Causal Agent: Pediculus humanus capitis, the head louse, is an insect of the order Psocodea and is an ectoparasite whose only host are humans. The louse feeds on blood several times daily and resides close to the scalp to maintain its body temperature. The life cycle of the head louse has three stages: egg, nymph, and adult. Eggs: Nits are head lice eggs. They are hard to see and are often confused for dandruff or hair spray droplets. Nits are laid by the adult female and are cemented at the base of the hair shaft nearest the scalp . They are 0.8 mm by 0.3 mm, oval and usually yellow to white. Nits take about 1 week to hatch (range 6 to 9 days). Viable eggs are usually located within 6 mm of the scalp. Nymphs: The egg hatches to release a nymph . The nit shell then becomes a more visible dull yellow and remains attached to the hair shaft. The nymph looks like an adult head louse, but is about the size of a pinhead. Nymphs mature after three molts (, ) and become adults about 7 days after hatching. Adults: The adult louse is about the size … Continue reading →

Degree Information Ph.D., California Institute of Technology (1991) B.S., Texas A & M University, College Station (1980) B.S., Texas A & M University, College Station (1979) Peptide Therapeutics - creating peptide drugs by the improvement of naturally occurring peptides and the discovery of new peptides via combinatorial libraries Biography Publications Zhu, Y., Eiteman, M. A., Lee, S. A., and Altman, E. 2010. Conversion of glycerol to pyruvate by Escherichia coli using an acetate- and glucose-limited fed-batch process. Journal of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology. 37:307-312. Lu, S., Eiteman, M. A., and Altman, E. 2010. Effect of flue gas components on succinate production and CO 2 fixation by metabolically engineered Escherichia coli. World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology. 26:429-435. Lu, S., Eiteman, M. A., and Altman, E. 2009. Effect of CO 2 on succinate production in dual-phase Escherichia coli fermentations. Journal of Biotechnology. 143:213-223. Lu, S., Eiteman, M. A., and Altman, E. 2009. pH and base counterion affect succinate production in dual-phase Escherichia coli fermentations. Journal of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology . 36:1101-1109. Eiteman, M. A., Lee, S. A., Altman, R., and Altman, E . 2009. A substrate-selective co-fermentation with Escherichia coli produces lactate by simultaneously consuming xylose and glucose. Biotechnology and … Continue reading →

Ive spent the last couple of years arguing that the barriers between software and the physical world are falling. The barriers between software and the living world are next. At our Solid Conference last May, Carl Bass, Autodesks CEO, described the coming of generativedesign. Massive computing power, along with frictionless translation between digital and physical through devices like 3D scanners and CNC machines, will radically change the way we design the world around us. Instead of prototyping five versions of a chair through trial and error, you can use a computer to prototype and test a billion versions in a few hours, then fabricate it immediately. That scenario isnt far off, Bass suggested, and it arises from a fluid relationship between real and virtual. Biology is headed down the same path: with tools on both the input and output sides getting easier to use, materials getting easier to make, and plenty of computation in the middle, itll become the next way to translate between physical and digital. (Excitement has built to the degree that Solid co-chair Joi Ito suggested we change the name of our conference to Solid and Squishy.) I spoke with Andrew Hessel, a distinguished research scientistin Autodesks … Continue reading →

Reading a Galveston Daily News article on the College of the Mainland Biology Clubs nature conservation projects inspired the Kemah-Bay Area Garden Club to get involved. The club presented a $1,000 check to Sheena Abernathy, COM biology instructor and Biology Club advisor, for supplies to assist the club. The clubs conservation projects include growing native plants in the colleges greenhouse for Audubon Texas and the Nature Conservancy. With the second, big greenhouse up and functioning, were going to work more with Audubon Texas and the Nature Conservancy, said COM Biology Club advisor Sheena Abernathy. Recently students helped plant 15 to 20 cacti and 15 to 20 lantana for Audubon Texas at the Rookery Islands. For more information on the COM Biology Club, contact Abernathy at sabernathy@com.edu. College of the Mainland offers a variety of fully accredited associate degrees and certifications that prepare students for success in transferring to a university or entering the workforce, including programs in process technology, occupational safety and health care. An Achieving the Dream Leader College, COM has an excellent professor-to-student ratio that allows instructors to connect with each class. Were the launchpad for success stories throughout the Mainland. For more, visit http://www.com.edu. Follow this link: … Continue reading →

A 26-year-old biology teacher from Hwa Chong Institution was on board the missing AirAsia flight QZ8501. Ms Florentina Maria Widodo, from Indonesia, is affectionately known to family and friends as Tina. She teaches A-level biology at the school. Her name is listed as No. 135 on the passenger list issued by the airline on Sunday. Her Singaporean boyfriend, Andy Paul Chen, was at Changi Airport yesterday afternoon to travel to Surabaya, Indonesia. "She is my girlfriend. I'm going there now to meet her family members," he told reporters in Mandarin. He was accompanied by his parents, and seemed to be in shock. Ms Widodo and Mr Chen had both studied at the National University of Singapore, and were members of the university's guitar ensemble. Ms Widodo reportedly graduated from the National Institute of Education last year. Mr Chen took to Facebook on Sunday to inform friends and family members that Ms Widodo was among the passengers on board the aircraft. Her father, who is named as FY Widodo on Facebook, posted a photo of himself and his daughter on the social-networking site. Read more here: Missing AirAsia flight QZ8501: Hwa Chong teacher among those on board … Continue reading →

A visit from a civil rights Freedom Rider is among the highlights of the 2015 Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration in Dayton. David Fankhauser will be the keynote speaker for the annual MLK Celebration Banquet, which will be held 6 p.m. on Jan. 19 at the Dayton Convention Center. Fankhauser was one of the Freedom Riders who rode interstate buses into the segregated south of the United States in 1961 to challenge segregated interstate facilities. At the time, Fankhauser, a white male, was a student at Central State University, a historically black college in Wilberforce. He is now a biology and chemistry professor at the University of Cincinnatis Clermont College. Sometimes people forget that in the civil rights movement there were not just black people. (Fankhausers) living proof that there were others involved with the movement, said Anthony Whitmore, president and general chairperson for the non-profit that is hosting Daytons 2015 Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration. The theme for the celebration, which is hosted by MLK Dayton, Inc., is Lift Every Voice, according to Whitmore. As we looked at what was happening not just in our city, but in Missouri and other places across the country, it looked as … Continue reading →