Sunday, February 7, 2010

“Lecture to examine 'Darwin's Biology of Intelligent Design' - NWI.com” plus 3 more

“Lecture to examine 'Darwin's Biology of Intelligent Design' - NWI.com” plus 3 more

Lecture to examine 'Darwin's Biology of Intelligent Design' - NWI.com

Posted: 06 Feb 2010 09:54 PM PST

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Posted: Sunday, February 7, 2010 12:10 am | Loading…

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VALPARAISO | The challenge of reconciling faith and science will be examined Monday during a lecture at Valparaiso University marking the birthday of Charles Darwin, the founder of modern evolutionary theory.

Robert Richards, professor of the history of science and medicine at the University of Chicago, will present "Darwin's Biology of Intelligent Design" at 4 p.m. in the Christopher library. The talk is free and open to the public. - By Times Staff

Posted in Porter on Sunday, February 7, 2010 12:10 am Updated: 12:15 am. | Tags: Indiana, Education, Religion, Science, Valparaiso University

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Scientists ID a protein that splices and dices genes - Science Centric

Posted: 07 Feb 2010 07:34 AM PST

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A novel finding, described 4 February on the Science Express Web site by teams from the National Cancer Institute, The University of Texas Health Science Centre at San Antonio and the University of Toronto, offers a clue as to how genes can have what you might call multiple personalities.

Genes are long strings of DNA letters, but they can be cut and spliced to make different proteins, something like the word 'Saskatchewan' can have its middle cut out to leave the word 'Swan,' its front, middle and end deleted to leave the word 'skate,' or its front and back chopped off to make the word 'chew.'

Today's discovery reveals that the protein MRG15, which previously had been known to affect cell growth and ageing, also directs the gene-splicing machinery. Olivia Pereira-Smith, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Cellular and Structural Biology and the Sam and Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Ageing Studies at the UT Health Science Centre San Antonio, has studied the function of MRG15 for more than 10 years.

As people or animals age, this gene-splicing machinery can go awry, producing nonsense proteins ('Sskt' instead of 'Swan,' for instance) rather than the proper ones. These aberrant proteins can damage cells, possibly leading to cancer or other diseases of ageing. Today's finding thus has potential implications for therapies to treat both cancer and ageing, a Texas researcher said.

The Science paper's lead author is Reini F. Luco, Ph.D., a fellow in the laboratory of senior author Dr Tom Misteli, Ph.D., at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Other co-authors include Kaoru Tominaga, Ph.D., from the UT Health Science Centre, and Benjamin J. Benclowe, Ph.D., and Qun S. Pan, Ph.D., from the University of Toronto.

'We've known for three or four years, from other analyses, that this protein was also involved in splicing, but we needed the expertise of Dr Misteli's lab,' Dr Smith said. 'Dr Luco led the splicing studies on this project.'

Dr Tominaga, a faculty member of the Department of Cellular and Structural Biology and the Barshop Institute in San Antonio, said it may be possible to design cancer drugs to regulate MRG15's activity.

Source: University of Texas Health Science Centre at San Antonio

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Lecture about evolution of aging planned - Statesman Journal

Posted: 07 Feb 2010 03:02 AM PST

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As part of Darwin Day celebrations, Steve Austad, a professor in cellular and structural biology at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, will give a lecture at Pacific University.

Austad, who studies the evolution of aging in mammals, will present "Methusaleh's Zoo: An Evolutionary Perspective on Exceptionally Long Life."

His free talk will begin at 5 p.m. Thursday in Taylor Auditorium, Marsh Hall, PU campus, Forest Grove.

For more information, go to www.pacificu.edu/as/biology and click on the news link at the bottom of the page.

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How do we prepare our kids for jobs, future? - Detroit Free Press

Posted: 07 Feb 2010 07:48 AM PST

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Renee Boogren of Troy has two compelling reasons for wanting Michigan to make its schools more challenging.

She's a mother. She's also a biology teacher at Wayne State University who sees the results of kids who come to college unprepared.

It's most notable in their writing skills.

"One student wrote a lab report that was supposed to be an analysis of the effect of things on seed germination," Boogren said. Instead, the student "wrote more of an essay that concluded with how much he likes plants."

The facts are these: More than 80% of Michigan students are graduating from high school without the skills to tackle college-level work. Millions of dollars are being spent on remedial education in the state's higher-education institutions. Fewer than half of Michigan kids actually go to college.

Ten years ago, Michigan students scored above the U.S. average on a key national barometer of student achievement. Today, test scores have slipped below those of students in many other states, fueled in part by the disastrous performance of Detroit Public Schools and other underperforming districts.

"We're an average state in a below-average country," state schools Superintendent Mike Flanagan said. "That's not OK in this global economy."

The reality is that Michigan faces a dismal future unless it can lure more businesses with the promise of a well-educated workforce.

The Legislature must address funding issues. Experts say educators and others must reexamine the way we teach our kids and the expectations we have of them.

Michiganders like Renee Boogren agree. The state must do that, she said, or "you're doing kids a disservice."

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