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Limulus
NEWSLETTER
Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
Volume 2009, Issue Spring-04
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
THE APRIL LIMULUS
The LIMULUS of this month emphasizes the Eastern Colleges
Science Conference (ECSC) held at Wagner College on April
25. For me it was a great experience and I saw how extremely
well the facilities of Wagner College are suited for a scientific
conference of this magnitude (200-350 participants). Other
contributions address TriBeta elections and activities, and we
received news from an alumn, Thomas Smolka (2004), who
teaches Science at St. John's Lutheran School.
I wish everybody good luck for the final exams, farewell to
the graduating seniors, and a great summer for everybody,
Dr. Horst Onken, The Editor
CURRICULUM NEWS
SENIOR RFT
The rules for the senior RFT have been changed. The experiential part of the senior RFT (BI 400E) must contain an experimental component. BI 400E must be research in the Department of Biological Sciences or an internship in a research
institution. In both cases students need a supervisor from the
faculty of the Department of Biological Sciences. Another
change is that all seniors are expected to write a thesis of a
particular format in the frame of BI 400. More detailed information and template files for the thesis can be found on the
website of the Department of Biological Sciences at
http://www.wagner.edu/departments/biological_sciences/senio
rrft.
These new rules for the senior RFT apply to all those students
who declare(d) their major during or after March 2009. For
Biology majors who declared their major before March 2009
the new rules are optional.
Contributed by Dr. Onken
OPPORTUNITIES
RESEARCH WITH MOSQUITOES AND CRABS
Dr. Onken offers research opportunities for
students in the frame of
a project in which he
collaborates with scientists from Washington
State University, the University of Idaho, and the University
April, 2009
of Alberta (Edmonton, CA). The project is funded by the National Institute of Health and studies the physiology of the
midgut of larval yellow fever mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti).
Mosquitoes are vectors of a number of parasites, transmit devastating diseases like malaria, yellow fever and dengue, and
are a major threat to the health of billions of people on our
planet. The principal investigators of this project address larval mosquitoes, because it appears more straightforward to
fight these vectors as long as they are confined in an aquatic
habitat.
In collaboration with colleagues from the U.S. (Mt.
Desert Island Biological Laboratories, Maine), Brazil
(University of São Paulo in
Ribeirão Preto, University of
Paraná in Curitiba) and Canada (University of Manitoba in Winnipeg) Dr. Onken pursues
research with Crustacea related to the osmoregulatory capacities and mechanisms of crabs. Together with Dr. Alauddin
(Chemistry) and Professor Beecher (Biology), an ecophysiological study is in an early stage of planning.
Dr. Onken can offer research opportunities for two to three
students. If interested contact Dr. Onken in his office (Megerle
Science Hall Room 411), lab (Room 406) or via e-mail
(horst.onken@wagner.edu) or phone 420-4211.
Contributed by Dr. Onken
I wished more colleagues would like to use the LIMULUS in order to
shortly describe their research and offer opportunities for research collaboration! Then we would not need to read in every newsletter the same
stuff about mosquitoes and crabs!
The Editor
COMMUNITY SERVICE OPPORTUNITY
Greetings Everyone,
I am Nidhi Khanna and I am currently a sophomore. I am
working with this non-profit organization called Planting
Peace. Planting Peace has many sub-organizations including
one called The Clean World Movement. The Clean World
Movement is trying to encourage more individuals around the
world to recycle and to take better care of the planet. I am
working with The Clean World Movement as the environmental director in my community. I am organizing some clean-ups
in Staten Island during the month of May and throughout the
summer. If anybody is interested in helping out, please feel
free to contact me at nidhi.khanna@wagner.edu. Thanks for
your interest and I look forward hearing from you! If you
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
would like more information about the organization I am
working with, please visit: http://www.plantingpeace.org/.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
BIOLOGY CLUB NEWS
The Biology Club visited the BODIES EXHIBIT on Saturday,
April 4th. Members of the Biology Club actively volunteered
at the to the Eastern Colleges Science Conference. There are
also plans for another clean-up at the Arthur Kill shore line.
Elections will take place on Thursday, April 30.
Contributed by Sejmir Izeirovski
NEW MEMBERS OF TRI-BETA:
Congratulations to the new members of Tri-Beta!
Ashley Benvenuto, Medije Mashkulli, Anna Pullaro, Jessica
Cozzolino, Francis Tiripicchio, Almir Spahiu, Peter Pisano,
Shannon O’Neill, Salvatore Valenti, Emily Werkheiser, Violeta Capric, and Nidhi Khanna.
TRI-BETA ELECTIONS
Tri-Beta recently held elections for its new officers. Congratulations to all! President: Yolana Fuks, Vice President: Michael
Stanton, Secretary: Jessica Cozzolino, Treasurer: Violeta Capric, Historians: Robyn McLaughlin and Shannon O’Neill.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna with photographs by Ryan Rogers
TRI-BETA NEWS
TRI-BETA INITIATION
Tri-Beta held an initiation
ceremony for its new members on Friday, April 17th in
Gatehouse Lounge. Professor Corbo was the honorary
speaker at the initiation. TriBeta’s Executive Board is
composed of all seniors, and
Professor Corbo has helped
each of them during their
time at Wagner. Ryan Rogers stated, “Professor Corbo
has done so much for all of
us. We would like to have
him speak at the ceremony, just to show our gratitude.” Corbo
gave some advice to the new members of Tri-Beta. Corbo
said, “Remember, you can do anything that you want to as
long as you have the passion and drive to do it. There are a lot
of opportunities for Biology students at Wagner. I have benefited greatly from my time at Wagner.” The memorable ceremony was a huge success and couldn’t have been possible
without the help of seniors Ryan Rogers, Tanya Modica, Dina
Hussam, Yulia Seldina, Georgia Dellas, and juniors Yolana
Fuks and Michael Stanton. On behalf of Limulus, we wish the
seniors from Tri-Beta the very best on all of their future endeavors!
EXPERIENCES
EASTERN COLLEGES SCIENCE CONFERENCE
On Saturday April 25th, Wagner College hosted the Eastern
Colleges Science Conference. 271 undergraduate students participated in the meeting with twenty student presentations
from Wagner for this prestigious event. A handful of students
represented the Biology Department in the conference. Participants included: Christopher Cappelli, Georgia Dellas, Sejmir
Izerovski, Lauren Levy, Anna Lysenko, Tanya Modica, Ryan
Rogers, Joseph Scala, Yuliya Seldina and Marlene Streisinger.
Members of Tri-Beta and the Biology Club served as volunteers for the event. Many helped registered visiting participants and acted as student guides. During the afternoon, many
attendees were allowed to listen to three guest speakers who
spoke simultaneously. Dr. Susan S. Kilham, a Professor of
Environmental Science at Drexel University gave a lecture
about global warming and the mountains of evidence that supports it. She does extensive research that deals with the effects
of climate change on various ecosystems. Dr. Alejandra Alonso is currently a Professor of Neuroscience at the College of
Staten Island and she gave an interesting lecture about the research she has completed on Alzheimer’s disease. The third
speaker was Dr. Samuel Gaertner, a Professor of Psychology
at the University of Delaware. He spoke about his research
pertaining to research and prejudices amongst many social and
cultural groups.
The students of the Department of Biological Sciences contributed with manuscripts, platform presentations and posters.
See below for the titles and authors. Two manuscripts and a
poster presentation won Excellence Awards. The Limulus
Staff would like to congratulate all of the participants and
winners for a job well done!
The ECSC was a huge success and could not have been possible without the hard and very successful work of Dr. Donald
Stearns (President of the ECSC), Professor Linda Raths, and
Ms. Stephanie Rollizo.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna with photographs by Ryan Rogers
MANUSCRIPTS SUBMITTED TO ECSC
GENDER DIFFERENCES CREATED BY URINARY
CREATININE ADJUSTMENTS MADE TO HEAVY
METAL MEASUREMENTS. Christopher Cappelli1, Mary
Gamble2, X Liu3, Pamela Factor-Litvak4, Vesna Slavkovic2
and Joseph Graziano2, 1Department of Biological Sciences,
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
Wagner College; 2Department of Environmental Health
Sciences, Columbia University; 3Department of Biostatistics,
Columbia University; 4Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University (Excellence Award!).
THE ANTERIOR MIDGUT OF LARVAL YELLOW
FEVER MOSQUITOES (AEDES AEGYPTI): EFFECTS
OF NUTRIENTS ON THE TRANSEPITHELIAL VOLTAGE AND STRONG LUMINAL ALKALINIZATION.
Sejmir Izeirovski1, Stacia B. Moffett2, David F. Moffett2 and
Horst Onken1, 1Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner
College; 2School of Biological Sciences, Washington State
University (Excellence Award!).
PLATFORM PRESENTATIONS AT ECSC
THE STUDY OF CHROMOSOMAL ABERRATIONS IN
VICIA FABA AS A RESULT OF EXPOSURE TO UVA
AND UVB RADIATION. Ryan Patricia Rogers and Ammini
S. Moorthy, Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College; 2Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College.
THE EFFECTS OF OSCILLATING ELECTRICAL
FIELDS ON ESCHERICHIA COLI AND STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS. Yuliya Seldina and Joseph Scala, Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College.
