{"99051":{"#nid":"99051","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Lasley-Rasher Wins the Best Student Presentation Award","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBiology graduate student Rachel Lasley-Rasher won the best student presentation award at the 2011 Western Society of Naturalists Meeting for her talk entitled: \u0022Predation risk supresses mating success and offspring production in a marine copepod\u0022.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe meeting was held in Vancouver, Washington.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBiology graduate student Rachel Lasley-Rasher won the best student presentation award at the 2011 Western Society of Naturalists Meeting for her talk entitled: \u0022Predation risk supresses mating success and offspring production in a marine copepod\u0022.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Lasley-Rasher Wins the Best Student Presentation Award"}],"uid":"27245","created_gmt":"2011-12-13 01:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:11:02","author":"Troy Hilley","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-12-13T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2011-12-13T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"99061":{"id":"99061","type":"image","title":"Rachel Lasley-Rasher","body":null,"created":"1449178142","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:29:02","changed":"1475894712","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:12"}},"media_ids":["99061"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Biology"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.yen.biology.gatech.edu\/lasley.php","title":"Rachel Lasley-Rasher"}],"groups":[{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDavid Terraso\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGeorgia Tech College of Sciences\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:david.terraso@cos.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EContact David Terraso\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-385-1393\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["david.terraso@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"73311":{"#nid":"73311","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Study Identifies Mechanisms Cells Use to Remove Bits of RNA from DNA Strands","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen RNA component units called ribonucleotides become embedded in genomic DNA, which contains the complete genetic data for an organism, they can cause problems for cells. It is known that ribonucleotides in DNA can potentially distort the DNA double helix, resulting in genomic instability and altered DNA metabolism, but not much is known about the fate of these ribonucleotides.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA new study provides a mechanistic explanation of how ribonucleotides embedded in genomic DNA are recognized and removed from cells. Two mechanisms, enzymes called ribonucleases (RNases) H and the DNA mismatch repair system, appear to interplay to root out the RNA components.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We believe this is the first study to show that cells utilize independent repair pathways to remove mispaired ribonucleotides embedded in chromosomal DNA, which can be sources of genetic modification if not removed,\u0022 said Francesca Storici, an assistant professor in the School of Biology at the Georgia Institute of Technology. \u0022The results also highlight a novel case of genetic redundancy, where the mismatch repair system and RNase H mechanisms compete with each other to remove misincorporated ribonucleotides and restore DNA integrity.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe findings were reported Dec. 4, 2011 in the advance online publication of the journal \u003Cem\u003ENature Structural \u0026amp; Molecular Biology\u003C\/em\u003E. The research was supported by the Georgia Cancer Coalition, National Science Foundation and Georgia Tech Integrative BioSystems Institute.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EStorici and Georgia Tech biology graduate students Ying Shen and Kyung Duk Koh conducted the study in collaboration with Bernard Weiss, a professor emeritus in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Emory University.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We wanted to understand how cells of the bacterium \u003Cem\u003EEscherichia coli\u003C\/em\u003E and the yeast \u003Cem\u003ESaccharomyces cerevisiae\u003C\/em\u003E tolerate the presence of different ribonucleotides embedded in their genomic DNA. We found that the structure of a ribonucleotide tract embedded in DNA influenced its ability to cause genetic mutations more than the tract\u0027s length,\u0022 said Storici.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWith double-stranded DNA, when wrong bases are paired or one or few nucleotides are in excess or missing on one of the strands, a mismatch is generated. If mismatches are not corrected, they can lead to mutations.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers found that single mismatched ribonucleotides in chromosomal DNA were removed by either the mismatch repair system or RNase H type 2. Mismatched ribonucleotides in the middle of at least four other ribonucleotides required RNase H type 1 for removal.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We were excited to find that a DNA repair mechanism like mismatch repair was activated by RNA\/DNA mismatches and could remove ribonucleotides embedded in chromosomal DNA,\u0022 explained Storici. \u0022In future studies, we plan to test whether other DNA repair mechanisms, such as nucleotide-excision repair and base-excision repair, can also locate and remove ribonucleotides in DNA.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EUsing gene correction assays driven by short nucleic acid polymers called oligonucleotides, the researchers showed that when ribonucleotides embedded in DNA were not removed, they served as templates for DNA synthesis and produced a mutation in the DNA. If both the mismatch repair system and RNase H repair mechanisms are disabled, ribonucleotide-driven gene modification increased by a factor of 47 in the yeast and 77,000 in the bacterium. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDefects in the mismatch repair system are known to predispose a person to certain types of cancer. Because the mismatch repair system is conserved from unicellular to multicellular organisms, such as humans, this study\u0027s findings open up the possibility that defects in the mismatch repair system could have consequences more critical than previously thought given the newly identified function of mismatch repair to target RNA\/DNA mispairs. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe results also provide new information on the capacity of RNA to play an active role in DNA editing and remodeling, which could be the basis of an unexplored process of RNA-driven DNA evolution. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis project was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) (Award No. MCB-1021763). The content is solely the responsibility of the principal investigators and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NSF.\u003C\/em\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 314\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nAtlanta, Georgia  30308  USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts:\u003C\/strong\u003E Abby Robinson (abby@innovate.gatech.edu; 404-385-3364) or John Toon (jtoon@gatech.edu; 404-894-6986)\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter:\u003C\/strong\u003E Abby Robinson\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen RNA ribonucleotides become embedded in genomic DNA, they can cause problems for cells, but not much is known about the fate of these ribonucleotides. A new study identifies two mechanisms cells use to recognize and remove ribonucleotides from DNA.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Study identifies two mechanisms cells use to remove RNA from DNA."}],"uid":"27206","created_gmt":"2011-12-04 01:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:10:42","author":"Abby Vogel Robinson","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-12-04T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2011-12-04T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"73312":{"id":"73312","type":"image","title":"Ying Shen, Francesca Storici \u0026 Kyung Duk Koh","body":null,"created":"1449178002","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:26:42","changed":"1475894676","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:44:36"},"73313":{"id":"73313","type":"image","title":"Ying Shen \u0026 Francesca Storici","body":null,"created":"1449178002","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:26:42","changed":"1475894676","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:44:36"},"73314":{"id":"73314","type":"image","title":"Ying Shen, Francesca Storici \u0026 Kyung Duk Koh","body":null,"created":"1449178002","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:26:42","changed":"1475894676","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:44:36"}},"media_ids":["73312","73313","73314"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Biology"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/people\/index.php?id=francesca-storici","title":"Francesca Storici"}],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1041","name":"dna"},{"id":"13560","name":"Francesca Storici"},{"id":"15258","name":"oligonucleotides"},{"id":"15259","name":"ribonucleotides"},{"id":"984","name":"RNA"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbby Robinson\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EResearch News and Publications\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=avogel6\u0022\u003EContact Abby Robinson\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-385-3364\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["abby@innovate.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"99071":{"#nid":"99071","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Kacar  is Selected as a NASA Postdoctoral Program Astrobiology Fellow","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDr. Kacar, a postdoctoral fellow in Eric Gaucher\u0027s Lab is selected as a NASA Postdoctoral Program Astrobiology Fellow with her project titled \u0022The Role of Chance and Necessity in Evolution: An Experimental Model to Discover Life\u0027s Solutions\u0022.