Department of Biology News

U Hangs Owl Nest Boxes

Feb. 28, 2013 - The famed peregrine falcons of downtown Salt Lake City may soon have competition for webcam fans from a fellow raptor with nocturnal habits. University of Utah biology students spent Thursday afternoon installing owl nest boxes at three locations on the campus. Student Brandi Thompson came up with the idea while in the Global Environmental Issues class. "One of the things we talked about was serving the learning community." Thompson said. Spurred into action by a guest lecturer, Arthur Morris, lead Ecologist for Utah Open Lands who talked about urban wildlife and mentioned owls, Thompson decided she wanted to build owl nest boxes and put them on campus. Amy Sibul, the service learning instructor for the class, also got involved. See Tribune story...

Animal Attraction

March 2013 - A portrait of an Old Dutch Capuchin appears on this week's cover, representing one of the hundreds of different pigeon breeds created by humans since the Neolithic Era. The photograph was taken by graduate student Sydney Stringham, from the lab of Michael D. Shapiro at the University of Utah. And although Salt Lake City has its own yearly pigeon shows, sometimes you have to go far afield to get the bird you need. A few years ago, Sydney traveled with her advisor to a large pigeon show in Germany, to collect samples for pigeon population genetics projects. In the process, they also got some inside information on the art of avian portraiture from a professional pigeon photographer. “I had no idea such a thing existed. See full story...

 

Mutant Gene Gives Pigeons Fancy Hairdos

Jan. 31, 2013 – University of Utah researchers decoded the genetic blueprint of the rock pigeon, unlocking secrets about pigeons’ Middle East origins, feral pigeons’ kinship with escaped racing birds, and how mutations give pigeons traits like a fancy feather hairdo known as a head crest. “Birds are a huge part of life on Earth, and we know surprisingly little about their genetics,” especially compared with mammals and fish, says Michael D. Shapiro, one of the study’s two principal authors and an assistant professor of biology at the University of Utah. “There are more than 10,000 species of birds, yet we know very little about what makes them so diverse genetically and developmentally.” See full story... NY Times story...

 

Biology Department Celebrates Dr. Robert Vickery

Feb 4, 2013 - The Biology Department is celebrating Dr. Vickery's 90th birthday and his contributions to the scientific community. Monday, February 14th, 3:00 p.m. ASB 210 with a reception following the presentation.

A bear’s-eye view of Turkey’s first wildlife corridor

January 2013 - With the help of funding by Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN), work carried out by 2008 Gold Award winner and 2012 Continuation Funding recipient, Çağan Şekercioğlu, and his NGO, KuzeyDoga , led to the Turkish government approving creation of the country’s first wildlife corridor in December 2011. The protected area connects the Sarikamis-Allahuekber National Park in Kars, Northern Turkey, to the extensive forests of the Black Sea and the Caucasus forests on the Turkey-Georgia border. Covering 23,500 hectares and extending for 82 kilometres, the corridor will safeguard habitat for large carnivores, such as brown bears, lynx and wolves, helping to connect isolated populations and reduce human-wildlife conflict. See full story...

 

EXPLORING THE MACHINERY OF MEMORY

Jan. 30, 2013 – University of Utah biology Professor Andres Villu Maricq will explore the workings of nerve synapses – the fundamental building blocks of memory –during the next Frontiers of Science Lecture at the University of Utah. “Exploring the Machinery of Memory: New Insights, New Directions” is the title of Maricq’s free public lecture at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 6 in the Aline Wilmot Skaggs Biology Building Auditorium.

Fred Montague one of catalyst 100

Jan. 23, 2013 - Emeritus Professor named as top 100 catalysts within our community—those who have made this a more sustainable, compassionate and vibrant place to live. Montague's mission is to show we are a part of nature, not separate from it. See full story...

Four at U Get Governor’s Science Medals

Jan. 4, 2013 – Four University of Utah faculty members are among 10 winners of the 2012 Utah Governor’s Medal for Science and Technology. Thure Cerling is a geochemist and a distinguished professor of geology and biology at the University of Utah. He uses isotopes – different forms of chemical elements – to study the ancient environments and diets of human ancestors; how global changes in climate and plant ecosystems influenced human and animal evolution; the dating of landscapes from tropical to Arctic zones; animal physiology for wildlife conservation purposes; and for forensic purposes such as helping identify murder victims. His field work has taken him to all seven continents. He has served on federal and state boards that review nuclear waste disposal plans. See full story...