Wagner College; 2Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner
College; 3Department of Microbiology, Wagner College
PREPARATION OF THIN SECTIONS OF DROSOPHILA OVARIES FOR EXAMINATION BY TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY. . Tanya Modica1,
Georgia Dellas1, Christopher Corbo2 and Heather A. Cook1,
1
Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College;
2
Department of Center For Developmental Neuroscience,
CUNY Staten Island
USE OF SQUASHED RETINA AND OPTIC TECTUM
TO STUDY REGENERATIVE CAPACITIES OF THE
VISUAL SYSTEM IN ADULT ZEBRAFISH (DANIO
RERIO).Michael Gutkin, Anna Lysenko, Christopher Corbo,
Linda Raths and Zoltan Fulop, Department of Biological
Sciences, Wagner College
THE EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT ETHANOL CONCENTRATIONS ON THE ACTIVITY LEVEL OF ADULT
ZEBRAFISH (DANIO RERIO). Lauren Levy and Brian Palestis, Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
PHOTOGALLERY OF THE ECSC
POSTER PRESENTATIONS AT ECSC
ELECTRICAL
SUPRESSION
OF
BACTERIAL
GROWTH AND REPRODUCTION. Joseph Scala and Yuliya Seldina, Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College.
GENDER DIFFERENCES CREATED BY URINARY
CREATININE ADJUSTMENTS MADE TO HEAVY
METAL MEASUREMENTS. Christopher Cappelli1, Mary
Gamble2, X Liu3, Pamela Factor-Litvak4, Vesna Slavkovic2
and Joseph Graziano2, 1Department of Biological Sciences,
Wagner College; 2Department of Environmental Health
Sciences, Columbia University; 3Department of Biostatistics,
Columbia University; 4Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University (Excellence Award!)
THE ANTERIOR MIDGUT OF LARVAL YELLOW
FEVER MOSQUITOES (AEDES AEGYPTI): EFFECTS
OF NUTRIENTS ON THE TRANSEPITHELIAL VOLTAGE AND STRONG LUMINAL ALKALINIZATION.
Sejmir Izeirovski1, Stacia B. Moffett2, David F. Moffett2 and
Horst Onken1, 1Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner
College; 2School of Biological Sciences, Washington State
University
MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF NEUROVASCULATURE AND WHOLE BLOOD OF THE
ADULT ZEBRA FISH (DANIO RERIO). Marlene Streisinger1, Lauren Levy2, Zulmarie Franco3, Linda Raths2, Christopher Corbo2 and Zoltan Fulop2, 1Department of Nursing,
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
RAHWAY RIVER CLEANUP
On Sunday April 19th, the Biological Honor Society Tri Beta
went on their annual cleanup at the Rahway River. New and
current members of Tri-Beta spent hours cleaning the Rahway
River with Dr. Palestis. While members were picking up trash,
Dina Hussam (Treasurer) found a garbage can in the river
along with a crate! Some members even found traffic cones in
the river! Students collected hundreds of plastic bottles, aluminum cans, take-out containers, and even empty ChapSticks!
Many new members of Tri-Beta thought the cleanup was a fun
bonding experience. After four hours, Tri-Beta collected dozens of bags of trash! The Rahway River Clean-Up was a
memorable experience filled with hours of laughter. The seniors began this tradition about two years ago, and Tri-Beta
hopes to continue cleaning the Rahway River for years to
come.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna with photographs by Dina Hussam
New member Salvatore Valenti picks up trash near the river.
PUBLICATIONS
Palestis, B.G. (2009, in press). Fluctuating asymmetry in
common tern chicks varies with hatching order and clutch
size. The Auk.
Trivers, R., B.G. Palestis & D. Zaatari. (2009). The Anatomy
of a Fraud: Symmetry and Dance. TPZ Publishers. Antioch,
CA.
ERRATA
STUDENT PROFILE IN MARCH ISSUE OF LIMULUS
Senior Yuliya Seldina can’t wait to start beautifying the Rahway River!
It was brought to my attention that the last issue of Limulus
had a error in the student profile. In Ryan Rogers’ interview, it
should have said that she had “really poor vision” and not
“early poor vision.” I apologize for the mistake.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
APOLOGIES
E-MAIL INCONVENIENCE
I want to apologize! Since the beginning of the LIMULUS I
have sent out the newsletter to address lists. I sent these mails
directly to all addresses in the list. Only now I became aware
that this allows everybody to see everybody’s e-mail address. I
hope this did not cause any inconvenience to anyone. From
now on the newsletter will be sent out with the addresses under BCC.
You never stop learning, THE EDITOR.
Tri-Beta poses after cleaning up the Rahway River.
PAGE 5
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
ALUMNI
NEWS FROM THOMAS SMOLKA
Thomas Smolka graduated in 2004 with a BS
in Biology. In summer
2005, Thomas worked as
a bear biologist in New
Mexico. Until 2007 he
managed an event production company. Then
Thomas became a technology teacher at St.
John's Lutheran School.
His robotics team recently won the second place
in the first NYC Robotics tournament and was recently featured in the SI Advance. Congratulations!
The article in the SI Advance can be accessed at
http://www.silive.com/siadvance/stories/index.ssf?/base/news/
1237469406265670.xml&coll=1
and the United States has started to increase security at the
Mexican border. Symptoms of swine flu are: sore throat,
headaches, fever, cough, and fatigue. If a person has been infected by swine flu, it is recommended that they take antiviral
drugs. For more information on swine flu, please visit:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/28/swine.flu/index.ht
ml#cnnSTCOther1 and
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/health/28hong.html?ref=
health.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
DO YOU MISS A SECTION? LET ME KNOW
WHICH AND MAKE A CONTRIBUTION!
PUZZLES, JOKES, QUOTES, CARTOONS
CARTOON:
Dear Alumni,
If you are interested in contributing to our newsletter, you
are very welcome to do so. Contact Dr. Onken by e-mail
(horst.onken@wagner.edu) with your submission, comment,
ideas or questions! We are excited to hear about where you
are, how and what you do!
MISCELLANEOUS
SWINE FLU
The swine flu is making headlines this past week. The last
time a major pandemic wiped out a majority of the world’s
population was in 1919. The Spanish flu killed millions of
people worldwide because the virus started spreading across
the globe. A virus that is found in pig populations causes
swine flu. This virus has strains referred to as swine influenza
virus. There are three types of SIVs including Influenza A, Influenza B, and Influenza C. Influenza A is the more commonly found and the World Health Organization believes that Influenza A is responsible for all of the recent cases of swine flu.
Influenza A can be further examined into smaller categories.
These smaller categories are referred to as subtypes. Influenza
A has five subtypes: H1N1, H1N2, H3NI, H3N2, and H2N3.
The reported cases of swine flu have been traced to the subtype H1N1. Many people around the world are trying to avoid
this flu. Individuals who handle pigs on a regular basis are
more vulnerable for infection. The virus spreads when people
come in contact with certain poultry or pig populations. The
virus strain that is found in pigs can spread to human populations. The SIV strain mutated and this basically means the genetic code of the SIV strain changed. This allowed the virus to
spread from one human being to another. According to CNN,
most people that were reported to have swine flu came in contact with pigs. CNN reported that there are 90 cases of swine
flu in the world and 42 of those cases are in the United States
alone. The WHO believes that the swine flu started in Mexico,
From www.lab-initio.com
The Editorial Board:
Editor: Dr. Horst Onken, Associate Professor
Assistant Editor: Stephanie Rollizo, Dept. Secretary
Student Assistant Editor: Nidhi Khanna (Biology major)
Student Assistant Editor: N.N.
PAGE 6
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Limulus: The Newsletter of the Wagner College Biological Sciences Department
Description
An account of the resource
The Department of Biological Sciences circulates a newsletter that will be updated monthly, culminating in two special issues per year (January and September). The January edition reviews the fall semester and the September edition reviews the spring semester and summer events. The name of the newsletter is LIMULUS and it is made available as pdf files.
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Limulus Newsletter, April 2009
Table Of Contents
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Letter from the editor / Horst Onken -- Curriculum news / Horst Onken -- Opportunities / Nidhi Khanna -- Biology Club news / Sejmir Izeirovski -- Tri-Beta news / Nidhi Khanna and Ryan Rogers -- Eastern colleges science conference / Nidhi Khanna and Ryan Rogers -- Rahway River cleanup / Nidhi Khanna and Dina Hussam -- Publications -- Errata / Nidhi Khanna -- Apologies / Horst Onken -- News from Thomas Smolka -- Swine Flu / Nidhi Khanna -- Puzzles, jokes, quotes, cartoons
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Wagner College, Department of Biological Sciences
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Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
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2009-04
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Limulus
NEWSLETTER
Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
Volume 2009, Issue Fall-01
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Welcome back to the Fall semester 2009. I hope everybody
had a relaxing and/or successful summer break. I especially
welcome the first year students and I hope that your time at
Wagner College will be successful and pleasant with lots of
good experiences.
Very sad news reached our department during the summer. A
former professor, Dr. Kanzler, passed away on Friday, June
26. Dr. Kanzler taught at Wagner College from 1966 until
2001. We are planning to have a special issue on Dr. Kanzler.
Therefore, I would like to ask all current and former faculty,
as well as all alumni who knew Dr. Kanzler to send me
memories, anecdotes, photographs or other possible
contributions to the special issue.
The current Limulus is a little late. I am sorry. The beginning
of the new semester was too busy to get it done in August. It is
a magazine-style newsletter that summarizes the spring
semester, reprinting the major parts of the issues from
February, March and April. Everybody can use this newsletter
to refresh your memories, and freshmen can get an impression
what is going on in the Department of Biological Sciences.
Dr. Horst Onken
The Editor
BIOLOGY STAFF AND FACULTY NEWS
ADJUNCT PROFESSOR SERIES
CHRISTOPHER CORBO
Professor
Christopher
Corbo joined the faculty
of the Department of
Biological Sciences in the
summer 2006 semester.
Corbo has been part of
the Wagner community
since his time as an
undergraduate
student.
