University of Missouri

Feb. 15, 2017

Arianna Soldati #IAmScience

Arianna Soldati, a Ph.D candidate in volcanology at Bond LSC. | photo by Morgan McOlash, Bond LSC By Mary Jane Rogers | Bond LSC “#IAmScience because through my research, I can expand the bubble of human knowledge and I think that’s a pretty amazing thing. We don’t have a volcano, so we make our own.” Imagine stirring rock. Sounds impossible? Not to Arianna Soldati, a volcanology expert conducting #MizzouResearch on the viscosity of rock. By heating and then stirring rocky material in a machine that acts like a miniature volcano, she identifies its viscosity, or thickness. As someone…

Feb. 10, 2017

Chemical persuasion

Scientists prove parasite mimics key plant peptide to feed off roots By Roger Meissen | Bond LSC A nematode (the oblong object on the left) activates the vascular stem cell pathway in the developing nematode feeding site (syncytium) on a plant root. | photo by Xiaoli Guo, MU post-doctoral research associate When it comes to nematodes, unraveling the root of the issue is complicated. These tiny parasites siphon off the nutrients from the roots of important crops like soybeans, and scientists keep uncovering more about how they accomplish this task. Research from the…

Feb. 7, 2017

Growing a more nourishing future

Nga Nguyen hopes to apply her research to increase nutrient contents in crop plants By Eleanor C. Hasenbeck | Bond LSC Nga Nguyen, a doctoral candidate in MU’s Division of Plant Sciences, observes samples of a model plant species, Arabidopsis thaliana, in the Mendoza-Cózatl lab at Bond Life Sciences Center on Feb. 7, 2017. | photo by Eleanor C. Hasenbeck, Bond LSC Plants smell better than animals, at least to Nga Nguyen. That’s one reason why she decided to study them. “In my undergrad, I studied horticulture,” Nguyen said. “For that you don’t really learn…

Feb. 6, 2017

Beginning of a journey

By Jinghong Chen | Bond Life Sciences Center Emily Million, a prospective biochemistry graduate student from Truman State University and Kevin Muñoz-Forti of University of Puerto Rico’s Pontifical Catholic University talk at the Graduate Life Sciences Joint Recruitment Weekend on February 4 after looking at posters about many different research programs and projects. | Roger Meissen, Bond LSC Nick Dietz was not certain where to start his research journey this time last year. But the atmosphere during a recruitment weekend nearly a year ago convinced him to pick MU over three other offers of…

Jan. 30, 2017

A plant remedy

MU Center for Agroforestry symposium talks medicinal plants By Jinghong Chen | Bond LSC Rob Riedel from Wild Ozark Ginseng Farm introduces their products at the agroforestry symposium on Jan. 26th, 2017 | photo by Jinghong Chen, Bond LSC Researchers, landowners and entrepreneurs converged at Bond Life Sciences Center to discuss current developments and topics in medicinal plants and agroforestry at the eighth UMCA Agroforestry Symposium. This daylong annual event, hosted by the Center for Agroforestry, took place on Thursday, Jan. 26. People have been using medicinal plants as natural remedies and medicines for thousands…

Jan. 11, 2017

Cornelison receives highest honor from White House

It feels good to get recognition, especially when it comes from the White House. This week D Cornelison, a Bond Life Sciences Center researcher and associate professor of biological sciences found out she will receive a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). The award is the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers. She joins 102 researchers this year selected by the White House to receive this prestigious award. This is a first for Missouri as a state…

Nov. 17, 2016

Live long and prosper: healthy mitochondria, healthy motor neurons?

Chris Lorson (front) and Mark Hannink (back) collaborate to study the role of mitochondria in motor neuron health, particularly in relation to spinal muscular atrophy, a neuromuscular disorder | photo by Jen Lu, Bond LSC Chris Lorson, a professor of veterinary pathobiology, and Mark Hannink, a professor of biochemistry, want to find a new way to help motor neurons live a long and healthy life. Their question: what’s the relationship between motor neuron sruvival and a cellular component called mitochondria? The two researchers at the Bond Life Sciences Center were awarded preliminary funding from the Bond…

Nov. 10, 2016

Mizzou Epigenetics 2016

Five faculty speakers from five different universities, along with two trainees selected based on the merits of their poster abstracts, presented on current topics in epigenetics. The daylong symposium, titled Mizzou Epigenetics, took place on Wednesday, Nov. 9 at the Bond Life Sciences Center. Kenote speaker Dr. Jean-Pierre Issa talks about epigentic drift at the epigenetics symposium on Nov. 9th, 2016 | photo by Jen Lu, Bond LSC Dr. Jean-Pierre Issa of Temple University, the keynote speaker, said he was a stickler for the definition of classical epigenetics: stable, long-term changes in gene expression. Textbook examples…

Nov. 4, 2016

The eyes have it

Bond LSC scientist works with MU eye surgeon to help people suffering from autoimmune-disease Sjögren’s syndrome By Phillip Sitter | Bond LSC Dr. Carisa Petris stands in the McQuinn atrium of Bond Life Science Center. She and Bond LSC researcher Gary Weisman are using funding from a $100,000 Bond LSC grant to study the mechanisms of an auto-immune disease in the lacrimal glands of the eyes. They are hoping treatments for the disease in mice they study could be applied to humans. | photo by Phillip Sitter, Bond LSC   They may not get much…

Nov. 3, 2016

“Bucket” actor kicked Hollywood career, has enjoyed life in veterinary medicine

Dr. Peter Ostrum spoke at Bond LSC in celebration of World One Health Day By Phillip Sitter |Bond LSC Dr. Peter Ostrum, who once played the character of Charlie Bucket in 1971’s “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” —also starring the late Gene Wilder — smiles after giving a lecture to an audience at Monsanto Auditorium in Bond LSC. After “Willy Wonka,” Ostrum did not pursue acting further, and went into a career in veterinary medicine. | photo by Phillip Sitter, Bond LSC   The character of Charlie Bucket found his golden ticket to a happy…

Oct. 25, 2016

Close encounters of the plant protein kind

Bond LSC researchers David Mendoza (left) and Scott Peck (right) are collaborating to develop a new method for studying protein signaling pathways inside plant cells. | photo by Jennifer Lu, Bond LSC By Jennifer Lu | Bond LSC Sometimes, timing is everything. That was the case in what led to a new collaboration between the Mendoza and Peck laboratories. The two researchers were recently awarded $48,250 in seed money from the Bond Life Sciences Center to adapt a new technology to the study of signaling pathways in plant cells. David Mendoza, a Bond LSC researcher and…

Oct. 11, 2016

The seeds of progress

Efforts to understand the genome of one plant through its many genetic varieties could lead to nutritional improvements in the staple crops billions of people depend on By Phillip Sitter | Bond LSC Ruthie Angelovici stands next to some Arabidopsis thaliana samples in the basement of Bond LSC. She is leading projects to study the relationships between genotypic and phenotypic variation in Arabidopsis and how this affects the amino acid content of the plants, and the resistance of their seeds to drought conditions. | Phillip Sitter, Bond LSC It’s hard to avoid corn, rice or soybeans…