Monthly Archives: January 2020

Anatomy

Greys Anatomy season 16 episode 11 preview: The father of Amelias baby is – Culturess

After years of facing hardship and heartbreak on Greys Anatomy(and before that,Private Practice), Amelia finally found hope in the form of a surprise pregnancy.

Even though fans hoped the situation would progress without complications its hard not to love Link, after all if youve watchedGreys for a while, you know smooth sailing always takes a back seat to drama.

So far, Amelias pregnancy seems to be going smoothly unless you count the fact that Link might not be the father. Even worse still, Owen might hold that title instead.

The good news is, Amelia doesnt seem to have any desire to drag this drama out the same way she thankfully didnt wait to tell Link about the baby in the first place. In this weeks upcoming episode, it appears shes actually going to speak up.

At least, thats what the brief preview leads us to believe. Watch it below:

She doesnt say he definitely isnt the father because at this point, even she isnt sure. She says he might not be. Which technically means he still could be. Which means the entire fandoms worries and subtle threats to quit the show if Owen turns out to be the father are going exactly according to the showrunners plan.

There is still a chance Link really is the father after all, and this is just a curveball thats supposed to add more romantic drama to the season.

Will the episode even the season end up with Teddy and Owen getting their happily ever after, while Amelia and Link commit to each other for good for real? Maybe not.Greys never keeps even fan-favorite couples truly happy for long.

But there are still months worth of episodes to finish out what may or may not be the final season. Anything could happen. A major pregnancy complication could arise. Something could happen to Link. Owen could completely fail as a partner (again). Teddy could cheat on Owen with Tom (fingers crossed this doesnt happen, but it could).

One things for sure (judging by YouTube comments alone): Fans do not want Owen to be the father. The Owen/Teddy/Amelia love triangle (is it a love square if you include Tom?) isnt juicy and exciting anymore. Its gone on a little too long. Which means this is the season it might finally resolve, in some way or another, for good.

Creating drama inside and outside the show in this regard is hardly accidental, of course. They could have easily kept Amelia and Link on their own happy-parents-to-be island for the rest of the season without this hiccup. But anything for the drama, right?

Judging by the fight Owen and Teddy are probably about to have, its likely safe to assume there arent going to be many happy couples left by the time this weeks episode airs its final moments.

See the article here:
Greys Anatomy season 16 episode 11 preview: The father of Amelias baby is - Culturess

Biochemistry

Plant and animal cells have same sense of direction – Mirage News

An ancient protein that is involved in cell division and is crucial to growth, development, and even the prevention of cancer turns out to be almost identical in plants and animals. This has been discovered by WUR biochemists together with colleagues in Cambridge. Their findings will be published in the leading journal Cell on 30 January.

Cells of common liverwort (Marchantia polymorphade). The soseki protein which tells the cell things like which way is up and which way is down, is found in the corner of the cells. Dolf Weijers.

For normal cell division, the cell needs to know where its top, bottom, front, back, inside and outside is in relation to the other cells around it. This is crucial to the growth and development of a plant or animal, says Dolf Weijers, chair at Biochemistry. Otherwise a plant wont grow any leaves, or an embryo wont develop. And uncontrolled cell division leads to cancer.

Mystery

Relatively, quite a lot is known about the development of this sense of direction called cell polarity in animal cells. But in the case of plants, it has long been shrouded in mystery. Weijers is working on solving that mystery. He had a major breakthrough last year when he and his group discovered a new set of proteins that tell the cell what the poles of the compass are. They called them soseki or compass proteins. Soseki is Japanese for cornerstone, appropriate as the proteins are found in the corners of the cells.

Our research shows that the biochemical basis for directing cell polarity in plants and animals is the same

At leasr 450 milion years old

We used to think cell polarity was organized differently in animals and plants, says Weijers. Meanwhile, we have discovered that all land plants, even the oldest liverworts, use the same system with compass proteins. That makes it at least 50 million years old! Even more importantly, the researchers discovered that the compass proteins in plants look and behave very like a compass protein in fruit flies and humans.

They swapped around parts of the plant and animal proteins, and what happened? The proteins worked fine. Multicellularity evolved in plants and animals independently of each other, says Weijers. But it turns out there are many similarities. Our research shows that the biochemical basis for directing cell polarity in plants and animals is the same. The origin of this process can be traced back to the last common ancestor of both plants and animals. So it has not come into existence several times during the course of evolution, as we used to believe.

Cancer research

This has important implications, says Weijers. Studies on polarity in plants and animals used to be two separate worlds, but turn out to have a common denominator. This fundamental knowledge opens up new possibilities. We always assumed that this system was unique to animal cells, but now we know that one of the proteins that plays a role in the development of cancer has a function in plants as well. That means we might be able to study certain aspects of the development of cancer, or medicines against it, in plants. But we are not that far yet.

