News
July 6, 2017
Pigs pave the way for advancements in IVF treatment
New research makes IVF four times more efficient to create pigs like this for genetics research and breeding in labs like that of Randy Prather at MU. | Photo by Nicholas Benner. Research quadruples speed and efficiency to develop embryos By Samantha Kummerer | Bond LSC What started as a serendipitous discovery is now opening the door for decreasing the costs and risks involved with in vitro fertilization (IVF). And it all started with cultured pig cells. Dr. Michael Roberts’ and Dr. Randall Prather’s laboratories in the University of Missouri work with pigs to research stem…
July 6, 2017
Paige Gruenke #IAmScience
Paige Gruenke, a Ph.D candidate in Dr. Donald Burke’s lab in Bond LSC. | Photo by Mary Jane Rogers, Bond LSC By Mary Jane Rogers | Bond LSC “#IAmScience because I am fascinated by life on a molecular level and inspired that my research could positively impact medicine.” As a graduate student in Donald Burke’s lab at Bond LSC, Paige Gruenke explores the role of ribonucleic acid, or RNA. That means her work involves a lot of test tubes. She looks at how specialized RNA molecules, called aptamers, bind tightly and specifically to proteins from HIV…
July 6, 2017
#MeetScienceTwitter
How an MU student helped start a Twitter trend and how social media is advancing science. By Mary Jane Rogers | Bond LSC In the modern age, science isn’t a solitary endeavor. You might be a tweet away from connecting with scientists about their work, as one MU student recently proved. Dalton Ludwick, an MU doctoral student in entomology, helped spur a hashtag trend to connect real scientists with none other than Bill Nye. If you follow any scientists on Twitter, you may have come across the hashtag #BillMeetScienceTwitter while scrolling through your feed. Thousands of scientists on Twitter introduced…
July 5, 2017
The Necessity of Fungi
Graduate Researcher Sarah Unruh explores the essential role of fungi in orchid germination By Emily Kummerfeld | Bond LSC Graduate Researcher Sarah Unruh | photo by Emily Kummerfeld, Bond LSC The blooms of orchids are unmistakably beautiful, and how they reproduce has fascinated biologists for centuries. But, orchids might not even exist if not for the help of fungus. Up to 30,000 species of orchids require the intervention of fungi since their seeds do not contain the necessary nutrients to sprout. Sarah Unruh, a fifth-year biological sciences PhD student in the lab of Bond LSC’s Chris…
June 27, 2017
Kwaku Tawiah #IAmScience
Kwaku Tawiah, a Ph. D candidate in biochemistry at MU, stands near his lab station in the Burke Lab in Bond LSC. | photo by Mary Jane Rogers, Bond LSC By Mary Jane Rogers | Bond LSC “#IAmScience because of where I come from. If you look at Africa, we have some of the most dangerous infectious diseases in the world…When you see these diseases first-hand and the havoc they cause, you want to solve the problem. People with different perspectives will make a difference in medicine.” Growing up in Ghana gave Kwaku Tawiah a different…
June 21, 2017
Shannon King #IAmScience
Shannon King, a Ph.D candidate in the Biochemistry department at MU. She works in Scott Peck’s lab at Bond LSC. | Photo by Mary Jane Rogers, Bond LSC. By Mary Jane Rogers | Bond LSC “#IAmScience because I plan to use my career to help develop agricultural innovations for the hard-working farmer.” Most of Shannon King’s support system – her friends, grandparents, and boyfriend – are all farmers. They’re her inspiration and part of the reason her career goal is to use science to help farmers. She’s currently a Ph.D candidate in the Biochemistry department at MU…
June 21, 2017
A step into summer research
Jacqueline Ihnat, one of the 12 Cherng Summer Scholars, outside Dr. Cornelison’s lab at the Bond Life Sciences Center. | Photo by Mary Jane Rogers, Bond LSC Sometimes the most learning occurs outside of the classroom. For Jacqueline Ihnat, an opportunity to pursue research at the Bond Life Sciences Center this summer will give her that chance. She recently became one of 12 Cherng Summer Scholars, a full-time, ten-week program within the Honors College at MU. “Doing research helps keep me focused on the bigger picture,” Ihnat said. “Sometimes in class we learn things that don’t…
June 14, 2017
Jacqueline Ihnat #IAmScience
Jacqueline Ihnat, one of the 12 Cherg Summer Scholars chosen from within the Honors College at MU in 2017. | Photo by Mary Jane Rogers, Bond LSC By Mary Jane Rogers | Bond LSC “#IAmScience because I am able to apply what I learn in the classroom to research that makes progress towards a better future.” Jacqueline Ihnat was recently selected as one of the 12 Cherng Summer Scholars within the Honors College at the University of Missouri. This scholarship provides her with $8,000 to fund her summer research. She’s fascinated with cells and how our bodies…
June 7, 2017
The evolution of a corn geneticist
By Jennifer Lu |Bond LSC Paula McSteen is a professor of biological sciences at MU and a researcher at the Bond Life Sciences Center. | Photograph by Jennifer Lu, Bond LSC When developmental plant geneticist Paula McSteen thinks about the specimens she studies, one word comes to mind: potential. She thought it as she stood in the midst of the first corn field she ever planted as a post-doctoral fellow in corn genetics. She thinks it as she counts kernels from corn crosses that will be sent to Hawaii, a hotspot for corn geneticists looking to…
June 6, 2017
Dean Bergstrom #IAmScience
Dean Bergstrom, the new building manager for Bond LSC. | Photo by Mary Jane Rogers, Bond LSC By Mary Jane Rogers | Bond LSC “#IAmScience because I provide the world class scientists of Mizzou’s Bond Life Sciences Center with the finest facilities available.” As the new building manager for the Bond Life Sciences Center, Dean Bergstrom makes it possible for everyone else to focus on his or her research. He’s worked in Bond LSC for nine and a half years as a research technician, and in Tucker Hall eleven years before that. His unique science background and…
May 24, 2017
Small steps to treat neuromuscular disorder
Researchers find evidence of a genetic modifier that can improve symptoms of Spinal Muscular Atrophy Chris Lorson examines axons through a microscope. Lorson’s lab recently published results that showed evidence that the protein plastin 3 affects the severity of SMA. | Photo by Eleanor Hasenbeck, Bond LSC Eleanor Hasenbeck | Bond Life Sciences Center Two new potential treatments might improve the lives of patients living with Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Researchers in the Lorson lab at Bond Life Sciences Center recently produced a new drug that increases the lifespans of mice with SMA, and they found…
May 15, 2017
BPA rewires the sex of turtle brains
By Jinghong Chen | Bond Life Sciences Center Painted turtle eggs were brought from a hatchery in Louisiana, candled to ensure embryo viability and then incubated at male-permissive temperatures in a bed of vermiculite. Those exposed to BPA developed deformities to testes that held female characteristics.Photo by Roger Meissen | © 2015 – MU Bond Life Sciences Center Cool dudes, hot mommas. This is the underlying concept behind sex development in painted turtles, a species that lacks sex chromosomes. A painted turtle’s sex is determined by temperature at which the eggs are incubated at…