FINE HANDS, FISTS OF FURY

Dec. 19, 2012 – Men whacked punching bags for a University of Utah study that suggests human hands evolved not only for the manual dexterity needed to use tools, play a violin or paint a work of art, but so men could make fists and fight. Compared with apes, humans have shorter palms and fingers and longer, stronger, flexible thumbs – features that have been long thought to have evolved so our ancestors had the manual dexterity to make and use tools. “The role aggression has played in our evolution has not been adequately appreciated,” says University of Utah biology Professor David Carrier, senior author of the study, scheduled for publication Dec. 19 by the Journal of Experimental Biology. “There are people who do not like this idea, but it is clear that compared with other mammals, great apes are a relatively aggressive group, with lots of fighting and violence, and that includes us,” Carrier says. “We’re the poster children for violence.” See full story...

Birds May Spread, Not Halt, Fever-Bearing Ticks

Nov. 30, 2012 – Turkey raises and releases thousands of non-native guineafowl to eat ticks that carry the deadly Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus. Yet research suggests guineafowl eat few ticks, but carry the parasites on their feathers, possibly spreading the disease they were meant to stop, says a Turkish biologist working at the University of Utah. “They are introducing a species that is not eating many ticks, based on studies of stomach content, and is carrying the ticks, which are the best conduit for spreading Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever,” says Çağan Şekercioğlu, an assistant professor of biology at the University of Utah. See full story...

Symbiotic Microbes’ Origin Discovered

Nov. 15, 2012 – Two years ago, a 71-year-old Indiana man impaled his hand on a branch after cutting down a dead crab apple tree, causing an infection that led University of Utah scientists to discover a new bacterium and solve a mystery about how bacteria came to live inside insects. Because the new bacterial strain lives symbiotically inside insects’ guts, it may be possible to genetically alter the new bacteria so they can block disease transmission by insects like tsetse flies and prevent crop damage by insect-borne viruses. “If we can genetically modify a bacterium that could be put back into insects, it could be used as a way to combat diseases transmitted by those insects,” says Adam Clayton, a University of Utah Ph.D. student in biology and a first author of a study unveiling the new bacterium and its genome or “genetic blueprint.” It “shows the origin of the mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship between bacteria and insects,” says biology Ph.D. student Kelly Oakeson, the study’s other first author. Colin Dale, the study’s senior author and an associate professor of biology, says the findings provide “a missing link in our understanding of how beneficial insect-bacteria relationships originate. See full story...

U Announces New “Beacons of Excellence” Award

Sept. 26, 2012 —The offices of Undergraduate Studies and Student Affairs have established the Transforming U: Beacons of Excellence Award to recognize and celebrate examples of “best practices” on the University of Utah campus, whether by individuals, programs, centers, or projects. Six awards—given annually— will recognize excellence in creating and offering a transformational experience to undergraduate students. The six recipients include Mark Nielsen, a professor of anatomy and the Human Anatomy Lab, College of Science. See full story...

Biology Professor awarded Archie F. Carr Medal

August 2012 - Nalini Nadkarni has been selected to receive the 2012 Archie F. Carr medal from the Florida Museum of Natural History. The Carr Medal "is presented to deserving naturalists for outstanding contributions to knowledge and an understanding of our natural heritage, as well as for their commitment to sharing that knowledge with a broad audience." Nalini joins distinguished previous winners of the medal including E. O. Wilson, Jared Diamond, Peter Raven, and Thomas Lovejoy. She will be the first woman to receive this award.

Biology Professor Receives Humboldt Research Award

August 2012 - Erik Jorgensen has been selected as a recipient of the Humboldt Research Award.  This award is made in recognition of outstanding scientific achievement and provides support for collaborations between German and foreign researchers.