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr. Kacar\u0026nbsp;will continue her research that combines paleogenetics (reconstructing ancestral states of genes based on phylogenetics) with experimental evolution (monitoring evolution in action) in bacteria. The NASA Astrobiology Program, element of the NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP), provides opportunities for Ph.D. scientists and engineers of unusual promise and ability to perform research on problems largely of their own choosing, yet compatible with the research interests of the NASA Astrobiology Program. For more info: \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/astrobiology.nasa.gov\/nai\/funding\/nai-postdoctoral-fellowship-program\/\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/astrobiology.nasa.gov\/nai\/funding\/nai-postdoctoral-fellowship-program\/\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDr. Kacar, a postdoctoral fellow in Eric Gaucher\u0027s Lab is selected as a NASA Postdoctoral Program Astrobiology Fellow with her project titled \u0022The Role of Chance and Necessity in Evolution: An Experimental Model to Discover Life\u0027s Solutions\u0022.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Kacar  is Selected as a NASA Postdoctoral Program Astrobiology Fellow"}],"uid":"27245","created_gmt":"2011-12-01 01:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:11:02","author":"Troy Hilley","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-12-01T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2011-12-01T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"99081":{"id":"99081","type":"image","title":"Dr. Kacar","body":null,"created":"1449178142","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:29:02","changed":"1475894712","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:12"}},"media_ids":["99081"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Biology"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.gauchergroup.biology.gatech.edu\/","title":"Gaucher Group"}],"groups":[{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDavid Terraso\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications \u0026amp; Marketing\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:david.terraso@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EContact David Terraso\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-385-2966\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["david.terraso@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"99111":{"#nid":"99111","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Lessons of the Lost: Global Amphibian Extinctions","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Biology Adjunct Professor Joseph Mendelson recently published a paper in the American Scientist on global amphibian extinctions. He reflects on his personal experience witnessing multiple extinctions of amphibian species from fully protected parks and reserves in Mexico and Central and South America.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs an amphibian taxonomist, he describes the sobering reality of \u0022discovering\u0022 species new to science after they have already gone extinct-the discovery being made from the shelves of natural history museums, not in their former cloud forest habitats. These discoveries resemble paleontology, but they are so recent that the term does not fit. Mendelson suggests the term \u0022Forensic Taxonomy\u0022 instead. Dr. Mendelson also is Curator of Herpetology at Zoo Atlanta and current President of the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. He co-teaches Georgia Tech Biology undergraduates a research methods course at Zoo Atlanta.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Biology Adjunct Professor Joseph Mendelson recently published a paper in the American Scientist on global amphibian extinctions. He reflects on his personal experience witnessing multiple extinctions of amphibian species from fully protected parks and reserves in Mexico and Central and South America.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Lessons of the Lost: Global Amphibian Extinctions"}],"uid":"27245","created_gmt":"2011-11-14 01:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:11:02","author":"Troy Hilley","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-11-14T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2011-11-14T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"99121":{"id":"99121","type":"image","title":"Joseph Mendelson","body":null,"created":"1449178142","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:29:02","changed":"1475894712","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:12"}},"media_ids":["99121"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Biology"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.zooatlanta.org\/home\/zoo_experts\/zoo_expert-curator_herpetology","title":"Joseph Mendelson"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/news\/Mendelson.2011.LessonsfromtheLostAmerSci-1.pdf","title":"American Scientist"}],"groups":[{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDavid Terraso\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications \u0026amp; Marketing\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:david.terraso@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EContact David Terraso\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-385-2966\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["david.terraso@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"99151":{"#nid":"99151","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Mass Spectrometry Propels the Field of Lipidomics","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIn the \u0022omics\u0022 world, lipids have long been in the shadows, while nucleic acids and proteins hogged the limelight. But now, this broad-ranging class of biomolecules is stepping into the spotlight as well. And mass spectrometry (MS) is the tool that is making it possible. Not only to identify lipids but also to address where lipids are-which tissues and where in those tissues, researchers are turning to mass spectrometric imaging, which converts spatial distributions of mass-to-charge ratios into pictures of the locations of different molecules.\u003Cbr \/\u003E The LIPID MAPS consortium (including Alfred Merrill Jr., Professor and Smithgall Chair in Molecular Cell Biology in the School of Biology at Georgia Tech) are focusing on two types of mass spectrometric imaging-conventional matrix-assisted laser desorption\/ionization (MALDI), and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS).\u003Cbr \/\u003E The full story can be found here:\u003Cbr \/\u003E \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/pubs.acs.org\/cen\/coverstory\/89\/8941cover.html\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/pubs.acs.org\/cen\/coverstory\/89\/8941cover.html\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMuch of this research was conducted in the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIn the \u0022omics\u0022 world, lipids have long been in the shadows, while nucleic acids and proteins hogged the limelight. But now, this broad-ranging class of biomolecules is stepping into the spotlight as well. And mass spectrometry (MS) is the tool that is making it possible. Not only to identify lipids but also to address where lipids are-which tissues and where in those tissues, researchers are turning to mass spectrometric imaging, which converts spatial distributions of mass-to-charge ratios into pictures of the locations of different molecules.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Mass Spectrometry Propels the Field of Lipidomics"}],"uid":"27245","created_gmt":"2011-10-24 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:11:02","author":"Troy Hilley","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-10-24T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2011-10-24T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"99161":{"id":"99161","type":"image","title":"Lipids","body":null,"created":"1449178142","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:29:02","changed":"1475894712","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:12"}},"media_ids":["99161"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Biology"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/people\/al-merrill","title":"Al Merrill"},{"url":"http:\/\/pubs.acs.org\/cen\/coverstory\/89\/8941cover.html","title":"Article"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.ibb.gatech.edu\/core-facilities","title":"IBB Core Facilities"}],"groups":[{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDavid Terraso\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGeorgia Tech College of Sciences\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:david.terraso@cos.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EContact David Terraso\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-385-1393\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["david.terraso@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"71798":{"#nid":"71798","#data":{"type":"news","title":"\u0022Junk DNA\u0022 Defines Differences Between Humans and Chimps","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFor years, scientists believed the vast phenotypic\ndifferences between humans and chimpanzees would be easily explained \u2013 the two\nspecies must have significantly different genetic makeups. However, when their\ngenomes were later sequenced, researchers were surprised to learn that the DNA\nsequences of human and chimpanzee genes are nearly identical. What then is\nresponsible for the many morphological and behavioral differences between the\ntwo species? Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have now\ndetermined that the insertion and deletion of large pieces of DNA near genes\nare highly variable between humans and chimpanzees and may account for major\ndifferences between the two species. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe research team lead by Georgia Tech Professor of Biology\nJohn McDonald has verified that while the DNA sequence of genes between humans\nand chimpanzees is nearly identical, there are large genomic \u201cgaps\u201d in areas adjacent\nto genes that can affect the extent to which genes are \u201cturned on\u201d and \u201cturned\noff.\u201d The research shows that these genomic \u201cgaps\u201d between the two species are predominantly\ndue to the insertion or deletion (INDEL) of viral-like sequences called\nretrotransposons that are known to comprise about half of the genomes of both\nspecies. The findings are \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.mobilednajournal.com\/content\/2\/1\/13\/abstract\u0022\u003Ereported\u003C\/a\u003E in the most recent issue of the online,\nopen-access journal \u003Cem\u003EMobile DNA.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThese genetic gaps have primarily been caused by the\nactivity of retroviral-like transposable element sequences,\u201d said McDonald. \u201cTransposable\nelements were once considered \u2018junk DNA\u2019 with little or no function. Now it\nappears that they may be one of the major reasons why we are so different from\nchimpanzees.