Florida Studying zebrafish to understand cardiac

Florida

Studying zebrafish to understand cardiac disease

Chavely Valdes Sanchez, a senior majoring in biology, was one of 44 undergraduate students around the country accepted into the 2013 Harvard Stem Cell Institute Internship Program, which provides participants with a challenging summer research experience in a cutting-edge stem cell science laboratory.

This year, I was selected to be a 2013 Howard Hughes Medical Institute EXROP recipient – which meant that I would have the chance to conduct research with highly recognized scientists in their respective fields. Since at FIU I am part of Irina Agoulnik’s cancer research lab (in the Department of Cellular Biology and Pharmacology at the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine), I wanted to spend my summer conducting research in a different field. Thus, I chose stem cell research specific to cardiac development at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute which is affiliated with Harvard Medical School.

See more at

http://news.fiu.edu/2013/08/studying-zebrafish-to-understand-cardiac-disease/66311?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=studying-zebrafish-to-understand-cardiac-disease

Florida

Which came first, hermits or kings?

Heather Bracken-Grissom, marine sciences professor in the FIU Department of Biological Sciences, has helped answer one of the most debated questions among evolutionary biologists: Did the hermit crab evolve into the king crab, or did the king crab evolve into the hermit crab?

Since the 19th century, science has suggested hermit crabs and king crabs are close relatives, despite their strikingly different appearance. Hermit crabs are small and depend on a shell for protection. King crabs are one of the largest crustaceans and do not have a shell, since they use their external skeleton to defend themselves. Both species belong to the infraorder Anomura – with more than 2,500 species within the infraorder, they are all very diverse in structure and ecological adaptations. For years, molecular data has suggested hermits evolved into kings. As DNA would have it, that is the case.

See more at

http://news.fiu.edu/2013/08/which-came-first-hermits-or-kings/66198

 Alabama

ASU students retrace History during 50th anniversary March on Washington

ASU students led a re-creation of the March on Washington during the national 50th anniversary commemoration of the historic event held on Aug. 28, 1963.
Cherise Peters was overcome with emotion as she boarded a subway train in the nation’s capital with 23 students from ASU’s Student Orientation Services.
The group was headed to the starting point of the re-creation of 50th anniversary of the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

See more at

http://www.alasu.edu/news/news-details/index.aspx?nid=1325