Birds Do Better in ‘Agroforests’ than on Farms

Aug. 7, 2012 – Compared with open farmland, wooded “shade” plantations that produce coffee and chocolate promote greater bird diversity, although a new University of Utah study says forests remain the best habitat for tropical birds. The findings suggest that as open farmland replaces forests and “agroforests” – where crops are grown under trees – reduced number of bird species and shifts in the populations of various types of birds may hurt “ecosystem services” that birds provide to people, such as eating insect pests, spreading seeds and pollinating crops. “We found that agroforests are better overall for bird biodiversity in the tropics than open farms,” says study author Çağan Şekercioğlu, an assistant professor of biology at the University of Utah. “This doesn’t mean people should farm in intact forests,” the ornithologist adds. Şekercioğlu’s new study, funded by the University of Utah, is being published this month in the Journal of Ornithology. He will present the findings at the Ecological Society of America’s annual meeting. See full story...

Turkey's biodiversity at the crossroads

July 10, 2012 Current Biology - As Turkey hosts the northernmost part of the ‘Fertile Crescent’, where humans first developed agriculture more than 10,000 years ago, one might expect to find little wildlife left to protect after millennia of human management and exploitation of the land. The country boasts a rich variety of landscapes, from its three coasts (bordering the Mediterranean, Aegean, and Black Seas) up to the mountains that reach 5,137 metres in height. There are forests, shrublands, large rivers, wetlands, and several mountain ranges. Turkey's unique position at the crossroads between Europe, Asia and Africa has provided an interesting mixture of species to populate these habitats. Even though Turkey's wildlife has weathered more than ten millennia of civilisation remarkably well, conservationists fear that recent ambitions of the Turkish government are raising the threat level. Çağan Şekercioğlu from the University of Utah and colleagues have warned that “unchecked urbanisation, dam construction, draining of wetlands, poaching and excessive irrigation” are threatening Turkey's globally important biodiversity. See full story...

U Gets $5.4M of $20M Water Research Effort

July 16, 2012 – The University of Utah will receive $5.4 million from a five-year, $20 million National Science Foundation grant in which a group of Utah universities and other groups will work to help study, manage and protect Utah’s scarce water supply. The competitive grant is part of a National Science Foundation (NSF) program named EPSCoR – the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research – which is meant to promote research and development in smaller states that get a disproportionately small share of NSF funds. More than half the states are in the program. While the principal investigator of the new grant is based at Utah State University, co-principal investigators at the University of Utah are Diane Pataki, an associate professor of biology, and Jim Ehleringer, a distinguished professor of biology. See full story...

Ptooey! Plant Poison Turns Seed-Eating Mouse Into Seed Spitter

June 14, 2012 – In Israel’s Negev Desert, a plant called sweet mignonette or taily weed uses a toxic “mustard oil bomb” to make the spiny mouse spit out the plant’s seeds when eating the fruit. Thus, the plant has turned a seed-eating rodent into a seed spreader that helps the plant reproduce, says a new study by Utah and Israeli scientists. “It’s fascinating that these little mice are doing analytical chemistry, assaying the fruit for toxic compounds” and learning not to bite into the seed, says Denise Dearing, a coauthor of the study and professor of biology at the University of Utah. “It adds a new dimension to our understanding of the ongoing battle between plants and animals,” she adds. “In this case, the plants have twisted the animals to do their bidding, to spread their progeny.” The study was set for online publication June 14 in the journal Current Biology. See full story...

Virgin Male Moths Think They’re Hot When They’re Not

June 6, 2012 – Talk about throwing yourself into a relationship too soon. A University of Utah study found that when a virgin male moth gets a whiff of female sex attractant, he’s quicker to start shivering to warm up his flight muscles, and then takes off prematurely when he’s still too cool for powerful flight. So his headlong rush to reach the female first may cost him the race. “What happens before flight has not been well studied,” says José Crespo, a University of Utah doctoral student in biology and first author of the new study, published online June 7 in the Journal of Experimental Biology. “To me, the story is you have a behavior – pre-flight warmup – that is switched on by smell.” Senior author Neil Vickers, professor and chairman of biology at the University of Utah, says: “In many insects, moths in particular, all of their adult lives are affected by odor – all the activities they engage in that you and I see at night at the porch light are things typically affected by odor.” See full story... SL Tribune Article

