fighting the Avian Leukosis Virus through Genome Modification

By Matthew Lee ’21 The avian leukosis virus subgroup J (ALV-J) has plagued the poultry industry since being recognized about 30 years ago. The economic hardships caused by decreases in poultry yield makes developing resistance mechanisms a topic of interest. Recently, a team led by Hong Jo Lee from Seoul National University decided to take the novel approach of editing the chicken genome in order … Continue reading Fighting the Avian Leukosis Virus through Genome Modification

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Caption: Glioblastoma cells stained for GFAP proteins.
2017-18

New Study Shows that Sinomenine Hydrochloride Inhibits Human Glioblastoma Cell Growth

By Melvin Li ’20 Glioblastomas are among the most malignant brain tumors. People diagnosed with them, typically do not have many options for treatment due to the tumors’ abilities to resist apoptosis, or cell death. The tumors tend to grow quickly and are very aggressive; due to the amount of blood supplied to the brain, tumor cells get ample nutrients and growth factors to proliferate. … Continue reading New Study Shows that Sinomenine Hydrochloride Inhibits Human Glioblastoma Cell Growth

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Caption: A diagram of the intersections between math and English skills.
2017-18

Do Math Skills predict English Skills?

By Ramanjot Singh ’20 Previous studies have been performed that detail the predictive power that mathematic assessments of children at an early age has on their future literacy skills and vice versa. However, the body of research primarily focuses on the progression of literacy skill development rather than assessing them at a specific time point later into the children’s’ lives. This study performed by Dr. … Continue reading Do Math Skills predict English Skills?

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Figure 1. MicroRNAs, miR25 and miR93, allow tumor growth by silencing cGAS resulting in suppression of immune functions.
2017-18

Micro RNA Protect Tumor Cells by Suppressing the Immune System

By Meghan Bialt-DeCelie ‘19 Cancer can thrive and spread because of its ability to inactivate immune cells and prevent the production of molecules that help in tumor recognition and suppression. Cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) is a molecule that would typically be produced in order to signal an immune response in the presence of a tumor. Under the low oxygen microenvironment of a tumor, however, there … Continue reading Micro RNA Protect Tumor Cells by Suppressing the Immune System

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Figure 1. Researchers assess the effects and pathways of tattoo pigments in human skin and lymph nodes.
2017-18

Safety of Tattoo Pigment

By Meghan Bialt-DeCelie ‘19 The safety of tattoo pigments and its pathways in the body has rarely been investigated. Researchers, led by Dr. Ines Schreiver from the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, used X-ray fluorescence (XRF) to explore the biokinetics involved in tattoo pigments in the human skin at the micro and nano scale. Tattoo pigments can be comprised of organic compounds, heavy metals … Continue reading Safety of Tattoo Pigment

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2017-18

Long Non-Coding RNA’s Role in Drought Resistance

By Meghan Bialt-DeCelie ’19 With the changing environment due to Global Climate Change, sustaining renewable resources such as crops is more important than ever. The changing climate affects the frequency of droughts and high salinity in fertile lands. These issues motivated researchers to investigate methods of increasing plant resistance to these stresses. Researchers from the Texas A&M Research Center, led by Dr. Qin, were able … Continue reading Long Non-Coding RNA’s Role in Drought Resistance

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Figure 1: The poison frog, Ameerega bassleri, is one of the three studied lineages of frogs that evolved resistance to epibatidine, a toxin lethal in microgram-doses.
2017-18

Poison Frogs: Evolution of Epibatidine Resistance

Gene Yang ‘19 Animals that use toxins as anti-predator defense usually evolve a method of resistance, often at a high physiological cost, to prevent self-intoxication. Poisonous frogs, a broad polyphyletic group within the order Anura, often use one such method known as target site insensitivity, which is the alteration of the molecular target of the toxin to disallow the toxin from binding. Researchers from University … Continue reading Poison Frogs: Evolution of Epibatidine Resistance

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Figure 1. 3D render of the characteristic double helix structure of DNA. Although genes can now be easily identified and sequenced, knowledge of how nucleus structure affects gene regulation remain incomplete.
2017-18

An Alternative Method to Understanding Nucleus Structure and Gene Expression

Gene Yang ‘19 Rapid growth of DNA sequencing technology in recent years has led to a wealth of data and the ability to easily identify genes and regulatory regions. However, our understanding of gene expression control, especially through long distances of several kilobases or megabases, remains limited.  As a result, the 4D Nucleome Project, an ongoing research initiative funded by the National Institutes of Health … Continue reading An Alternative Method to Understanding Nucleus Structure and Gene Expression

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Figure 1. Biologists find visual impairments in a kiwi population that lead them to believe that vision is unrelated to kiwi survival.
2017-18

Free-Living Blind Bird Population Observed for the First Time

Gene Yang ‘19 Researchers of UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, in collaboration with New Zealand ornithologists, have observed multiple blind, healthy birds existing in a free-living avian population. These organisms from the genus Apteryx, commonly known as kiwis, are flightless birds native to New Zealand. Although kiwis are predominantly nocturnal, unlike most nocturnal bird species, they do not possess the notable characteristics in their … Continue reading Free-Living Blind Bird Population Observed for the First Time

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Figure 1. Reduced insulin signaling maintains “youthful” response in aging flies and can potentially prevent age-related neuronal decline.
2017-18

Reduced Insulin Levels Can Prolong Neuron Longevity

By Maryna Mullerman ’20 Reduced insulin-like signaling (IIS) can lead to diabetes and damage of neuronal function in metabolism. However, chronically lowered insulin/insulin-like growth factor (IGF) may improve neurodegenerative disease defects. Hrvoje Augustin and researchers at University College London analyzed the escape response mechanism of the fly Drosophila melanogaster and the effects of genetically weakened insulin signaling on this model. This was done to explore … Continue reading Reduced Insulin Levels Can Prolong Neuron Longevity

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Figure 1. Human viability depends on many genetic variants, including those of evolutionary importance.
2017-18

What Affects Human Viability?

By Maryna Mullerman ’20 Human viability is the survival of individuals after birth, and more research is needed to understand how associated genetic factors affect human survival and life expectancy. Dr. Hakhamanesh Mostafavi and researchers at Columbia University in New York developed a method to recognize genetic variants that influence human survival. The proposed method would provide information about human fitness in the environment and … Continue reading What Affects Human Viability?

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Figure 1. A honeybee larva can either become a queen or a worker bee depending on the food and nutrients it consumes.
2017-18

The Role of Plant RNA in Honeybee Caste Development and Evolution

By Maryna Mullerman ’20 Doctor Kegan Zhu and researchers from Nanjing University in China investigated the effects of plant microRNAs (miRNAs) on larval development and differentiation in honeybees. The study’s results provide another approach to the understanding of co-evolution of different species and cross-kingdom interactions. The researchers hypothesized that miRNAs from different sources affected larval development. They recognized that plant miRNAs could be ingested by … Continue reading The Role of Plant RNA in Honeybee Caste Development and Evolution

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