Follow-up

At the beginning of 2019, Weijers bagged an Advanced Grant worth 2-5 million euros from the European Research Council (ERC). He and his team are using that money to gain a fuller understanding of the way the plant compass works. We know that the proteins can steer the direction in which the cell divides. Now we want to study how it all fits together. We dont know, for example, what kind of signal is given off through the compass protein, and how exactly that translates into cell division. That is a big adventure because it is largely unexplored territory. TL

Read more from the original source:
Plant and animal cells have same sense of direction - Mirage News

Biochemistry

UVA Honors Its Leading Researchers at Boar’s Head Banquet – University of Virginia

The University of Virginias top leaders gathered Wednesday evening at the Boars Head Resort to honor faculty members from across Grounds for their outstanding contributions to their fields of study and societal impact through their research and scholarly activities.

University of Virginia President Jim Ryan presented the 2019 Research Achievement Awards to 13 UVA faculty members at the dinner event.

This is the first year of the Research Achievement Awards, Vice President for Research Melur Ram Ramasubramanian said. We believe that as a university, we are what we celebrate. We want to acknowledge the talented UVA faculty who are leaders in their fields and are impacting the world in positive ways.

Provost Elizabeth Liz Magill said, Were delighted to have a chance to celebrate the accomplishments and achievements of our faculty. From education policy to precision medicine to police-community relations, there are many different fields and individuals being honored by these awards.

Im awed and immensely grateful for the contributions the award winners have made to their respective fields and to the University of Virginia, Ryan said. Our strategic plan focuses a good deal of attention on supporting research. ... Our ultimate goal is to make it possible for researchers at UVA to do their very best work.

The awards covered excellence in research, collaboration, mentorship, public impact and innovation.

Pompano arrived at UVA in 2014 and assembled a robust research team in her lab. Pursuing new technologies and new questions, she is developing new approaches to study immunity. In the areas of immunoanalysis and immunoenineering, she is working to map out cellular activity in live tissues. Her group was recently awarded a large grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop an artificial lymph node on a microfluidic chip.

Dr. Pompano chose the road less travelled by pursuing entirely new technologies and questions, rather than the safer route of building on the experiences from her Ph.D. or postdoc work, Jill Venton, chair of the Department of Chemistry, said. This strategy required spending the first 2.5 years of her professorship laying new groundwork. Dr. Pompano is a research leader in the fields of analytical chemistry and immunoengineering.

Bassoks work is in early childhood education, and her focus has been to find a way for it to both meet high standards and make a difference in the lives of young children. To do this, she has partnered with policymakers and school districts in Virginia and Louisiana to study how early childhood education opportunities can happen at scale.

In the past four years, her work has accelerated. She has published 16 articles and received more than $6 million in grant funding. In 2017, Bassok was honored with the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.

Daphna Bassok has raised the bar for the field and will motivate other scholars to do more insightful and rigorous work, said Katherine Magnuson, director of UVAs Institute for Research on Poverty.

Alhusens research focuses on improving maternal and early infant health outcomes for disabled women and women living in poverty. Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Health Resources and Services Administration and numerous foundations, and the goal of her work is to provide higher quality care to vulnerable populations.

She has received numerous awards for her work, including the Southern Nursing Research Society Early Science Investigator Award; the Association of Womens Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses Award for Excellence in Research; and School of Nursings Faculty Research Mentor Award.

Walsh is Lockhart B. McGuire Professor of Internal Medicine and directs the School of Medicines Hematovascular Biology Center. His research is focused on clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential, or CHIP.

In his lab, he is looking at how mutations in blood cells lead to chronic diseases like heart attack and stroke. Through precision medicine, he is identifying and combatting the out-of-control multiplying process in these mutations to fight age-related diseases, as well as blood cancers like leukemia.

Walsh has published more than 350 scientific articles and he is the recipient of multiple research grants from the National Institutes of Health, including a MERIT Award. In 2011, the American Heart Association designated him a Distinguished Scientist by for his contributions to cardiovascular research.

Throughout his career, Scullys research, scholarship and teaching have focused on the science of how corrosion occurs and the engineering required to prevent it. He has conducted research and collaborated with scientists around the world in numerous industries such as energy, transportation, infrastructure, aerospace, maritime and microelectronics.

His projects include two U.S. Department of Energy Energy Frontier Research centers, two Department of Defense multi-university research initiatives, as well as grants from the National Science Foundation, PPG Industries and Axalta (formerly DuPont), and the U.S. Office of the Undersecretary of Defense.

Scully, the Charles Henderson Chaired Professor and chair of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, also co-directs the Center for Electrochemical Science and Engineering, one of the leading centers in the world focusing on materials degradation. The center has generated more than $30 million in research funding in the last 10 years and graduates on average four to five Ph.D. students per year.