MEASURING CO2 TO FIGHT GLOBAL WARMING

May 14, 2012 – If the world’s nations ever sign a treaty to limit emissions of climate-warming carbon dioxide gas, there may be a way to help verify compliance: a new method developed by scientists from the University of Utah and Harvard. Using measurements from only three carbon-dioxide (CO2) monitoring stations in the Salt Lake Valley, the method could reliably detect changes in CO2 emissions of 15 percent or more, the researchers report in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences for the week of May 14, 2012.“The primary motivation for the study was to take high-quality data of atmospheric CO2 in an urban region and ask if you could predict the emissions patterns based on CO2 concentrations in the air,” says study coauthor Jim Ehleringer, a distinguished professor of biology at the University of Utah. See full story... SL Tribune Article

The Key To Keeping Lice At Bay? A Lot Of Hot Air

April 6, 2012 by STEVE HENN-NPR News. When Dale Clayton's kids were little, they — like millions of others — got lice, and Clayton spent weeks combing and picking and shampooing to get them out. "Even then it was already pretty well known that lice were evolving resistance to many of the shampoos that are available in drugstores and grocery stores and so on," says Clayton, so he made it his mission to build a better louse trap. See full story with audio and video...

 

First National Meeting of Science, Math Ed Centers
UNIVERSITY OF UTAH TO HOST MAY 20-22 CONFERENCE

May 16, 2012 – More than 60 U.S. colleges and universities have created centers to promote science and math education, but there has been no organization to unite them. So on May 20-22, the University of Utah will take a leadership role by hosting the First National Conference for Centers of Science and Mathematics Education. “Nationwide, we are experiencing an increased need for students who have completed higher education degrees in science and math,” says Nalini Nadkarni, director of the University of Utah’s Center for Science and Math Education. “Our center is working to enhance education efforts to meet that goal.” See full story...

Genes for Learning, Remembering, Forgetting

March 29, 2012 – Certain genes and proteins that promote growth and development of embryos also play a surprising role in sending chemical signals that help adults learn, remember, forget and perhaps become addicted, University of Utah biologists have discovered. “We found that these molecules and signaling pathways [named Wnt] do not retire after development of the organism, but have a new and surprising role in the adult. They are called back to action to change the properties of the nervous system in response to experience,” says biology Professor Andres Villu Maricq, senior author of the new study in the March 30 issue of the journal Cell. See full story...

Biology Professor Proposes Wildlife Corridor

March 5, 2012 Kars, Turkey - "This is an Armenian plot," mutters a farmer as ecologists explain what may be Turkey's most ambitious wildlife conservation project ever, right in his backyard. But in fact, the government is behind it. This summer, officials expect to begin the reforestation of a 58,000-acre corridor of land that will connect the isolated Sarikamis National Park and its shrinking population of wolves, bears, and lynxes to a swath of territory in the Caucausus . "This is the biggest landscape-scale active conservation project ever undertaken in the country," says Cagan Sekercioglu, a professor of biology at the University of Utah who proposed the corridor. "We're hoping this will reduce human-predator contact and encourage these animals to access much larger and more resource-rich forests along the Black Sea and Caucasus. See full story...

 

Math Can Save Tylenol Overdose Patients

Feb. 27, 2012 – University of Utah mathematicians developed a set of calculus equations to make it easier for doctors to save Tylenol overdose patients by quickly estimating how much painkiller they took, when they consumed it and whether they will require a liver transplant to survive. “It’s an opportunity to use mathematical methods to improve medical practice and save lives,” says Fred Adler, a professor of mathematics and biology and coauthor of a study that developed and tested the new method. See full story...

900 species of birds could be extinct by 2100

March 5, 2012 - The finding is modelled on the effects of a 3.5C Earth surface temperature rise, a Biological Conservation Journal paper shows. Species may struggle to adapt to habitat loss and extreme weather events, author Cagan Sekercioglu says. Mountain, coastal, restricted-range, and species unable to get to higher Depending on future habitat loss, each degree of surface warming could affect between 100-500 species, says Mr. Sekercioglu, assistant professor of biology at the University of Utah. See full story...

