Undergraduate researcher Cyrus Tau was selected to present, and won the Best Talk award, in the Biochemistry/Molecular Biology oral presentation section at this year’s Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists – ABRCMS 2023.
research
Researchers demonstrate heat-induced pyroelectricity in viruses
Researchers in Professor Seung-Wuk Lee’s lab discovered for the first time “heat-induced electrical potential generation on a virus,” a phenomenon known as pyroelectricity. This work may shed light on how biomaterials — cells, tissues and proteins — generate electricity at a molecular level as well as lead to the development of biomaterials with novel medical, pharmaceutical, environmental and energy applications.
How scientists aim to extend human lifespans
Professor Irina and Mike Conboy were guests on the Economist “Babbage” science and technology podcast dicussing progress in research on aging.
Conboy Lab changes the measurement of biological age
Research from Professor Irina Conboy’s lab is on the cover of the journal “Aging” this week, highlighting their exciting new research in the measurement of biological age. Their work shows that commonly-used Elastic Net DNA methylation clocks have low accuracy, and present an alternative using noise-detecting cytosines, measuring the pressure of aging and disease on an organism. BioE PhD student Xiaoyue Mei and undergraduate alumnus Joshua Blanchard are first authors.
Messersmith receives 2023 Bakar Fellows Spark Award
Congratulations to Professor Phillip Messersmith, a recipient of the 2023 Bakar Fellows Spark Award for his work on gel protection during tumor ablation. The award is designed to accelerate faculty-led research and produce tangible, positive societal impact through commercialization.
Bat study reveals how the brain is wired for collective behavior
New research from Professor Michael Yartsev shows that the same neurons that help bats navigate through space may also help them navigate collective social environments. In a study published today in the journal Nature, the researchers found that the portion of the brain that acts as a GPS is also tuned to the social dynamic in the environment.
New Technique Could Facilitate Rapid Cryopreservation of All Coral Species
Research by Professor Emeritus Boris Rubinsky, in collaboration with Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI) and Texas A&M, has achieved a breakthrough in the fight to save the world’s coral reefs from climate change annihilation. The researchers successfully cryopreserved and revived entire coral fragments, opening the door to collecting and preserving coral fragments easily and rapidly at an urgent moment for coral worldwide.
Uncovering the Secrets of the Smallest Phages
In a new paper in Nature Chemical Biology, Professor Adam Arkin and collaborator Vivek Mutalik report advances in understanding phage biology that bring us closer to using these small predators to fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Conboy Lab awarded $3million by Open Philanthropy
Professor Irina Conboy has been awarded a $3 million grant from Open Philanthropy to continue her lab’s groundbreaking research in engineering longevity. Open Philanthropy is a privately funded grantmaker with a focus on Global Health & Wellbeing and Longtermism. The Conboy lab works to understand age-imposed and pathological changes in molecular compositions of systemic and […]