Scully is technical editor in chief of CORROSION, The Journal of Science and Engineering, the premier international research journal for the field. He serves in several capacities as an ambassador for the materials-corrosion field, including several meetings to debrief the U.S. Congress on materials degradation issues of national importance.

John Scullys contributions to corrosion can be characterized by quality, quantity and longevity, said Gerald S. Frankel, Ohio State University distinguished professor in materials science and engineering and a member of CORROSIONs editorial board. It is clear that he is a world leader, if not the world leader, in metal passivity, passivity breakdown and localized corrosion, and stress corrosion cracking.

In more his more than 20 years at UVA, Lambert has advanced the science of risk analysis and systems engineering. He has led more than 60 projects related to advanced logistics systems for a total of approximately $25 million in research funding.

Lambert, a professor in the Department of Engineering Systems and Environment, has focused on the disruption of system priorities by emergent and future conditions, including technologies, regulations, markets, environments, behaviors and missions. His work has been applied to disaster resilience, energy infrastructure, coastal protection, economic development, transportation, biofuels and Olympics planning, among other challenges.

His research has been cited more than 5,000 times across more than 200 publications. In 2019, he chaired the Fifth World Congress on Risk, convening more than 300 scientists in Cape Town, South Africa.

Professor Lambert is among the most accomplished and respected scientists of systems engineering and risk analysis in the world today, said Igor Linkov, Risk and Decision Science Team Lead for the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center. Lambert in his research invented the application of scenario-based preferences in risk analysis.

Connelly, Morris and Grossman worked together on a multi-disciplinary project to examine how early life experiences affect the brain and social behaviors. The team studies the brain, as well as social and cognitive development, during the first two years of life, focusing on oxytocin and its role in social behavior. Their research has helped to illuminate gaps in our knowledge about behavioral development in humans, and helps us better understand healthy and atypical development.

They received a National Science Foundation Research Award in 2017 for their cutting-edge approach in combining epigenetic, neuroscience and behavioral methods across their three labs, and their work has led to several publications.

Moore is a busy physician-scientist with his own lab, and has recently become the division chief of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, & Nutrition at UVA. He also co-wrote the application for a Trans-University Microbiome Initiative grant, which was funded last year by the Universitys Strategic Investment Fund in an effort to make UVA a center for microbiome research. But that has not stopped him from repeatedly aiding his colleagues and providing them with key resources when they needed them.

Three colleagues joined forces to nominate Moore for the mentorship award, mentioning his critical support, his generous sponsorship and advice, and his guidance as they dealt with grant applications and the logistics of their first accepted grants. Moore went above and beyond, donating lab space and reaching out to his networks to help them make the connections and give them a leg up in their careers.

Williams only arrived at Batten two years ago, but after the violent Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville in August 2017 he was able to immediately show the value of his research and public service engagement to the University community.

Starting before he came to the University, he has spent two decades doing research in the field on police-community relations around racial profiling, community policing and the need for law enforcement officers to work with their community on issues of public safety. In all his work, he strives to make an impact on communities by building relationships and tackling problems wherever they crop up.

Dr. Williams consistently uses his knowledge, experience and passion for the good of our city, Mindy Goodall, executive director of the Charlottesville Police Foundation, said. Charlottesville is fortunate to have gained him as a citizen and champion of police and community reconciliation.

The award for Innovator of the Year was presented to Dillingham and Ingersoll for their creation of PositiveLinks, an application designed to improve health outcomes and care for people living with HIV. They will give deliver a keynote lecture Feb. 18 in the Rotunda Dome Room.

Other researchers (in alphabetical order by school) were honored for being the top 25 in sponsored funding, top cited, national award winners, named to a national academy, or named as an outstanding researcher for their school:

Timothy Beatley, PlanningBarbara Brown Wilson, PlanningMona El Khafif, Urban & Environmental Planning

Jessica Connelly, PsychologyRita F. Dove, EnglishKevin Everson, ArtTobias Grossman, PsychologyL. Ilse Cleeves, AstronomyNitya Kallivayalil, AstronomyLee M. Lockwood, EconomicsJames P. Morris, PsychologyKen Ono, MathematicsRebecca R. Pompano, ChemistryMarilyne Stains, ChemistryAlan S. Taylor, History

Christopher Barrett, Director

David G. Mick, Marketing

Derrick P. Alridge, Leadership, Foundations and PolicyDaphna Bassok, Leadership, Foundations and PolicyRobert Q. Berry, Instruction and Special EducationCatherine Bradshaw, Human ServicesBenjamin L. Castleman, Leadership, Foundations and PolicyNancy L. Deutsch, Youth-NexJason Downer, Human ServicesSara E. Rimm-Kaufman, Leadership, Foundations and PolicyWilliam J. Therrien, Instruction and Special EducationArt Weltman, KinesiologyJoanna Lee Williams, Leadership, Foundations and PolicyAmada P. Williford, Human Services

