In 2013, University of Virginia researcher Michael McConnell published research that would forever change how scientists study brain cells.

McConnell and a team of nationwide collaborators discovered a genetic mosaic in the brains neurons, proving that brain cells are not exact replicas of each other, and that each individual neuron contains a slightly different genetic makeup.

McConnell, an assistant professor in the School of Medicines Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, has been using this new information to investigate how variations in individual neurons impact neuropsychiatric disorders like schizophrenia and epilepsy. With a recent $50,000 grant from the Bow Foundation, McConnell will expand his research to explore the cause of a rare genetic disorder known as GNAO1 so named for the faulty protein-coding gene that is its likely source.

GNAO1 causes seizures, movement disorders and developmental delays. Currently, only 50 people worldwide are known to have the disease. The Bow Foundation seeks to increase awareness so that other probable victims of the disorder can be properly diagnosed and to raise funds for further research and treatment.

UVA Today recently sat down with McConnell to find out more about how GNAO1 fits into his broader research and what his continued work means for all neuropsychiatric disorders.

Q. Can you explain the general goals of your lab?

A. My lab has two general directions. One is brain somatic mosaicism, which is a finding that different neurons in the brain have different genomes from one another. We usually think every cell in a single persons body has the same blueprint for how they develop and what they become. It turns out that blueprint changes a little bit in the neurons from neuron to neuron. So you have slightly different versions of the same blueprint and we want to know what that means.

The second area of our work focuses on a new technology called induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPSCs. The technology permits us to make stem cell from skin cells. We can do this with patients, and use the stem cells to make specific cell types with same genetic mutations that are in the patients. That lets us create and study the persons brain cells in a dish. So now, if that person has a neurological disease, we can in a dish study that persons disease and identify drugs that alter the disease. Its a very personalized medicine approach to that disease.

Q. Does cell-level genomic variety exist in other areas of the body outside the central nervous system?

A. Every cell in your body has mutations of one kind or another, but brain cells are there for your whole life, so the differences have a bigger impact there. A skin cell is gone in a month. An intestinal cell is gone in a week. Any changes in those cells will rarely have an opportunity to cause a problem unless they cause a tumor.

Q. How does your research intersect with the goals of the Bow Foundation?

A. Let me back up to a little bit of history on that. When I got to UVA four years ago, I started talking quite a lot with Howard Goodkin and Mark Beenhakker. Mark is an assistant professor in pharmacology. Howard is a pediatric neurologist and works with children with epilepsy. I had this interest in epilepsy and UVA has a historic and current strength in epilepsy research.

We started talking about how to use iPSCs the technology that we use to study mosaicism to help Howards patients. As we talked about it and I learned more about epilepsy, we quickly realized that there are a substantial number of patients with epilepsy or seizure disorders where we cant do a genetic test to figure out what drug to use on those patients.

Clinical guidance, like Howards expertise, allows him to make a pretty good diagnosis and know what drugs to try first and second and third. But around 30 percent of children that come in with epilepsy never find the drug that works, and theyre in for a lifetime of trial-and-error. We realized that we could use iPSC-derived neurons to test drugs in the dish instead of going through all of the trial-and-error with patients. Thats the bigger project that weve been moving toward.

The Bow Foundation was formed by patient advocates after this rare genetic mutation in GNAO1 was identified. GNAO1 is a subunit of a G protein-coupled receptor; some mutations in this receptor can lead to epilepsy while others lead to movement disorders.

Were still trying to learn about these patients, and the biggest thing the Bow Foundation is doing is trying to address that by creating a patient registry. At the same time, the foundation has provided funds for us to start making and testing iPSCs and launch this approach to personalized medicine for epilepsy.

In the GNAO1 patients, we expect to be able to study their neurons in a dish and understand why they behave differently, why the electrical activity in their brain is different or why they develop differently.

Q. What other more widespread disorders, in addition to schizophrenia and epilepsy, are likely to benefit from your research?

A. Im part of a broader project called the Brain Somatic Mosaicism Network that is conducting research on diseases that span the neuropsychiatric field. Our lab covers schizophrenia, but other nodes within that network are researching autism, bipolar disorder, Tourette syndrome and other psychiatric diseases where the genetic cause is difficult to identify. Thats the underlying theme.

