Life Sciences Commons^™

Nsf Bets Big On David Angelini, Gerry Boyle

Colby Magazine

Something has been bugging Colby geneticist David Angelini.

How, Angelini wonders, can a single species (in this case the soapberry bug) produce two distinctly different forms, one with long wings and one with short, that are not linked to sex? What is the genetic mechanism that causes the wings to develop differently?

"Why does it not overshoot the long form? he asked. "Why doesn't it undershoot the short form? Why doesn't it end up somewhere in the middle? That's an open question."

And a question that the National Science Foundation wants him to answer.

Modeling Maine’S Rockweed Harvest, Meagan Hennessey

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

Currently, Maine is in a political struggle over the best way to manage the harvesting of Rockweed, or Ascophyllum nodosum. As the dominant macro algae along the state’s rocky intertidal zone it supports over 150 different species, meaning its loss could impact food web stability, protection of endangered species, and support of economically viable harvests. This work takes parameters found in the literature to create a Stella model, which is then manipulated to explore the relative impact of possible management strategies. It is found that a strictly accurate model is not possible to create given the current biological knowledge and …

The Hot Zone And The Cold War, Peter Nichols

Colby Magazine

It was a time when, in the nation's schools, drills for nuclear war were as frequent as fire drills- when Americans and their Soviet counterparts lived with a constant fear of imminent worldwide destruction. "You had a cultural mindset that was apocalyptic," said Robert S. Weisbrot, Christian A. Johnson Distinguished Teaching Professor of History at Colby, "that believed you could not guarantee that your wonderful suburban home and family and community...would survive ten more seconds."

"It was not simply a matter of two countries that are adversaries building up weapons," said Weisbrot. "Each saw the other as the incarnation of …

The Birdman Of Colby: Eagle-Eyed Professor Herb Wilson Is Winging His Way Into The Hearts Of Students And Birders Alike, Robert Gillespie

Colby Magazine

Professor Herb Wilson's passion for ornithology is contagious- at Colby and in the community.

Getting In Deep, Earl Smith

Colby Magazine

Cleaning up Johnson Pond required wading through a quagmire of regulations- and produced some surprising revelations.

Analysis Of Current Clinical Antiviral Treatment Approaches And Medications And Related Suggestions For Future Research, Daniel Sunderland

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

Viral pathogens present researchers, physicians, and public health workers with the challenges of developing new treatments in an every-changing landscape of antiviral drug resistance. This paper outlines the basis of current knowledge in virology, how that knowledge is applied when developing treatments such as integrase and protease inhibitors, neuraminidase inhibitors, nucleotide analogs, and others, and considers the rates of resistance of the target viruses to those treatments. There is also some consideration of immunomodulatory treatments and the potential of viral vectors as a means of understanding different immune responses to viruses and the direct effects that viruses can have on …

Nutrient Availability And Species Evenness Influence Productivity During Early Stages Of A Tropical Forest Restoration, Emma Rosenfield, Lauren Bizzari, Julia Rogers

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

Forest restorations aim to maximize the number of species and the productivity at the community level. In a tropical rainforest restoration, often limited number of species are available from local growers; so manipulating the number of individuals of each species (the evenness) might best achieve the goals of restoration. Planting equal numbers of individuals of each species may allow for the most complementary use of soil nutrients; however fertilizer may change this dynamic. Moreover, in a community where there is one dominant species, the productivity of the community may depend upon the identity of that dominant species. We asked whether …

Concussions In Varsity Athletes, Lily Cabour

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

This research project will analyze the HIT App (Hit Injury Tracker) data from the 2013-14 school year. The HIT App is an ongoing research project for the Colby-based nonprofit, Maine Concussion Management Initiative (MCMI). MCMI is dedicated to improving the safety of Maines youth by increasing awareness and education on concussion management. MCMI is a pioneer in concussion research and education outreach in the state of Maine, and is beginning to expand its impact across New England. Through the HIT App data, we hope to reveal trends in concussion injury for student athletes (high school and college level) based on …