\u201d\n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMcDonald\u2019s research team, comprised of graduate students Nalini\nPolavarapu, Gaurav Arora and Vinay Mittal, examined the genomic gaps in both\nspecies and determined that they are significantly correlated with differences\nin gene expression reported previously by researchers at the Max Plank\nInstitute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany. \n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur findings are generally consistent with the notion that the\nmorphological and behavioral differences between humans and chimpanzees are\npredominately due to differences in the regulation of genes rather than to\ndifferences in the sequence of the genes themselves,\u201d said McDonald. \n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe current analysis of the genetic differences between\nhumans and chimpanzees was motivated by the group\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/newsroom\/release.html?nid=41245\u0022\u003Epreviously published\nfindings\u003C\/a\u003E (2009) that the higher propensity for cancer in humans vs. chimpanzees\nmay have been a by-product of selection for increased brain size in humans. \n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Research Characterizes Important Genetic Variation Between the Species"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDNA sequences for human and chimpanzees are nearly indentical, despite vast phenotypical differences between the two species. Georgia Tech researchers have determined that the insertion and deletion of large pieces of DNA near genes\nare highly variable between humans and chimpanzees and may account for these major\ndifferences. \u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The insertion and deletion of large pieces of DNA near genes are highly variable between humans and chimps and may account for major variables between species."}],"uid":"27560","created_gmt":"2011-10-25 11:00:45","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:10:34","author":"Jason Maderer","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-10-25T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2011-10-25T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"71799":{"id":"71799","type":"image","title":"Chimpanzee","body":null,"created":"1449177405","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:16:45","changed":"1475894644","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:44:04","alt":"Chimpanzee","file":{"fid":"193605","name":"chimp_1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/chimp_1_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/chimp_1_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3920685,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/chimp_1_0.jpg?itok=Ayxt0Ajk"}},"71800":{"id":"71800","type":"image","title":"Chimpanzee 2","body":null,"created":"1449177405","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:16:45","changed":"1475894644","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:44:04","alt":"Chimpanzee 2","file":{"fid":"193606","name":"chimp_4.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/chimp_4_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/chimp_4_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":5225806,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/chimp_4_0.jpg?itok=Pi5xPEGr"}},"39697":{"id":"39697","type":"image","title":"John McDonald","body":null,"created":"1449174110","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:21:50","changed":"1475894258","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:37:38","alt":"John McDonald","file":{"fid":"189660","name":"tgy10882.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tgy10882.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tgy10882.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1559884,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tgy10882.jpg?itok=jF8r-EaL"}}},"media_ids":["71799","71800","39697"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.mobilednajournal.com\/content\/2\/1\/13\/abstract","title":"Full Research Article"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Biology"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.cos.gatech.edu\/","title":"College of Sciences"}],"groups":[{"id":"1183","name":"Home"}],"categories":[{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"3028","name":"evolution"},{"id":"5718","name":"Genetics"},{"id":"2371","name":"John McDonald"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJason Maderer\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-385-2966\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jason.maderer@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"99171":{"#nid":"99171","#data":{"type":"news","title":"A Disappearing Underwater World","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Biology Professor Mark Hay is busy for the next month doing marine ecology research in Fiji. He is a frequent visitor to Fiji because he is conducting NIH and NSF funded research on coral reef conservation and drug discovery based on marine natural products.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe and his collaborators are using ecological interactions as leads to discover bioactive compounds in marine algae and invertebrates with potential as pharmaceuticals. On this trip Dr. Hay is writing a blog for the New York Times (\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/scientistatwork.blogs.nytimes.com\/2011\/10\/12\/a-disappearing-underwater-world\/\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/scientistatwork.blogs.nytimes.com\/2011\/10\/12\/a-disappearing-underwater-world\/\u003C\/a\u003E), so you can follow along with him and his team as they explore the coral reefs of Fiji.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Biology Professor Mark Hay is busy for the next month doing marine ecology research in Fiji. He is a frequent visitor to Fiji because he is conducting NIH and NSF funded research on coral reef conservation and drug discovery based on marine natural products.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A Disappearing Underwater World"}],"uid":"27245","created_gmt":"2011-10-17 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:11:02","author":"Troy Hilley","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-10-17T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2011-10-17T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"99181":{"id":"99181","type":"image","title":"Fiji Research","body":null,"created":"1449178150","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:29:10","changed":"1475894712","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:12"}},"media_ids":["99181"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Biology"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/people\/mark-hay\/","title":"Mark Hay"}],"groups":[{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDavid Terraso\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications \u0026amp; Marketing\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:david.terraso@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EContact David Terraso\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-385-2966\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["david.terraso@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"99191":{"#nid":"99191","#data":{"type":"news","title":"$112M Awarded for Studying Effects of Oil Spill on Gulf of Mexico","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EResearch on the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico took a major step forward with the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GRI) Research Board\u0027s announcement that eight Research Consortia are funded for the next three years. Two professors from the School of Biology, Drs. Joel Kostka and Joseph Montoya, are included in this three-year, total $112.5 million project. These teams investigate the fate of petroleum in the environment, the impacts of the spill, and the development of new tools and technology for responding to future spills and improving mitigation and restoration. The full story can be found here: \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gulfresearchinitiative.org\/2011\/rfp-i-consortia-grant-awards-gri-years-2-4\/\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.gulfresearchinitiative.org\/2011\/rfp-i-consortia-grant-awards-gri-years-2-4\/\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"$112M Awarded to Research Consortia Studying Effects of Oil Spill on Gulf of Mexico"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EResearch on the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico took a major step forward with the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GRI) Research Board\u0027s announcement that eight Research Consortia are funded for the next three years.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"$112M Awarded for Studying Effects of Oil Spill on Gulf of Mexico"}],"uid":"27245","created_gmt":"2011-10-04 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:11:02","author":"Troy Hilley","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-10-04T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2011-10-04T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"99201":{"id":"99201","type":"image","title":"Gulf","body":null,"created":"1449178150","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:29:10","changed":"1475894712","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:12"}},"media_ids":["99201"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Biology"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/people\/joel-kostka","title":"Joel Kostka"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/people\/jo","title":"Joe Montoya"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.gulfresearchinitiative.org\/2011\/rfp-i-consortia-grant-awards-gri-years-2-4\/","title":"Article"}],"groups":[{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"12160","name":"Gulf of Mexico"},{"id":"20131","name":"Joel Kostka"},{"id":"28871","name":"Joseph Montoya"},{"id":"10123","name":"Oil spill"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDavid Terraso\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGeorgia Tech College of Sciences\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:david.terraso@cos.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EContact David Terraso\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-385-1393\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["david.terraso@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"70083":{"#nid":"70083","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Scientists Turn Back the Clock on Adult Stem Cells Aging","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EResearchers have shown they can reverse the aging process for\nhuman adult stem cells, which are responsible for helping old or damaged\ntissues regenerate. The findings could lead to medical treatments that may\nrepair a host of ailments that occur because of tissue damage as people age. A\nresearch group led by the Buck Institute for Research on Aging and the Georgia\nInstitute of Technology conducted the study in cell culture, which appears in\nthe September 1, 2011 edition of the journal Cell Cycle.