He
graduated
from
Wagner with a Bachelors Degree in Biology in 2006. As an
undergraduate student, he was a proud member of the Tri-Beta
Honor Society, and unaffiliated Sigma Xi. Sigma Xi is a
scientific research society that was founded in 1886. As a
member of this prestigious honor society, Corbo participated
in the Sigma Xi Student Research Conference. He received
August, 2009
recognition for the Best Presentation in Cell Biology. He
recounted his fondest memory of that conference stating, “It
was very exciting to get this distinction because that was an
international conference. Many prominent schools such as
Harvard, Yale, and Cambridge participated in the conference,
and it was wonderful that students from such a small school
like Wagner could get recognized for doing great things.”
Corbo continued his higher education at Wagner, and obtained
a Masters Degree in Microbiology in 2008. He is
simultaneously teaching at Wagner and working towards a
PhD in Neuroscience at the City University of New York.
Currently, Corbo is working on collaborative research with
Dr. Fulop and his mentor Dr. Alejandra Alonso of The
College of Staten Is-land. Corbo went into detail about his
endeavor, explaining, “The collaboration aims to develop a
transgenetic zebra fish that will model the cellular events in
Alzheimer Disease.” He is particularly interested in
Neuroimmunology research, specifically focusing on glial
cells and how they evoke diseases, like Alzheimer’s, in the
brain.
As a professor, Corbo teaches a variety of classes including
Electron Microscopy (both the lecture and lab sections), Basic
Histology Labs, Exploring Biology Labs, and Neuroanatomy
and Physiology Labs. He was very enthusiastic about coming
back to Wagner as an adjunct professor. “As a student,” he
recalls, “I was not that interested in research. The professors at
Wagner gave me a lot of insight and I realized that I could be
interested in other areas beside research. The Wagner
community invested a lot of time into me, and teaching is a
great way to give back to Wagner while still being at a place I
enjoy.”
LAKSHMI YERNENI
Professor Lakshmi Yerneni
began teaching at Wagner in
the spring 2008 semester.
Prior to her career at Wagner,
Professor Yerneni taught in
her native India for thirty
years. She spent the majority
of her career teaching zoology.
She has also served as a guest
speaker at many Indian
universities,
specifically
addressing the topics of
genetics and biotechnology. In
addition to teaching zoology, Professor Yerneni was an active
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
volunteer in her community. She gave her time to medical and
veterinary camps in India, and served as an advisor to many
students in a Youth Leadership Training Program at an AIDS
Awareness Camp. Professor Yerneni completed her higher
education at one of the most prestigious universities in
Southern India. She attended Vikram University and received
both her Masters of Science in Biology with First-Class
Honors, and her Masters of Philosophy (M.Phil) in Biology
with First-Class Honors.
As an adjunct professor at Wagner, Professor Yerneni has
taught the Cells, Genes, and Evolution Labs and the Human
Anatomy and Physiology Labs. She moved to Staten Island
about two years ago, and was aware of Wagner’s great
reputation on Staten Island. Professor Yerneni decided to join
the Biology department’s staff, and she has enjoyed her brief
time at Wagner. She stated, “All of the faculty members are
very cooperative and understanding.” As a newcomer to
Wagner and the United States, Professor Yerneni noticed
some differences amongst her students at Wagner and the
students that she taught in India. She marveled, “Wagner
students show a lot of enthusiasm for the subjects, and this is
evident in the class discussions that we have in lab. I also
noticed that American students are more independent
thinkers.”
Professor Yerneni is particularly interested in genetic research,
and hopes to conduct more studies while she is teaching at
Wagner. She was impressed by all of the technological
differences between the United States and India, and
commented, “I hope I will have the opportunity to focus more
on research. In India, it was difficult to perform scientific
research because the resources were limited. I used to work in
a rural area in India, and the opportunities for research were
scarce.” She added, “The teaching methods in the United
States are a little different from the methods used in India. In
India, most tests are prepared by the use of pen and paper, and
computers are rarely used. As a professor at Wagner, I am
required to prepare PowerPoint presentations. The resources
are much greater and are more advanced. Only a few years
ago, overhead projectors were introduced in India.”
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
BIOLOGY STUDENT NEWS
PRE-HEALTH AT WAGNER: AN INTERVIEW WITH
TANYA MODICA
Wagner College’s Pre-Health
Program attracts many new
incoming freshmen every year.
Dr. Wendy deProphetis-Driscoll
and Dr. Heather Cook are cochairs of the Pre-Health
Committee.
Many Wagner
seniors
are
applying
to
prestigious medical, dental, and
graduate schools across the
country. A handful of Wagner
students wish to pursue a career
in dentistry. Many underclassmen sought a student’s
perspective on the application process. Recently, I sat down
with Tanya Modica, a senior here at Wagner, to gain some
insight into the pre-dental application process.
Q: What is your major? Do you have a minor?
A: I am Biology major and I have a minor in Chemistry.
Q: When and why did you decide to pursue dentistry?
A: I don’t exactly remember when I decided I wanted to
become a dentist. I do recall that my interest in biology
sparked when I was in the sixth grade. At one point, I
considered veterinary school and even medical school. When I
was younger, I had braces and I remembered all the frequent
visits I made at the orthodontist. I liked seeing the way my
teeth transformed through the process, and I realized that I
wanted to help people with oral health problems.
Q: Can you briefly describe the application process for
dental school?
A: The application is completed online, and there is no paper
version. Each application cycle starts in June, and you want to
start filling out the application as soon as it becomes available.
The website that other students should visit is www.adea.org. I
found the website to be useful and a little frustrating at the
same time. The great thing about completing the application
online is that you could save your work and go back to it
whenever you want. The website tells you if the schools you
applied to received all of your materials. Schools can also
notify you if you have been denied or accepted.
However, I did encounter some problems with application
process. Wagner uses a unit system, and dental schools want
you to convert units to credits. The labs at Wagner count for
zero units, and sometimes it was a bit frustrating to figure out
the value of the units in credits. The Registrar converts labs to
around 4.4 units, and on the website, it will not allow you to
input the conversion yourself. The website has set credits, and
when I had to fill out the application, my labs could be
counted for either 4.2. or 4.5 credits. I know some of my
friends who are applying to medical school are able to input
the credit conversions, and you simply cannot do that with
dental school applications. I decided that it would be best to
list my lab credits as 4.2, even though the value was a little
more.
When students fill out the application, I would suggest that
you have your resume on hand. My resume was very detailed
and I ran into some problems when I was filling out my
application. The website counts characters, so you have to
make sure that you are precise and concise. You need to
decide what details in your resume are absolutely important.
The website allows you to upload your personal statement
right on the site, but you have to remember that all of the
characters will get counted, and it may be possible that your
personal statement may get messed up accidentally.
Q: Did you take any review courses to prepare for the
DAT? Did you find them to be useful?
A: I took a review course through Kaplan. I thought certain
aspects of the course were useful. The course syllabus is
available online, and you can do review questions and take
practice tests from virtually any computer. The instructors
helped organize the information into the topics that were most
important for the DAT. I found the practice tests beneficial
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
because they help you get comfortable with actual test setting.
We took several practice tests on the computer, and they lasted
four hours. It made you get a real feel for the test, and I think
that is really important. Kaplan provided us with flashcards,
review books, and CD-ROMS. They gave useful tips on how
to answer the multiple-choice questions, and I am glad I took
the course.
Q: Do you work at a dental office? Where should predental students look to get more experience in the field?
A: I was planning to work with my orthodontist, but he was
semi-retired. It was a little difficult at first to find a dentist
office where I could apply for a job. I eventually shadowed a
periodontist, and now I work as a dental assistant. The job is
really hands on, and I am responsible for taking X-rays and
developing them. My job includes studying models of
patients’ teeth, and I am extremely lucky that the dentist I
work with teaches me as we go along. He explains why certain
things happen and the causes of specific dental problems.
I heard that the Staten Island University Hospital has a good
volunteer program in the dentistry department. I was planning
to volunteer there, but I knew that they did not let you have
more of hands on experience right away. My suggestion is that
if you are really interested in dentistry, start volunteering at
the hospital as soon as possible. They make you do mostly
paperwork in the beginning, and then as time goes on, they let
volunteers assume more responsibilities.
Q: Is there any other advice you would give pre-dental
students?
A: I would tell students to get their resume finished on time. I
went to the Career Development office on campus, and they
really helped me with my resume. Dr. Cook and Dr.
deProphetis-Driscoll looked over all of my applications and I
found that to be helpful as well. If students are going to ask
professors for recommendation letters, I advise them to have
their resume and a cover letter prepared. A cover letter tells
the professors what they are writing the recommendations for,
and also bring an official transcript. Lastly, I would tell
students to start studying early for the DAT. I felt that I
studied too much over the summer, and basically tired myself
out. I think you need to make sure you find a balance between
studying and fun. Make sure you have fun and don’t wear
yourself out!
Tanya is one of the few students applying to dental school this
year. She was really surprised by the large number of predental students that currently attend Wagner. She added,
“When I came to Wagner, I think there were about five
students in the freshmen class who were considering applying
to dental school. There are so many more pre-dental students
now, and I feel this interview will help underclassmen get a
better understanding of the application process. I wish I could
have received advice from upperclassmen when I was going
through the application process. It would have made the
process a little bit easier and I would not have felt so
overwhelmed.
On behalf of Limulus, I would like to thank Tanya for
allowing us to interview her. Good luck with your final
semester and we wish you the very best for the future!
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
GOING TO GRADUATE SCHOOL: AN INTERVIEW
WITH RYAN ROGERS
Every year, many Wagner
students apply to prestigious
graduate school programs across
the nation. I recently interviewed
Ryan Rogers, an accomplished
senior who recently received
some exciting news.
Q: Can you tell me a little bit
about the program that you got
accepted into?
A: I got accepted to the PhD
program at the University of
Connecticut Health Center. The
Biomedical Science Department has an umbrella program and
it allows students to focus on a variety of different fields.
