Biology Club News

                        The Club’s end-of-semester social is Wednesday, December 7, at 8 p.m. at Gino's Pub on 5th Avenue.  To join the Club’s email list, send your name and email address to bioclub@marshall.edu; you will receive email updates about Club activities.  For updates on what the Club is doing, be sure to check out the website at http://www.marshall.edu/bioclub.  Thanks to all who purchased T-shirts!

A Course to Consider: Genes and Development
        This spring, Dr. Simon Collier is offering BSC 456/581 Genes and Development. This three-credit course will be held MWF 3:00-3:50 p.m.

        We all begin life as a single fertilized egg cell and increase in size by multiple cell divisions.  Yet somehow we develop into a functioning human being rather than just a large ball of cells.  Theoretical models of how the growth and patterning of cells and tissues are regulated to produce functional organs and organisms have been around for decades.  However, it has only been in the last twenty years that many of the molecular genetic mechanisms that underlie pattern formation and cell fate decisions have been characterized.  How well does our molecular understanding match the traditional models?  How have the pre-existing models influenced the way we interpret molecular events?

        The course will consider aspects of the genetic control of multi-cellular organization from slime molds to humans.  The first half of the course will be lecture based and will focus primarily on the fruit fly Drosophila, as it remains the best model for eukaryotic development. The second half of the course will be student led and will identify common development themes in a wide range of organisms through discussion and criticism of current literature and student presentations. 

A Course to Consider:  Readings in Immunology

            BSC 303 will involve selected readings from the field of immunology.  Emphasis will be placed on the historical developments in this discipline, and focus on how our concepts of immunology have changed in the last 50 years.  The pioneering work of Jenner, Kitasato and von Behring, Ehrlich, Burnet, Jerne, Porter and Edelman, and Milstein will be treated.  Topics will include antibody structure and function, genetics of antibody diversity, T-cell recognition, cancer immunology, autoimmunity, AIDS, and influenza.  Readings will be taken from Scientific American Offprints and other literature sources.

Stuffed Cells™ by Zedmalia Wolfe

            The scientifically-correct adventures of an archaean, a plant cell, and an animal cell.

What Are They Doing Now?  An update on BSC alumni

·        Jennifer Adams, BSC MS 2005 with Dr. Pauley is currently a Wildlife Biology instructor at Hocking College, Athens, Ohio.  Her thesis title was “Home Range and Behavior of the Timber Rattlesnake, Crotalus horridus in West Virginia.”

·        Vanessa Dozeman, BSC MS 2004 with Dr. Pauley has been employed by an environmental consulting company in Charleston, WV as a field biologist.  Her thesis title was “Investigation of a Farm Pond Community in Wayne County, West Virginia.”

·        Robert Makowsky, BSC MS 2004 with Dr. Pauley is currently pursuing a PhD under Dr. Rissler at the University of Alabama's Department of Biological Sciences, in the Graduate Program in Ecology and Systematics. His thesis topic was “Diet and Activity Patterns of the Eastern Hellbender, Cryptobranchus alleganiensis.”

·        Michael Osbourn, BSC MS 2005 with Dr. Pauley is employed by the National Park Service as a wildlife field biologist at Point Reyes National Seashore and Yosemite National Park in California.  His thesis topic was “The Natural History of Cave-dwelling Gyrinophilus spp. in West Virginia.”

It’s True:  You may have wondered if it’s actually possible to know the outdoor temperature by listening to a cricket chirp.  Yes – it’s true!  Chirping frequency varies according to temperature. To get a rough estimate of the temperature, count the number of chirps in 15 seconds, and then add 37. You will then have an approximation of the temperature in degrees Fahrenheit.

     How do crickets make that chirping sound?  Generally, the males are the "singers." The male cricket rubs a scraper (a sharp ridge on his wing) against a series of wrinkles, or "files", on the other wing. The tone of the chirping depends upon the distance between the wrinkles.  Crickets may chirp to attract a female with a loud and monotonous sound; court a nearby female with a quick, softer chirp; behave aggressively during the encounter of two males; or sound a danger alert when sensing trouble.  Crickets are part of the family Orthoptera (grasshoppers and katydids).  (http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/cricket.html)

Job Opportunities – details at MU’s Career Services Center, 5^th Avenue at 17^th Street

·        http://www.usajobs.opm.gov is an extensive listing of Federal job openings.

·        Contact Career Services to learn more about internships such as that of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which offers outstanding paid, 10-week internships and semester co-ops in major companies throughout the US, including NASA, IBM, NIH, NOAA and Merck.

·        The Ocean Mammal Institute offers student internships to help continue studies on the impact of human marine activities on endangered humpback whales.  During the day students will help collect data in the field; in the evening they will have lectures and discussions about the research and marine conservation issues.  More information can be found at http://www.oceanmammalinst.org/

No matter how you spend your time off, we hope that you enjoy it!