Thomas H. Barker, Biomedical EngineeringHilary Bart-Smith, Mechanical and Aerospace EngineeringCraig H. Benson, Environmental EngineeringSteven M. Bowers, Electrical and Computer EngineeringJames T. Burns, Material ScienceBenton H. Calhoun, Electrical and Computer EngineeringJoe C. Campbell, Electrical and Computer EngineeringGeorge J. Christ, Biomedical EngineeringJason L. Forman, Center for Applied BiomechanicsJeffery W. Holmes, Biomedical EngineeringPatrick E. Hopkins, Mechanical and Aerospace EngineeringKevin A. Janes, Biomedical EngineeringJames H. Lambert, Systems and EnvironmentXiaodong (Chris) Li, Mechanical and Aerospace EngineeringPamela M. Norris, Mechanical and Aerospace EngineeringElizabeth J. Opila, Material ScienceMatthew B. Panzer, Mechanical and Aerospace EngineeringJohn R. Scully, Material ScienceKevin Skadron, Computer ScienceMary Lou Soffa, Computer ScienceJohn A. Stankovic, Computer ScienceMalathi Veeraraghavan, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Brian N. Williams, Public PolicyJay Shimshack, Research Dean

Jayakrishna Ambati, OphthalmologyRuth Bernheim, Public Health SciencesAlison K. Criss, Microbiology /GIDIRebecca Dillingham, Infectious DiseasesLinda R. Duska, Obstetrics/Gynecology OncologyAnindya Dutta, Biochemistry/Molecular GeneticsW. Jeff Elias, NeurosurgeryEdward H. Egelman, Biochemistry/Molecular GeneticsRobin A. Felder, Clinical PathologyEric R. Houpt, Infectious DiseasesKaren Ingersoll, Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral SciencesKaren C. Johnston, NeurologyJaideep Kapur, NeurologyAnne K. Kenworthy, Molecular Physics and BiophysicsJonathan Kipnis, NeuroscienceRobert C. Klesges, Public Health SciencesBoris P. Kovatchev, Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral SciencesThomas P. Loughran, Oncology and MedicineColeen A. McNamara, Internal and Cardiovascular MedicineWladek Minor, Molecular Physics and BiophysicsSean R. Moore, PediatricsJames P. Nataro, PediatricsImre Noth, Internal and Pulmonary MedicineMark D. Okusa, NephrologyGary K. Owens, Cardiovascular Research, Molecular Physiology and Biological PhysicsKevin A. Pelphrey, NeurologyWilliam A. Petri, Internal Medicine and Infectious DiseasesKodi S. Ravichandran, MicrobiologyPatricio E. Ray, PediatricsStephen S. Rich, Public Health SciencesLukas K. Tamm, Molecular Physics and BiophysicsGregory C. Townsend, Internal Medicine and Infectious DiseasesKenneth Walsh, Internal and Cardiovascular MedicineKatharine Hsu Wibberly, Public Health SciencesMichael C. Wiener, Molecular Physics and BiophysicsMark Yeager, Molecular Physics and BiophysicsJames C. Zimring, Pathology

Jeanne L. Alhusen, Nursing

See more here:
UVA Honors Its Leading Researchers at Boar's Head Banquet - University of Virginia

Biochemistry

2020 Emerging Scholars: Dr. Cathy Wong – Diverse: Issues in Higher Education

January 30, 2020 | :

As Dr. Cathy Wong tells it, she stumbled into her career in academia after she walked into a lab and saw how colorful the lasers were.

I thought this could be really fun, says Wong, who uses lasers to study how material interacts with light and solar cells. Her research, which uses physical chemistry to research material synthesis, has longstanding implications, including responding to the worlds energy crisis.

Dr. Cathy Wong

As an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Oregon, Wong spends much of her time helping undergraduate juniors and seniors as well as graduate students develop passion for scientific research.

I kind of always knew I wanted teaching to be part of my work, says Wong, who earned her bachelors degree in biological chemistry from McMaster University in Toronto and her Ph.D. in 2011 from the University of Toronto. She later completed a postdoctoral degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Having grown up in Toronto where ethnic differences are often celebrated, embracing diversity has been a hallmark of Wongs career. Unlike her hometown, the city of Eugene, where the University of Oregon is situated, is less racially diverse, meaning that Wong who hopes to come up for tenure in a little less than two years has made it her priority to help students develop a sense of belonging and connection to the university.

In the classroom, Wongs work largely focuses on helping design physical chemistry labs and teaching students how to build microscopes and write lab reports skills she says will prove useful in their future careers.