Q: When did you decide that you wanted to pursue a PhD?
A: I originally wanted to go to Optometry School because I
have early poor vision. Later, I considered going to medical
school, and I even worked as a medical assistant in a
pediatrician’s office. I realized that this was not the career path
for me. I started to do research which focused on the effects of
UV radiation on chromosomes. I discovered that I wanted to
become a professor and pursue a PhD. As a professor, you can
do research and teach at the same time.
Q: What kind of research do you hope to focus on?
A: I am really interested in immunology or doing research that
deals with genetics and diseases.
Q: What kind of advice would you give students applying
to graduate school?
A: I would tell students to start studying for the GRE early! It
is one of the hardest exams I have ever taken. I would advise
students to remember a few things when they are going on an
interview for graduate school. It is important to be yourself
and to be prepared to talk about your research. You need to
make sure that you are assertive and ask the interviewers a lot
about themselves. The interviewers enjoy sharing their
experiences with you, and you should also make sure you are
familiar with their research as well.
Q: What clubs/organizations, or extracurricular are you
part of?
A: I am captain of the Cross-Country and Track and Field
team. I am also president of Tri-Beta, and secretary of the
Student Advisory Committee. In addition, I am a member of
ODK and a peer tutor for biology.
On behalf of the Limulus staff, I would like to thank Ryan for
taking the time out of her schedule to conduct this interview.
We wish her the best of luck in all of her future endeavors!
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna with a photograph by Sejmir Izeirovski
CURRICULUM NEWS
SENIOR RFT
The rules for the senior RFT have been changed. The
experiential part of the senior RFT (BI 400E) must contain an
experimental component. BI 400E must be research in the
Department of Biological Sciences or an internship in a
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
research institution. In both cases students need a supervisor
from the faculty of the Department of Biological Sciences.
Another change is that all seniors are expected to write a thesis
of a particular format in the frame of BI 400. More detailed
information and template files for the thesis can be found on
the website of the Department of Biological Sciences at
http://www.wagner.edu/departments/biological_sciences/senio
rrft.
These new rules for the senior RFT apply to all those students
who declare(d) their major during or after March 2009. For
Biology majors who declared their major before March 2009
the new rules are optional.
Contributed by Dr. Onken
BIOLOGY CLUB NEWS
The Biology Club visited the BODIES EXHIBIT on Saturday,
April 4th. Members of the Biology Club actively volunteered
at the to the Eastern Colleges Science Conference. There are
also plans for another clean-up at the Arthur Kill shore line.
Elections will take place on Thursday, April 30.
Contributed by Sejmir Izeirovski
TRI-BETA NEWS
TRI-BETA INITIATION
Tri-Beta held an initiation
ceremony for its new
members on Friday, April
17th in Gatehouse Lounge.
Professor Corbo was the
honorary speaker at the
initiation.
Tri-Beta’s
Executive
Board
is
composed of all seniors, and
Professor Corbo has helped
each of them during their
time at Wagner. Ryan
Rogers stated, “Professor
Corbo has done so much for
all of us. We would like to have him speak at the ceremony,
just to show our gratitude.” Corbo gave some advice to the
new members of Tri-Beta. Corbo said, “Remember, you can
do anything that you want to as long as you have the passion
and drive to do it. There are a lot of opportunities for Biology
students at Wagner. I have benefited greatly from my time at
Wagner.” The memorable ceremony was a huge success and
couldn’t have been possible without the help of seniors Ryan
Rogers, Tanya Modica, Dina Hussam, Yulia Seldina, Georgia
Dellas, and juniors Yolana Fuks and Michael Stanton. On
behalf of Limulus, we wish the seniors from Tri-Beta the very
best on all of their future endeavors!
NEW MEMBERS OF TRI-BETA:
Congratulations to the new members of Tri-Beta!
Ashley Benvenuto, Medije Mashkulli, Anna Pullaro, Jessica
Cozzolino, Francis Tiripicchio, Almir Spahiu, Peter Pisano,
Shannon O’Neill, Salvatore Valenti, Emily Werkheiser,
Violeta Capric, and Nidhi Khanna.
TRI-BETA ELECTIONS
Tri-Beta recently held elections for its new officers.
Congratulations to all! President: Yolana Fuks, Vice
President: Michael Stanton, Secretary: Jessica Cozzolino,
Treasurer: Violeta Capric, Historians: Robyn McLaughlin and
Shannon O’Neill.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna with photographs by Ryan Rogers
RAHWAY RIVER CLEANUP
On Sunday April 19th, the Biological Honor Society Tri Beta
went on their annual cleanup at the Rahway River. New and
current members of Tri-Beta spent hours cleaning the Rahway
River with Dr. Palestis. While members were picking up trash,
Dina Hussam (Treasurer) found a garbage can in the river
along with a crate! Some members even found traffic cones in
the river! Students collected hundreds of plastic bottles,
aluminum cans, take-out containers, and even empty
ChapSticks! Many new members of Tri-Beta thought the
cleanup was a fun bonding experience. After four hours, TriBeta collected dozens of bags of trash! The Rahway River
Clean-Up was a memorable experience filled with hours of
laughter. The seniors began this tradition about two years ago,
and Tri-Beta hopes to continue cleaning the Rahway River for
years to come.
Some photographs from this experience are posted on the next
page.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna with photographs by Dina Hussam
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
OPPORTUNITIES
RESEARCH WITH MOSQUITOES AND CRABS
Senior Yuliya Seldina can’t wait to start beautifying the Rahway River!
Tri-Beta poses after cleaning up the Rahway River.
Dr.
Onken
offers
research opportunities
for students in the frame
of a project in which he
collaborates with scientists from Washington
State University, the University of Idaho, and the University
of Alberta (Edmonton, CA). The project is funded by the
National Institute of Health and studies the physiology of the
midgut of larval yellow fever mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti).
Mosquitoes are vectors of a number of parasites, transmit
devastating diseases like malaria, yellow fever and dengue,
and are a major threat to the health of billions of people on our
planet. The principal investigators of this project address
larval mosquitoes, because it appears more straightforward to
fight these vectors as long as they are confined in an aquatic
habitat.
In
collaboration
with
colleagues from the U.S. (Mt.
Desert Island Biological
Laboratories, Maine), Brazil
(University of São Paulo in
Ribeirão Preto, University of
Paraná in Curitiba) and
Canada (University of Manitoba in Winnipeg) Dr. Onken
pursues research with Crustacea related to the osmoregulatory
capacities and mechanisms of crabs. Together with Dr.
Alauddin (Chemistry) and Professor Beecher (Biology), an
ecophysiological study is in an early stage of planning.
Dr. Onken can offer research opportunities for two to three
students. If interested contact Dr. Onken in his office (Megerle
Science Hall Room 411), lab (Megerle Science Hall Room
406) or via e-mail (horst.onken@wagner.edu) or phone 4204211.
Contributed by Dr. Onken
COMMUNITY SERVICE OPPORTUNITY
Greetings Everyone,
I am Nidhi Khanna and I am currently a sophomore. I am
working with this non-profit organization called Planting
Peace. Planting Peace has many sub-organizations including
one called The Clean World Movement. The Clean World
Movement is trying to encourage more individuals around the
world to recycle and to take better care of the planet. I am
working with The Clean World Movement as the
environmental director in my community. I am organizing
some clean-ups in Staten Island during the month of May and
throughout the summer. If anybody is interested in helping
out,
please
feel
free
to
contact
me
at
nidhi.khanna@wagner.edu. Thanks for your interest and I look
forward hearing from you! If you would like more information
about the organization I am working with, please visit:
http://www.plantingpeace.org/.
New member Salvatore Valenti picks up trash near the river.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
EXPERIENCES
RECYCLEMANIA: AN INTERVIEW WITH
DAVID HAMMILL
Wagner College’s very own
Sustainability
Committee
is
participating in an exciting
competition called “RecyleMania.”
Many notable colleges and
universities around the world
partake in this annual event.
Currently, 514 colleges and
universities have registered to
compete this year alone.
In order to fully understand the
purpose of this competition, it is
important to be aware of the history
of RecyleMania. About eight years
ago, Ed Newman, (a student from Ohio University) and Stacy
Edmonds Wheeler, (a student from Miami University)
spearheaded the idea of RecyleMania. The first official
competition was between Ohio and Miami University, and
lasted about ten weeks. After its first year as a certified
competition, Miami University held the title as champions.
RecycleMania continues to be a growing competition
worldwide. The ultimate goal of this competition is to help
reduce the amount of waste that is thrown every day at college
campuses. RecyleMania wants to promote recycling, and this
international competition is an excellent way for more
students to get involved in an important cause.
All colleges and universities that offer on- site degrees in
North America are qualified to participate in this annual
competition. Secondary institutions outside North America are
allowed to participate in the competition, but will only be able
to participate in the benchmark division if they offer
certificates, and not degrees. Higher institutions are judged by
reporting the total amount of trash that they dispose and
recycle weekly. The waste is categorized into four divisions:
the largest amount of recyclables per capita, the largest
amount of total recyclables, the least amount of trash per
capita, and the highest recycling rate.
Wagner College’s Sustainability Committee has decided to
partake in this national event. David Hammill, the Coordinator
of the Sustainability Committee was generous enough to take
the time out of his busy schedule to elaborate more about
Wagner’s participation in this event.
Q: How did the Sustainability Committee first hear about
RecycleMania? How many years has Wagner been
participating in the competition?
A: The Sustainability Committee first heard about
RecycleMania via one of the waste publications that we
subscribed to. This will be Wagner's first year participating.
Within this competition there are two ways to participate.
One such way is the full on competition where the entire
campus is involved. Since it's our first year, we have decided
to take part in the benchmarking piece of the competition.