Continue reading here:
Researcher Seeks to Unravel the Brain's Genetic Tapestry to Tackle Rare Disorder - University of Virginia

The public's help is being enlisted in the Microbiome Immunity Project, what's thought to be the biggest study to date of the human microbiome the communities of bacteria and other microbes that live in and on the human body, where they influence our health.

Since studying the entire human microbiome would be almost impossible with traditional methods, massive supercomputing processing power is being crowdsourced via IBM's World Community Grid. Volunteers download a secure software program that automatically detects when a computer can offer spare processing power, then taps it to run virtual experiments on behalf of researchers. Anyone with a computer and an internet connection can join the World Community Grid and sign up to support the Microbiome Immunity Project at http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org

The project is co-led by Rob Knight, PhD, professor of pediatrics at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and director of the Center for Microbiome Innovation at UC San Diego, with collaborators at Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Massachusetts General Hospital and Simons Foundations Flatiron Institute. At UC San Diego, Tomasz Kosciolek, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in Knights lab, Rommie Amaro, PhD, professor of chemistry and biochemistry, and Bryn Taylor, a graduate student mentored by Knight and Amaro, are also involved in the project.

The team will use the surplus processing power on World Community Grid volunteers' computers to conduct millions of virtual experiments. They aim to map 3 million bacterial genes found in the human microbiome and predict the structure of their associated proteins.

The studys goal is to help scientists better understand the microbiomes interaction with human biochemistry and determine how that interaction may contribute to autoimmune diseases, such as type 1 diabetes, Crohns disease and ulcerative colitis. With better understanding, scientists might be able to more easily prevent and treat these diseases. The researchers will make their data publicly available to other scientists, accelerating the advancement of scientific knowledge in this important area of research.

Had World Community Grid not existed, we wouldn't have even contemplated this project, Knight said. By harnessing the efforts of volunteers, we can do something that exceeds the scale of what we have access to by a factor of thousands. For the first time, we're bringing a comprehensive structural biology picture to the whole microbiome, rather than solving structures one at a time in a piecemeal fashion.

Since its founding in 2004, World Community Grid has supported 29 research projects on cancer, HIV/AIDS, Zika, clean water, renewable energy and other humanitarian challenges. To date, World Community Grid, hosted on IBM Cloud, has connected researchers to $500 million U.S. dollars' worth of free supercomputing power. More than 730,000 individuals and 430 institutions from 80 countries have donated more than one million years of computing time from more than three million computers and Android devices. Volunteer participation has helped researchers to identify potential treatments for childhood cancer, more efficient solar cells and more efficient water filtration.

UC San Diego researchers are also involved in OpenZika, a World Community Grid project launched in May 2016 which aims to identify drug candidates to combat the Zika virus.

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Help UC San Diego Scientists Study Link between Body Bacteria and Autoimmune Diseases - UC San Diego Health

Mr. and Mrs. L. Abraham Rowe Jr. of Brandon announces the engagement of their daughter, Rhea Kay Rowe, to Luke F. Hartje of Ft. Collins, Colo.

The brideelect is the granddaughter of John and Margaret McAleese of Brandon and Lawrence and the late Carolyn Rowe of Clinton. The prospective bridegroom is the son of Kevin and Deena Hartje of Colorado Springs, and the grandson of Jean and the late Fred Skaro of Grand Forks, N.D., and Thelma and the late Keith Hartje of St. Thomas, N.D.

Miss Rowe is an Alpha Omega 2010 graduate of St Andrews Episcopal School. She attended the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, for her freshman year before transferring to the University of Mississippi. She was graduated from Ole Miss in 2014 with a bachelors degree in chemistry. At Ole Miss she was a member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority. She attends Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, and is pursuing her doctorate in biochemistry.

Hartje is a 2011 graduate of the University of California, Davis. He was graduated with a bachelors degree in biochemistry. He has also earned his masters of biochemistry and is on track to receive his doctorate in biochemistry at Colorado State University, Ft Collins, in May.

The couples wedding party will include Elly Jackson of Charlottesville, Va. Christina Holy McRae of Jackson, Maggie Olander of Dallas, and Maggie Hartje of Sacramento. Groomsmen are Nick Gregoire of Loveland, Colo., Kaleb Hartje of Minneapolis, and Kevin and Dylan Lindsey of Santa Maria, Calif.

The couple will exchange vows September 18, at Marys Lake Lodge in Estes Park Colo., with a reception following at the lodge.