Though she works with science majors, she teaches a section of physical chemistry that requires heavy math skills that often create anxiety among her students.

Some are apprehensive, she says. I reassure them, you can do it even if it is complicated and overwhelming.

Clarity, Wong says, is essential to teaching in the sciences.

My philosophy of teaching and communication about science in general is not just to sound smart but to be as clear as possible, even if that means simplifying sometimes, she says. This way you bring everyone along and everyone can be engaged.

In this regard, Wong has been lauded for her teaching and research. Last year, she was named the recipient of a Career Award by the National Science Foundation. These awards are given to support early career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization.

Those who know her say that Wong has been a leader in working tirelessly to increase the diversity of the graduate student population within a state that is itself not racially diverse.

Wong currently serves as the faculty sponsor for a student group, Community for Minorities in STEM (CMiS), that aims to retain students in racial minority groups. This group organizes social and professional development activities that aim to foster community among underrepresented graduate students, battle imposter syndrome and improve retention rates.

Wong also founded a program called Peer Recruitment In Science & Math (PRISM) that enables underrepresented graduate students to give research seminars at colleges that serve a large percentage of minority students.

By giving the undergraduate students an example of a near-peer who has succeeded in graduate school, the program aims to inspire more underrepresented minority undergraduates to pursue graduate studies, says Dr. Naomi Ginsberg, an associate professor of chemistry at the UC Berkeley and one of Wongs career mentors. The program has been highly effective in increasing the number of applicants to the graduate program at UO from underrepresented groups.

Wong says that she has enjoyed her time in the classroom and that her understanding of the academy has evolved over time.

When I started out, I had no idea how universities really worked, she says with a laugh. Now that Ive been here, I see that there are great opportunities to have a voice and help to effect change.

Dr. Cathy Wong

Title: Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Oregon

Education: Bachelors degree, McMaster University, Biological Chemistry; Ph.D., University of Toronto, Physical Chemistry

Age: 38

Career mentors: Dr. Greg Scholes, University of Toronto; Dr. Naomi Ginsberg, UC Berkeley

Words of wisdom/advice for new faculty members: Youre going to be asked to do a lot of things and its important to say no to some and reserve the time for those things that you really care about and that matters most to you and your department. Also, seek out career mentors who can help guide you along the way.

This article appeared in the January 23, 2020 edition of Diverse.

This is one in a series of profiles about this years 2020 Emerging Scholars. Read about all of them here.

See original here:
2020 Emerging Scholars: Dr. Cathy Wong - Diverse: Issues in Higher Education

Biochemistry

Researchers discover how CDK8 oncogene gets activated in healthy humans – News-Medical.net

Most cancers are caused by a large variety of factors that vary from one person to another. To unravel this complexity, genes that contribute to the development of a respective cancer must be identified. Such genes are called oncogenes. A good example of an oncogene is CDK8: Cyclin-dependent kinase 8. Misregulated CDK8 is an important factor in the development of colon, breast and skin cancer. Hence, in recent years considerable efforts have been undertaken to develop drugs that specifically target CDK8 and that do not affect other molecules that are closely related to CDK8, but are essential for the survival of human cells. A research team at the University of Bayreuth led by biochemist Dr. Claus-D. Kuhn has now discovered how CDK8 is activated in healthy humans. The research results are published in the journal 'Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U.S.A.'. Apart from novel basic biochemical insights, the presented results suggest a new method by which CDK8-specific inhibitors could be developed in future.

The research team was mainly interested in how the oncogene CDK8 is activated in healthy cells. "One important aspect is that CDK8 does not occur in our cells as an individual molecule, but always in a complex with three partners. As part of this complex, CDK8 has completely different properties, which is why it is essential to investigate CDK8 as part of this complex", explains the first author of the study, the Bayreuth graduate student Felix Klatt. Using structural biochemistry - coupled with systems biology - the research team deciphered how CDK8 is activated by two of the three partners, Cyclin C and MED12. They demonstrated that just a tiny part of MED12 is responsible for activating CDK8. Due to its structure, the Bayreuth scientists named this part 'MED12 activation helix'.

"After we discovered the 'MED12 activation helix', we were very surprised to find a large number of mutations associated with uterine fibroids, breast cancer and chronic lymphatic leukemia in this very area", reports Dr. Claus-D. Kuhn, head of the Bayreuth research team 'Gene Regulation by Non-coding RNA', which is part of the Elite Network of Bavaria. "To be honest, the extent of agreement between our basic biochemical research and the sequence analysis of human tumours was unexpected." Through subsequent biochemical experiments, his team was able to show that the mutations do not lead to a destabilization of the CDK8-containing complex, as previously suspected. Rather, there is a spatial rearrangement of the 'MED12 activation helix' within the complex, which leads to an abnormally reduced activity of CDK8 - a condition that most likely contributes to tumor development.