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe\nregenerative power of tissues and organs declines as we age. The modern day\nstem cell hypothesis of aging suggests that living organisms are as old as are its\ntissue specific or adult stem cells. Therefore, an understanding of the\nmolecules and processes that enable human adult stem cells to initiate\nself-renewal and to divide, proliferate and then differentiate in order to\nrejuvenate damaged tissue might be the key to regenerative medicine and an eventual\ncure for many age-related diseases. A research group\nled by the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in collaboration with the Georgia Institute of Technology, conducted the study that\npinpoints what is going wrong with the biological clock underlying the limited division of\nhuman adult stem cells as they age.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe\ndemonstrated that we were able to reverse the process of aging for human adult\nstem cells by intervening with the activity of non-protein coding RNAs originated from\ngenomic regions once dismissed as non-functional\u0026nbsp; \u2018genomic junk\u2019,\u201d said Victoria Lunyak, associate professor at the Buck Institute\nfor Research on Aging.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAdult\nstem cells are important because they help keep human tissues healthy by\nreplacing cells that have gotten old or damaged. They\u2019re also multipotent,\nwhich means that an adult stem cell can grow and replace any number of body\ncells in the tissue or organ they belong to. However, just as the cells in\nthe liver, or any other\norgan, can get damaged over time, adult stem cells undergo age-related damage. And when this happens, the body\ncan\u2019t replace damaged tissue as well as it once could, leading to a host of diseases\nand conditions. But if scientists can find a way to keep these adult stem cells\nyoung, they could possibly use these cells to repair damaged heart tissue after\na heart attack; heal wounds; correct metabolic syndromes; produce insulin for\npatients with type 1 diabetes; cure arthritis and osteoporosis and regenerate\nbone.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe\nteam began by hypothesizing that DNA damage in the genome of adult stem cells would\nlook very different from age-related damage occurring in regular body cells. They thought\nso because body cells are known to experience a shortening of the caps found at\nthe ends of chromosomes, known as telomeres. But adult stem cells are known to\nmaintain their telomeres. Much of the damage in aging is widely thought to be a\nresult of losing telomeres. So there must be different mechanisms\nat play that are\nkey to explaining how aging occurs in these adult stem cells, they thought.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EResearchers\nused adult stem cells from humans and combined experimental techniques with\ncomputational approaches to study the changes in the genome associated with\naging.\u0026nbsp; They compared freshly isolated human adult stem cells from young individuals, which can\nself-renew, to cells\nfrom the same individuals that were subjected to prolonged passaging in\nculture. This accelerated model of adult stem cell aging exhausts the regenerative\ncapacity of the adult stem cells. Researchers looked at the changes in genomic sites that accumulate\nDNA damage in both groups.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe\nfound the majority of DNA damage and associated chromatin changes that occurred\nwith adult stem cell aging were due to parts of the genome known as retrotransposons,\u201d\nsaid King Jordan, associate professor in the School of Biology at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cRetroransposons\nwere previously thought to be non-functional and were even labeled as \u2018junk DNA\u2019, but accumulating evidence\nindicates these elements play an important role in genome regulation,\u201d he\nadded.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile\nthe young adult stem cells were able to suppress transcriptional activity of\nthese genomic elements and deal with the damage to the DNA, older adult stem cells were\nnot able to scavenge this transcription. New discovery suggests that this event is deleterious\nfor the regenerative\nability of stem cells and triggers a process known as cellular senescence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cBy\nsuppressing the accumulation of toxic transcripts from retrotransposons, we\nwere able to reverse the process of human adult stem cell aging in culture,\u201d\nsaid Lunyak.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cFurthermore,\nby rewinding the cellular clock in this way, we were not only able to\nrejuvenate \u2019aged\u2019 human stem cells, but to our surprise we were able to reset\nthem to an earlier developmental stage, by up-regulating the \u201cpluripotency factors\u201d \u2013 the proteins\nthat are critically involved in the self-renewal of undifferentiated embryonic\nstem cells.\u201d she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ENext\nthe team plans to use further analysis to validate the extent to which the\nrejuvenated stem cells may be suitable for clinical tissue regenerative\napplications.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe\nstudy was conducted by a team with members from the Buck Institute for Research\non Aging, the Georgia Institute of Technology, the University of California,\nSan Diego, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer\nCenter, International Computer Science Institute, Applied Biosystems and\nTel-Aviv University.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECitation:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.landesbioscience.com\/journals\/cc\/article\/17543\/\u0022\u003EInhibition\nof activated pericentromeric SINE\/Alu repeat transcription in senescent human\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nadult stem cells reinstates self-renewal.\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp; Cell Cycle, Volume 10, Issue 17, September 1, 2011\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWritten by\nDavid Terraso, Georgia Tech\/Kris Rebillot, Buck Institute\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EResearchers have shown they can reverse the aging process for human\nadult stem cells, which are responsible for helping old or damaged tissues regenerate.\nThe findings could lead to medical treatments that may repair a host of\nailments that occur because of tissue damage as people age.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Reversing the aging process could lead to medical treatments  for many chronic conditions ."}],"uid":"27310","created_gmt":"2011-09-20 08:39:42","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:10:09","author":"David Terraso","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-09-20T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2011-09-20T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"176","name":"aging"},{"id":"14349","name":"Buck Institute for Research on Aging"},{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"5268","name":"King Jordan"},{"id":"167130","name":"Stem Cells"},{"id":"14350","name":"Victoria Lunyak"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJason Maderer, 404-385-2966\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jason.maderer@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"99901":{"#nid":"99901","#data":{"type":"news","title":"GTRI teams with CBID to design better solar panels","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Center for Biologically-Inspired Design at Georgia Tech is a key collaborator in the recently awarded 2.8 million dollar DOE grant to GTRI for innovative solar panel designs. Using the biologically-inspired design methodology pioneered by CBID, this team will lead a multidisciplinary design effort to use biological principles to reduce wind loading and simplify the mechanisms that attach solar panels to structures. This innovative design method involves students, engineers, and biologists in multidisciplinary teams to identify biological solutions, translate these solutions to engineered devices and determine how to scale up production to meet the goals of DOE\u0027s SunShot Initiative: a 75% reduction in solar cost before the end of the decade. Collaboration with Georgia\u00e2\u0080\u0099s solar power industry helps to assure an immediate impact of this technology. The effort is lead by Joseph Goodman (GTRI). Jeannette Yen and Marc Weissburg at CBID will direct the BID design teams.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Center for Biologically-Inspired Design at Georgia Tech is a key collaborator in the recently awarded 2.8 million dollar DOE grant to GTRI for innovative solar panel designs.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"GTRI teams with CBID to design better solar panels"}],"uid":"27245","created_gmt":"2011-09-12 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:11:05","author":"Troy Hilley","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-09-12T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2011-09-12T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"99911":{"id":"99911","type":"image","title":"Solar Panel","body":null,"created":"1449178150","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:29:10","changed":"1475894715","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:15"}},"media_ids":["99911"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Biology"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.cbid.gatech.edu\/","title":"Center for Biologically Inspired Design at Georgia Tech"}],"groups":[{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDavid Terraso\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGeorgia Tech College of Sciences\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:david.terraso@cos.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EContact David Terraso\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-385-1393\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["david.terraso@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"99921":{"#nid":"99921","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Kostka Receives $1 million in DOE Grants","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDr. Joel Kostka, a new Professor jointly appointed in Biology and Earth \u0026amp; Atmospheric Sciences, was recently awarded $1.1 million in research grants by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to study the microbially-mediated carbon cycle in boreal or northern peatlands. Peatlands sequester one-third of all soil carbon and currently act as major sinks of atmospheric CO2. The ability to predict or to simulate the fate of stored carbon in response to climatic disruption remains hampered by our limited understanding of the controls of C turnover and the composition and functioning of peatland microbial communities. Given their global extent and uncertain fate with climatic change, boreal forests are considered a high priority for climate change research. The overall goal of this project is to investigate the reactivity of soil organic matter and the composition of decomposer microbial communities in response to the climatic forcing of environmental processes that determine carbon storage and sequestration in peatlands. The project will be conducted at the Marcell Experimental Forest (MEF) in northern Minnesota where Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the USDA Forest Service are developing a climate manipulation field site known as Spruce and Peatland Response Under Climatic and Environmental Change (SPRUCE). The project team includes collaborators at Florida State University and ORNL.