Where do eukaryotic cells come from? The simple answer is, we do not know. However, Asgard archaea is currently seen as the closest prokaryotic relative of eukaryotes, and recent research has been conducted to explore Asgard archaea on a microscopic level. Eukaryotic Signature Proteins (ESPs) are proteins that differentiate eukaryotes from prokaryotes. Interestingly enough, genomes…
With one more week left in my internship, I have been spending some time recounting my experiences and thinking about how they have helped me grow as a student, researcher, and person. Research I loved being in a space surrounded by people who were challenging previous assumptions and asking a variety of questions to narrow…
The past seven weeks at the Wu Orr Lab have zipped past me so quickly. It feels like just yesterday that we were attending the Boston Bacterial Meeting and setting up our goals for this summer. And although I may not have been able to fully analyze all 32 of my mutant strains before I…
I participated in the Stowers Summer Scholars program this summer and have gotten a good amount of advice from people I’ve talked to during its duration. Upon reflecting on my summer, I have decided to share a list of the advice, information, and realizations I have found valuable. 1. You need to figure out what…
From “,https://bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1741-7007-12-7” When you’re faced with weighty decisions like where to attend school or work full-time, you may naturally wonder what the location you will settle down at is really like. Ideally, you’d get to visit the location and see what it’s like for yourself. To ultimately make a good decision, you will need to…
Prior to starting my internship, I thought of bones as rigid structures. I was surprised to learn about all the action that occurs beneath the bone surface! In this video, I use animations to break down how bone develops and adapts over time, also known as bone dynamics….
Model organisms are non-human species that scientists use to study biological mechanisms. They should be easy to grow, mature quickly, have lots of offspring, and have a sequenced genome. Some of the most popular model organisms are yeast, house mice, fruit flies, worms, and zebrafish. Different organisms have unique traits that make studying specific processes…
In my opinion, one of the most amazing things that biologists do is peer into the past by imagining what animals once looked like and how the animals of today are related to each other. If the molecular biological and phylogenetic concepts that biologists use were artistic media, their canvas would be their organism of…
Hello! My name is Javier Londono and I am from Garfield, NJ. I am a rising junior biology major. I am also working on the 5 college marine science certificate. On campus, I am a part of DQ, the oldest Acapella group on campus and I joined DASAC this past spring! I am participating in…
Hello! My name is Carl Soderstrom, and I am a rising sophomore majoring in Biochemistry and French. This summer, I will be on campus working as a Greg Call intern for Professor Wu Orr. Our lab is interested in how bacteria utilize small proteins of about 50 amino acids or shorter to respond to stressors…