 

Climate Change Threatens Tropical Birds

Feb. 16, 2012 – Climate change spells trouble for many tropical birds – especially those living in mountains, coastal forests and relatively small areas – and the damage will be compounded by other threats like habitat loss, disease and competition among species. That is among the conclusions of a review of nearly 200 scientific studies relevant to the topic. The review was scheduled for online publication this week in the journal Biological Conservation by Cagan Sekercioglu, an assistant professor of biology at the University of Utah. There are roughly 10,000 bird species worldwide. About 87 percent spend at least some time in the tropics, but if migratory birds are excluded, about 6,100 bird species live only in the tropics. See full story...

 

Our Amorphophallus is Smaller

Feb. 6, 2012 – The famed “corpse flower” plant – known for its giant size, rotten-meat odor and phallic shape – has a new, smaller relative: A University of Utah botanist discovered a new species of Amorphophallus that is one-fourth as tall but just as stinky. The new species, collected on two small islands off Madagascar, brings to about 170 the number of species in the genus Amorphophallus, which is Greek for “misshapen penis” because of the shape of the plants’ flower-covered shaft, called the inflorescence or the spadix, says Greg Wahlert, a postdoctoral researcher in the Bohs Lab in biology. See full story...

 

Why Bad Immunity Genes Survive

Feb. 6, 2012 – University of Utah biologists found new evidence why mice, people and other vertebrate animals carry thousands of varieties of genes to make immune-system proteins named MHCs – even though some of those genes make us susceptible to infections and to autoimmune diseases. “Major histocompatibility complex” (MHC) proteins are found on the surface of most cells in vertebrate animals. They distinguish self from foreign, and trigger an immune response against foreign invaders. MHCs recognize invading germs, reject or accept transplanted organs and play a role in helping us smell compatible mates. “This study explains why there are so many versions of the MHC genes, and why the ones that cause susceptibility to diseases are being maintained and not eliminated,” says biology Professor Wayne Potts. “They are involved in a never-ending arms race that causes them, at any point in time, to be good against some infections but bad against other infections and autoimmune diseases.” See full story...

Birds of a Feather Don’t Always Stick Together

Jan. 19, 2012 – Pigeons display spectacular variations in their feathers, feet, beaks and other physical traits, but a new University of Utah study shows that visible traits don’t always coincide with genetics: A bird from one breed may have huge foot feathers, while a closely related breed does not; yet two unrelated pigeon breeds both may have large foot feathers “Most people think of pigeons as rats of the sky, but in fact they’re really incredibly diverse,” says Michael Shapiro, an assistant professor of biology and senior author of the study published online Jan. 19 in the journal Current Biology. SL Tribune Article See full story...

 

Turkey’s Globally Important Biodiversity in Crisis

Turkey lies at the nexus of Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa. Turkey’s location, mountains, and its encirclement by three seas have resulted in high terrestrial, fresh water, and marine biodiversity. Most of Turkey’s land area is covered by one of three biodiversity hotspots (Caucasus, Irano-Anatolian, and Mediterranean). Of over 9000 known native vascular plant species, one third are endemic. Turkey faces a significant challenge with regard to biodiversity and associated conservation challenges due to limited research and lack of translation into other languages of existing material. Addressing this gap is increasingly relevant as Turkey’s biodiversity faces severe and growing threats, especially from government and business interests. Turkey ranks 121st out of 132 countries in biodiversity and habitat conservation. Millennia of human activities have dramatically changed the original land and sea ecosystems of Anatolia, one of the earliest loci of human civilization. Recent articles on  Cagan Sekercioglu's work on biodiversity research and conservation in Turkey are in Science, Biological Conservation, National Geographic, the New York Times and the New Yorker.

Utah Biologist Wins Public Engagement Award

Jan. 9, 2012 – University of Utah biology Professor Nalini Nadkarni is being honored by the world’s largest general science society – the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) – with the group’s 2011 Public Engagement with Science Award. AAAS has named Nalini M. Nadkarni as the recipient of the 2011 AAAS Public Engagement With Science Award, recognizing “her unique, persistent and innovative public engagement activities that have served to raise awareness of environmental and conservation issues with a broad and exceedingly diverse audience.” See full story...