Avian Species Of The Chacabuco Valley, Walker Nordin, Sydney Morison

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

The focus of this poster is the avian ecology of the Chacabuco Valley in the Aysen Region of Chilean Patagonia. Information on various bird species and habitat types was obtained via structured bird surveys near lakes throughout the valley, with the aim of correlating certain bird species and behaviors with specific habitat types. The results showed the most common bird species of woodland, shrubland, and lake habitats, as well as associated behaviors. Some bird behaviors were analyzed in greater depth, in order to speculate on certain species habitat requirements. The findings of this project will provide baseline reference information for …

Identification Of Water Kefir Microbial Composition And Rapidly Growing Yeast, Wei Ma

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

Products of microbial fermentation such as probiotic yogurt have been found to confer health benefits, such as inhibiting fungal and bacterial growth, prevention of oral, mammary neoplasia and multidrug-resistant myeloid leukemia. Water kefir, or tibicos, is a type of symbiotic culture of yeast and bacteria that shows potential to be used as preventative and chemotherapeutic agent against cancer. Here, we study water kefir in terms of its microbial composition to determine the species of microorganism responsible for producing the proposed antineoplastic extracellular polymeric substance, using both culture-dependent and independent techniques. Selective and non-selective media were used to promote the growth …

Genetic Diversity And Gene Flow Among Populations Of Witheringia Solanacea, Crystiana Tsujiura

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

To evaluate fitness consequences of population structure in the Costa Rican plant Witheringia solanacea, we have genotyped individuals from different populations of Witheringia solanacea to examine inbreeding within populations and gene flow between populations at different altitudes. We predict that plants at high elevations will have a higher frequency of inbreeding because high elevation populations tend to consist of fewer plants and there tend to be fewer pollinators at higher altitudes.

Psychrobacter Arcticus Cold Shock Protein Expression In Escherichia Coli Increases Cold Resistance, Daniel Sunderland

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

Psychrophilic (cold-loving) microorganisms live in some of the most inhospitable environments in the world. The newly-sequenced genome of the psychrophile Psychrobacter arcticus presents the opportunity to study the molecular mechanisms by which it is possible for this organism to thrive in extremely cold environments such as the permafrost of Antarctica. The cold presents challenges such as decreased membrane fluidity, slower reaction rates, and conformational changes in proteins and nucleic acids. Putative genes for cold-shock proteins (csps) were identified within the sequenced genome that could play an important role in facilitating the psychrophilic lifestyle. This study sought to analyze the function …

Does Fertilization Influence Herbivory During Tropical Forest Restoration?, Emma Rosenfield, Arianna Porter, Julia Rogers, Lauren Bizzari

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

Tropical deforestation is occurring at an alarming rate throughout our world today. It is critical that we actively try to restore these landscapes because rainforests provide us with important resources and services. However, it can be difficult to set appropriate goals for restoration. Under which conditions is a landscape the healthiest? For example, fertilizer is often used to increase growth and survivorship of tree seedlings; however, adding fertilizer may alter other aspects of the community, such as herbivory. In the context of a tropical forest restoration experiment, we asked 1) does fertilization influence herbivory; 2) does fertilization alter leaf tissue …

Purification Of Gst::Taabf1 Fusion Protein In Order To Assess Its Phosphorylation By Endosperm Proteins, Jessica Moore

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

Transcription factor TaABF1, a member of the ABA response element binding factor family, has been shown to have an important role in the signaling pathways of gibberellin (GA) and abscisic acid (ABA) in cereal grains. TaABF1 has also been found phosphorylated in vivo in aleurone cells and is possibly regulated by phosphatases. In order to investigate whether TaABF1 can be phosphorylated by proteins in wheat grains and which regions of the protein are phosphorylated, the GST::TaABF1 fusion protein was purified by a glutathione affinity column and a phosphorylation assay with wheat endosperm proteins was performed. Then, the possibly phosphorylated GST::TaABF1 …

Mamb And Mamm: Genes Involved In Magnetotaxis, Rachel Bolender

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) are a group of bacteria that synthesize magnetosomes, magnetic crystals of magnetite (Fe304) or greigite (FeS4), which allow MTB to travel along the earths geomagnetic fields. In addition, MTB have been shown to be promising agents for bioremediation through their ability to absorb heavy metals, such as gold. Little is known of the genetic elements that allow for the biosynthesis of magnetic particles in MTB. In this study, genes MamB and MamM, genes known to be involved in magnetosome formation but whose functions are not known, were studied using the magnetotactic bacteria Magnetospirillum magneticum. Genomic DNA was …