This means that we can just use pieces of the campus as
compared to the whole campus. However, this also means we
are not eligible for a trophy. It was a tough decision to decide
to participate in the benchmarking piece, but it's proven to be a
positive one as the competition presents a large organized
effort. Since Wagner is in its infancy in terms of recycling, it
provides a great way to test the waters.
Q: How do you plan to get the Wagner community to
participate in the competition?
A: Our plans to get the campus participating start in the
residence halls. It was our belief that students are the ones
who spend the most time on campus and will be the force
behind putting the trash and recyclables in their respected
places. So far we've reached out to Resident Education and
asked to provide floor programs for the RA's. This has proved
to be mildly successful with a handful already signed up.
Q: Is everybody in the community allowed to participate?
Will you be revealing the data you collected to the rest of
the Wagner community?
A: Everyone in the community is indeed encouraged to
participate. However with limited resources, we have just
focused on the residence halls in order to try to get the most
bang for our buck. The data that is collected will be available
to the Wagner community. It will start with electronic sources
in an attempt to save paper.
Q: I read that some schools give out awards to
participants. Will the Sustainability Committee giving out
prizes for its best competitors?
A: The Sustainability Committee will be giving out shirts to
those caught doing the right thing, i.e. recycling. This is what
we are calling "get caught green handed." We wish that we
could take the credit for that, but another school came up with
the phrase. One way that we are encouraging students in the
dorms will be to provide pizza parties for those doing the most
recycling.
We are excited that the Sustainability Committee has decided
to participate in this international competition, and aims to
promote awareness about recycling. Best of luck to all
participants! For more information about RecycleMania,
please visit www.recyclemaniacs.org. We would also like to
give a special Thank You to Dave Hammill for speaking with
the Limulus Staff about this excellent cause he is endorsing all
over campus! If you would like to get involved with
RecycleMania,
please
contact
David
Hammill
(david.hammill@wagner.edu_).
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
BIOLOGY DEPARTMENT CELEBRATES DARWIN’S
200TH BIRTHDAY
February marked two important
milestones in history. Abraham
Lincoln and Charles Darwin both
celebrated their 200th birthday on
Thursday February 12, 2009.
President Lincoln and Darwin served
as important revolutionaries of their
historical epochs, and are still
admired by individuals around the
world. Many people across the globe
commemorated Darwin’s historic
anniversary in several ways.
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
Documentaries, lectures, and
museum visits were planned,
and even a replica of the
H.M.S. Beagle was scheduled
to sail in the exact route that
Darwin traveled while aboard
the famous Royal Navy ship.
Although many scientists and
biology
enthusiasts
are
remembering
Darwin’s
accomplishments,
some
individuals often fail to fully understand the concept of
evolution and the obstacles Darwin encountered when he tried
to have his ideas acknowledged by rest of the scientific world.
Darwin presented his theory of evolution in 1859 and faced
major criticism for his most famous work, The Origin of
Species. Despite receiving very little support for his brilliant
insight, Darwin did not stray away from his beliefs. Alfred
Wallace single handedly proposed the idea of natural selection
prior to Darwin’s publication of The Origin of Species.
According to New York Times reporter Nicholas Wade,
Wallace simply did not have the audacity to persuade the
science community to consider his original idea of natural
selection. However, Wade portrays Darwin in a more positive
manner and praises his ability to methodically study any
opposition to his theory of evolution and natural selection.
Darwin’s work influenced the discipline of biology, and many
scientists have realized that Darwin made fairly accurate
claims. Modern science allows biologists to extensively study
a vast variety of resources, such as fossil records and DNA.
Darwin was not fortunate enough to be able to utilize a
detailed fossil record. Scientists today can study fossils that
provide ample evidence of life that dates back more than three
billion years ago. The introduction of genetic information and
DNA was not fully comprehended by scientists until almost a
hundred years after Darwin published his renowned Origin of
Species. Even though certain aspects of Darwin’s theory were
inaccurate, many scientists are amazed by method in which he
was able to formulate his ideas with such limited resources.
Günter Wagner, an evolutionary biologist at Yale University,
expressed his appreciation for Darwin in a recent article in
Time Magazine. He said, “You can’t even start to make sense
of all this data without a framework of evolution.”
Many scientific break-throughs have served as vital evidence
for Darwin’s theory of evolution and natural selection.
Scientists have studied bacteria that are able to protect
themselves from powerful drugs. They can now conclude from
their observations that gene mutations have allowed these
bacteria to become more resilient against specific drugs, thus
enabling them to produce generations of offspring with
advantageous traits.
Another important idea that Darwin proposed dealt with the
issue of common ancestry amongst various species. In the
past two decades, paleontologists have been evaluating fossil
records of land whales that had legs. Scientists believe that
contemporary whales may be related to these land whales.
DNA has been tremendously useful and has allowed scientists
to compare genetic similarities amongst various species. DNA
evidence shows that human beings share more genetic
similarities with mushrooms than with sunflowers.
As a curious science student, I have come to appreciate all of
Darwin’s major accomplishments in the field of biology. It is
astonishing that Darwin could make so many claims to his
theory without the use of modern technology. He has helped
modern biologists understand certain concepts in a more
organized fashion.
In honor of Darwin’s major contributions to the field of
science, the Biology Department joyously celebrated his 200th
birthday.
Stephanie
Rollizo and Professor
Linda Raths spearheaded
the event. The fourth floor
of Megerle was decorated
with various images that
pertained
to
Darwin,
including the finches
Darwin studied, maps of
his voyages around the
globe, the Beagle, and of
course, pictures of the
birthday boy himself! The Biology Department distributed
specially made stickers of Darwin. The celebration did not end
there! Faculty, staff, and students from the sciences
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
participated in the event by enjoying several homemade foods
and partaking in interesting conversation. The event was a
huge success! We would like to thank to all those who
attended and prepared delicious food. A special thank you
goes out to Stephanie Rollizo and Professor Linda Raths for
organizing such a great event!
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna with photographs from Dr. Onken
APRIL 22nd IS EARTH DAY
Earth Day was established in the United States about forty
years ago to encourage more Americans to take better care of
the environment. Earth Day was originally founded to raise
awareness about pollution, oil spills, and the destruction of
wildlife. Since then, Earth Day has become a day that is
internationally celebrated. People around the globe are urging
more individuals to take action and to help preserve the planet.
The central focus of Earth Day presently is global warming.
Many scientists have warned politicians and citizens about the
dangers of global warming. It is estimated that almost half a
billion people are involved in Earth Day events every year.
The message of Earth Day is simple; anybody can get
involved and make an impact to save the planet. Here are
some great daily tips that can help save our planet:
1. Make sure you turn off all electronic devices (such as cell
phone chargers, stereos, televisions, etc) when you are not
using them. It is estimated that you could even save about
$10.00 a month on your electric bill if you unplug
electronic devices like toasters and washing machines.
2. Most water heaters are set to around 145 degrees
Fareheinheit. Just by lowering water heaters by 25
degrees will save around 160 pounds of carbon dioxide!
3. Fix any leaks that you may have around the house. On
average, a leaky toilet wastes 200 gallons of water a day.
4. Climate change can be observed even at the workplace.
Put computers and other office supplies on stand-by. It
also helps to turn off lights after leaving the office. By
switching light bulbs to ENERGY STAR bulbs, you can
save at least $60 a year on energy bills.
5. Contact to your local politician or councilman to make
sure their policies focus on environmental preservation.
Ordinary citizens can make a difference. (This tip was
cleverly suggested by Dr. Stearns).
6. Reduce, reuse, and recycle! It is important to do all three
of these things to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and
pollution.
Wagner College’s Earth Club is planning many on campus
events during Earth Week. For example, the Earth Club is
planning to do a clean up behind Haborview Hall. If you
would like to get more information on Earth Week, please
contact the active president of Earth Club, Megan Allen
(megan.allen@wagner.edu).
If you would like more information on how to save energy,
please visit http://www.earthday.gov/athome.html and
http://www.epa.gov/earthday/. Remember, everyday is Earth
Day! Statistics were compiled from www.epa.gov.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
FIRST WIND TURBINE ON STATEN ISLAND
Many countries around the world are investing in wind power.
Germany is currently the nation that uses the most wind
power. In the United States, only one percent of our electricity
is produced by wind energy. Many environmentalists are
hoping that the tax credit offered in the new economic
recovery will allow the wind industry to develop more
turbines throughout the United States.
Ray Mascucci, is the developer of the living community called
the “Tides of Charleston.” The “Tides of Charleston,” is
located in the Arthur Kill section of Staten Island and is also
home to the island’s very first wind turbine. Mascucci hopes
that his wind turbine will encourage more Staten Island
residents to invest in wind energy. Many residents hoped that
a wind farm would be built over the old Fresh Kills Landfill.
Fresh Kills is ideal for a wind farm because this area is near
the coastline. It is estimated that seven wind turbines could be
built in Fresh Kills and they would probably stand at around
400 feet. Mascucci realizes the importance of wind energy,
and he has even dedicated his career to alternative energy. He
owns a company that sells and fixes wind turbines. The “Tides
of Charleston” wind turbine may bring around $3000 worth of
electricity to the area each year. Many local residents are
hoping that more wind turbines will be installed all over
Staten Island. According to the American Wind Energy
Association, wind turbines can save the average person around
50-90% on reduce electric bills. The average life span of one
wind turbine is about 20 years, and statistics like these are
encouraging more residents to invest in wind energy. The best
part of wind turbines is that very little maintenance is required
because the wind does all of the work for you!
For more information on wind turbines, please visit
http://www.awea.org/. If you would like to know more about
the “Tides of Charleston” wind turbine, please visit
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/nyregion/thecity/15disp.
html?ref=science.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
PUBLICATIONS
Etinger, A., J. Lebron, and B.G. Palestis. (2009, in press).
