91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳

“This year’s iGEM team tackled a problem that has a huge impact on society,” says , an associate professor of biology, and one of the advisors for 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳’s iGEM team. “The students realized that a patient’s sweat contains specific biomarkers that can report on whether or not the patient has sepsis. So, monitoring the levels of these biomarkers in patient sweat would be an easy and noninvasive way to diagnose sepsis in real time to get instant information.”

, an associate professor of biology at the , and her collaborators at  in the Netherlands, recently developed a 3D printing technique to engineer and study biofilms—three-dimensional communities of microorganisms, such as bacteria, that adhere to surfaces. The research provides important information for creating synthetic materials and in developing drugs to fight the negative effects of biofilms.

Elaine Sia’s first experience teaching came as a graduate student at the Columbia University Medical Center.

The diversity of subjects in which undergraduates find exceptional teachers may best be illustrated by this year’s recipients of the .

Selfish genetic elements were once thought to be merely parasites of the genome. But researchers at the have discovered that this so-called “junk DNA” may actually be key to preventing tumors.

In a recent paper published in the Journal of Hymenoptera Research, Bob Minckley, a professor of instruction in the Department of Biology, and Bill Radke, manager of the San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge, found that 497 species of bees live within just over six square miles of the San Bernardino Valley, a modest area for such a study—10 times smaller than Washington, DC. “The density of bees there is astronomical—far and away higher than anywhere else in the world that’s been carefully studied,” says Minckley.

In a published in the journal PeerJ, John (Jack) Werren, the Nathaniel and Helen Wisch Professor of at the , and recent undergraduates Austin Varela ’20 and Sammy Cheng ’21 studied proteins that closely evolve with Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), the receptor used by the SARS-CoV2 virus to enter human cells.

The University’s Mercer Brugler Distinguished Professorships, established in 1979, are announced every three years and are held by the recipients until the next round of awards.

John Bettinger awarded a 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Elon Huntington Hooker Dissertation Fellowship for 2021-2022

Department of Biology graduate student, John Bettinger has been awarded a 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Elon Huntington Hooker Dissertation Fellowship for 2021-2022. This fellowship was first endowed by the Hooker family in 1947 to support graduate students across disciplines in the sciences. It is one of the University’s most competitive dissertation fellowships for the sciences and is given to students who display exceptional ability and promise.

There’s no single force that drives cellular aging; it’s a network of feedback loops. Enzymes read genes like a grocery list of different proteins to prepare, and those proteins might protect that enzyme, or that gene, or some body-wide process. Your body is programmed to tolerate these bumps and bruises. “While we are young, that repair actually works almost flawlessly,” says Vera Gorbunova, a biogerontologist who studies mole rats at the 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳. When aging sets in, though, “now damage outpaces repair.” Gene-reading enzymes falter, misfolded proteins gum up the brain, sputtering mitochondria weaken muscles, and cancers bloom.

Five students and alumni have won 2021–22 grants in the prestigious Fulbright US Student Grant program.

“With three outstanding students chosen as Goldwater Scholars this year, the 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ continues an excellent record of attracting talented students in various STEM fields,” says Cheeptip Benyajati, an associate professor in the Department of Biology who serves on the University’s interdisciplinary STEM faculty committee. “It shows 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳’s commitment to research in STEM fields, and our success in mentoring and engaging young scientists to continue the pipeline.”

Living materials, which are made by housing biological cells within a nonliving matrix, have gained popularity in recent years as scientists recognize that often the most robust materials are those that mimic nature.

The award—the NSF’s most prestigious recognition for early-career faculty members—“embodies NSF’s commitment to encourage faculty and academic institutions to value and support the integration of research and education” and recognizes individuals “who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization.”

The Larry Sandler Memorial Lecture is given by an outstanding recent PhD graduate on the opening night of the Drosophila Research Conference.  Established in 1988 by the colleagues, friends, and students of Dr. Larry Sandler after his untimely death in 1987, the award honors Dr. Sandler for his many contributions to Drosophila genetics and his exceptional dedication to the training of Drosophila biologists. The winner receives complimentary registration for the 62nd Annual Drosophila Research Conference as well as a lifetime membership in GSA.

A new multidisciplinary collaboration between the 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳’s departments of biology, biomedical engineering, and optics and the will establish an innovative microscopy resource on campus, allowing for cutting-edge scientific research in biological imaging.

The COVID-19 stay-at-home orders have fostered a trend of at-home baking, in which amateur breadmakers, like master bakers and brewers, are beginning to experiment with various strains of baker’s yeast and sourdough starters.

Human development has caused the bird's gene pool to shrink. An ambitious experiment to relocate scrub-jay families could bring reprieve, while also pointing the way to preserving other threatened species.

91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ biology professor emeritus Stanley Hattman is being remembered by colleagues and former students as a scientist who made foundational contributions to the field of molecular biology and as a teacher who shaped the course of students’ academic careers. Hattman died December 20 at the age of 82 from complications of COVID-19.