Biology Related Seminars

Biology-Related Seminars

Frank Booth: Physical inactivity may prevent you from seeing your grandchildren

Dr. Booth did his research in space, using the ground base model. In space, there is no gravity, which means that when someone returns back to space, they experience bone loss, which will lead to breaking of bones. Some skeletal muscle such as the soleus and the plantaris muscle can be affected by gravity. Dr. Booth also explained how inactivity on Earth can increase abdominal fat. His lab experiment consisted of running rats on a wheel for 21 days, and then locking the wheel to destrain the animal. After running the animals, their fat pad was measured. The results showed that when the animals were exercised, they had a lower percent of fat in their abdominal areas, versus not being exercised. Results showed that when the animals were not ran, it took about two days to regain the fat. The animals gained fat because they ate more while being on restriction from the wheel.

Bita Nickkholgh: Regulation of Protein kinase D1: A tumor suppressor gene in prostate cancer

One out of four most common cancers is prostate cancer. One out of eight men get prostate cancer at the age of 45 and older. African American men are three times more likely to develop prostate cancer than white men, due to Biological bases. Prostate cancer is more aggressive in African American men than any other race. The lowest incidence of prostate cancer is among Native Americans and Asian pacific islanders. Most men do not realize that they have this type of cancer because they don’t follow routinely doctor visits. Advances prostate cancer is localized and then moves to the bladder. This process is known as metastasis. Even after removing prostate after early detection, it is a chance that the cancer could come back. Ten to twenty percent of newly diagnosed cases will progress in advanced forms. Many advanced cancers escape treatment effects because cancers become resistant to treatment. Dr. Nickkholgh’s objective was to study different mechanisms and cell signaling pathways by using different proteins from different pathways. Dr. Nickkholgh chose this because different proteins act differently. One protein that she observed was protein kinase. D1 phosphorylated protein becomes active when a phosphate group is added to the protein. Dr. Nickkholgh found that protein Kinase D1 is down regulated in breast cancer, and in prostate cancer. Chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing is a method that identifies the DNA’s binding sites for proteins and transcription. CIS induces gene expression. MYC gene is an oncogene which increases cancer, and has a negative effect on D1. Dr. Nickkolgh stated that her future plans would include explore the relation and counter effect of these genes son each other with the hope of seeking a new treatment option. The in-vitro experiment includes observing different cell lines of prostate cancer, breast cancer, and colon cancer. The in-vivo experiment uses organisms such as zebrafish to express Prkdl, Myc, and Max.

Vega: Mercury

Mercury is a unique metal that has special properties: it is the only liquid metal, and it volatizes at room temperature. Mercury has a half-life in sediments is more than 100 years. Some exposure pathways to Mercury include elemental mercury and methyl mercury. Elemental mercury includes occupational exposure and inhalation and dermal absorption, whereas methyl mercury includes environmental exposure, consumption of contaminated food, and placental transfer. One of Dr. Vega’s data shows a graph that shows sequential hair shaft which shows the consumption of mercury. Mercury exposure is driven by the consumption of fish. Dr. Vega’s goals includes developing a local analytical capacity for environmental mercury, assessing spatial and temporal distribution of environmental mercury landscapes degraded by mining, and characterizing the exposure risk for vulnerable indigenous populations. Dr. Vega used lake core sampling to determine the changes in mercury deposition. Lake cores were used because they provide sediment deposition history. The cores were pulled from lake bottoms, and sampled every 2cm and dated using radioisotope. Dr. Vega also measured airborne mercury concentrations by using an air sampler. Indigenous populations are a vulnerable group for mercury exposure because of the high fish consumption. Most indigenous communities in Madre de Dios are not located in mining areas, but they can still have a high exposure risk. Fish mercury levels are higher in mining sites, and because of this, the mercury levels in the fish, also increase up the trophic chain.

Carly Kemmis: Vitamin D

Vitamin D is a hormone released into the blood, which then delivers messages into the cells. Vitamin D is found in foods such as milk, yogurt, and cereal. Vitamin D is not actually considered a vitamin because it is fat soluble, and our bodies synthesize it. Vitamin D affects cancer because it plays a role in cell growth. Rickets is a disease that affects the bones in children. Rickets can be treated using cod oil. Osteoporosis is a weakening of the bones that affects older adults. This mainly happens in older women because their estrogen levels decrease. There are two forms of Vitamin D: Vitamin D2 and Vitamin D3. Vitamin D3 is found in animals and is 83% more potent, whereas Vitamin D2 is found in plants. As humans, we receive high amounts of vitamin D from the sun. Overall, without vitamin D, people would have fragile bones because Vitamin D plays a role in cell growth.

C.N Yancu: Sociology of the Aging Body Normal Human Aging vs. Disease

Normal human aging has multiple factors such as: genes and genetics, and structural and functional changes. There are two major theories of aging: random errors such as damage based theories, and programmed cell failure which consists of the biological clock. In comparison, your body is very similar to a car. It operates at peak efficiency when all of its vital components are in good running condition, however, parts will wear out for repeated use. The systems theory suggests that our bodies wear and tear as our body's attempt to regain homeostasis. Factors that we cannot control against aging are genes, heredity, sex, gender, race, and ethnicity. Factors that we can control against aging are: smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, body weight and composition, and physical environment.