Read the rest here:
Miss Rowe, Hartje planning September 18 wedding in Colorado - Northside Sun

AMAZONIA, Mo. Texans Lorin and Chris Matthews traveled from the Brazos River to a gravel road splitting corn and soybean fields adjacent to the Missouri River to lay eyes on the moon eclipsing the sun.

The roadside crew included their four children Allyriane and Sterling, 12; Zayn, 10; and Lachlan, 8 as well as Lorins sister, Liskin Kruse, and Kruses daughter, Meredith. The contingent tried out an array of flimsy disposable protective glasses Monday as the moon started nibbling away.

Its very bright, yellow and glowing, Zayn said in describing the cosmic spectacle.

What do you expect? said Sterling, with attitude blending solar analysis and sibling sarcasm. Its the sun.

Lorin Matthews, a physics professor at Baylor University in Waco, and Liskin Kruse, a biochemistry professor at the University of Kansas Medical Center, were drawn to Amazonia, purported population 318, for the sake of family and science. Kruse confessed to being a space wanna-be, while Matthews was bedazzled by the ability of researchers to predict the path of an eclipse with sufficient clarity to let everyone take part.

Its amazing we can predict with such accuracy the location of the sun, the earth and the moon, she said.

If only Mother Natures calibration of thick clouds and rainfall could be anticipated with surgical precision. About the same time the moon was to block out 99 percent of the sun, gray clouds descended on the hamlet of Amazonia and began spitting rain.

Among the dozen or so people parked in this speck of the eclipses hot zone, a few were lucky enough to catch a break in the clouds for split-second glimpses of the most poignant moments of totality, when only the corona of light around the sun can be visible. In this darkness, celebrants in the neighborhood shot off fireworks and firearms.

Allen and Valerie Cassavaugh, of Hopkins, Mo., were two of the visitors in Amazonia to witness the day dying and being reborn after a couple of minutes.

They plunked down lawn chairs next to their vehicle and worked on ham-and-cheese sandwiches and potato chips until the action started in a flat landscape with few trees on outskirts of St. Joseph, Mo.

The sky darkened as promised at totality, and the bizarre colors of sunset could be witnessed in several directions. Still, those clouds wouldnt cooperate.

It was worth the risk, Valerie said, since the next eclipse wont throw this much shade on the central United States until 2024.

Were 60 years old, Allen Cassavaugh said. Were not sure if well be around for the next one.

Originally posted here:
Clouds, rain can't wash fascination with solar eclipse from eyes in Missouri - Topeka Capital Journal

Students taking classes from the chemistry and biochemistry department may start paying less for course materials.

Starting fall, the department will require instructors to provide students with no-cost alternatives to course materials and are required to state in their syllabuses whether they profit off the sale of any written course material.

No-cost alternatives include online copies or hard copy library reserves of written course materials. Professors must explain how to access those alternatives in their syllabuses.

Catherine Clarke, chair of the department of chemistry and biochemistry, said an email that Chancellor Gene Block forwarded her from a students mother first brought the problem of textbook prices to her attention. In the email, the mother said she was upset over the high cost of a course reader in an introductory chemistry class.

It came to my attention that this was a really inappropriately priced material and the mom felt very outraged that her son was required to buy this, Clarke said.

She said she met with the department about the issue of textbook costs and the faculty decided to create a committee to approve written materials that impose a cost on students.

All instructors that use course materials that impose a cost upon our students must submit these materials so that they can be reviewed and approved by the committee, Clarke said. (The committee) will only approve items that provide value in proportion to cost.

Clarke added because this policy is still new and fall quarter has not started yet, the department will do its best to ensure compliance.

We do have a pretty good idea of the kinds of written materials that instructors have used in the past, Clarke said. Were particularly aware of which instructors have used these sorts of materials in the past and will follow up with them.

Clarke added she hopes every department will implement this policy.

Divya Sharma, the Academic Affairs commissioner of the undergraduate student government, said he thinks it is problematic if professors try to profit off students since the university already pays them. He added he thinks providing downloadable copies of textbook materials is better than asking students to use library reserves.

I know having reserves in a library does become an issue if students are all trying to access (the same book) at a time, Sharma said. I hope (this is implemented) in conjunction instead of one or the other.

Sharma added his office is working to make sure other departments implement similar policies. For example, Sharma said humanities professors often make reading materials accessible online, even though their departments do not have official policies on controlling textbook prices. His office will lobby to make this policy explicitly official.