Sex-assortative shoaling in zebrafish (Danio rerio). Bios.
Izeirovski, S., Moffett, S. B., Moffett, D. F. & Onken, H.
(2009). The anterior midgut of larval yellow fever mosquitoes
(Aedes aegypti): Effects of nutrients on the transepithelial
voltage and strong luminal alkalinization. Wagner College
Forum for Undergraduate Research.
Moffett, D.F. and Onken, H. (2009, in press). The Cellular
Basis of Extreme Alkali Secretion in Insects: A Tale of Two
Tissues. In: Epithelial Transport Physiology (ed. George A.
Gerencser). Totowa, New Jersey: Humana Press.
Onken, H., & Moffett, D. F. (2009). Revisiting the cellular
mechanisms of strong luminal alkalinization in the anterior
midgut of larval mosquitoes. Journal of Experimental Biology.
212: 373-377.
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
Onken, H., Patel, M., Javoroncov, M., Izeirovski, S.,
Moffett, S.B. & Moffett, D.F. (2009). Strong alkalinization in
the anterior midgut of larval yellow fever mosquitoes (Aedes
aegypti): Involvement of luminal Na+/K+-ATPase. Journal of
Experimental Zoology. 311A: 155-161.
Palestis, B.G. (2009, in press). Fluctuating asymmetry in
common tern chicks varies with hatching order and clutch
size. The Auk.
Palestis, B.G. (2009, in press). Use of artificial eelgrass mats
by saltmarsh-nesting common terns. In Vivo.
Trivers, R., B.G. Palestis & D. Zaatari. (2009). The Anatomy
of a Fraud: Symmetry and Dance. TPZ Publishers. Antioch,
CA.
Zaatari, D., Palestis, B.G. & Trivers, R. (2009, in press).
Fluctuating asymmetry of responders affects offers in the
Ultimatum Game oppositely according to attractiveness or
need as perceived by proposers. Ethology.
PROFESSIONAL MEETINGS
EASTERN COLLEGES SCIENCE CONFERENCE
On Saturday April 25th, Wagner College hosted the Eastern
Colleges Science Conference. 271 undergraduate students
participated in the meeting with twenty student presentations
from Wagner for this prestigious event. A handful of students
represented the Biology Department in the conference.
Participants included: Christopher Cappelli, Georgia Dellas,
Sejmir Izerovski, Lauren Levy, Anna Lysenko, Tanya Modica,
Ryan Rogers, Joseph Scala, Yuliya Seldina and Marlene
Streisinger.
The third speaker was Dr. Samuel Gaertner, a Professor of
Psychology at the University of Delaware. He spoke about his
research pertaining to research and prejudices amongst many
social and cultural groups.
The students of the Department of Biological Sciences
contributed with manuscripts, platform presentations and
posters. See below for the titles and authors. Two manuscripts
and a poster presentation won Excellence Awards. The
Limulus Staff would like to congratulate all of the participants
and winners for a job well done!
The ECSC was a huge success and could not have been
possible without the hard and very successful work of Dr.
Donald Stearns (President of the ECSC), Professor Linda
Raths, and Ms. Stephanie Rollizo.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna with photographs by Ryan Rogers
MANUSCRIPTS SUBMITTED TO ECSC
GENDER DIFFERENCES CREATED BY URINARY
CREATININE ADJUSTMENTS MADE TO HEAVY
METAL MEASUREMENTS. Christopher Cappelli1, Mary
Gamble2, X Liu3, Pamela Factor-Litvak4, Vesna Slavkovic2
and Joseph Graziano2, 1Department of Biological Sciences,
Wagner College; 2Department of Environmental Health
Sciences, Columbia University; 3Department of Biostatistics,
Columbia University; 4Department of Epidemiology,
Columbia University (Excellence Award!).
THE ANTERIOR MIDGUT OF LARVAL YELLOW
FEVER MOSQUITOES (AEDES AEGYPTI): EFFECTS
OF NUTRIENTS ON THE TRANSEPITHELIAL
VOLTAGE
AND
STRONG
LUMINAL
ALKALINIZATION. Sejmir Izeirovski1, Stacia B. Moffett2,
David F. Moffett2 and Horst Onken1, 1Department of
Biological Sciences, Wagner College; 2School of Biological
Sciences, Washington State University (Excellence Award!).
PLATFORM PRESENTATIONS AT ECSC
THE STUDY OF CHROMOSOMAL ABERRATIONS IN
VICIA FABA AS A RESULT OF EXPOSURE TO UVA
AND UVB RADIATION. Ryan Patricia Rogers and Ammini
S. Moorthy, Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner
College; 2Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner
College.
Members of Tri-Beta and the Biology Club served as
volunteers for the event. Many helped registered visiting
participants and acted as student guides. During the afternoon,
many attendees were allowed to listen to three guest speakers
who spoke simultaneously. Dr. Susan S. Kilham, a Professor
of Environmental Science at Drexel University gave a lecture
about global warming and the mountains of evidence that
supports it. She does extensive research that deals with the
effects of climate change on various ecosystems. Dr.
Alejandra Alonso is currently a Professor of Neuroscience at
the College of Staten Island and she gave an interesting lecture
about the research she has completed on Alzheimer’s disease.
THE EFFECTS OF OSCILLATING ELECTRICAL
FIELDS
ON
ESCHERICHIA
COLI
AND
STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS. Yuliya Seldina and Joseph
Scala, Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College.
POSTER PRESENTATIONS AT ECSC
ELECTRICAL
SUPRESSION
OF
BACTERIAL
GROWTH AND REPRODUCTION. Joseph Scala and
Yuliya Seldina, Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner
College.
PAGE 9
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
GENDER DIFFERENCES CREATED BY URINARY
CREATININE ADJUSTMENTS MADE TO HEAVY
METAL MEASUREMENTS. Christopher Cappelli1, Mary
Gamble2, X Liu3, Pamela Factor-Litvak4, Vesna Slavkovic2
and Joseph Graziano2, 1Department of Biological Sciences,
Wagner College; 2Department of Environmental Health
Sciences, Columbia University; 3Department of Biostatistics,
Columbia University; 4Department of Epidemiology,
Columbia University (Excellence Award!)
PHOTOGALLERY OF THE ECSC
THE ANTERIOR MIDGUT OF LARVAL YELLOW
FEVER MOSQUITOES (AEDES AEGYPTI): EFFECTS
OF NUTRIENTS ON THE TRANSEPITHELIAL
VOLTAGE
AND
STRONG
LUMINAL
ALKALINIZATION. Sejmir Izeirovski1, Stacia B. Moffett2,
David F. Moffett2 and Horst Onken1, 1Department of
Biological Sciences, Wagner College; 2School of Biological
Sciences, Washington State University
MORPHOLOGICAL
CHARACTERIZATION
OF
NEUROVASCULATURE AND WHOLE BLOOD OF
THE ADULT ZEBRA FISH (DANIO RERIO). Marlene
Streisinger1, Lauren Levy2, Zulmarie Franco3, Linda Raths2,
Christopher Corbo2 and Zoltan Fulop2, 1Department of
Nursing, Wagner College; 2Department of Biological
Sciences, Wagner College; 3Department of Microbiology,
Wagner College
PREPARATION
OF
THIN
SECTIONS
OF
DROSOPHILA OVARIES FOR EXAMINATION BY
TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY. . Tanya
Modica1, Georgia Dellas1, Christopher Corbo2 and Heather A.
Cook1, 1Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College;
2
Department of Center For Developmental Neuroscience,
CUNY Staten Island
USE OF SQUASHED RETINA AND OPTIC TECTUM
TO STUDY REGENERATIVE CAPACITIES OF THE
VISUAL SYSTEM IN ADULT ZEBRAFISH (DANIO
RERIO).Michael Gutkin, Anna Lysenko, Christopher Corbo,
Linda Raths and Zoltan Fulop, Department of Biological
Sciences, Wagner College
THE
EFFECTS
OF
DIFFERENT
ETHANOL
CONCENTRATIONS ON THE ACTIVITY LEVEL OF
ADULT ZEBRAFISH (DANIO RERIO). Lauren Levy and
Brian Palestis, Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner
College
PAGE 10
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
ERRATA
STUDENT PROFILE IN MARCH ISSUE OF LIMULUS
It was brought to my attention that the last issue of Limulus
had a error in the student profile. In Ryan Rogers’ interview, it
should have said that she had “really poor vision” and not
“early poor vision.” I apologize for the mistake.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
APOLOGIES
E-MAIL INCONVENIENCE
I want to apologize! Since the beginning of the LIMULUS I
have sent out the newsletter to address lists. I sent these mails
directly to all addresses in the list. Only now I became aware
that this allows everybody to see everybody’s e-mail address. I
hope this did not cause any inconvenience to anyone. From
now on the newsletter will be sent out with the addresses
under BCC.
You never stop learning, THE EDITOR.
ALUMNI
Some responses from alumni to the January Newsletter:
Dr. Onken,
Thank you for sending me the recent Biology newsletter. As a
proud member of the Class of "79, I was a
Biology/Psychology double major and have nothing but
wonderful memories of my years on the 4th Floor. Under the
guidance of Dr. Yarns, Dr. Hazen, Dr. Priddy and Dr. Kanzler
we learned in an environment which was unique and that I
hope remains today.
The relationship we had with our professors was special in
that we not only had the utmost respect for them, but truly
enjoyed them as individuals. Each day for lunch the faculty
would eat together in the conference room over a daily bridge
game. Students were allowed to observe. It was wonderful
since all but Dr. Yarns took the game seriously as we
commented on the day's events peppered with a brief retort by
a professor in the middle of a trump...whatever that is?