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Kostka Receives DOE Grants to Study Role of Microorganisms in Climate Change"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDr. Joel Kostka, a new Professor jointly appointed in Biology and Earth \u0026amp; Atmospheric Sciences, was recently awarded $1.1 million in research grants by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to study the microbially-mediated carbon cycle in boreal or northern peatlands. Peatlands sequester one-third of all soil carbon and currently act as major sinks of atmospheric CO2.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Kostka Receives $1 million in DOE Grants"}],"uid":"27245","created_gmt":"2011-08-25 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:11:05","author":"Troy Hilley","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-08-25T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2011-08-25T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"99931":{"id":"99931","type":"image","title":"Joel Kostka","body":null,"created":"1449178150","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:29:10","changed":"1475894715","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:15"}},"media_ids":["99931"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Biology"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/people\/joel-kostka","title":"Joel Kostka"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.joelkostka.net\/","title":"Kostka Lab"}],"groups":[{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDavid Terraso\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGeorgia Tech College of Sciences\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:david.terraso@cos.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EContact David Terraso\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-385-1393\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["david.terraso@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"99941":{"#nid":"99941","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Teaching Kids a Love of Science","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EOutreach work by Dr. Meghan Duffy (Assistant Professor) has been featured in a new Youtube video released by Georgia Tech. Every summer, Duffy and her lab team up with the EnviroVentures camp at Piedmont Park to teach campers about lakes and plankton and to try to spark an interest in science. The activities focus on Lake Clara Meer in Piedmont Park, which is a field site sampled by the Duffy Lab.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EOutreach work by Dr. Meghan Duffy (Assistant Professor) has been featured in a new Youtube video released by Georgia Tech. Every summer, Duffy and her lab team up with the EnviroVentures camp at Piedmont Park to teach campers about lakes and plankton and to try to spark an interest in science.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Teaching Kids a Love of Science"}],"uid":"27245","created_gmt":"2011-08-10 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:11:05","author":"Troy Hilley","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-08-10T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2011-08-10T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"99951":{"id":"99951","type":"image","title":"Meghan Duffy","body":null,"created":"1449178150","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:29:10","changed":"1475894715","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:15"}},"media_ids":["99951"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Biology"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/people\/meghan-duffy","title":"Meghan Duffy"},{"url":"http:\/\/youtu.be\/CQNSaWcIxeg","title":"YouTube Video"}],"groups":[{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1149","name":"Duffy"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDavid Terraso\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGeorgia Tech College of Sciences\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:david.terraso@cos.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EContact David Terraso\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-385-1393\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["david.terraso@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"69073":{"#nid":"69073","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Unstable Protein Can Mediate Effects of Cellular Stress on Prions","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s a\nchicken and egg question. Where do the infectious protein particles called\nprions come from? Essentially clumps of misfolded proteins, prions cause\nneurodegenerative disorders, such as mad cow\/Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, in\nhumans and animals. Research in fungi has suggested that sometimes prions can also\nhelp cells adapt to different conditions. Prions trigger the misfolding and\naggregation of their properly folded protein counterparts, but they usually\nneed some kind of \u201cseed\u201d to get started.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EScientists\nhave studied a yeast protein called Lsb2 that can promote spontaneous prion\nformation. This unstable, short-lived protein is strongly induced by cellular\nstresses such as heat. Lsb2\u2019s properties also illustrate how cells have\ndeveloped ways to control and regulate prion formation. The results are\npublished in the July 22 issue of the journal\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003EMolecular Cell\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe\nstudy was conducted by members of the Center for Nanobiology of the Macromolecular\nAssembly Disorders (NanoMAD) which is made up of scientists from the Georgia\nInstitute of Technology and Emory University. Scientists from the National\nInstitues of Health and the University of Illinois at Chicago also contributed\nto the study. The first author is senior associate Tatiana Chernova, PhD at\nEmory.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe\naggregated, or amyloid, forms of proteins connected with several other\nneurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer\u2019s, Parkinson\u2019s and Huntington\u2019s\ncan, in some circumstances, act like prions. So the findings provide insight\ninto how the ways that cells deal with stress might lead to poisonous protein\naggregation in human diseases.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cA\ndirect human homolog of Lsb2 doesn\u2019t exist, but there may be a protein that\nperforms the same function,\u201d said Keith Wilkinson, professor of biochemistry at\nEmory University School of Medicine. \u201cThe mechanism may say more about other\ntypes of protein aggregates than about classical prions in humans. This\nmechanism of seeding and growth may be more important for aggregate formation\nin diseases such as Huntington\u2019s.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ELsb2\ndoes not appear to form stable prions by itself. Rather, it seems to bind to\nand encourage the aggregation of another protein, Sup35, which does form\nprions.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur\nmodel is that stress induces high levels of Lsb2, which allows the accumulation\nof misfolded prion proteins,\u201d Wilkinson said. \u201cLsb2 protects enough of these\nnewborn prion particles from the quality control machinery for a few of them to\nget out.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn\ncontinuation of previous research by Yury Chernoff, director of NanoMAD and\nprofessor in the School of Biology at Georgia Tech, the new data also show that\nin addition to promoting new prions, Lsb2 strengthens existing prions during\nstress.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Little\nis known about physiological and environmental conditions influencing amyloid\ndiseases in humans,\u0022 said Chernoff. \u0022Therefore, prophylactic\nmeasures, which could end up being more effective than therapies, are\nessentially non-existant. We hope that yeast model will help to fill this\ngap.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe\nresearch was supported by the National Institutes of Health.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWritten\nby: Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EScientists discover how an unstable protein, known as Lsb2 can control and regulate the formation of infectious protein particles called prions.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Scientists at Georgia Tech and Emory find protein can add strength to prions."}],"uid":"27310","created_gmt":"2011-07-29 10:13:39","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:09:52","author":"David Terraso","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-07-29T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2011-07-29T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"69075":{"id":"69075","type":"image","title":"Professor Yury Chernoff","body":null,"created":"1449177228","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:13:48","changed":"1475894604","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:24","alt":"Professor Yury Chernoff","file":{"fid":"193375","name":"0625150-p13-9.