Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology Commons^™

Minimal Carbon Requirements For Potential Colonizers Of Other Planets, Benjamin Tan

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

The NASA Office of Planetary Protection regulates the safe scientific exploration of other planets. Specifically, the office enacts rules to discourage interplanetary mission practices that would lead to the contamination of Earth-originating microbial life on other planets. Interplanetary contamination jeopardizes the potential to obtain reliable scientific evidence for extraterrestrial life. In coordination with this office, the biosignatures of potential colonizers of other celestials bodies are studied. Several organisms of Earth qualify as potential colonizers of other planets.

This experiment focused on the environment of Mars in particular. Two organisms were tested: Desulfovibrio arcticus and Desulfotalea psychrophila. Both are psychrotolerant or …

Mitochondrial Deletions And Their Disease-Causing Effects, Austin Bell

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

The mitochondria perform a plethora of important functions within the cell, with one of the most paramount being ATP production. Deregulation of its function can have dire consequences on cellular functions. Mutations such as deletions within the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) can cause disease within the patients affected. These diseases often affect children, causing symptoms such as gradual loss of eyesight and hearing, diabetes, and other problems that lower the quality of life. The mitochondria are also very dynamic organelles that undergo rounds of fission and fusion to keep up with the metabolic needs of cells, necessitating a homeostatic balance between …

Structural And Functional Characterization Of Mitochondria With Trna Mutations, Brooke Henry

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Mitochondrial encephalopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) is one of the most common disorders associated with mitochondrial tRNA mutations. One of the most common causes of MELAS is mutation in the MT-TL1 gene which codes for mitochondrial tRNA Leucine (UUR). Mutation in MT-TE gene, another mitochondrial gene which encodes for mitochondrial tRNA Glutamate (GAA/G), has been implicated in various mitochondrial related myopathies. It remains unclear how point mutations in these tRNA genes result in disease onset and progression. Here, we report an early comparative analysis of fibroblast cell lines derived from patients carrying two different tRNA mutations: m.3243A>G …

The Effects Of Pulmonary Hypertension In Diabetic Zucker Rats On Pulmonary Vascular Contraction And Right Ventricular Size, Michael Franzetti

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Pulmonary hypertension is a life-threatening disease that is identified by a resting mean pulmonary arterial pressure over 25 mmHg and established by right heart catheterization (Saglam et al., 2015). The symptoms commonly associated with pulmonary hypertension include fatigue, dyspnea, syncope, and chest pain, which severely limit quality of life in diagnosed patients (Saglam et al., 2015). According to recent studies in patients with pulmonary hypertension, the one, three and five year mortality rates are 8%, 25%, and 34%, respectively (Burudpakdee, Shah, Joish, Divers, & Yaldo, 2014). Although some advances have been made in therapies for pulmonary hypertension, the prognosis is …