Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Medicine and Health Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

Identifying Modulators Of The Development Of Acute Functional Tolerance To Ethanol In Caenorhabditis Elegans., Ka-Po Leung Dec 2011

Identifying Modulators Of The Development Of Acute Functional Tolerance To Ethanol In Caenorhabditis Elegans., Ka-Po Leung

Theses and Dissertations

Alcohol abuse is a problem in our society. There are few treatments available, in part due to the unclear molecular mechanisms of ethanol’s effects. Human studies indicate that there is a genetic component influencing disease susceptibility, and that an individual’s initial response to alcohol can predict their development of addiction. We have taken a forward genetics approach to study one component of initial response, acute functional tolerance (AFT), in Caenorhabditis elegans. We identified bet11, a mutation that causes animals to be defective in the development of AFT. Genetic analysis suggested that the gene that bet11 disrupts participates in a synthetic …


Calcium Dynamics Of Glial Cells And Genetic Influences On Behavior Of The Nematode Caenorhabditis Elegans, Randy Franklin Stout Jan 2011

Calcium Dynamics Of Glial Cells And Genetic Influences On Behavior Of The Nematode Caenorhabditis Elegans, Randy Franklin Stout

All ETDs from UAB

A major challenge in neuroscience is understanding how the different neural cell types work together to process information and produce a behavioral output. Glial cells of the human brain have long been thought to act as support for the fundamental cell to cell communication at the core of cognition: neuronal synaptic communication. Research over the past several decades measuring glial activity and experimentally controlling glial cells in rodent model systems has shown that the two macroglia sub-types of glial cells (astrocytes and oligodendrocytes) have active roles in establishment, maintenance, and modulation of synaptic communication in the mammalian brain. Much of …


Molecular Mechanisms Regulating Caenorhabditis Elegans Sperm Migration, Johnathan Wesley Edmonds Jan 2011

Molecular Mechanisms Regulating Caenorhabditis Elegans Sperm Migration, Johnathan Wesley Edmonds

All ETDs from UAB

Fertilization is the process by which male and female gametes join to give rise to a new organism. Union of sperm and ova requires that sperm be able to successfully locate and migrate towards oocytes in the female reproductive tract. By analyzing the in vitro migration of sperm from diverse species and mapping the complex architecture of their female reproductive tracts, we can infer that sperm must respond to directional cues to seek out the mature oocyte. However, the internal fertilization schemes of most complex animals complicate the analysis of in vivo sperm migration. The transparent epidermis of the nematode …