Listeriosis: A Case Study, Tara Tischio

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

In large animal veterinary medicine, a minor infection in one animal can easily cripple the success of a farm. Listeria, a bacterial infection caused by the ingestion of contaminated silage, can spread rapidly throughout a farm inflicting serious damage to the central nervous system and killing the infected animals within weeks or even days. By following the case study of a pregnant, listeria-positive cow, this study aims to provide an overview of this disease in order to further educate the public on the human implications.

Identifying The Role Of Bacterio-Opsin Associated Protein Gene In Bacteriorhodopsin Production In The Halophilic Archaeon Halobacterium Salinarum, Tarini S. Hardikar

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

The halophilic archaeon Halobacterium salinarum survives in low-oxygen conditions by producing a light-driven proton pump, bacteriorhodopsin (BR). BR is formed by a retinal cofactor covalently bound to the protein bacterioopsin (BO). In reduced oxygen conditions, H. salinarum synthesizes BR, which requires production of both BO and the retinal cofactor. The gene that encodes for BO is called bacterio-opsin protein gene (bop). In several organisms, it has been observed that another gene, bacterio-opsin associated protein gene (bap) is located next to the bop gene. However, the function of bap is unknown. To identify whether the bap gene has any role in …

Optimization Of A Chemical Genetic Screen To Identify Druggable Targets In U138 Cells Treated With Laromustine, Kathryn Coe

Honors Theses

Laromustine is an experimental sulfonylhydrazine prodrug used in late-stage clinical studies against acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Despite initial promise for both indications, clinical trials for GBM have not been as successful as those for AML. To investigate methods for improving the effectiveness of laromustine in GBM and to learn more about the mechanism of action of laromustine, a chemical genetic screen will be conducted to identify agents that sensitize GBM cells to the anti-proliferative effects of laromustine. The library, which will include approximately 450 FDA-approved drugs, will be screened using a newly optimized high throughput assay …

Variations In Intra- And Interspecific Response To Mobbing Calls By The Black-Capped Chickadee (Poecile Atricapillus), Katerina M. Faust

Honors Theses

Mobbing calls are produced by a variety of bird species in response to predator sightings. These mobbing calls often function in intraspecific recruitment, but have recently been shown to have an interspecific response component as well. The mobbing calls produced by the Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) are distinct and encode information about the threat level of the predator. Conservation biologists often use playbacks of chickadee mobbing calls to detect species of birds and numbers of individuals in an area with higher accuracy than counts conducted without the use of playbacks. In this study, the factors that could potentially …

The Role Of Underutilized Fish In New England's Seafood System, Taylor Witkin

Honors Theses

The global fisheries crisis has led to an increasing recognition for the need to relieve pressure on overfished, popular food fish stocks. Opportunities exist to shift consumer demand toward more sustainable choices, including fish that may be locally abundant. Attempts have been made to market underused fish (sometimes termed “trash fish”) that represent more sustainable alternatives; however, it is unclear whether consumers will choose to purchase these more sustainable options, particularly if underused fish are also unfamiliar. Chapter 1 reviews existing research and current issues surrounding sustainable seafood and the recent shift toward local, abundant, undervalued species in New England’s …

The Impact Of Dams On Nitrogen Cycling In The Messalonskee Stream, Rebecca K. Forgrave

Honors Theses

The Messalonskee Stream in central Maine has five hydroelectric dams on 16.6km. Each dam drastically changes the flow regime of the stream, dividing it into segments with different patterns of sediment settling and organic matter retention. I investigated how these disruptions impact nitrogen cycling, specifically nitrification rates above and below each dam. I expected higher nitrification rates above the dams, where levels of organic matter are higher, and lower rates below the dam where scouring removes organic matter and fine sediment from the streambed. I measured sediment nitrification rates with a nitrapyrin-inhibition assay and potential drivers of nitrification including sediment …