Department of Biology

Artist Allison Newsome recently approached Anne S. Meyer, an associate professor of biology, about incorporating Meyer’s sustainable, artificial nacre materials into a new art piece. The artificial nacre produced in her lab mimics natural nacre, also known as mother-of-pearl.

Rochester biologist Nancy Chen is mapping the evolutionary forces affecting an endangered species of Florida birds, and raising fundamental questions about how and why species go extinct.

Sina Ghaemmaghami, an associate professor of biology who joined the University of Rochester in 2012, has been appointed the director of undergraduate research.

Graphene is a revolutionary nanomaterial, the discovery of which led to a Nobel Prize. By mixing graphite with bacteria, Rochester scientists are making graphene easier and more environmentally friendly to produce, paving the way for future products and applications.

The findings shed light on the important role that microbial genes, like those from viruses, can play in insect and animal evolution.

Rochester biologist Amanda Larracuente and her colleagues have successfully sequenced one of the most repetitive parts of fruit fly genome, unlocking one of the “last frontiers of genome assembly.”

Rochester researchers have uncovered more evidence that the key to the “Fountain of Youth” may reside in a gene that is found to produce more potent proteins in species with longer lifespans.

Nacre, also known as mother-of-pearl, is an exceptionally tough natural material found in shells and pearls. Rochester biologists have developed an innovative method for creating nacre in the lab—and maybe on the moon.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae, or brewer's yeast, has been used to make beer for thousands of years. To reconstruct the history of modern ale strains, Rochester biologist Justin Fay and his colleagues sequenced the genome of modern brewer’s yeast.

Four Rochester researchers from four different fields are 2019 recipients of the National Science Foundation’s most prestigious recognition for junior faculty members.