BLUEPRINT OF SPIDER MITE MAY YIELD BETTER PESTICIDES

Nov. 23, 2011 – A University of Utah biologist and an international research team decoded the genetic blueprint of the two-spotted spider mite, raising hope for new ways to attack the major pest, which resists pesticides and destroys crops and ornamental plants worldwide. The voracious mites, which technically are not insects, can eat more than 1,100 plant species – a rare trait. The mites’ newly revealed and sequenced genome contains a variety of genes capable of detoxifying pesticides as well as toxins plants use to defend themselves, the scientists report in the Thursday, Nov. 24 issue of the journal Nature.

“One key thing that makes spider mites unique is they can eat many, many different plant species,” says Richard M. Clark, one of five main authors of the study and an assistant professor of biology at the University of Utah. “These mites are often house plant pests – a major cause of people’s house plants turning yellow and getting sick. They also are a major problem for agricultural nurseries and greenhouses, and for field crops.” Primary targets are tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, strawberries, corn, soybeans, apples, grapes and citrus. See full story...

U. biologist merges bird research and conservation

BY BRIAN MAFFLY
The Salt Lake Tribune

Oct 09, 2011 Cagan Sekercioglu’s first summer in graduate school was spent in a lab staring at bird barf. "It was awful," said the University of Utah biologist. "You had to look at these vomits through a microscope and figure out what they had eaten from the insect body parts you could see." The inherent tension between trying to conserve nature and studying it objectively means conservation biologists must walk a careful line. His global perspective and eye on conservation help round out one of the U.’s largest departments, according to biology chairman Neil Vickers.

Another pair of U. biologists, Phyllis Coley and Thomas Kursar, maintain a research outpost in Costa Rica, assaying compounds harvested from rain forest plants for therapeutic properties.

Other recent U. biology hires also fit this mold. Entomologist Jack Longino and tree-canopy researcher Nalini Nadkarni joined the department this fall after the U. recruited the husband-wife team from Washington's Evergreen State College where they started the International Canopy Network, which promotes forest conservation and research. Nadkarni, who now runs the U.'s new Center for Science and Mathematics Education, is a charismatic communicator noted for engaging nonacademics. See full story...

Little Plant has Big Stories to Tell

August 28, 2011—Understanding which genes control traits, like when a plant will flower, what soil type is best or its ability to persist in drought conditions provides insight into the ability of plants to adapt to new environments. This type of scientific data is important for crop improvement and significant to human well being. An international collaboration of researchers, including biologists at the University of Utah (the U), compared genetic data from 19 different strains of a humble plant called Arabidopsis thaliana (thale cress). The genome sequences of these strains, 18 of which are presented in the study, will now make it easier to study plants’ surprisingly wide trait variation that underlies their adaptability. The results of the study are published online in the journal Nature. “Arabidopsis thaliana is widely used by the international community and has provided a wealth of knowledge about plant biology,” says Richard Clark , University of Utah biologist and one of the authors of this multi-national project. See full story...

RATS CONTROL APPETITE FOR POISON

Aug. 9, 2011 - Life is tough for woodrats in deserts of the U.S. Southwest. There are few plants for food, and those plants produce poison to deter rodents, insects and other animals. A new University of Utah study shows how certain woodrats put themselves on a diet to avoid poisoning. "For decades, we have been trying to understand how herbivores deal with toxic diets," says biology Professor Denise Dearing , senior author of the study, published online Tuesday, Aug. 9 in the British Ecological Society's journal Functional Ecology. Dearing conducted the research with first author and Utah biology Ph.D. student Ann-Marie Torregrossa.... See full story...

6 Million Years of Savanna

Aug. 3, 2011 – University of Utah scientists used chemical isotopes in ancient soil to measure prehistoric tree cover – in effect, shade – and found that grassy, tree-dotted savannas prevailed at most East African sites where human ancestors and their ape relatives evolved during the past 6 million years. “We’ve been able to quantify how much shade was available in the geological past,” says geochemist Thure Cerling, senior author of a study of the new method in the Thursday, Aug. 4, 2011 issue of the journal Nature. . See full story...

U Biologist named 2011 National Geographic Emerging explorer

May 16, 2011- Dr. Cagan Sekercioglu has been named one of 14 National Geographic's 2011 Emerging Explorers. National Geographic's Emerging Explorers Program recognizes and supports uniquely gifted and inspiring young adventurers, scientists, photographers, and storytellers—explorers who are already making a difference early in their careers. . See full story...

