Biology

It has been determined that pathological Wave Regulatory Complex (WRC) variants can result in intellectual disability with autistic features and seizures. The WRC is a five-protein complex consisting of WAVE1, CYFIP1, ABI2, NAP1, and HSPC300. The WRC mediates interactions of membrane receptors with the actin cytoskeleton to regulate crucial developmental steps such as neural adhesion and migration. The deletion of ... Read More

Photosynthesis is one of the most sensitive functions in plants: changes in temperature, or CO₂ concentration can drastically affect the efficiency of the reaction. Rubisco activase (RCA) is an important activator for Rubisco, the enzyme responsible for the carbon fixation during photosynthesis. RCA is also very sensitive to high temperature t., It is yet unknown if certain cultivars of maize ... Read More

Glioblastoma multiforme, or GBM, is a malevolent tumor that affects the spine and brain. It tends to create pressure and spreads rather quickly through the body. GBM holds a subset of cells called glioblastoma stem-like cells (GSCs). Those cells lead to tumor recurrence and are responsible for the aggressiveness, recurrence and resistance to treatments of GBM. Cancer stem cells arise ... Read More

The basic unit for motor control is the motor unit which consists of the motor neuron, its axon, the muscle fibers, the axon innervates in the target muscle. Due to the one-to-one spike ratio between motor neurons and the muscle fibers they innervate, motor unit firing patterns can be easily measured to better understand motor control mechanisms and the structure ... Read More

Over the next century, higher temperatures perpetuated by global warming influence crop production in climate-change-induced yield loss. The enzyme Rubisco activase (RCA) is a key protein that removes inhibitors from Rubisco, the enzyme responsible for the carbon dioxide fixation during photosynthesis. High temperatures impede RCA’s efficiency and in turn slow down the net rate of photosynthesis. In maize, two isoforms ... Read More

The buildup of Amyloid-beta oligomers (AβOs) is regarded as a central toxic event in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) development. Recently, AβOs have been found in the developing chick retina but do not cause a disease state. Conserved by evolution, the functional role of these AβOs in retinal development is not currently known. Our team in the Klein Lab has found that ... Read More

Stress results in fight or flight responses. Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) is a peptide hormone involved in the stress response, thus, CRF neurons are highly activated by stress. However, it is unclear how CRF neurons are involved in stress-evoked movement. The external globus pallidus(GPe), a nucleus in the basal ganglia that critically controls movement, expresses high levels of the primary receptor ... Read More

Out of all breast cancer (BC) cases, approximately 70% are estrogen-receptor-positive (ER+) which means that estrogen receptor (ER) is present in tumors and drives proliferation. As ER+ BC is reliant on ER for growth, development, and survival, targeting ER with drugs like tamoxifen suppresses its activity and reduces tumor growth. However, approximately 40% of women relapse. BC stem cells (BCSCs) ... Read More

In the last few decades, more research has been conducted on bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria, and the potential of phage therapy to serve as an alternative to antibiotics. Because phage therapy has high specificity, lower chance of resistance, and minimal disturbance to “good” bacteria, it appears to be a worthy alternative. However, greater research must be conducted in order ... Read More

As global temperatures continue to rise, food security has become more of a problem for scientists to solve, and one approach is to improve photo-synthesis production in plants. Photosynthesis in many plant species is limited when temperatures increase past their optimal range. As a result, research has been geared toward how to improve Rubisco Activase (RCA), a key enzyme in ... Read More