Dr. Yarns, the most fit of the professors, would ride his bike
up Howard Ave each day. … Yarns took his subject matter
seriously, but was not afraid to inject humor into his lectures.
Dr. Annette Ruark-Hazen was the most brilliant woman I'd
had the honor of knowing. She was able to break down
Neuroanatomy/physiology in a class by sharing the
information, not preaching. She was also one of the first,
female, ordained Episcopalian priests ordained. While
dissecting a calves' brain in neuroanatomy lab, I asked her
how she reconciled the Creation/Big Bang Theory, she calmly
and directly said, "Someone had to push the button."
I spent the most time with the above mentioned professors, but
I have to say that the faculty in general shared a common trait.
They all took what they did very seriously and put the students
first, but most importantly they took themselves lightly. It was
a most endearing quality. I would love to say that I took my
PAGE 11
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
degree and pursued a related career, but alas I had an eighteen
year career on Wall Street which ended after 9/11. I've
pursued more creative endeavors, but I have to say that I still
recall the material learned in the labs and can converse about
human anatomy and physiology with a level of confidence.
Thank you again for sending the newsletter. It forced me to
take a trip down memory lane, a wonderful place in this
instance, and remember some major influences in my life
whom I admired and from whom I learned about Biology and
Humility.
All the best,
Harold Theurer Class of '79
------------------------Dr. Onken,
Thank you for including me on your distribution list for the
Wagner College Biology Department Newsletter. I continue to
be proud of Wagner and its ability to inspire students in
Biology and the Health Sciences.
In the section on when Biology became prominent at Wagner,
I wonder about that as well. My first impulse is to suggest the
Dr. Ralph E. Deal may have been the beginning of that. He
retired during my Senior Year in 1966 but I recall that prior to
his becoming THE Biology Professor at Wagner he was a
young professor in a Columbia University annex 'The
Cloisters' and was a Bio-Evangelist who would give tent
lectures along side of William Jennings Brian with the purpose
of promoting interest in making biological sciences a subject
that would be taught at all liberal arts colleges. Therefore I
imagine one need not look any further back in time than Dr.
Deal to find when Wagner provided courses in biological
sciences. Natale Collosi taught microbiology at Wagner but I
am not sure if that was there before or after Dr. Deal as
microbiology was a separate track, quite possibly alligned
with Nursing, when I was a student.
The topic I spoke on when we had the dedication of our
electron microscope has now made it into the fabric of biology
and immunology science. Here is a recent review by Dutch
Scientists that makes that point. I also include a "preview" I
wrote for a confirming article.
And, here is an online Power Point Presentation that includes
some of the slides I presented at Wagner.
http://www.geocities.com/artnscience/Crosby/Art_and_Scienc
e_files/fullscreen.htm
Best regards.
Art
Arthur O. Anderson MD
Director, Office of Human Use and
Ethics, Research Integrity Officer
US Army Medical Research Institute
of Infectious Diseases
1425 Porter Street, Fort Detrick
Frederick MD 21702-5011
"There is always an easy solution to every human problem -neat, plausible and wrong." - H. L. Mencken
-------------------------
Thanks you so much for forwarding the newsletter to me. I
thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Very well put together with a
lot of information. I graduate in 1971 with a BS in Biology.
Things have really changed! For the better I might add.
bob piegari
BRIAN PETUCH CERTIFIED BY NRM
Brian Petuch, an alumnus of Wager College, was recently
certified by the National Registry of Microbiologists. We
received the following press release from the American
College of Microbiology:
WASHINGTON, DC—February 24, 2009— Brian R.
Petuch, M.S., Biosafety Officer, Merck & Co., West Point,
PA, is now a Registrant of the National Registry of
Microbiologists (NRM). On November 17, 2008, he became
certified as a Specialist Microbiologist in Biological Safety
Microbiology. To earn the NRM credential, Mr. Petuch first
met rigorous educational and experiential eligibility
requirements and then passed a comprehensive written
examination. He has demonstrated the knowledge and skills
necessary to develop, implement, and manage a
comprehensive biological safety program.
The NRM is a voluntary certifying body which was founded
in 1958 and has certified microbiologists in all 50 states, the
District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico and on six continents.
The goals of the NRM are to minimize risk to the public by
identifying qualified microbiologists; encourage mastery of
microbiological knowledge and skills that contribute to
improving the human condition; and foster professional pride
and a sense of accomplishment in qualified microbiologists.
The American College of Microbiology is the component of
the American Academy of Microbiology responsible for
accreditation of postdoctoral training programs, certification
of microbiologists and immunologists, and other programs
consistent with its mission of providing leadership in
promoting the high quality and ethical practice of the
microbiology and immunology professions for the benefits of
human, animal, and environmental well-being. For more
information about the NRM or other programs of the
American College of Microbiology, please visit
www.microbiologycert.org or contact the College at
college@asmusa.org.
Contributed by Dr. Onken
NEWS FROM THOMAS SMOLKA
Thomas
Smolka
graduated in 2004 with a
BS in Biology. In
summer 2005, Thomas
worked as a bear
biologist
in
New
Mexico. Until 2007 he
managed
an
event
production
company.
Then Thomas became a
technology teacher at St.
John's Lutheran School.
His
robotics
team
recently won the second place in the first NYC Robotics
PAGE 12
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
tournament and was recently featured in the SI Advance.
Congratulations!
The article in the SI Advance can be accessed at
http://www.silive.com/siadvance/stories/index.ssf?/base/news/
1237469406265670.xml&coll=1
CARTOONS:
Dear Alumni,
If you are interested in contributing to our newsletter, you
are very welcome to do so. Contact Dr. Onken by e-mail
with
your
submission,
(horst.onken@wagner.edu)
comment, ideas or questions! We are excited to hear about
where you are, how and what you do!
PUZZLES, JOKES, QUOTES, CARTOONS
LATERAL THINKING WORD PUZZLES:
Man
Board
Stand
I
/R/E/A/D/I/N/G/
R
O
ROADS
D
S
cycle
cycle
cycle
0
M.S.
Ph.D.
Knee
Light
THINK
Ground
feet feet
feet feet
feet feet
T
O
W
N
T
O
U
C
H
ecnalg
Science made simple!
Death / Life
ii ii
● ●
ababaabbaabbaaabbbaaabbb…
Answers:
man overboard
crossroads
neon light
think big
life after death
I understand
tricycle
six feet underground
touchdown
dark circles under eyes
reading between the lines
two degrees below zero
downtown
glance backwards
long time no see
All cartoons from www.lab-initio.com
PAGE 13
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
MISCELLANEOUS
SWINE FLU
The swine flu is making headlines this past week. The last
time a major pandemic wiped out a majority of the world’s
population was in 1919. The Spanish flu killed millions of
people worldwide because the virus started spreading across
the globe. A virus that is found in pig populations causes
swine flu. This virus has strains referred to as swine influenza
virus. There are three types of SIVs including Influenza A,
Influenza B, and Influenza C. Influenza A is the more
commonly found and the World Health Organization believes
that Influenza A is responsible for all of the recent cases of
swine flu. Influenza A can be further examined into smaller
categories. These smaller categories are referred to as
subtypes. Influenza A has five subtypes: H1N1, H1N2, H3NI,
H3N2, and H2N3. The reported cases of swine flu have been
traced to the subtype H1N1. Many people around the world
are trying to avoid this flu. Individuals who handle pigs on a
regular basis are more vulnerable for infection. The virus
spreads when people come in contact with certain poultry or
pig populations. The virus strain that is found in pigs can
spread to human populations. The SIV strain mutated and this
basically means the genetic code of the SIV strain changed.
This allowed the virus to spread from one human being to
another. According to CNN, most people that were reported to
have swine flu came in contact with pigs. CNN reported that
there are 90 cases of swine flu in the world and 42 of those
cases are in the United States alone. The WHO believes that
the swine flu started in Mexico, and the United States has
started to increase security at the Mexican border. Symptoms
of swine flu are: sore throat, headaches, fever, cough, and
fatigue. If a person has been infected by swine flu, it is
recommended that they take antiviral drugs. For more
information on swine flu, please visit:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/28/swine.flu/index.ht
ml#cnnSTCOther1 and
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/health/28hong.html?ref=
health.
GUIDELINES FOR CONTRIBUTORS
Authors in all sections should keep in mind that not all
readers are specialized in their area of interest. Keep your
contribution on a level that everybody can understand.
Contributions may vary in length between about 50 and
500 words and must be submitted by e-mail to
horst.onken@wagner.edu.
Photographs or other images that accompany an article are
very welcome, but must be submitted as separate files
(high quality jpg is the preferred file format) attached to
the e-mail. Be aware that photographs/images may be
minimized in size.
Indicate the section of the newsletter where you want your
contribution to appear.
The deadline for submission of a contribution is the 20th of
the month. Contributions received later may or may not be
considered.
The editor reserves his right to edit your contribution
or post an immediate response.
Editing may involve to publish contributions in other
sections as indicated by the author.
All contributions will clearly indicate the author's
identity.
All contributions are reviewed and publication may be
refused by the editor.
The Editorial Board:
Editor: Dr. Horst Onken, Associate Professor
Assistant Editor: Stephanie Rollizo, Dept. Secretary
Student Assistant Editor: Nidhi Khanna (Biology major)
Student Assistant Editor: N.N.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
PAGE 14
�
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Limulus: The Newsletter of the Wagner College Biological Sciences Department
Description
An account of the resource
The Department of Biological Sciences circulates a newsletter that will be updated monthly, culminating in two special issues per year (January and September). The January edition reviews the fall semester and the September edition reviews the spring semester and summer events. The name of the newsletter is LIMULUS and it is made available as pdf files.