NO NUTS FOR ‘NUTCRACKER MAN’ - EARLY HUMAN RELATIVE APPARENTLY CHEWED GRASS INSTEAD

May 2, 2011 - For decades, a 2.3 million- to 1.2 million-year-old human relative named Paranthropus boisei has been nicknamed Nutcracker Man because of his big, flat molar teeth and thick, powerful jaw. But a definitive new University of Utah study shows that Nutcracker Man didn't eat nuts, but instead chewed grasses and possibly sedges - a discovery that upsets conventional wisdom about early humanity's diet. "It most likely was eating grass, and most definitely was not cracking nuts," says geochemist Thure Cerling, lead author of the study published in the May 2 online edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.See full story...

Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Scholar Distinguished Mentor Award 2011 (April 20, 2011)

Biology professor Dr. Donald Feener named as winner of the University of Utah's 2011 Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Scholar mentor award. This award recognizes faculty who effectively guide graduate students and postdoctoral scholars throughout their professional training in a continuing, multifaceted partnership sustained by mutual respect and concern. The relationship between a graduate student and/or postdoctoral scholar and his or her faculty advisor is one that can have a profound, lifelong influence on both parties. At its best, this mentoring relationship inspires and gives confidence to the student or postdoctoral scholar while providing the faculty member with a valued colleague. See full story...

THREE AWARDS RECOGNIZE OUTSTANDING TEACHING BY BIOLOGY FACULTY

Biology faculty members have recently received awards recognizing their outstanding teaching. Professor David Gard was recognized with the Students' Choice Teaching Award from the Associated Students of the University of Utah. Students nominate outstanding professors for this honor. Assistant Professor Michael Shapiro received the Early Career Teaching Award from the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence at the University of Utah. The award committee were particularly impressed by Dr. Shapiro's use of skype technology to connect students directly with the authors of papers that they read in class. In addition, Professor (Lecturer) David Temme was awarded the Excellence in Education Award by the Latter-Day Saint Student Association at the University of Utah. Dr. Temme's selection for this award shows that his teaching is held in high regard by students across the campus.

MONITORING KILLER MICE FROM SPACE (Feb. 15, 2011)

The risk of deadly hantavirus outbreaks in people can be predicted months ahead of time by using satellite images to monitor surges in vegetation that boost mouse populations, a University of Utah study says. The method also might forecast outbreaks of other rodent-borne illnesses worldwide. "It's a way to remotely track a disease without having to go out and trap animals all the time," says Dr. Denise Dearing, professor of biology at the University of Utah and co-author of the study published online Wednesday, Feb. 16, in the journal Global Ecology and Biogeography. "The satellite measures the greenness of the Earth, and we found that greenness predicts deer mouse population density." See full "Killer Mice" story…

Biology Professor Recognized (January 7, 2011)

Dr. Cagan H. Sekercioglu, a new assistant professor of biology, has been named Turkey's Scientist of the Year by a media consortium in his homeland of Turkey. The consortium, which includes the NTV-MSNBC news organization, named people of the year in 10 categories (including politician, sportsperson, actor, musician and businessperson). The media group selected Sekercioglu through its popular science magazine, NTV Bilim (NTV Science). In addition to citing Sekercioglu's conservation, biodiversity research and ecological restoration project at Turkey's Lake Kuyucuk, NTV Bilim praised him as intelligent and charming, and noted the frequency with which his work is cited by other scientists. See NatGeo Blog

Biology Department Names Three NEW Assistant Professors

Dr. Cagan H. Sekercioglu, Dr. Ayako Yamaguchi, Dr. Sarah Bush

Biology Professor Named Fellow of AAAS (January 11, 2011)

Biology Professor Dr. Gary Drews has been elected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world's largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science. He was among 503 AAAS members awarded that honor "because of their efforts toward advancing science applications that are deemed scientifically or socially distinguished," the group said. Drews was honored for "distinguished contributions to the study of plant reproduction through pioneering work" on the development of embryo sacs and the seed component known as endosperm, which is a major source of food, animal feed and industrial raw materials. AAAS has been electing members as fellows since 1874. See full "Recognizing U" story…

The Lousterbuster Returns (December 6, 2010)

Dec. 6, 2010 -- Four years after the LouseBuster prototype made headlines when research showed the chemical-free, warm-air device wiped out head lice on children, a new study reveals that a revamped, government-cleared model is highly effective. The new study of 56 louse-infested children and adults - soon to be published in the January 2011 issue of the Journal of Medical Entomology - found 94.8 percent of lice and their eggs, known as nits, were dead after treatment with the LouseBuster. See full "Lousebuster Returns" story.

