NSF CAREER winners blend research and education
Four Rochester researchers are among the latest recipients of the National Science Foundation’s most prestigious award for junior faculty members.
SA Government names Professors of the Year
Students submitted 63 nominations, and a Student Association Government academic affairs legislature committee deliberated and selected the winners.
Adult students honored for academics, service
Nate Powers ’16, Ka’dya Donadelle, and Seth Mason ’16 and were among the 35 students honored on Wednesday, April 20, by the Rochester Area Colleges Continuing Education.
Q&A: Biologist earns raves for work with yeast
LISTEN: David Goldfarb, professor of biology, researches yeast as a model organism for understanding the aging process in humans. Why does this essential ingredient in bread and beer make a good research specimen?
Scientists map genome of common bed bug
“There’s an explosion of insect genome sequencing right now,” said Jack Werren, a professor of biology and a member of the research team. “But the bed bug is particularly interesting because it’s a human parasite, a major pest, and has a unique biology.”
An extra protein gives naked mole rats more power to stop cancer
Naked mole rats are small, hairless, subterranean rodents that have never been known to get cancer despite having a 30-year lifespan. A new protein discovered by biologist Vera Gorbunova may help explain why.
Parasitic DNA stops “jumping” when protein takes charge
Biology researchers Vera Gorbunova and Andrei Seluanov report that the “jumping genes” in mice become active as the mice age when a multi-function protein stops keeping them in check in order to take on another role. A protein called Sirt6 is needed to keep the jumping genes—technically known as retrotransposons—inactive.
Less effective DNA repair process takes over as mice age, biologists find
Biologists Vera Gorbunova and Andei Seluanov have discovered one reason for the the increase in DNA damage as we age: the primary repair process begins to fail and is replaced by one that is less accurate.
Targeting cells’ protein-making machinery may stop harmful bacteria
For the first time, the middle-steps in the process that creates the protein-making machinery of bacterial cells—called the ribosomes—has been isolated. A new study by biologist Gloria Culver suggests that blocking these pathways may help kill off drug-resistant bacteria.
Alternate mechanism of species formation picks up support, thanks to a South American ant
A newly-discovered species of ant supports a controversial theory of species formation. “Most new species come about in geographic isolation,” said Christian Rabeling, assistant professor of biology at the University of Rochester. “We now have evidence that speciation can take place within a single colony.”