Life Sciences Commons^™

Santa Clara Magazine, Volume 52 Number 2, Fall 2010, Santa Clara University

Santa Clara Magazine

16 - JUSTICE, EDUCATION, AND THE CATHOLIC IMAGINATION By Keith Warner, O.F.M. A religious vision of a sustainable future is less about politics than ethics. It means drawing on deep spiritual currents in the Catholic tradition-and environmental concern as if people mattered.

22 - WRITING THE ISLAND An essay in the words and images by John Seibert Farnsworth and Charles Barry. A journey to the Sea of Cortez-to paddle and dive, to hear the island speak, to look carefully, to write, to come home sunburned and transformed.

30 - INTERNET, WE HAVE A PROBLEM. By Sam Scott '96. One fine …

How Anthocyanin Mutants Respond To Stress: The Need To Distinguish Between Stress Tolerance And Maximal Vigour, Eric J. Von Wettberg, Maureen L. Stanton, Justen B. Whittall

Biology

Background: Anthocyanins are produced by plants in response to diverse stresses Mutants that block the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway (A BP) at various steps can easily be compared across numerous abiotic stresses Hypothesis: Anthocyanins or their precursors are required for stress tolerance. Thus, ABP loss-of-function mutants should have proportionately lower fitness than wildtype plants under stress, compared with benign conditions In contrast, a decrease in maximal vigour the general capacity for growth and fecundity should be most pronounced under benign conditions that allow luxuriant growth by the most vigorous genotypes Tests: Determine whether, under stressful conditions. ABP loss-of-function mutants have relatively …

Influence Of Functionalized Fullerene Structure On Polymer Photovoltaic Degradation, Brian H. Johnson, Enaanake Allagoa, Robert L. Thomas, Gregory Stettler, Marianne Wallis, Justn H. Peel, Thorsteinn Adalsteinsson, Brian J. Mcnelis, Richard P. Barber Jr.

Physics

The time dependence of device performance has been measured for photocells using blends containing the conjugated polymer, poly[2-methoxy-5-(2-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene] (MEH-PPV) with two different functionalized C60 electron acceptor molecules: commercially available [6,6]-phenyl C61 butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) or [6,6]-phenyl C61 butyric acid octadecyl ester (PCBOD) produced in this laboratory. Performance was characterized by the short-circuit current output of the devices, with the time dependence of PCBM samples typically degrading exponentially. Variations in the characteristic lifetime of the devices were observed to depend on the molar fraction of the electron acceptor molecules (calculated with respect to the MEH-PPV monomer fraction). In comparison …

Finding A (Pine) Needle In A Haystack: Chloroplast Genome Sequence Divergence In Rare And Widespread Pines, Justen B. Whittall, John Syring, Matthew Parks, Jason Buenrostro, Cynthia A. Dick, Aaron Liston, Richard Cronn

Biology

Critical to conservation efforts and other investigations at low taxonomic levels, DNA sequence data offer important insights into the distinctiveness, biogeographic partitioning and evolutionary histories of species. The resolving power of DNA sequences is often limited by insufficient variability at the intraspecific level. This is particularly true of studies involving plant organelles, as the conservative mutation rate of chloroplasts and mitochondria makes it difficult to detect polymorphisms necessary to track genealogical relationships among individuals, populations and closely related taxa, through space and time. Massively parallel sequencing (MPS) makes it possible to acquire entire organelle genome sequences to identify cryptic variation …

Genetic Variation At Nuclear Loci Fails To Distinguish Two Morphologically Distinct Species Of Aquilegia, Elizabeth A. Cooper, Justen B. Whittall, Scott A. Hodges, Magnus Nordborg

Biology

Aquilegia formosa and pubescens are two closely related species belonging to the columbine genus. Despite their morphological and ecological differences, previous studies have revealed a large degree of intercompatibility, as well as little sequence divergence between these two taxa [1,2]. We compared the inter- and intraspecific patterns of variation for 9 nuclear loci, and found that the two species were practically indistinguishable at the level of DNA sequence polymorphism, indicating either very recent speciation or continued gene flow. As a comparison, we also analyzed variation at two loci across 30 other Aquilegia taxa; this revealed slightly more differentiation among taxa, …

Santa Clara Magazine, Volume 51 Number 4, Spring 2010, Santa Clara University

Santa Clara Magazine

14 - BENDING LIGHT By Steven Boyd Saum. They wanted to show that green living is not a compromise. So, for the international Solar Decathlon, the SCU-led Team California built a house of light and wonder. And it was dazzling enough to win No. 3 on the planet.

22 - CONNECT THE DOTS By Scott Brown '93. From border security to disaster preparedness, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano '79 has one immense portfolio. She's also the point person on immigration. How to put those together?

28 - THIS PLACE WE CALL HOME By Kristina Chiapella '09 '09. Generations ago, …

Santa Clara Magazine, Volume 52 Number 1, Summer 2010, Santa Clara University

Santa Clara Magazine

16 - COURAGE IN THE FACE A photoessay from Haiti by Michael Lattimore. A journey to document humanitarian work by doctors in the wake of the January quake.

20 - PILGRIMAGE By Martha Stortz. Walking the Camino to Santiago de Compostela, and learning a few things along the way: about big questions, saints, direction, and feet.

28 - THE HISTORIANS An interview by Ron Hansen M.A '95. Between them, historians George Giacomini '56 and Tim O'Keefe can claim nearly a century of educating Santa Clara students. This year, both close the books on teaching in the classroom. But first they …