Olivera reappointed HHMI Professor (September 2, 2010)

Baldomero "Toto" Olivera has been reappointed as an HHMI Professor for science education. Olivera, who is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Biology, will receive an $800,000 grant to expand his efforts in building innovative research-based approaches to undergraduate education. Dr. Olivera was first appointed as an HHMI Professor in 2006. Out of about 60 initial appointments, Professor Olivera is one of only 13 science education professors to be reappointed in 2010.

Cryptically colored parasites (August 19, 2010)

The evolution of cryptic coloration is a classic example of evolution by natural selection. Just as cryptically colored prey avoid detection by predators, Sarah Bush and colleagues from the Department of Biology have shown that some species of parasites have evolved cryptic coloration to avoid being removed when the host preens. Their study, published in the American Naturalist, shows that lice match the color of the feathers on which they live. Lightly colored birds have lightly colored lice and darkly colored birds have darkly colored lice. There is however, an interesting exception. Birds have species of lice that are found only on their head and neck feathers. Since birds can neither see nor preen their own heads, there is no selection pressure for these "head lice" to evolve cryptic coloration. Indeed, Bush and colleagues found no evidence of cryptic coloration in head lice. In essence, head lice are the exception that proves the rule that preening is the selective agent responsible for the evolution of cryptic coloration in feather lice.

Big NIH Honor for U Biologist (August 17, 2010)

University of Utah biologist A. Villu Maricq will receive $3.75 million to study memory and learning in action, thanks to a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director's Pioneer Award meant to encourage promising but risky research. See full "Big NIH Honor" story…

Putting Muscle into Birdsong (June 29, 2010)

University of Utah biologists Franz Goller and Tobias Reide were among the scientists that studied the colorful zebra finch to learn more about the factors that allow the songbirds to sing over a wide range of frequencies while females utter only brief lower-frequency calls. They found that the males' more powerful vocal muscles were much more important than the pressure of air within the lung. See full "Putting Muscle into Birdsong" story…

Mental Illness Tied to Immune Defect (May 27, 2010)

A Nobel Prize-winning University of Utah geneticist, Mario Capecchi, distinguished professor of human genetics at the University of Utah, School of Medicine discovered that bone marrow transplants cure mutant mice who pull out their hair compulsively. The study provides the first cause-and-effect link between immune system cells and mental illness, and points toward eventual new psychiatric treatments. See full "Mental Illness Tied to Immune Defect" story…

Worm Genes K'O (April 25, 2010)

Knocking genes out of action allows researchers to learn what genes do by seeing what goes wrong without them. University of Utah biologists pioneered the field. Mario Capecchi won a Nobel Prize for developing knockout mice. Kent Golic found a way to cripple fruit fly genes. Now, biologist Erik Jorgensen and colleagues have devised a procedure for knocking out genes in nematode worms. See full "Worm Genes K'O" story…

Gators Breathe Like Birds (Jan. 14, 2010)

University of Utah scientists (biologist, C.G. Farmer, the study's principal author) discovered that air flows in one direction as it loops through the lungs of alligators, just as it does in birds. The study suggests this breathing method may have helped the dinosaurs' ancestors dominate Earth after the planet's worst mass extinction 251 million years ago. See full "Gators Breathe Like Birds" story…

Birds Fight Alien Parasites (Jan. 5, 2010)

Unlike Hawaii and other island groups, no native bird has gone extinct in the Galapagos Islands, although some are in danger. But University of Utah biologists found that finches - the birds Darwin studied - develop antibodies against two parasites that moved to the Galapagos, suggesting the birds can fight the alien invaders. See full "Birds Fight Alien Parasites" story…