Sama Rakin Michael began as a teaching assistant and is now working on genetically modifying bacteria in a lab that focuses on how bacteria induce the metamorphosis of tubeworms, and how this can inform research to develop therapeutic drugs
A strange phenomenon happens with modern blue whales, humpback whales and gray whales: they have teeth in the womb but are born toothless. Replacing the teeth is baleen, a series of plates composed of thin, hair- and fingernail-like structures growing from the roof of…
Chemists Douglas Grotjahn and Jing Gu will develop catalysts and use microbial fermentation to convert CO2 into chemicals. Microbial biologist Marina Kalyuzhnaya will work on leveraging microbes to consume methane and convert into cell building blocks to produce proteins.
In biology, students manipulate the skull and different bones to get 360º views of human bones in Sandra Garver’s anatomy class, but they’re not in the lab — this is taking place via remote learning. “In five years we’ll look back and wonder how we ever taught without these immersive learning tools.”
Researchers say viral transmission risk is low, even when candies are handled by infected persons, but hand washing and disinfecting collected treats reduces risk even further.
Conservation ecologist and biology professor Rebecca Lewison concurred, observing that COVID-19 has demonstrated that through coordinated action, daunting challenges can be tackled efficiently.
