Life Sciences Commons^™

Single-Use Plastics In The Ocean, Kathryn Sievers

COD Library Student Research and Award Symposium

How do plastics impact the ocean environment through the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and how can individual households reduce their single-use plastic usage? I studied this question to understand the journey of single-use plastics to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) and their effects on the environment and marine animals while also finding actions households can take to reduce the amount of plastics being dis posed of in order to reduce the size of the Patch in the ocean.

Faculty Sponsor: Professor Laura Burt-Nicholas

Faculty Sponsor: Professor Shamili Ajgaonkar

The Spread Of Batrachochytrium Dendrobatidis And Its Effect On The Global Amphibian Ecosystem, Mars Pinkelman

COD Library Student Research and Award Symposium

The Spread of Batrachochytrium Dendrobatidis and its Effect on the Global Amphibian Ecosystem, discusses the deadly amphibian pathogen Batrachochytrium Dendrobatidis. My work aimed to answer the question, "How did the spread of batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, affect amphibian populations from its discovery in 1993 to modern day, and how could it affect biodiversity in the future?" It first covers a brief history of the disease and its discovery as well as the impacts it has on individual hosts. I then discuss the effects that the parasitic fungus has on biodiversity, concluding with ways for individuals and communities to mitigate the impacts that …

The Effects Of Covid-19 On Heart Function, Samiha Syed

COD Library Student Research and Award Symposium

Student will investigate the heart function of heart patients who suffer from COVID-19 from a biological and physics-based lens and identify innovative treatment options to alleviate symptoms and blood flow. Students will seek faculty advising one-on-one with Dr. Purcell and additional, from other faculty members in the biology and physics departments at the College of DuPage. Student will also research ways to study heart function in the classroom and develop a model for further study.

Faculty Sponsor: Susan Purcell

Factory Farming: Polluting The Environment By Supplying One Mcdonald’S At A Time, Gillian Fletcher

Biology Student Scholarship

A modern practice that has a negative impact on the environment that many take part in everyday without even knowing, is ‘factory farming’. ‘Factory farming’ is the practice of large-scale production of livestock or crops that are used to compensate for the exponentially growing population and the demand for ready-made meals at a low cost. This paper examines the reason for the transition from sustainable agriculture to factory farming, its environmental impacts, and what corporations are benefitting at the expense of the environment. Explanations are given to support the abolishment of such harmful and unethical practices like ‘factory farming’ in …

The Effects Of Tetracycline And Ibuprofen On Common Duckweed, Lemna Minor, John Von Drasek

2015 Honors Council of Illinois Region Student Symposium

Pharmaceuticals and chemicals are finding their way into drinking water by means of household and industrial sewage. This study explores the effects of two common pharmaceuticals—tetracycline and ibuprofen—on the growth of Common Duckweed, Lemna minor. The number of duckweed per test tube for each treatment was compared after 37 days. Tetracycline was not found to effect clonal growth of duckweed. There was significant difference in duckweed count between the ibuprofen treatment and the control treatment with ibuprofen inhibiting the growth of the duckweed. It is possible that the tetracycline prevented the protein synthesis of any harmful bacteria growing with the …

The Effects Of Mycorrhizae On Rapid-Grow Radish, Brassica Rapa, John Von Drasek

2014 Honors Council of the Illinois Region Papers

Mycorrhizae are fungi that have a symbiotic association with vascular plants. They increase nutrient absorption by plants, causing increased growth and reproduction. This study investigates the effects of mycorrhizae on the growth and reproduction of rapid-grow radish, Brassica rapa. The source of mycorrhizae was obtained through a mycorrhizal inoculate containingRhizophagus irregularis. Germination rate and flower count were studied and recorded over a four week period to determine the effects of the mycorrhizae. Flower count of rapid-grow radish with the mycorrhizal treatment was compared to flower count without the mycorrhizal treatment. The mycorrhizal inoculum was found to have a significant …

Reflections From The Garden: Developing A Critical Literacy Of Food Practices, Deborah Adelman, Shamili Sandiford

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.