Category Archives: Biology

Hine/Flickr Biology teacher slams transphobic meme An American biology teacher responds perfectly toa viraltransphobic meme. The meme, posted below, labels transgender people as having a psychological disorder. Grace Pokela teaches biology atArlington High School in Lagrangeville, New York and identifies as gay. When she saw the meme, she put her biology knowledge into practice and wrote a response. She starts: First of all, in a sexual species, you can have females be XX and males be X (insects) You can have females be females because they developed in a warm environment and males be males because they developed in a cool environment (reptiles), she explains. After listing the many different mutations in flora and fauna, she moves on to break down human biology. You can be male because you were born female, but you have 5-alphareductase deficiency and so you grew a penis at age 12. You can be female because you have an X and a Y chromosome but you are insensitive to androgens, and so you have a female body. And you can be male because you have two X chromosomes, but your heart and brain are male. And vice effing versa. The biology teacher shared the full … Continue reading →

To the Editor: It is common to default to learned behaviors or perceived ideals even when presented with solid scientific data. For example, many well-intending parents force children to eat out of concern they may not get adequate nutrition otherwise. Years ago, science demonstrated that this clean plate club approach is harmful, increasing the risk of eating disorders and obesity and reducing intake of healthy foods. Yet many good parents, in a moment of desperation, will coerce children to eat just one more bite. We must rely on the science, and not misconception, to protect the health of students by providing healthy start times. What the science says: Should teens turn off devices at night? Absolutely. Should they go to bed at a reasonable hour? Of course. Should we force them to be awake when their bodies are not biologically supposed to? No. We should not. Read more from the original source: Letter: Is adolescent sleep deprivation due to bad habits or biology? - The Ridgefield Press … Continue reading →

A New York biology teacher clapped back at a transphobic Facebook meme with a brilliant, scientifically based exposition thats now going viral. Grace Pokela, who teaches at Arlington High School in Lagrangeville, New York, said she spotted the meme, which argued, Being one sex but thinking youre the other is a psychological disorder, and that support of those who identify as transgender was sociopathy, on Wednesday. She took a screenshot of the meme, which can be found below. Facebook For Pokela, who identifies as gay, that was the final straw. The 33-year-old put her knowledge of human genetics to use and wrote a lengthy response to the person who posted the meme. You can be male because you were born female, but you have 5-alpha reductase deficiency and so you grew a penis at age 12. You can be female because you have an X and a Y chromosome but you are insensitive to androgens, and so you have a female body, she wrote, before concluding, Dont use science to justify your bigotry. The world is way too weird for that sh*t. She then shared the post in full on her own Facebook page, where it has since received over … Continue reading →

for USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin 11:05 a.m. CT March 3, 2017 Chancellor Bernie Patterson, with guidance from Miron Construction Co. crane operator Jerry Laird lifts the final beam to the top of the new Chemistry Biology Building at UW-Stevens Point. Faculty, staff, students, community members and legislators signed the bean and attended a topping out ceremony Feb. 27. It marked the four-story, 176,500 square-foot building reaching its tallest point.(Photo: Courtesy of UW-Stevens Point) STEVENS POINT - Construction of the four-story Chemistry Biology Building at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point has reached its tallest point. A topping-out ceremony marks completion of the highest point in a building project. The final beam was signed by Chancellor Bernie Patterson, legislators and others Feb. 27, then placed on top of the building. More than 100 students, faculty and staff signed the UW-Stevens Point-branded beam. The final beam was lifted to the top of the new Chemistry Biology Building at UW-Stevens Point Feb. 27. Faculty, staff, students, community members and legislators joined a topping out ceremony marking the four-story building reaching its tallest point.(Photo: Courtesy of UW-Stevens Point) The 176,500 square-foot building now dominates the campus skyline on what used to be parking lot X east … Continue reading →

Danielle Hemingson teaches the Anatomy and Physiology class. Image by Elizabeth Hanson. Visiting Professor of Biology Danielle Hemingson is no longer just a visitor on the BU campus. I really have enjoyed teaching and being in the classroom, Hemingson said. I really like our lab experience a lot, but just being at Baker itself is like a small family community all in one little place. Hemingson is originally from Waverly, Iowa, and she graduated from Buena Vista University, where she studied athletic training. She then attended graduate school and majored in kinesiology and sports science. This is the first time I have taught full-time at a university, I came from the YMCA, and I am more of a practitioner, so I have worked with a lot of clients and patients, Hemingson said. This is really my first full-time teaching, but I have always taught adjunct, which is online a lot more and you do not really get to know your students that well. Being here with them in person and seeing them nearly daily is really fun. For 2017-18, Hemingson will become a full-time faculty member teaching classes for both biology and exercise science. I am so happy for her, … Continue reading →

