Hello! Welcome to Breakthroughs, a site devoted to sharing with you the latest, greatest advancements from the College of Science at Oregon State University. From breakthroughs in research to transformational philanthropy to interesting tidbits from the daily life of the College, we'll post frequently to keep you up-to-date. Please visit often and absolutely let us know what you might like to learn more about. Enjoy, and of course, GO BEAVS!
A single, incredibly well-preserved specimen of the tiny but scary-looking fly was preserved for eternity in Burmese amber, and it had a small horn emerging from the top of its head, topped by three eyes that would have given it the ability to see predators coming. But despite that clever defense mechanism, it was apparently an evolutionary dead end that later disappeared.
The committee for the Oregon Partnership for Alzheimer’s Research announces the recipients of the 2009 – 2010 OPAR grants.
Congratulations OPAR Grant Recipients!
The Oregon Partnership for Alzheimer’s Research Committee is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2009- 2010 OPAR grants. These grants are made possible through the Oregon Tax Checkoff program. You can support this program when you file your state income tax. Support researchers who are entering the field of Alzheimer’s disease research or who are pursuing new directions in Alzheimer’s research.
Jadwiga M. Giebultowicz, Ph.D. – “The Role of the Circadian Clock in Alzheimer’s Disease” Humans and other animals have an internal clock system that regulates sleep-wake patterns. This internal system is called a circadian clock. Circadian clocks synchronize biological processes within an organism and coordinate them with the solar day/night cycle. Deregulation of circadian synchronization leads to sleep disturbances and age-related diseases. Recent data suggest that disruption of the circadian system and age-related pathologies are not understood. We recently showed that disruption of the circadian clock leads to increased levels of oxidative damage in the model organism, Drosophila melanogaster. Since impaired circadian rhythms and oxidative stress are linked to Alzheimer’s disease (AD), we initiated a novel study aimed to decipher how the circadian clock protects against age-related oxidative damage.
“We found that it took triple the dose of one pesticide to have the same lethal effect on fruit flies at the time of day their defenses were strongest, compared to when they were weakest,” said Louisa Hooven, a postdoctoral fellow in the OSU Department of Zoology and lead author on the study. “A different pesticide took twice the dose. This makes it pretty clear that the time of day of an exposure to a pesticide can make a huge difference in its effectiveness.”
Warm-blooded birds need about 20 times more oxygen than cold-blooded reptiles, and have evolved a unique lung structure that allows for a high rate of gas exchange and high activity level. Their unusual thigh complex is what helps support the lung and prevent its collapse.
“This is fundamental to bird physiology,” said Devon Quick, an OSU instructor of zoology who completed this work as part of her doctoral studies. “It’s really strange that no one realized this before. The position of the thigh bone and muscles in birds is critical to their lung function, which in turn is what gives them enough lung capacity for flight.”
Oregon State University zoologist Andrew Blaustein says monitoring amphibians is important because they are especially sensitive to environmental changes. They have no hair or feathers and their eggs have no shells, and they also have to survive both on land and in water— what Blaustein calls, “a double-whammy.”
To read more about Andrew and check out some fun pictures from the Blaustein Lab, click here!
OSU’s George Poinar — a researcher and international expert on life forms found in amber — has discovered the oldest example of mutualism ever found. (Mutualism is a type of symbiotic relationship in which two species help each other… in this case, termites and protozoa.)
The analysis of a termite entombed for 100 million years in an ancient piece of amber has revealed the oldest example of “mutualism” ever discovered between an animal and microorganism, and also shows the unusual biology that helped make this one of the most successful, although frequently despised insect groups in the world.
And gives us the answer (spoiler, sorry!): In our stomachs.
“We have already eaten most of the big fish in the Caribbean according to a new study [by OSU alumnus Dr. Chris Stallings] that links the decline of sharks, groupers and other big fish to a rise in human population.”
Mark Hixon was Chris’ doctoral advisor here at OSU, and was quoted in the article regarding the Lionfish population:
“Lionfish are minor players on their native Pacific reefs, yet they are undergoing a population explosion and overeating small fishes in the greater Caribbean region. Preliminary evidence suggests that lionfish are less invasive where large predatory native fishes are abundant, such as in marine reserves.”
Researchers have discovered that grazing animals including deer and rabbits are actually helping to spread plant disease – quadrupling its prevalence in some cases – and encouraging an invasion of annual grasses that threatens more than 20 million acres of native grasslands in California.
“Marine protected areas are parts of the ocean set aside for their conservation value, much like state and national parks,” said Mark Hixon, a professor of marine biology at Oregon State University and chair of the federal advisory committee that helped produce the framework for the national system. “These are tools for the future, providing lasting protection of our living and nonliving ocean heritage for coming generations of Americans.”
“Besides benefiting fisheries, these areas will protect the rich biodiversity of the seas, the vast treasure trove of genes, organisms, species and ecosystems of the underwater world,” Hixon said. “I believe that our children and grandchildren will look back on this day with pride.”
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OSU’s George Poinar — a researcher and international expert on life forms found in amber — has discovered the oldest example of mutualism ever found. (Mutualism is a type of symbiotic relationship in which two species help each other… in this case, termites and protozoa.)