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/0625150-p13-9_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/0625150-p13-9_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2285975,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/0625150-p13-9_0.jpg?itok=GqlB6NzX"}},"69070":{"id":"69070","type":"image","title":"Lsb2 Expression in Yeast Cells","body":null,"created":"1449177228","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:13:48","changed":"1475894604","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:24","alt":"Lsb2 Expression in Yeast Cells","file":{"fid":"193374","name":"lsb2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/lsb2_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/lsb2_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":34413,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/lsb2_0.jpg?itok=iIn_v90X"}}},"media_ids":["69075","69070"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.nanomad.gatech.edu\/","title":"Center for Nanobiology of the Macromolecular Assembly Disorders"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/people\/yury-chernoff\/?id=yury-chernoff","title":"Yury Chernoff"}],"groups":[{"id":"1183","name":"Home"}],"categories":[{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4833","name":"chicago"},{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"247","name":"Emory"},{"id":"2286","name":"nano"},{"id":"13830","name":"NanoMaD"},{"id":"2076","name":"NIH"},{"id":"13831","name":"prion"},{"id":"13827","name":"Yury Chernoff"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDavid Terraso\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech College of Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-385-1393\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["david.terraso@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"68577":{"#nid":"68577","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Meta-Analysis Reveals Patterns of Bacteria-Virus Infection Networks","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBacteria are common sources of infection, but these microorganisms can themselves be infected by even smaller agents: viruses. A new analysis of the interactions between bacteria and viruses has revealed patterns that could help scientists working to understand which viruses infect which bacteria in the microbial world.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA meta-analysis of the interactions shows that the infection patterns exhibit a nested structure, with hard-to-infect bacteria infected by generalist viruses and easy-to-infect bacteria attacked by both generalist and specialist viruses.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Although it is well known that individual viruses do not infect all bacteria, this study provides an understanding of possibly universal patterns or principles governing the set of viruses able to infect a given bacteria and the set of bacteria that a given virus can infect,\u0022 said Joshua Weitz, an assistant professor in the School of Biology at the Georgia Institute of Technology.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDiscovering this general pattern of nested bacteria-virus infection could improve predictions of microbial population dynamics and community assembly, which affect human health and global ecosystem function. Knowing the patterns of which bacteria are susceptible to which viruses could also provide insights into strategies for viral-based antimicrobial therapies.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe results of the meta-analysis were published June 27, 2011 in the early edition of the journal \u003Cem\u003EProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences\u003C\/em\u003E. The work was sponsored by the James S. McDonnell Foundation, the Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech physics graduate student Cesar Flores, Michigan State University zoology graduate student Justin Meyer, Georgia Tech biology undergraduate student Lauren Farr, and postdoctoral researcher Sergi Valverde from the University Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain also contributed to this study.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe research team compiled 38 laboratory studies of interactions between bacteria and phages, the viruses that infect them. The studies represented approximately 12,000 distinct experimental infection assays across a broad spectrum of diversity, habitat and mode of selection. The studies covered a 20-year period and included hundreds of different host and phage strains.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers converted each study into a matrix with rows containing bacterial types, columns containing phage strains, and cells with zeros or ones to indicate whether a given pair yielded an infection. Then they applied a rigorous network theory approach to examine whether the interaction networks exhibited a nonrandom structure, conformed to a characteristic shape, or behaved idiosyncratically -- making them hard to predict. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOf the 38 studies, the researchers found 27 that showed significant nestedness. Nestedness was measured by the extent to which phages that infected the most hosts tended to infect bacteria that were infected by the fewest phages. The researchers used statistical tests to rule out forms of bias. However, because the majority of the data consisted of closely related species, the researchers anticipate that more complex patterns of infection may form with species with more genetic diversity. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Considering the large range of taxa, habitats and sampling techniques used to construct the matrices, the repeated sampling of a nested pattern of host-phage infections is salient, but the process driving the nestedness is not obvious. The pattern suggests a common mechanism or convergent set of mechanisms underlying microbial co-evolution and community assembly,\u0022 explained Weitz.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers examined three hypotheses to explain the nestedness pattern based on biochemical, ecological and evolutionary principles, but found that additional experiments will be required to determine why this pattern occurs so often. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis meta-analysis demonstrated the utility of network methods as a means for discovering novel interaction patterns. According to the researchers, viewing host-phage interaction networks through this type of unifying lens more often will likely unveil other hidden commonalities of microbial and viral communities that transcend species identity. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research was supported in part by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) (Award No. HR0011-09-1-0055). The content is solely the responsibility of the principal investigator and does not necessarily represent the official views of DARPA.\u003C\/em\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 314\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nAtlanta, Georgia  30308  USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts:\u003C\/strong\u003E Abby Robinson (abby@innovate.gatech.edu; 404-385-3364) or John Toon (jtoon@gatech.edu; 404-894-6986)\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter:\u003C\/strong\u003E Abby Robinson\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"A meta-analysis of bacteria-virus infections reveals a nested structure, with hard-to-infect bacteria infected by generalist viruses and easy-to-infect bacteria attacked by generalist \u0026amp; specialist viruses.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Study reveals bacteria-virus infection patterns exhibit nestedness."}],"uid":"27206","created_gmt":"2011-06-27 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:09:40","author":"Abby Vogel Robinson","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-06-27T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2011-06-27T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"68578":{"id":"68578","type":"image","title":"Joshua Weitz","body":null,"created":"1449177185","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:13:05","changed":"1475894594","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:14"},"68579":{"id":"68579","type":"image","title":"bacteria-virus matrix","body":null,"created":"1449177185","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:13:05","changed":"1475894594","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:14"},"68580":{"id":"68580","type":"image","title":"Bacteria-phage nested pattern","body":null,"created":"1449177185","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:13:05","changed":"1475894594","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:14"}},"media_ids":["68578","68579","68580"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/people\/joshua-weitz","title":"Joshua Weitz"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Biology"}],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"7077","name":"bacteria"},{"id":"13535","name":"bacteria-virus interaction"},{"id":"10660","name":"infection"},{"id":"13536","name":"infection pattern"},{"id":"11599","name":"Joshua Weitz"},{"id":"13533","name":"meta-analysis"},{"id":"13537","name":"nested structure"},{"id":"13534","name":"Phage"},{"id":"4292","name":"virus"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003EAbby Robinson\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EResearch News and Publications\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=avogel6\u0022\u003EContact Abby Robinson\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-385-3364\u003C\/strong\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["abby@innovate.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"99981":{"#nid":"99981","#data":{"type":"news","title":"$3 million NSF \u0022Cellular Communication\u0022 grant awarded to GA Tech team","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAn interdisciplinary team of five Georgia Tech faculty from Electrical and Computer Engineering, Biology, and Mechanical Engineering has been awarded a $3M National Science Foundation grant (NSF 1110947) entitled \u0022Fundamentals of Molecular Nano-Communication Networks.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELed by PI Prof. Ian Akyildiz (ECE), with co-PI\u0027s Profs. Faramarz Fekri (ECE), Craig Forest (ME), Brian Hammer (Bio), and Raghupathy Sivakumar (ECE), the team will undertake a 4 year effort (2011-2015) to model, simulate, and experimentally validate with bacteria the fundamental limits and protocols for molecular communication. The grant was awarded through the Computer and Network Systems (CNS) program within the Directorate for Computer \u0026amp; Information Science and Engineering (CISE) at the National Science Foundation.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAn interdisciplinary team of five Georgia Tech faculty from Electrical and Computer Engineering, Biology, and Mechanical Engineering has been awarded a $3M National Science Foundation grant (NSF 1110947) entitled \u0022Fundamentals of Molecular Nano-Communication Networks.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"$3 million NSF \u0022Cellular Communication\u0022 grant awarded to GA Tech team"}],"uid":"27245","created_gmt":"2011-07-25 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:11:05","author":"Troy Hilley","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-07-25T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2011-07-25T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"99991":{"id":"99991","type":"image","title":"Brian Hammer","body":null,"created":"1449178150","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:29:10","changed":"1475894715","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:15"}},"media_ids":["99991"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Biology"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/people\/brian-hammer","title":"Brian Hammer"}],"groups":[{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESchool of Biology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBiology\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:admin@biology.