Binding of MED12 to CDK8 not only changes its activity, it also changes the active site of the enzyme CDK8. (By way of explanation: CDK8 is a so-called kinase, i.e. it modifies various target molecules with phosphate groups that are important for the cell's gene reading machinery). As Dr. Claus-D. Kuhn's research group was able to show, this structural change leads to a situation in which so-called type II kinase inhibitors no longer bind effectively to CDK8 and inhibit it. "Conversely, this means that all future attempts to inhibit CDK8 must at least focus on triple complexes of CDK8, Cyclin C and MED12. If, as has happened in the past, inhibitors are developed only against CDK8 in complex with Cyclin C, the resulting compounds are very likely ineffective against CDK8 in human cells", concludes Dr. Claus-D. Kuhn.

Source:

Journal reference:

Klatt, F. et al. (2020) A precisely positioned MED12 activation helix stimulates CDK8 kinase activity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1917635117

Go here to read the rest:
Researchers discover how CDK8 oncogene gets activated in healthy humans - News-Medical.net

Human Behavior

IIC goals: A pathway for William & Mary students to address conservation issues on the ground – William & Mary News

The leaders of William & Marys Institute for Integrative Conservation envision their nascent enterprise as a smooth pathway to the empowerment of students with the knowledge and skills to engage in the knotty environmental issues of the 21st century.

John Swaddle expects the IIC to have its own undergraduate curriculum in about three years. Hes already talking about adding a graduate certificate.

But Swaddle stresses that the Institute is not a strictly academic endeavor. A major aspect will be developing research collaborations with external organizations.

Theyre going to be conservation NGOs, largely, he said. A big goal is to put William & Mary faculty, staff and students in positions where they can make positive contributions to conservation on the ground.

Swaddle, a behavioral biologist, will serve as faculty director of the IIC. Rob Rose, who heads William & Marys Center for Geospatial Analysis, is the institutes executive director. The IIC was launched in late 2019, supported by a $19.3 million gift from an anonymous alumna donor as part of the universitys For the Bold fundraising campaign.

The IIC will move into quarters on the second floor of the universitys recently acquired property at 332 N. Henry St. in Williamsburg once its renovated. But Swaddle and Rose arent waiting for their new quarters to start the Institutes work.

Rose noted that they have already forged some collaborations, including partnership agreements with Conservation International. CI is an Arlington-based environmental organization that focuses on human interactions with natural ecosystems.

We've been working with Conservation International already and we're going to have some student internships with CI this summer, Rose said.

He cited an example: a set of internships centered around zero-deforestation commitments, promises made by corporations that deal in extractive resources.

For example, companies that are growing palm oil in Indonesia issue these zero deforestation commitments, Rose explained. I had students that were looking at this as part of a class project. We've now connected them to Conservation International and well be able to do this on a bigger scale, seeing how these commitments play out in the field.

Many of the IIC collaborations will have a broad focus, addressing not only conservation issues, but also related economic, land rights and social questions, as in the palm oil collaboration. Therefore, the focus of the IIC mission is necessarily interdisciplinary and it falls directly under the aegis of William & Marys chief academic officer Provost Peggy Agouris.

The reason for the word integrative is that we want to take a different approach to conservation, Swaddle explained. Traditionally it's been centered in the sciences. We want to take a much broader view of conservation and build in business processes, strategic leadership, and the rights of indigenous peoples, as many conservation problems stem from the conflict involving economic development in developing nations.

Swaddle said the curriculum will be developed within the next three years. The curriculum will include traditional conservation-oriented subjects such as biology, geology and data science. He added that there will be a significant technological component.

Theres so much information out there, he noted. How can that information be converted and used in ways that make sense for conservation action?

The IIC coursework also will include training in finance, accounting and business practices, especially as they pertain to NGO operation. Other aspects will include international environmental law. Another important component will be an understanding of indigenous cultures.

Because a lot of effective and sustainable conservation action is really about influencing collective human behavior. It's not only about focusing on the wildlife or even the habitat itself, Swaddle said. It's about sustaining communities in environmentally sensitive localities.

Continue reading here:
IIC goals: A pathway for William & Mary students to address conservation issues on the ground - William & Mary News

Human Behavior

Have that gnawing feeling youre not alone? Heres how to rid your home of rodents – The Boston Globe

The holidays are over, the Patriots lost their chance at the Super Bowl, and youre probably settling into the fact that its cold and theres not much to look forward to. Perhaps youre also realizing that youre not the only one seeking refuge from the frigid outdoor conditions.

Bill Horgan, president of Debug Pest Control, which serves residential and commercial spaces throughout Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Eastern Connecticut, draws similarities between rodent and human behavior. Rodents typically come into the home during late fall and winter for the same reasons we spend more time inside. Its cold! he said.