Dawn Setzer, a UCLA Library spokesperson, said in a statement the library supports the policy and will work with instructors to align the UCLA Librarys collections with professors instructional needs.

We are fully supportive of the policy and provided the department with information we had gathered through our course materials initiative, our course reserves service, and ongoing partnership with the UCLA Store on course packs, she said.

Kahlo Baniadam, a third-year psychobiology student, said he thinks the policies will benefit students who are sometimes expected to pay hundreds of dollars in textbooks for chemistry-related classes.

Since the authors (of the textbooks) are definitely making money, the biggest thing for me is that there will be a free option, Baniadam said. (Having free alternatives) is the main thing that will solve all the problems, if the policy is enforceable.

Baniadam said in some classes, textbooks and course readers were strongly recommended and necessary for practice problems. He added students often had to buy the course readers brand-new because of frequent changes to the material, which he said he thinks caused financial burden to some.

Baniadam added he thinks professors should post lecture notes online instead of requiring students to buy them as textbooks or course readers.

Janet Song, a third-year biochemistry student, said she thinks the new policies increase transparency between students and faculty.

Textbooks are expensive, Song said. My financial situation wasnt too bad, but I could see how it could be difficult for other people.

See original here:
Chemistry, biochemistry instructors to provide no-cost course materials - Daily Bruin

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. High-resolution crystal structure reveals a new pathway for RNA during a nontraditional form of transcription the process by which RNA is produced from a DNA template. Caught during the act of reiterative transcription, a form of transcription in which a single base of DNA (represented by the letters A, T, C, and G) codes for several corresponding bases in the RNA (one G in DNA leads to several Gs in the RNA, for example), the new crystal structure reveals RNA exiting the polymerase enzyme through an alternative channel to enable this unconventional mode of transcription. A paper describing the findings by a team of researchers at Penn State and the University of Alabama at Birmingham appears in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

In the classical view of X-ray crystallography, you would think that the enzyme RNA polymerase would be inactivated and we couldnt capture a biochemical process in action in a crystallized state, said Katsuhiko S. Murakami, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State and an author of the paper. But in some systems, including ours, the RNA polymerase is still alive, so we can monitor the structures while they are in the process of making RNA.

Reiterative transcription was discovered by Penn State alumnus and Nobel Laureate in chemistry Paul Berg, the Robert W. and Vivian K. Cahill Professor of Cancer Research, Emeritus, at Stanford University, in the early 1960s. Although it could appear to be a simple error in accurately transcribing the DNA sequence into RNA reiterative transcription occurs when the strand of RNA slips relative to the strand of DNA inside the polymerase enzyme it has function in the cell. Reiterative transcription plays a key role in controlling gene expression for many genes, but despite this important role, its mechanism has remained a black box.

Our work expands our understanding of the flexibility of the molecular mechanisms involved in RNA transcription, said Vadim Molodtsov, a research associate at Penn State and an author of the paper. By capturing the crystal structure of RNA polymerase during reiterative transcription we were able to identify a new pathway used by RNA to exit the enzyme. Instead of leaving through the door, it sneaks out the window.

In addition to Murakami and Molodtsov, the research team includes Yeonoh Shin, a graduate student in the Penn State Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Molecular Biology Program, and Charles Turnbough Jr., emeritus professor of microbiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The research was funded by the U.S. National Institute of General Medical Science.

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Out through the window - Penn State News

Research News

Understanding the connection microorganisms have with our bodies may enable the development of precision medicine and empower individuals to have greater control over their health.

By MARCENE ROBINSON

Published August 21, 2017

Four studies focused on improving our understanding of the humangenome and microbiome were awarded funding through the third roundof research pilots supported by UBs Community of Excellencein Genome, Environment and Microbiome (GEM).

The projects, which total $150,000, will study how therelationship between the human body and the collection ofmicroorganisms that reside on or within it affect our risk forcertain diseases.

Understanding the connection these microorganisms have with ourbodies may enable the development of precision medicine and empowerindividuals to have greater control over their health.

The pilot grants award researchers from a variety of disciplinesup to $50,000 to develop innovative projects focused on themicrobiome. The funds support up to one year of research.

The awards are provided through GEM, an interdisciplinarycommunity of UB faculty and staff dedicated to advancing researchon the genome and microbiome. GEM is one of UBs threeCommunities of Excellence, a $9 million initiative to harness thestrengths of faculty and staff from fields across the university toconfront the challenges facing humankind through research,education and engagement.

