Common Threads: Forging Parts from Wholes in Mathematical Biology For the Disciplines Series and the Embodiments of Science lecture series, the Institute for Research on Women and Gender and the Heyman Center for the Humani... By: Heyman Center for the Humanities … Continue reading →

PHOENIX - A Phoenix suburb's school district may revise a high school honors biology textbook to add or remove content because of a 2-year-old state law on abortion-related instructional material. The Gilbert Unified School District board voted 3-2 Tuesday night to have district officials consider how to change the textbook and report back to the board, the Arizona Republic reported. At issue is a chapter in the textbook, "Campbell Biology: Concepts & Connections," that discusses abstinence, birth-control methods, tubal ligations and vasectomies, and drugs that can induce abortion. The 2012 Arizona law says the state has a strong interest in "promoting childbirth and adoption over elective abortion." It prohibits instructional programs and material that don't give preference to childbirth and adoption over elective abortion. No organization tracks Arizona school districts' selection or usage of textbooks, but Staci Burk, the president of the Gilbert board, said the district is likely the first to enforce the relatively new law. Chris Kotterman, a state Department of Education official, told the board in an email that the textbook didn't appear to violate the law. "In general, the mere mention of a means of medically inducing abortion does not automatically signal a lack of preference … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 3-Nov-2014 Contact: Cody Mooneyhan cmooneyhan@faseb.org 301-634-7104 Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology @fasebopa Almost everyone knows that improving your eating habits will most likely improve your health. What most people may not know, however, is that the effects of poor eating habits persist long after dietary habits are improved. In a new report appearing in the November 2014 issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, scientists use mice to show that even after successful treatment of atherosclerosis (including lowering of blood cholesterol and a change in dietary habits) the effects of an unhealthy lifestyle still affect the way the immune system functions. This change in function occurs largely because poor eating habits alter the way genes express themselves, including genes related to immunity. This change in gene expression (epigenetics) ultimately keeps the risk of cardiovascular disorders higher than it would be had there been no exposure to unhealthy foods in the first place. "I hope that this study demonstrates the importance of diet-induced changes in the epigenome and encourages further research into the interaction between dietary patterns, DNA methylation and disease," said Erik van Kampen, a researcher involved in the work from the Division of Biopharmaceutics … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 3-Nov-2014 Contact: Rachel Steigerwald media@gastro.org 301-272-1603 American Gastroenterological Association @AmerGastroAssn Bethesda, MD (Nov. 3, 2014) The American Gastroenterological Association is pleased to welcome a new member to its family of journals: Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology (CMGH). CMGH will showcase cutting-edge digestive biology research in a digital open-access format. "There is a pressing need for a premier, laboratory science-focused journal in the area of gastrointestinal, hepatobiliary and pancreatology research," said Jerrold R. Turner, MD, PhD, AGAF, editor-in-chief, Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology. "CMGH will be that journal. We will showcase the most novel and cutting-edge research in the field, which is currently taking place at a rapid pace." CMGH will publish original digestive biology research that covers a broad spectrum of themes related to digestive diseases, as well as integrative research that falls between traditional disciplinary boundaries. The research will be rigorous, hypothesis-driven and mechanistically novel. Featured topics include biology, immunology, physiology, microbiology, genetics and neurobiology of gastrointestinal, hepatobiliary, and pancreatic health and disease. In addition to full-length original articles, CMGH will also publish brief reports, commentaries, editorials and focused reviews. In this way, CMGH will become a forum for discussions of major breakthroughs and … Continue reading →