Building a better green workhorse
Biologist Himadri Pakrasi in Arts & Sciences leads a team awarded $1.7 million from the National Science Foundation to streamline the genome of a cyanobacterium for sustainable production of food, feed and fuels.
Biologist Dixit awarded $2M to study dynamics of intracellular scaffolds
Plant and animal cells rely on the versatile microtubule cytoskeleton. Researchers in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis received new funding from the National Institutes of Health to uncover the inner workings of these structures, including how they change configuration based on a cell’s needs.
Biologist Landis awarded NSF grant to model evolution of Hawaiian plants
Michael Landis, assistant professor of biology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, applies newer statistical and computational methods for insights into how biodiversity is generated, maintained and lost.
Orange is the new ‘block’
New research from Washington University in St. Louis reveals the core structure of the light-harvesting antenna of cyanobacteria — including features that both collect energy and block excess light absorption. Orange carotenoid protein plays a key protective role, according to Haijun Liu, research scientist in chemistry in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.
Seeking to avoid ‘full lockdown,’ cells monitor ribosome collisions
Ribosomes are the machines in the cell that use instructions from mRNA to synthesize functional proteins. When something goes awry, cells monitor for ribosome collisions to determine the severity of the problem, according to new research from Washington University in St. Louis biologists in Arts & Sciences.
In fire-prone West, plants need their pollinators — and vice versa
A new study from the northern Rockies explores the role of fire in the finely tuned dance between plants and their pollinators. The research from biologists including Jonathan Myers in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis is published Nov. 25 in the Journal of Ecology.
Secrets of the ‘lost crops’ revealed where bison roam
New research from Washington University in St. Louis helps flesh out the origin story for the so-called “lost crops” of the Midwest and Northeast. These plants that may have fed as many Indigenous people as maize, but until the 1930s had been lost to history. Natalie Mueller, assistant professor of archaeology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, shares evidence that bison were “co-creators” — along with Indigenous peoples — of landscapes of disturbance that gave rise to greater diversity and more agricultural opportunities.
Pappu, collaborators awarded $7.5 million MURI award
Rohit Pappu, a professor in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, is part of a multi-institutional team awarded a $7.5 million MURI grant to study and engineer membraneless organelles.
What cold lizards in Miami can tell us about climate change resilience
Scaled survivors of the coldest night in south Florida’s recent history all converged on the same new, lower limit of thermal tolerance, regardless of their species’ previous ability to withstand cold. Biologist James Stroud in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis led the team that reported the findings in the journal Biology Letters.
‘Honey bee, it’s me’
New research from Washington University in St. Louis shows that honey bees rely on chemical cues related to their shared gut microbial communities, instead of genetic relatedness, to identify members of their colony.
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