Observer A Biology Teacher Just Destroyed Every Excuse for Transphobia With Cold, Hard Facts Observer Ever since President Donald Trump rescinded an Obama administration order that required schools across the country to allow transgender students to use whatever bathroom they choose, many states and municipalities have reaffirmed their support for the ... Read more from the original source: A Biology Teacher Just Destroyed Every Excuse for Transphobia With Cold, Hard Facts - Observer … Continue reading →

With the costs of cell sequencing falling, it is the biological material itself that could prove to be a hurdle preventing us from sequencing every cell type in the human body. Recently published in Genome Biology a new study looks to address this potential bottleneck of progress using cryopreservation for long term sample storage. Here, lead author of the study, Dr. Holger Heyn, tells us more. Dr. Holger Heyn 3 Mar 2017 Is long-term sample storage possible without compromising the integrity of cell structures and RNA molecules? Schering AG/Getty Images All life on earth begins with a single cell. During an organisms development, cells divide and specialize to form complex tissues. However, how many distinct cell types exist is a matter of active discussion, which narrows down to the definition of a cell type in respect to more dynamic cell states. Recently, the capability to analyze individual cells using single-cell sequencing methods revolutionized the way we approach the complexity of tissues. Uncoupling experiments from prior knowledge, we switch project designs from hypothesis to data-driven experiments, allowing a largely unbiased characterization of tissues of interest. In this regard, single-cell studies greatly contributed to our understanding of brain, blood or pancreas tissue … Continue reading →

March 2, 2017 Computer engineers have created some amazingly small devices, capable of storing entire libraries of music and movies in the palm of your hand. But geneticists say Mother Nature can do even better. DNA, where all of biology's information is stored, is incredibly dense. The whole genome of an organism fits into a cell that is invisible to the naked eye. That's why computer scientists are turning to molecular biology to design the next best way to store humanity's ever-increasing collection of digital data. With every new app, selfie, blog post, or cat video, the hardware to store the world's vast archive of digital information is filling up. But, theoretically, DNA could store up to 455 exabytes per gram. In other words, you could have 44 billion copies of the extended versions of all three of The Lord of the Rings movies on the tip of your finger. (For reference, watching all those movies would take more than 164 million years.) George Church, a geneticist at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, first used DNA as storage for digital informationin 2012, which he reportedin a paper published in the journal Science. At the time, he revealed … Continue reading →

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Structural Biology & Molecular Modeling Techniques Market Analysis By Tools, By Application And Segment Forecasts 2014 - 2025" report to their offering. The structural biology & molecular modeling techniques market is expected to reach USD 13.1 billion by 2025 An unprecedented rise in the adoption of unhealthy lifestyles has led to an upsurge in the prevalence of chronic diseases, such as diabetes and cancer, which is presumed to propel the structural biology & molecular modeling techniques market during the forecast period. Moreover, increasing drug resistance coupled with the high drug attrition rate is engendering the requirement for extensive R&D activities, which is presumed to boost the adoption of structural biology & molecular modeling techniques in the drug discovery and development process. This is expected to serve as an efficient approach in fast tracking the development of drugs with high potency. The heightening demand for molecular modeling techniques is predominantly attributable to the significant cost reduction enabled. This is due to the fact that prediction software identifies possible adverse reactions and determines drug efficacy and toxicity in the pre-clinical stages, thereby reducing the probability of drug failure at the later stages. … Continue reading →

Research from a creek bed teaches E-town Biology students about invasives March 2, 2017 // By: E.A. Harvey // Achievements, Research and Academics Orconectes rusticus is not welcome here. Its aggressive, overproduces and upsets the balance of Lancaster County aquaculture. Native to the Ohio River basin and Kentucky, this invasive crayfish species, known for its larger claws and red body dot, wreaks havoc with native populations along the East Coast and in Europe. Rusty likely arrived in the 1960s, sloshing around in bait buckets. When they jumped the hook or unused bait was dumped, they set about reproducing. One female can carry 100 fertilized eggs. Rusty now inhabits the locales in Europe, the Great Lakes Region, areas in New England and spots along the U.S. eastern coast including the nearby Conewago Creek, where Elizabethtown College students, armed with nets and quick hands scoop them up as study subjects. In Pennsylvania, everyone seems to have picked up a crayfish, said Anya Goldina, visiting assistant professor of biology. The students actually taught me how to find them and pick them up. Goldinas students study these freshwater crustaceans for several reasons, not least of which is to track their use of pheromoneschemicals that … Continue reading →