Changes in the genome our own or those of themicrobes in, on or around us have a tremendous impact onhuman health and our environment, says Jennifer Surtees, GEMco-director and associate professor in the Department ofBiochemistry in the Jacobs School of Medicine and BiomedicalSciences.

With these newest projects, UB scientists from acrossdisciplines have come together to dig deeper into these changes andto help establish the infrastructure necessary for advancedprecision medicine.

Along with Surtees, GEM is led by Timothy Murphy, executivedirector and SUNY Distinguished Professor in the Department ofMedicine; and Norma Nowak, co-director, professor in the Departmentof Biochemistry, and executive director of UBs New YorkState Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences.

The funded projects involve faculty teams from the Jacobs Schoolof Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, the School of Public Healthand Health Professions, and the School of Dental Medicine.

Vulnerability to seizures

Inflammation in the central nervous system can increasesusceptibility to seizures.

Given the role the intestinal microbiome plays in shapinginflammation in the body, UB researchers believe the tiny organismsmay have an impact on the onset, strength and duration ofseizures.

The study, led by Ira J. Blader, professor in the Department ofMicrobiology and Immunology, and Alexis Thompson, senior researchscientist in UBs Research Institute on Addictions, willexamine in mice the composition of the microbiome and which of itscomponents affect seizures.

If correct, this may suggest the gut microbiome as a therapeutictarget for the treatment of seizures and epilepsy.

Genomic research with Spit For Buffalo

To better understand how the human genome and microbiomeinteract to influence health, UB researchers will establish SpitFor Buffalo, a project that will collect DNA samples from volunteerUBMD patients for use in future studies.

The researchers will collect saliva samples, anonymously linkthe samples to each patients electronic medical record, andsequence the genome and oral microbiome. By determining which genesare associated with which diseases, new connections betweenspecific genes and diseases will be made.

Samples currently are being collected from patients in the UBMDNeurology, Internal Medicine and OBGYN clinics in the ConventusCenter for Collaborative Medicine.

The project will provide an infrastructure resource for genomeand microbiome investigations at UB.

The research is led by Richard M. Gronostajski, professor in theDepartment of Biochemistry and director of both the WNY Stem CellCulture and Analysis Center and the Genetics, Genomics andBioinformatics Graduate Program; Gil I. Wolfe, professor and Irvinand Rosemary Smith Chair of the Department of Neurology; MichaelBuck, associate professor in the Department of Biochemistry anddirector of the WNY Stem Cell Sequencing/Epigenomics Center; andNowak.

How RNA provides parasite with shape-shifting abilities

The parasite Trypanosoma brucei, the cause of HumanAfrican Trypanosomiasis commonly known as sleeping sickness radically alters its physiology and morphology as it movesbetween insect and mammal over the course of its life cycle.

These changes, researchers have found, are caused by various RNAbinding proteins, allowing the organism to survive in environmentsthat range from the human bloodstream to the insect gut. UBresearchers will examine how these proteins regulate theparasites transformations.

The study is led by Laurie K. Read, professor in the Departmentof Microbiology and Immunology; and Jie Wang, research assistantprofessor in the Department of Biochemistry.

Effects of oral and gut bacteria on heart health

UB researchers will investigate the connection between oral andgut bacteria and the onset and progression of atheroscleroticcardiovascular disease (CVD), or the buildup of plaque around theartery walls that eventually blocks blood flow.

The study will seek to understand how the microbes in the bodycontribute to plaque formation in the arteries, providing the basisfor interventions that reduce the effects of the microorganisms onCVD.

Previous studies have found microbes present in arterialplaques, but have not provided conclusive links to the parts of thebody where the microbes originate. Researchers will usenext-generation sequencing and advanced bioinformatics analysismethods to identify and characterize microorganisms in the arterywalls and compare the bacteria with those present in oral, gut andskin microbiomes.

Environmental factors such as smoking, blood cholesterol andperiodontal disease status also will be examined as potentialfactors that influence the bacteria-CVD relationship.

The research is led by Robert J. Genco, SUNY DistinguishedProfessor in the departments of Oral Biology and Microbiology andImmunology, and director of the UB Microbiome Center; and MichaelJ. LaMonte, research associate professor in the Department ofEpidemiology and Environmental Health.