Mice and rats have very similar, notoriously fast breeding cycles. According to Terminixs article titled The Life Cycle of a Mouse, just one female mouse in your home can average between 25 and 60 offspring in a single year. Rodent infestations quickly grow out of control the gestation period is just 19 to 21 days, according to the report and that same rodent is able to mate immediately after giving birth. At just 21 days old, the pups are already chewing through your possessions in search of food and nesting materials. Merely two weeks after that, the female pups will start producing pups of their own.

This swift maturation and breeding process illustrates how things get out of hand. In addition to rapidly multiplying, the natural lifespan of rodents can triple in length when living indoors and away from predators supporting many of them in their quest to continue this process for up to three years, Terminix reported.

In a year, one mouse will produce approximately 18,000 fecal droppings, according to the Indiana State Department of Health. Aside from just being gross, rodents can directly transmit numerous diseases, including hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, leptospirosis, plague, rat-bite fever, and salmonellosis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

John Bozarjian, owner of B & B Pest Control of Lynn and South Boston, said no property is immune to a rodent infestation.

Every property is susceptible in any town or city. Rodents dont discriminate. If there is shelter and food and a way in, they are going to try and get in, he said. B & B Pest Control receives numerous calls every day throughout Boston for issues with mice and rats, but mice problems are by far the number one pest issue, and theyre significantly smaller and easier to trap than rats, he said.

Bozarjian finds that older fieldstone foundations, crumbling structures, and old doors with gaps are more susceptible. Horgan emphasizes that ideal conditions draw the rodents to your home. If theres a food source nearby, then rodents will love to live there. Shelter and food in the same place is the ultimate jackpot.

The specialists offered tips for keeping rodents out of your home:

Bozarjian recommends searching your foundation for potential points of entry: If you find [a gap or hole in your foundation], we recommend sealing it up or calling a contractor to help do so. He also reminds us that if you can see daylight under a door, that generally means a mouse can slip under, [so] consider a door sweep to mitigate the chance of entry.

While surveying your property remove debris from around the structure, keep the grass short, and ensure no food is readily available near your foundation this includes bird feeders and overflowing trash cans, Horgan said. Leaking faucets, hoses, and clogged gutters present easy access to water for rodents another reason for them to stick around.

Horgan also recommends blocking points of entry with stainless-steel wool, caulk, or expandable foam although rodents are known to gnaw through the latter.

As for traps and ultrasonic or electronic pest repellers, not all are created equally. Both Horgan and Bozarjian are highly skeptical of the electronic repellent devices; they find that they are pricier and do not work as well as more traditional methods. The Environmental Protection Agency does not regulate them.

Live traps are commonly considered to be a more humane option; however, this is the case only when used correctly. Its extremely important to review the instructions and best practices before using any device for example, accidentally putting food on the wrong part of a snap trap is the difference between instant death and suffering.

Maintaining a tidy home and containing food sources will help manage the problem, and Bozarjian said bait and powders will work quickly in these conditions. Horgan recommends that inexperienced users stick to snap traps and call in a professional for anything beyond that; its imperative to know what youre doing when working with chemicals, how and where to apply the correct amount of rodenticide safely.

Sometimes Fido and Fluffy can assist in the rodent roundup. They are considered predators of the mice, Horgan said. This is especially true of cats. Some cats are highly effective mousers; however, some cats could care less!

Having a cat does not equal having no mice. The presence of cat/dog food often left on the floor is what may encourage the mice or rats to stay in the home. You should pick up the bowls after the animals have fed . . . [Plus,] cats or dogs may get sick from eating a diseased rodent.

If youre feeling overwhelmed or believe theres more than a few mice sharing your space, do not hesitate to call in the professionals. Many pest control services offer free consultations and assessments.

Elle Caruso can be reached at elle.caruso@globe.com. For more home and real estate advice, visit realestate.boston.com.

Continued here:
Have that gnawing feeling youre not alone? Heres how to rid your home of rodents - The Boston Globe

Human Behavior

Was Darwin wrong about ‘survival of the fittest’? Collaboration may be just as natural as competition – Genetic Literacy Project

To put it simply, we have let Darwinism set the horizon of possibility for human behavior. Competition has become a supposed basic feature of all life, something immutable, universal, natural. Yet new research from across various fields of study is throwing the putative scientific basis of this consensus into doubt.

TheNational Institutes of Health recently foundthat over 10,000 microbial species occupy what they call the human ecosystem, outnumbering human cells 10 to 1 and doing diverse kinds of work at almost every level of the bodys processes.

EcologistSuzanne Simard, as one example, has spent the past 2 decades studying the symbiotic fungal networks that nurture and connect trees. Thin tendrils that tangle around plants roots, calledmycorrhizal fungi, provide increased water and nutrient absorption capabilities to plants and receive carbohydrates from photosynthesis in return.