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EContact School of Biology\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-894-3700\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["admin@biology.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"68484":{"#nid":"68484","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Scientists Uncover an Unhealthy Herds Hypothesis","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBiologists worldwide subscribe to the healthy herds\nhypothesis, the idea that predators can keep packs of prey healthy by removing\nthe weak and the sick. This reduces the chance disease will wipe out the whole\nherd, but could it be that predators can also make prey populations more\nsusceptible to other predators or even parasites? Biologists at the Georgia\nInstitute of Technology have discovered at least one animal whose defenses\nagainst a predator make it a good target for one opportunistic parasite. The research\nappears online in the journal \u003Cem\u003EFunctional\nEcology\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u201c\u003C\/strong\u003EWe found that strategies that\nprey use to defend themselves against predators can increase their\nsusceptibility to infection by parasites,\u201d said Meghan Duffy, assistant\nprofessor in Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Biology.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EDuffy,\nalong with colleagues at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and\nIndiana University, took a look at a small aquatic crustacean, \u003Cem\u003EDaphnia dentifera\u003C\/em\u003E, a water flea known to\nbe an important part of freshwater ecosystems. They exposed the crustacean to\nchemicals emitted by one of its predators, a phantom midge larva known as \u003Cem\u003EChaoborus\u003C\/em\u003E, known to feed on it. When the\n\u003Cem\u003EDaphnia\u003C\/em\u003E detected those chemicals it\ngrew larger, making it harder for its predator to get its mouth around it.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cUnfortunately\nfor the\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003EDaphnia\u003C\/em\u003E, this defense against predation\nmakes them more vulnerable to parasitism,\u201d said Duffy.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThat\u2019s\nbecause while growing larger keeps \u003Cem\u003EDaphnia\u003C\/em\u003E\nsafe from \u003Cem\u003EChaoborus\u003C\/em\u003E, it actually\nmakes it more susceptible to a virulent yeast parasite, known as \u003Cem\u003EMetschnikowia\u003C\/em\u003E. When \u003Cem\u003EDaphnia\u003C\/em\u003E senses a threat from its predator and\u003Cem\u003E \u003C\/em\u003Egrows larger, it ends up consuming more of these parasitic yeasts than\nit does when normal size. When the yeast infects the crustacean, it kills it,\ncausing the dead animal to release yeast spores as it decomposes. The larger\nthe host, the more spores it releases back into the water to prey on other \u003Cem\u003EDaphnia\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cSince\nthey need to grow larger to defend themselves against the predator but the\nopposite to defend against the parasite, they\u0027re sort of stuck between a rock\nand a hard place,\u201d she added.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EDuffy\nreasons that this occurs because the predators are common year-round, while the\nparasites are more episodic in nature, with their populations expanding in\nepidemics only in the fall and not even yearly. This results in long periods of\npredation in the absence of the parasite, which probably explains why they\nrespond so strongly to defend themselves against the predator even though it\ndecreases their defenses against the yeast, she added.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhile\nsome have argued for increasing predator densities to control disease, our\nresults suggest that it is important to consider the indirect effects of\npredators, such as the one we found in which trying to avoid one enemy\nincreases the hosts vulnerability to another,\u201d said Duffy.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research was\nfunded by the National Science Foundation\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBiologists worldwide subscribe to the healthy herds\nhypothesis, but could it be that predators can also make prey populations more\nsusceptible to other predators or even parasites? Biologists at the Georgia\nInstitute of Technology have discovered at least one animal whose defenses\nagainst a predator make it a good target for one opportunistic parasite. The\nresearch appears online in the journal \u003Cem\u003EFunctional\nEcology\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"One animals defense against prey can make it more susceptible to a parasite."}],"uid":"27310","created_gmt":"2011-06-23 08:37:03","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:09:37","author":"David Terraso","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-06-23T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2011-06-23T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"68416":{"id":"68416","type":"image","title":"Killer Larva Preys on Small Crustacean","body":null,"created":"1449177176","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:12:56","changed":"1475894592","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:12","alt":"Killer Larva Preys on Small Crustacean","file":{"fid":"193322","name":"8c.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/8c_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/8c_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":52662,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/8c_0.jpg?itok=1fhg15zC"}},"68417":{"id":"68417","type":"image","title":"Parasite Grows in Crustacean","body":null,"created":"1449177176","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:12:56","changed":"1475894592","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:12","alt":"Parasite Grows in Crustacean","file":{"fid":"193323","name":"inf_uninf_dissect_5.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/inf_uninf_dissect_5_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/inf_uninf_dissect_5_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":413157,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/inf_uninf_dissect_5_0.jpg?itok=36631w6J"}}},"media_ids":["68416","68417"],"groups":[{"id":"1183","name":"Home"}],"categories":[{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"3028","name":"evolution"},{"id":"13456","name":"Meghan Duffy"},{"id":"7631","name":"parasite"},{"id":"13478","name":"predator"},{"id":"13479","name":"prey"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELaura Diamond\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:laura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elaura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-894-6016\u003Cbr \/\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-660-2926\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["mattnagel@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"100041":{"#nid":"100041","#data":{"type":"news","title":"RNA-driven genetic changes in bacteria and in human cells","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA new study demonstrates RNA-driven genetic changes in bacteria and in human cells.\u003Cbr \/\u003E Not long ago, it was considered that the major role played by RNA was to carry genetic information for protein synthesis. Although an astonishing variety of RNA functions have been found in the last few decades, it has always been very difficult to determine if any RNA has the capacity to genetically modify the DNA of cells.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy using RNA-containing oligos, the Storici\u0027s team (Assistant Professor, School of Biology) has found that RNA can function as a template for DNA synthesis without being reverse transcribed into cDNA, not only in yeast but also in \u003Cem\u003EEscherichia coli\u003C\/em\u003E and in the human embryonic kidney (HEK-293) cells. These findings establish that a direct flow of genetic information from RNA to DNA can occur in organisms as diverse as bacteria and humans, and thus, it can be a significant source of genetic variation. The goal of future research is to understand the mechanisms by which RNA can directly transfer information to the DNA of cells and to reveal the circumstances in which RNA information can flow to DNA.\u003Cbr \/\u003E The study, which was published April 14 in the advance online edition of the journal \u003Cem\u003EMutation Research\u003C\/em\u003E, was conducted by a group of graduate and undergraduate students in the Storici\u0027s lab in the School of Biology at Georgia Tech in collaboration with Bernard Weiss from Emory University School of Medicine.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA new study demonstrates RNA-driven genetic changes in bacteria and in human cells. Not long ago, it was considered that the major role played by RNA was to carry genetic information for protein synthesis. Although an astonishing variety of RNA functions have been found in the last few decades, it has always been very difficult to determine if any RNA has the capacity to genetically modify the DNA of cells.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"RNA-driven genetic changes in bacteria and in human cells."}],"uid":"27245","created_gmt":"2011-06-13 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:11:05","author":"Troy Hilley","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-06-13T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2011-06-13T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"100051":{"id":"100051","type":"image","title":"DNA Genome","body":null,"created":"1449178150","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:29:10","changed":"1475894715","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:15"}},"media_ids":["100051"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Biology"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/people\/francesca-storice","title":"Francesca Storici"}],"groups":[{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESchool of Biology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBiology\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:admin@biology.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EContact School of Biology\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-894-3700\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["admin@biology.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"65520":{"#nid":"65520","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Study Provides New Means for Classifying E. Coli Bacteria \u0026 Testing for Fecal Contamination","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe meaning of the standard fecal coliform test used to monitor water quality has been called into question by a new study that identified sources of \u003Cem\u003EEscherichia coli\u003C\/em\u003E bacteria that might not indicate an environmental hazard. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFecal pollution of surface waters is measured by the concentration of \u003Cem\u003EE. coli\u003C\/em\u003E bacteria in the water because \u003Cem\u003EE. coli\u003C\/em\u003E is believed to live only in the intestines and waste of humans and other warm-blooded animals, and quickly dies outside its host. The presence of \u003Cem\u003EE. coli\u003C\/em\u003E in water also serves as a marker for other potentially more harmful organisms that may accompany it. Positive \u003Cem\u003EE. coli\u003C\/em\u003E tests may lead to the summertime closing of beaches and other recreational bodies of water.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn this new study, researchers report identifying and sequencing the genomes of nine strains of \u003Cem\u003EE. coli\u003C\/em\u003E that have adapted to living in the environment independent of warm-blooded hosts. These strains are indistinguishable from typical \u003Cem\u003EE. coli\u003C\/em\u003E based on traditional tests and yield a positive fecal coliform result though researchers say they may not represent a true environmental hazard.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The basis for \u003Cem\u003EE. coli\u003C\/em\u003E\u2019s widespread use as a fecal pollution indicator is the traditional thinking that \u003Cem\u003EE. coli\u003C\/em\u003E cannot survive for extended periods outside a host or waste, but this study indicates that\u0027s not true,\u0022 said Kostas Konstantinidis, an assistant professor in the Georgia Tech School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. \u0022These results suggest the need to develop a new culture-independent, genome-based coliform test so that the non-hazardous environmental types of \u003Cem\u003EE. coli\u003C\/em\u003E are not counted as fecal contamination.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA paper describing the research was published April 11 in the early edition of the journal \u003Cem\u003EProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences\u003C\/em\u003E. The work was sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EKonstantinidis and Georgia Tech School of Biology graduate student Chengwei Luo compared the genomes of 25 different strains of \u003Cem\u003EE. coli\u003C\/em\u003E and close relatives, which were sequenced by the Center for Microbial Ecology at Michigan State University, the Broad Institute in Massachusetts, or were publicly available in the National Center for Biotechnology Information database. Nine strains that were recovered primarily from environmental sources encoded all genes required for classification as \u003Cem\u003EE. coli\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The orders-of-magnitude higher abundances of the group of organisms represented by these nine strains in environmental samples relative to those in human feces and the clinic indicate that they represent truly environmentally adapted organisms that are not associated primarily with mammal hosts,\u0022 explained Konstantinidis, who also holds a joint appointment in the Georgia Tech School of Biology.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBy comparing the full genomes of the samples, the Georgia Tech researchers identified 84 genes specific to or highly enriched in the genomes of the environmental \u003Cem\u003EE. coli\u003C\/em\u003E and 120 genes specific to the strains commonly found in the gastrointestinal tract of healthy humans, which are called commensal \u003Cem\u003EE. coli\u003C\/em\u003E. They also detected recent genetic exchange of core genes within the environmental \u003Cem\u003EE. coli\u003C\/em\u003E and within the commensal strains, but not from commensal genomes to their environmental counterparts.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe environment-specific bacteria included genes important for resource acquisition and survival in the environment, such as the genes required to utilize energy sources and to break down dead cellular material. In contrast, the gastrointestinal \u003Cem\u003EE. coli\u003C\/em\u003E included several genes involved in the transport and use of nutrients thought to be abundant in the gut.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The genomic data suggest that the environmental \u003Cem\u003EE. coli\u003C\/em\u003E are better at surviving in the external environment, but are less effective competitors in the gastrointestinal tract than commensal E. coli, which tells us that the environmental bacteria are highly unlikely to represent a risk to public health,\u0022 explained Konstantinidis.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECollectively, this data also indicates that the environmental \u003Cem\u003EE. coli\u003C\/em\u003E strains represent a distinct species from their commensal \u003Cem\u003EE. coli\u003C\/em\u003E counterparts even though they are identified as \u003Cem\u003EE. coli\u003C\/em\u003E based on the standard taxonomic methods. This work is consistent with a more stringent and ecologic definition for bacterial species than the current definition and suggests ways to start replacing traditional, culture-based approaches for defining diagnostic phenotypes of new species with genomic-based procedures.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe scientific, medical, regulatory and legal communities expect species to reasonably reflect the traits and habitat of an organism -- especially an organism like \u003Cem\u003EE. coli\u003C\/em\u003E that has ramifications for diagnostic microbiology and for assessing fecal pollution of natural ecosystems. Efforts toward a more refined definition of this bacterial species are needed, according to Konstantinidis.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis study\u0027s findings provide a way to start redefining \u003Cem\u003EE. coli\u003C\/em\u003E species and testing for fecal contamination with procedures based on genomics and ecology.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We are now working to develop a molecular assay that uses the gastrointestinal-specific genes as robust biomarkers to count commensal \u003Cem\u003EE. coli\u003C\/em\u003E cells in environmental samples more accurately than current methods,\u0022 added Konstantinidis.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis project is supported by a National Science Foundation (NSF) award to Georgia Tech and Michigan State University (Award No. DEB0516252) and a National Institutes of Health (NIH\/NIAID) award to the Broad Institute (Award No. HHSN2722009000018C). The content is solely the responsibility of the principal investigators and does not necessarily represent the official views of NSF or NIH.\u003C\/em\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 314\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nAtlanta, Georgia  30308  USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts:\u003C\/strong\u003E Abby Robinson (abby@innovate.gatech.edu; 404-385-3364) or John Toon (jtoon@gatech.edu; 404-894-6986)\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter:\u003C\/strong\u003E Abby Robinson\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe meaning of the standard fecal coliform test used to monitor water quality has been called into question by a new study that identified sources of Escherichia coli bacteria that might not indicate an environmental hazard.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The meaning of standard fecal coliform test is called into question."}],"uid":"27206","created_gmt":"2011-04-11 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:08:34","author":"Abby Vogel Robinson","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-04-11T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2011-04-11T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"65521":{"id":"65521","type":"image","title":"Kostas Konstantinidis \u0026 Chengwei Luo","body":null,"created":"1449176863","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:07:43","changed":"1475894579","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:42:59","alt":"Kostas Konstantinidis \u0026 Chengwei Luo","file":{"fid":"192266","name":"tpq51670.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tpq51670_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tpq51670_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1726161,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tpq51670_0.jpg?itok=dekNP5qZ"}},"65522":{"id":"65522","type":"image","title":"Konstantinidis \u0026 Luo","body":null,"created":"1449176863","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:07:43","changed":"1475894579","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:42:59","alt":"Konstantinidis \u0026 Luo","file":{"fid":"192267","name":"tys51670.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tys51670_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tys51670_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1404480,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tys51670_0.jpg?itok=pwrGggmn"}},"65523":{"id":"65523","type":"image","title":"Konstantinidis \u0026 Luo","body":null,"created":"1449176863","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:07:43","changed":"1475894579","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:42:59","alt":"Konstantinidis \u0026 Luo","file":{"fid":"192268","name":"ttn51670.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ttn51670_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ttn51670_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1829367,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/ttn51670_0.jpg?itok=-0ZoSHPw"}}},"media_ids":["65521","65522","65523"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.ce.gatech.edu\/people\/faculty\/711\/overview","title":"Kostas Konstantinidis"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.ce.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Civil and Environmental Engineering"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Biology"}],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"12762","name":"Commensal Bacteria"},{"id":"12760","name":"E. Coli"},{"id":"12761","name":"E. Coli Bacteria"},{"id":"12765","name":"environmental bacteria"},{"id":"12766","name":"environmental e. coli"},{"id":"12759","name":"Escherichia Coli"},{"id":"12763","name":"fecal coliform test"},{"id":"12764","name":"fecal pollution"},{"id":"12767","name":"Genome Sequencing"},{"id":"12758","name":"Kostas Konstantinidis"},{"id":"167864","name":"School of Civil and Environmental Engineering"},{"id":"12768","name":"Taxonomy"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbby Robinson\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EResearch News and Publications\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=avogel6\u0022\u003EContact Abby Robinson\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-385-3364\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["abby@innovate.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}