Original post:
GEM awards $150000 in third round of funding for microbiome and genomic research - University at Buffalo Reporter

August 21, 2017 -- By Evelyn Boswell for MSU News Service

BOZEMAN -- A group of salt-loving bacteria with magnetic powers happens to be the perfect organism for trying to understand the development of complex life, says a Montana State University biochemist who was recently named a NASA Early Career Fellow.

Since NASA and the astrobiology community have made it a priority to understand the origin, evolution and organization of multicellular organisms, he will use his fellowship to study this unique bacteria, said Roland Hatzenpichler, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in MSUs College of Letters and Science.

"One of the biggest problems in evolutionary biology is how the transition from comparatively simple forms of life to something as complex as us occurs," Hatzenpichler said. "It's not really understood how that transition to organized, complex life happens. The only thing clear is that it happened very often in evolution."

These unusual bacteria, called multicellular magnetotactic bacteria, or MMB, live in the sediments below certain salt marshes and tidal pools on both coasts of the United States. The bacteria contain tiny magnetic crystals that allow the cell clumps to orient themselves in Earth's magnetic field. This leads the bacteria -- moving about as fast as a cheetah -- down into the sediments where they find nutrients needed for their survival. Beyond that, MMB are the only known bacteria that live an obligate multicellular lifestyle, which makes it ideal for his research, Hatzenpichler said.

Hatzenpichler will study MMB from three different locations in California and Massachusetts. His main study site is the Little Sippewissett salt marsh on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

"The fellowship award speaks to the promise of Roland's scientific contributions," said Matthew Fields, director of MSU's Center for Biofilm Engineering and one of Hatzenpichler's collaborators. "In addition, my lab has worked with Roland in applying some of the techniques he developed to our environments of interest and I look forward to many fruitful collaborations with Roland in the Center for Biofilm Engineering."

Hatzenpichler said scientists have long tried to find organisms that were in the process of transitioning from single cells to multicellular organisms. They knew such transitions occurred. They had seen evidence in 25 separate lineages of life.

"We observe this over and over and over in life on our planet, but we don't understand the underlying mechanisms, Hatzenpichler said.

Past studies on the transition from single cells to multicellular entities mostly focused on algae and simple animals, Hatzenpichler said. Scientists did look at multicellular forms of bacteria, but they realized MMB were different because they don't have a stage where it exists as a single cell. Instead, it starts out as a clump of 10 to 60 cells arranged in symmetry around a central hollow compartment. When the clumps divide, they form two seemingly identical groups of cells. The number of cells around that central compartment stays the same.

"These characteristics render MMB the only identified bacteria with an obligate multicellular lifestyle and make them a prime subject for the study of the early evolution of advanced life, most importantly the origins of and environmental factors driving multicellularity, as well as the cellular organization of complex life," Hatzenpichler said.

He said he plans to study the biology of MMB with cutting-edge molecular biological and microbiological approaches. Among other things, he wants to understand how the cells communicate and stick together. He also wants to learn more about their metabolism and whether they collaborate with each other, similar to how different organs work together to keep an animal alive.

"Roland's work focuses on novel and unique microorganisms that live in different environments, but are difficult to grow in the laboratory," Fields said. "Because they are difficult to grow in the lab, we know very little about their metabolism -- including how they process carbon and other nutrients -- even though they can be abundant.

"Roland's work not only targets these organisms that play important roles in the planet's geochemical cycles, but also pioneers the techniques to bring them from their respective environments to the lab," Fields said.

Hatzenpichler is a native of Austria and was the first in his family to attend college. After earning his masters degree, he received a pre-doctoral fellowship from the Austrian Academy of Sciences. He earned his doctorate in microbial ecology at the University of Vienna in 2011. The same year, the Austrian Science Fund named him an Erwin Schroedinger Postdoctoral Fellow and the California Institute of Technology awarded him an O.K. Earl Postdoctoral Fellowship in geobiology.

Hatzenpichler moved to the United States in 2011 to conduct postdoctoral research at the California Institute of Technology. Three years later, he received a postdoctoral fellowship from the National Science Foundations Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigation. Dark energy in this case refers to life that doesn't need light. Hatzenpichler moved to MSU last summer and set up his laboratory in January 2017.

Before coming to MSU, Hatzenpichler met Fields and Kristen Brileya, technical operations manager for the CBE, when they visited the Department of Microbial Ecology at the University of Vienna where he was conducting his doctoral research and now, they work together, he said.

He said he was drawn to MSU by the opportunity to conduct research in Yellowstone National Park.