[W]e must learn to recognize the impulse tonaturalizea given human behavior as a political maneuver. Competition is notnatural, or at least not more so than collaboration.

This insight could hardly come at a more opportune time. With our climate crisis mounting, we dearly need new ways to think about our relationships to the diverse entities that share our planet.

Read the original post

Read the rest here:
Was Darwin wrong about 'survival of the fittest'? Collaboration may be just as natural as competition - Genetic Literacy Project

Human Behavior

Apply Now to Study Abroad on the Classics in Italy Program This Summer – University of Arkansas Newswire

R. G. Vennarucci

UA students explore the remains of an ancient Roman bath complex in Ostia Antica, Italy.

This program, which isopen to all students with an interestin studying abroad in Italy, will explorehow the built environment shapes human behavior through aclose "on the ground" comparison of the urban landscapes of modern Italian and ancient Roman cities.

Students will learn how to "read" the urban environment as a reflection of society and group identities, using the architectural, art historical, and archaeological remains they encounter to reconstruct and visualizethe lifeways and lived experiences of ancient Romans.

While based in Rome where students will explore iconic sites(e.g. Colosseum, Pantheon) and museums (e.g. Vatican Museums), students will also visit Naples, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Sperlonga, Tivoliand Ostia. Part of the program involvesfield research for theVirtual Pompeii and Virtual Roman Retailprojects, for which students will developphotogrammetry and basic3D modeling skills.

Application deadling is Feb. 1. To apply, go to the Hogs Abroad Classics in Italy page.

If you have any questions, please contact Rhodora Vennarucci at rhodorav@uark.edu.

Read more from the original source:
Apply Now to Study Abroad on the Classics in Italy Program This Summer - University of Arkansas Newswire

Human Behavior

Peoples Gas receives top regional score in national utility study focusing on brand trust and customer engagement – Yahoo Finance

Utility ranks first for natural gas companies in Midwest

CHICAGO, Jan. 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Peoples Gas earned the highest score among Midwestern natural gas utilities in a 2019 national customer satisfaction survey conducted by Escalent, a top human behavior and analytics firm.

The Cogent Syndicated Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement Residential study tracks the performance of the 140 largest electric, natural gas and combination electric/natural gas utilities in the U.S. in brand trust, product experience and service satisfaction.

Peoples Gas achieved the highest Engaged Customer Relationship (ECR) score among natural gas utilities in the Midwest, earning 763 out of 1,000 points. The company ranked fourth nationally among natural gas utilities.

"Our research finds that Peoples Gas is among the industry's best on engaging customers with world class service, caring about the communities they serve and providing customers options that add real value," said Chris Oberle, senior vice president at Escalent.

"It's an honor to be recognized by those we serve as a utility customer champion," said Larry Szumski, vice president customer relations for Peoples Gas. "While we have made great strides, we will continue to look for new ways to evolve and exceed our customers' expectations."

Earlier in 2019, Peoples Gas received the Most Trusted Brand award from Escalent, based on communications effectiveness, increased customer engagement, and expanded community partnerships and corporate giving. The company also was recognized by its customers as one of the easiest utilities in the nation with which to conduct business in the 2019 Cogent Reports Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement Residential study.

Peoples Gas, a subsidiary of WEC Energy Group (NYSE: WEC), is a regulated natural gas delivery company that serves more than 867,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in the city of Chicago. You can find more information about natural gas safety, energy efficiency and other energy-related topics at peoplesgasdelivery.com. Follow us on Twitterand Facebook@peoplegaschi.

About Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement: Residential Escalent conducted surveys among 67,379 residential electric, natural gas and combination utility customers of the 140 largest U.S. utility companies (based on residential customer counts). The sample design uses a combination of quotas and weighting based on U.S. census data to ensure a demographically balanced sample of each evaluated utility's customers based on age, gender, income, race and ethnicity. Utilities within the same region and of the same type (e.g., electric-only providers) are given equal weight in order to balance the influence of each utility's customers on survey results. Escalent will supply the exact wording of any survey question upon request.

About Escalent Escalentis a top human behavior and analytics firm specializing in industries facing disruption and business transformation. As catalysts of progress for more than 40 years, we tell stories that transform data and insight into a profound understanding of what drives human beings. And we help businesses turn those drivers into actions that build brands, enhance customer experiences and inspire product innovation. Visit escalent.coto see how we are helping shape the brands that are reshaping the world.

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/peoples-gas-receives-top-regional-score-in-national-utility-study-focusing-on-brand-trust-and-customer-engagement-300995698.html

SOURCE Peoples Gas

Read this article:
Peoples Gas receives top regional score in national utility study focusing on brand trust and customer engagement - Yahoo Finance