Winter 2011
Assessing the Utility of Microsatellites for Assigning Maternity in a Wild Population of Anolis sagrei Lizards
To study selection in the wild, one must be able to measure both survival and reproductive success in situ. Brown anole lizards (Anolis sagrei) are an ideal model species for studying natural selection in the wild (i.e., survival), but studies of sexual selection in the wild (i.e., mating success) require genetic techniques for assigning paternity.
Selenium in Tuna: White versus Light and Water versus Oil Packing
Canned tuna fish is one of the most commonly consumed types of seafood in the United States as well as a prominent source of dietary selenium. Thirty-two samples of canned tuna were analyzed using fluorescence spectrophotometry to determine whether type of tuna or packaging liquid significantly affects selenium concentrations.
Isotopic and Molecular Methods for Sourcing Environmental PAHs: A Review
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are organic pollutants that accumulate in the environment as a result of both natural and human processes. The molecular and isotopic signatures of these compounds vary depending on production conditions, and can be exploited to trace PAH contaminants in the environment to a particular source or responsible party. Environmental forensics investigations relating to PAHs are often motivated by environmental remediation or litigation efforts and depend heavily on geochemical principles.
A Tribute to Biotechnology: A Poem
Biotechnology is nothing new
There’s Mesopotamia’s beer breweries
Mayan fermented cacao and Viking fondue
All so delicious and all still in use.
Cellular Phones: With Great Technology Comes Great Risk
In the year 2040, cell phones have essentially taken over the world. Citizens have their cell phones glued to their ear more often than not. As a result of the constant radiation, 95% of the entire world develops brain tumors and dies. The only survivors are the Amish, the very young children, and the homeless.
Disease Prevention on College Campuses
Given the crowded, communal lifestyles of college students, it is not surprising that germs spread quite rapidly. A simple cold or flu virus can infect an entire campus in a matter of weeks (1). That is why institutional health facilities are constantly looking for more effective ways to stop the spread of infectious diseases.
The Primal Conversation: Intercellular Communication in Bacteria
Historically, conventional thinking in evolutionary biology has drawn a bright line separating multicellular from unicellular organisms. Only the cells of animals, plants, and fungi were thought capable of achieving the synchrony required to function as a collective. Bacteria, in contrast, were perceived as blind, deaf, and mute, with each cell single-mindedly focusing on its own metabolism and reproduction. However, recent discoveries in the field of bacterial cellcell signaling have exposed the ubiquity of multicellular behavior in bacterial populations, dramatically altering our understanding of the microbial world.
In Vitro Fertiliztion
In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a medical procedure in which a human egg is fertilized outside of the body, and then reinserted into the womb (1). Approximately four million babies have been born by IVF since it was first introduced in the 1980s (1).
Enlightenment: Optogenetic Tools for Understanding the Brain
Neuroscientists are scrambling to play with the new toys of optogenetic technology, but with the explosion of popular science articles and even videos of light-controlled dancing mice (1), it is important to step back and evaluate how this technology can be most effectively used to solve meaningful problems in neuroscience.
Current Issue: Winter 2013
Recent
Popular
The Physiology of Stress: Cortisol and the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis
The Threats of Overfishing: Consequences at the Commercial Level
Oil Spills: Severity and Consequences to Our Ecosystem
Risk and Resilience in Children Coping with Parental Divorce
The Mammalian Diving Reflex
You Are What You Eat: How Food Affects Your Mood
A Royal Shame: Prince Leopold’s Hemophilia and Its Effect on Medical Research
Turning to Nanotechnology for Pollution Control: Applications of Nanoparticles
Esophageal Cancer and the ‘Asian Glow’
Biodegradable Plastic: Its Promises and Consequences






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