Bio News Blog!
We have started a blog in which we discuss a recent research article from the scientific literature, usually related in some way to biology. The discussion will...
BioNews
Mini-lectures for High School Teachers
We are now producing Powerpoint slide sets for high school teachers. The subjects will vary but be generally centered on our usual focal points: biological sciences...
Neat Axolotl Logo Stuff
We have a storefront on Zazzle.com if you are interested in some Axolotl Academic logo gear, or some cute Happy Axolotl tees.
Publication Alert! Cells: Molecules and Mechanisms
Cells is now available! CLICK ON COVER to go to download page. This textbook was written for collegiate Cell and Molecular Biology courses and may be appropriate...
Publication Alert! Sex Ed: a sexual health primer for adolescents and young adults
sexed is now available for $3.00 at the Kindle store at amazon.com on March 1, 2012. The Nook store at Barnes & Noble now has the book as well (March 5, 2012)...
Learning in your sleep?
Subject areas: psychology, neuroscience Vocabulary: slow wave sleep – a stage of sleep characterized by lack of rapid eye movement (REM) or dreams, and thought to be linked to restoration and recovery in the brain amygdala – area of the brain that is involved in both memory and emotions. It […]
TiCK1, ToCK2 goes the Circadian Clock
Subject areas: Molecular Biology Vocabulary: Circadian rhythms – any biological process that has a periodicity of about 24 hours, often coordinated with day-night cycles. These rhythms are endogenous, meaning they arise from the organism itself, not imposed upon them externally, but these biological clocks can be entrained, or “set” by […]
Making Bacterial Assassins
Subject areas: Microbiology, Synthetic biology Vocabulary: Chemotaxis – the movement of cells toward or away from particular chemicals, including nutrient sources or noxious substances. Biofilm – biofilms are an often-sticky dense matrix of secreted proteins, nucleic acids, and carbohydrates produced by bacterial colonies as a protective measure. Antibiotics have difficulty […]
Fixing Dwarf Mice
Subject areas: Developmental Biology, Cell Biology Vocabulary: ossification – the final step in bone development, in which it hardens. Endochondral ossification happens in the long bones of the limbs, the vertebrae, sternum, and some parts of the skull. In endochondral ossification, cartilage forms first, and then it begins to form […]
DIY Brains!
Well, not quite. But they are vaguely brain-like blobs… Subject areas: Neuroscience, Developmental Biology Vocabulary: organoid – a mass of tissue that physically resembles and may have some physiological properties of a natural organ in an animal’s body, but is incomplete in form and function. They may be naturally occurring, […]
Death Domains: not exactly like Malfoy Manor
Subject areas: Cell Biology, Microbiology Vocabulary: apoptosis – programmed cell death. An orderly progression of events gradually breaking down internal cell components. This is regulated by a series of enzymes known as caspases. A signal causes the activation of one set of caspases. These make activate a bunch of other […]
Gears in Nature
Subject areas: Entomology, Developmental Biology Vocabulary: Trochanter – the part of the femur (upper leg bone) that connects to the hip. Coxa – hip joint nymph stage – In the metamorphosis of insects most people are familiar with (e.g. butterflies), there is a significant change in form from the larval […]
Sex and Healing of Degenerating Muscles
Subject areas: Cell Biology, Developmental Biology Vocabulary: Muscle-derived stem cells – A small subpopulation of muscle cells are able to proliferate and give rise to cells that can differentiate in different muscle cell types. In contrast, mature skeletal muscle cells do not proliferate. muscular dystrophy – a group of diseases […]
Stem Cell Breakthrough
Subject Areas: Cell Biology, Stem Cells, Developmental Biology Vocabulary: Pluripotent – in cell biology, a pluripotent cell is one that can give rise to more than one cell type. When most adult cells proliferate, they divide in two through mitosis, yielding two essentially identical cells. A pluripotent cell on […]
Ant Wars
Subject areas: Ecology, Entomology Vocabulary: Parasite – An organism that lives in or on a host organism, and gets its food from, or at the expense of the host organism. Social parasites – Social insects that parasitize colonies of other social insects. The article: Adams, R.M.M. et al. (2013) Chemically […]