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Articles 91 - 94 of 94

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Natural Selection In Samoan Metabolic Pathways, Sage Wright, John Kauwe Mar 2017

Natural Selection In Samoan Metabolic Pathways, Sage Wright, John Kauwe

Journal of Undergraduate Research

One of the leading causes of death in Pacific Islanders is diabetes or other metabolic diseases [cdc]. This may be due to the idea that the thrifty genotype hypothesis contributes to the increase in type 2 diabetes [Southam]. The thrifty genotype hypothesis suggests that certain genes that encourage an increase in body fat were beneficial for our ancestors in times of famine. During periods where food was plentiful, these genes would act so that they would deposit fat in order to better survive during famines. It allows individuals to store nutrients that they would need when food was no longer …


Playing The Mutating Game, Mitchell Young, Seth Bybee Mar 2017

Playing The Mutating Game, Mitchell Young, Seth Bybee

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Mutation rates may differ from organism to organism. Therefore, many species that are not model organisms are difficult to use in evolutionary studies, especially those focused on genomic scale questions. The focus of this project is to provide 1) inference of mutation rates for several previously unstudied insect species across 12 orders, and 2) comparison of estimated mutation rates with the genetic patterns in each species to test for correlations between genetic architecture and increased rates of evolution.


Membrane On The Frontier, Erin Wu, David Erickson Mar 2017

Membrane On The Frontier, Erin Wu, David Erickson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Antimicrobial chemokines is a type of host defense protein that play an important role in the natural defenses of many organisms such as defending skin and mucosal tissues against bacterial infections.These peptides have a net positive charge, which contributes to membrane permeabilization and/or cell penetration. It has been observed that CCL28, an antimicrobial chemokine, binds to the surface of bacteria, however, it is not known how they bind, or what they do, to cause bacterial death. Research has demonstrated that Yersinia pseudo tuberculosis with mutations in lipopolysaccharide Oantigen and core synthesis genes (rfaD mutation) exhibit increased binding affinity for the …


Secondary Metabolite Production In A Newly Discovered Endophyte Species Of Veratrum Californicum, Ashton Densley, Dr. Bradley Geary Feb 2017

Secondary Metabolite Production In A Newly Discovered Endophyte Species Of Veratrum Californicum, Ashton Densley, Dr. Bradley Geary

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Veratrum californicum, a montane perennial of Western America, is known to produce several bioactive alkaloids with teratogenic, antibiotic and antiproliferative propertiesi; the most notable is the anticancer compound cyclopamine.ii A synthetic derivative of cyclopamine had shown promise in clinical trials before the increasing production costs became prohibitory, effectively halting research.iii V. californicum’s unsuitability for agriculturalization, low cylopamine production (0.24% of roots), and the subsequent ineffective chemical synthesis steps (1% yield) have limited supplies.3,iv However, research has overlooked the potential for similar analog production by endophytes. Endophyte production represents a solution to the limited supply and troublesome growth characteristics of V. …