Research, Page 14 // Bond Life Sciences Center

Feb. 12, 2015

Harm and response

Bond LSC’s Jack Schultz and Heidi Appel hold model Arabidopsis plants used in many of their experiments. Roger Meissen/Bond LSC We often think of damage on a surface level. But for plants, much of the important response to an insect bite takes place out of sight. Over minutes and hours, particular plant genes are turned…

Feb. 12, 2015

Big discoveries come in little (capsid) packages

Adeno-associated virus type 2 at 3.0 A (xie, et al, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2002; 99:10405-10.) Courtesy David Pintel It’s an understatement to say viruses are small. But an average virus dwarfs the diminutive variety known as parvoviruses, which are among the most minuscule pathogens known to science. Tucked inside a protective…

Jan. 14, 2015

Parkinson’s “trash pick-up problem”

Protein specimens are prepared here in a Bond Life Sciences lab. Bond LSC’s Mark Hannink recently identified a protein pathway could be useful in restoring mitochondrial recycling in certain cells, a problem that leads to familial Parkinson’s Disease. It’s as if your recycling man quit his job and never came back. Bags pile up to unexpected…

Nov. 20, 2014

“Mutant seeds” blossom in the pollen research field

A mutant arabidopsis model nearing pollination. Mutant arabidopsis models under lamps in Shuqun Zhang's lab. Three-month-old mutant arabidopsis models are used to study the function of pollen. The thought of pollen dispersed throughout the air might trigger horrific memories of allergies, but the drifting dander is absolutely essential to all life. Science has long linked…

Oct. 9, 2014

The only thing you need to read about Ebola today: An expert Q&A

Jingyou Yu, a graduate student, does cell surface staining in Shan-Lu Liu’s virology lab. The staining illuminates cell marker expressions in experiments that deduce how viruses spread once they are contracted. | Paige Blankenbuehler News headlines seem to feverishly spread as if they were a pandemic of the brain. Ebola hemorrhagic fever has been the most…

Oct. 1, 2014

The search for oxidative stress treatment continues

A yellow light indicates oxidant production in the tissue of a migrating fly larva. Source: Tobias Dick, German Cancer Research Center | Illustration by Paige Blankenbuehler University of Missouri research characterizes a novel compound By Paige Blankenbuehler Your body has an invisible enemy. One that it creates all on it’s own called oxidative stress, long thought…

Aug. 26, 2014

Holding on: Bond LSC scientist discovers protein prevents release of HIV and other viruses from infected cells

Shan-Lu Liu, Bond LSC scientist and associate professor in the MU School of Medicine’s Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology. Courtesy Justin Kelley, University of Missouri Health System. Shan-Lu Liu initially thought it was a mistake when a simple experiment kept failing. But that serendipitous accident led the Bond Life Sciences Center researcher to discover…

Aug. 25, 2014

Critical transport: Bond LSC team finds boron vital for plant stem cells, corn reproduction

Carbon’s next-door neighbor on the periodic table typically receives little attention, but when it comes to corn reproduction boron fills an important role. According to University of Missouri scientists, tiny amounts of boron play a key part in the development of ears and tassels on every cornstalk. The July 2014 edition of the journal Plant…

Aug. 4, 2014

Viruses as Vehicles: Finding what drives

Graduate students Yuleam Song and Dan Salamango inoculate a bacteria culture in Johnson’s lab. The inoculation takes a small portion of a virus and multiplies the sample, allowing researchers to custom-make viruses. By Madison Knapp | Bond Life Sciences Center summer intern Modern science has found a way to turn viruses —tiny, dangerous weapons responsible…

July 16, 2014

Researchers flex new muscle in SMA drug development

By Paige Blankenbuehler Lauren and Claire Gibbs share contagious laughter, ambition and a charismatic sarcasm. Both are honor students at Shawnee Mission East High School in a Kansas City suburb. They also share a neuromuscular disease called spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), designated as an “orphan disease” because it affects fewer than 200,000 people in the…