Evolutionary biologist Dr Alison Feder from University of California, Berkeley has been named winner of the very first Milner Prize by the Milner Centre for Evolution.
Check out this New York Times article featuring the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology -- "retracing the steps of a century-old wildlife survey, ecologists find that birds are making remarkable adaptations to climate change."
New research coming out of Assistant Professor Britt Koskella's lab found that spraying tomatoes with microbes from healthy tomatoes protected them from disease-causing bacteria, but that fertilizing the tomatoes beforehand negated the protection, leading to an increase in the population of pathogenic microbes on the plants’ leaves. Read more...
What is stress? According to IB's Professor Daniela Kaufer, stress can be a healthy response to a perceived threat. But there is a fine line between feeling a small amount of stress, which can make your brain stronger, and going through traumatic events, a kind of stress that brings on conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. The difference between the two has profoundly different long-term effects on the brain. Read more...
Professor George Brooks has published a paper in in the journal Cell Metabolism which reviews the evolution of our understanding of the role lactate plays in metabolism, from a poison that causes muscle fatigue to an essential fuel that helps cells repair themselves after stress or injury.
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Anyone who’s tried to kill a cockroach knows that the ancient pests have some world-class evasive maneuvers. Or at least they appear to.
The first “big data” analysis of California’s native plants, using digitized information from more than 22 herbaria and botanical gardens around the state, provides some surprises about one of the most thoroughly studied and unique areas in the country.
For one, the state’s arid regions, including deserts such as Death Valley, are hotspots for originating new plant species and providing refuges for older plants that have disappeared elsewhere.
Take a look inside the newest IB Newsletter!
Robert Full wants to tap the diverse experiences of UC Berkeley undergraduates to teach them the fun of discovering biology’s secrets and the innovations that can spring from hacking them.
Maybe he’ll spark a few entrepreneurs in the process.