"MSU is pretty much the perfect place to do environmental microbial research," he added.

Mary Cloninger, head of MSU's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, said Hatzenpichler is a "fantastic addition" to the university and the department.

"We are delighted that his creative approach to complex research problems is already being recognized by the scientific community," Cloninger said. "His research involving systems that are relatively unstudied and are often difficult to grow in the laboratory opens up an exciting new area of biochemistry within the department."

In addition to the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the CBE, Hatzenpichler is affiliated with MSU's Thermal Biology Institute.

To learn more about Hatzenpichlers research, visit the Hatzenpichler Environmental Microbiology Lab at http://www.environmental-microbiology.com/.

Contact Roland Hatzenpichler, roland.hatzenpichler@montana.edu or 406-994-5469

More:
MSU biochemist named NASA Early Career Fellow for research on 'magnetic' bacteria - Montana State University

Life sciences company Zaluvida has appointed Dr. Graham Dixon as both Group Head of R&D for the entire Swiss-based business and also as Chief Operating Officer at its Welsh-based fundamental research and development arm, Neem Biotech.

With over 25 years of experience across the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, Dr. Dixon brings along a wealth of expertise in discovering and developing novel drugs with applications for both orphan and mainstream disease indications. He has steered numerous novel drug candidates from early development through clinical and later stage development processes across multiple indications. These have ranged from anti-infectives to oncology and neurological indications.

Formerly Chief Scientific Officer for Onexo, Dr. Dixon has also held joint Chief Scientific Officer/Head of R&D roles in venture capital funded and publically listed biotechs, including Sensorion, Addex Therapeutics, Galapagos, Entomed and F2G. As Head of R&D at Galapagos, his responsibilities included managing a staff of 260 scientists across three European sites. He started his R&D career as Head of Biochemistry at DowElanco Ltd, moving on later to AstraZeneca as a project leader and later as Global Product Director. Dr Dixon obtained his Ph.D. in biochemistry at Swansea University and his BSc in Applied Biology from the University of Bradford.

Zaluvidas Group CEO, Christoph Staeuble, said: I am very pleased to have Graham on board, both as Head of R&D for the Zaluvida group and as part of the Neem Biotech leadership team. He is a great fit for the organisation and brings with him a valuable wealth of industry experience.

Dr. Michael Graz, Neem Biotechs Managing Director, said: We are delighted to welcome Graham back to Wales, where he started his professional career. Our work in environmental, animal and human health, and, in particular, our developments to fight anti-microbial resistance stand to benefit from his expertise in biotechnology and big pharma.

Dr. Graham Dixon, said: This is an exciting time to join Zaluvida. I am looking forward to being able to play a part in the next phase of the companys evolution and in the development of the impressive pipeline assets of the group.

Link:
Healthcare Group Invest in R&D Leadership - Labmate Online

In Australia, good winemakers find something in Grenache that just doesnt seem to show in any other part of the worldby Barry Smith/ August 15, 2017 /Leave a commentPublished in September 2017 issue of Prospect Magazine

Ive never really liked Grenache. Wines made from this grape typically combine a sweetly floral aroma with a juicy tartness that is just on the edge for me. Nothing seems to bridge the heady aroma and the crunchy strawberry fruit.

But then I discovered what could be done with this variety. After recent tastings in McLaren Vale, south of Adelaide, I now believe that it could be Australias best grape. There, good winemakers find something in Grenache that just doesnt seem to show in any other part of the world.

I learned this from Wes Pearson, a maverick Canadian now settled in the soils of South Australia. By day, he is a biochemist at the Australian Wine Research Institute, and at other times he makes wine. He buys in grapes, picked just ahead of ripeness to avoid that jammy character found in some Australian reds. His entry-level wines are bottled under his Juxtaposed labels with cinematic characters portrayed in lurid colours. These include a Fiano white wine, called Bigger boat after Roy Scheiders famous line from Jaws. Theres a Pinot Meunier ros, with bite and character. In the reds there are Sangioveses Grenaches and Shirazes as well as unfamiliar blends such as that of Grenache and Tempranillo. The finer wines are under the label of Dodgy Bros. Despite the name, they are poised wines with depth, and the best of them was the 2014 Archetype Grenache. An almost old world nose, rich in the mouth, balanced, with a cherry-like finish restrained by fine bitterness. Fine, opulent and utterly delicious.

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Biochemistry and dodgy bros: How I came to love a new wine - Prospect