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Title
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Limulus Newsletter, August 2009
Subject
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Corbo, Christopher
Yerneni, Lakshmi
Table Of Contents
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Letter from the editor / Horst Onken -- Biology staff and faculty news / Nidhi Khanna -- Pre-health at Wagner : An interview with Tanya Modica / Nidhi Khanna -- Going to graduate school : An interview with Ryan Rogers / Nidhi Khanna and Sejmir Izeirovski -- Curriculum news / Horst Onken -- Clubs and societies news / Sejmir Izeirovski, Nidhi Khanna, Ryan Rogers, and Dina Hussam -- Opportunities / Horst Onken and Nidhi Onken -- Recyclemania : An interview with David Hammill / Nidhi Khanna -- Biology department celebrates Darwin's 20th birthday / Nidhi Khanna -- April 22nd is Earth Day / Nidhi Khanna -- Publications -- Professional meetings -- Errata / Nidhi Khanna -- Apologies / Horst Onken -- Alumni / Harold Theurer, Arthur O. Anderson -- Brian Petuch certified by NRM / Horst Onken -- News from Thomas Smolka -- Puzzles, jokes, quotes, cartoons -- Swine Flu / Nidhi Khanna
Creator
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Wagner College, Department of Biological Sciences
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Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
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2009-08
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14 pages
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en
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https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/1909/archive/files/fdeec25e2d5d9a92b51e26931bdf7d74.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=PA19qJUtivh9EhI9YyBQgXGYeNS3%7EXEjnpIDwQ1ha561-flmgDhNGR2trBT7YdNMQIETDhOaEF5QX8ZwEupVov-vvgWJv9kd0X5%7EbttMUpoX9tg0tRT%7EfExPhM1R0d-lHEBhBlZsZJ9PtIsVFt476v-waan%7EWmGyH4YFQX7J06QAFd2Fzy%7EYnRgHCDK97G4bmzcGD%7Ei-shyVNcx54p2UmJ1W8NWd-orcH%7EWQI1Ma0Xg2F5pcqpzjVovtfNMyL3%7ErU8ebFWXBvDGbdVSd-0XvItkrTFzy%7E0BsLlnDwdYm1E0AWopVxLiSEzu%7E6Ylf2f2rT%7EX2bvU1OccN-FQKHzrzRw__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
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PDF Text
Text
Limulus
NEWSLETTER
Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
Volume 2009, Issue Fall-02
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
The Fall semester 2009 is well on its way. Everybody is busy
teaching and learning. Although only one month passed, there
is already something to report in our newsletter: Our student
clubs announce their activities, opportunities to engage,
summer experiences, Dr. Moorthy opens a new section –
PEOPLE- with an essay about Norman Borlaug, a critical
OPINON about our new web design, the announcement of a
professional conference in October, and a letter by an alumn
very worth to read. The current newsletter is rounded with the
usual cartoon, accompanied by a joke and some science
quotes. I hope you enjoy reading the October LIMULUS.
As announced in the September newsletter, we are
planning a special issue on Dr. Kanzler, a former faculty
member who passed away on Friday, June 26. Again, I
would like to ask all current and former faculty, as well as
all alumni who knew Dr. Kanzler to send me memories,
anecdotes, photographs or other possible contributions to
the special issue. The deadline is coming up rapidly: Please
send your contribution for the special issue until Monday,
October 12. I may contact some of you under separate
cover.
Dr. Horst Onken
The Editor
BIOLOGY STAFF AND FACULTY NEWS
EVERYBODY IS BACK AND BUSY
More in the October LIMULUS.
BIOLOGY CLUB NEWS
The Biology Club had a successful first meeting. The next
meeting will be held on MONDAY OCTOBER 5TH at 9pm,
location TBD. Individuals who wish to be part of the Biology
Club should contact the president of the Biology Club Cassie
Bray. (Cassandra.bray@wagner.edu)
If current members are unable to attend the next meeting, they
must contact the secretary of the Biology Club Melissa
Alvarez. (Melissa.alvarez@wagner.edu) If students fail to
contact Melissa about their absence, they will no longer be
listed as members of the Biology Club. The club discussed
several important things at the meeting.
The club plans to complete their off-campus community
service event at the reservoir located on Arthur Kill Road.
September, 2009
Members will clean up trash at the reservoir on either a
Sunday morning or afternoon. This event will take place in
November. Details to be followed shortly.
For the next meeting, Cassie is encouraging members to
suggest a good on-campus community service opportunity. At
the last meeting, members were also considering buying club
t-shirts. Cassie would like members to think of creative ideas
to bring to the next meeting as well.
On Sunday, October 18th(tentatively) the Biology Club will
hold an event at the Bodies Exhibit on the South Street
Seaport. This is a campus-wide event and all are invited to
attend, but you must act fast! Only 25 seats are available and
the part of the ticket will be covered for by the Biology club’s
SGA budget.
The Biology Club is thinking about having movie nights on
campus. At the next meeting, members will discuss further
details. Members will address more issues, but these four
issues are currently the highest priority.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna (information was complied with the help of
Cassie Bray and Melissa Alvarez)
TRI-BETA NEWS
Welcome new members and welcome back returning
members of Tri Beta!
My name is Jessica Cozzolino and I am the secretary of Tri
Beta this year. I will be sending everybody the minutes after
each meeting and will keep you all updated with any Tri
Beta activities.
For our off-campus community service activity we will be
participating in the Breast Cancer Walk taking place on
Sunday, October 18, 2009 at Cloves Lakes Park (1150 Clove
Road, Staten Island, NY.) If you will be participating in this
event please email the president of Tri Beta Yolana Fuks @
Yolana.Fuks@wagner.edu
We were also considering getting team Tee shirts for this
event. So if you are interested or have any ideas you can
email Yolana.
For our on campus community service, we will be
participating in the Haunted Hallways event. In this event
we get our own room in main hall and we decorate the
classroom for Halloween. Children from around the area will
come to Wagner College to see our displays. We are not sure
of the exact date for this yet (most likely the weekend before
Halloween), but I will keep everyone updated. We can also
dress up for this event according to our room theme.
PAGE 1
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
Our next meeting will take place one day in the week prior to
the Breast Cancer Walk on October 18, 2009.
Feel free to E-Mail me with any questions.
Have a great day and see you all at the next meeting =)
Contributed Jessica Cozzolino
OPPORTUNITIES
RESEARCH WITH MOSQUITOES AND CRABS
Dr.
Onken
offers
research opportunities
for students in the frame
of a project in which he
collaborates with scientists from Washington
State University, the University of Idaho, and the University
of Alberta (Edmonton, CA). The project is funded by the
National Institute of Health and studies the physiology of the
midgut of larval yellow fever mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti).
Mosquitoes are vectors of a number of parasites, transmit
devastating diseases like malaria, yellow fever and dengue,
and are a major threat to the health of billions of people on our
planet. The principal investigators of this project address
larval mosquitoes, because it appears more straightforward to
fight these vectors as long as they are confined in an aquatic
habitat.
In collaboration with colleagues from the U.S. (Mt. Desert
Island Biological Laboratories, Maine), Brazil (University of
São Paulo in Ribeirão Preto, University of Paraná in Curitiba)
and Canada (University of Manitoba in Winnipeg) Dr. Onken
pursues research with Crustacea related to the osmoregulatory
capacities and mechanisms of crabs. Together with Dr.
Alauddin (Chemistry) and Professor Beecher (Biology), an
ecophysiological study is in an early stage of planning.
Dr. Onken can offer research opportunities for two to three
students. If interested contact Dr. Onken in his office (Megerle
Science Hall Room 411), lab (Megerle Science Hall Room
406) or via e-mail (horst.onken@wagner.edu) or phone 4204211.
Contributed by Dr. Onken
COMMUNITY SERVICE OPPORTUNITY
Greetings Everyone,
I am Nidhi Khanna and I am currently a junior. I am working
with this non-profit organization called Planting Peace.
Planting Peace has many sub-organizations including one
called The Clean World Movement. The Clean World
Movement is trying to encourage more individuals around the
world to recycle and to take better care of the planet. I am
working with The Clean World Movement as the
environmental director in my community. I am organizing
some clean-ups in Staten Island during the semester. If
anybody is interested in helping out, please feel free to contact
me at nidhi.khanna@wagner.edu. Thanks for your interest and
I look forward hearing from you! If you would like more
information about the organization I am working with, please
visit: http://www.plantingpeace.org/.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
IT’S SO EASY
I recently attended the talk given at Wagner by the
Environmental Author, Robert K. Musil. In his talk, he
encouraged students who are concerned about environmental
issues to try to engage with policy makers. I want to share a
way to do that that I have discovered that takes very close to
zero effort. There are several organizations like the Sierra
Club, The National Wildlife Federation, the Nature
Conservancy, and the League of Conservation Voters. They
research and follow environmental legislative activity very
closely, and advocate strongly for environmental conservation.
If you get on their e-mailing lists, they will contact you
whenever important environmental legislation is coming
before the house or senate. They usually have a form letter
that encourages the relevant decision-makers to vote for or
against a bill and explains their reasoning. You can modify
these letters, and sign by using a password. They know which
decision-makers to send the letters to by your zip-code.
Sometimes you get some e-mail from them asking for
donations, etc., which, as a “starving college student”, you
don’t have to feel guilty about ignoring for now. You can tell
that the letters really go to the politicians, because they almost
always reply. Here is a link you can follow to sign up for the
League of Conservation Voters:
https://admin3.getactive.com/lcv/join.html
Contributed by Professor Beecher
EXPERIENCES
OPOSSUM
On a very wet morning in June, what appeared to be a child’s
toy lay in a puddle on the steps behind the Megerle Science
Building. On closer inspection, I realized something was alive
and moving! With the rain coming down, I wrapped a tiny
creature in tissue and brought it upstairs to my office in
Biological Sciences. The heat
from my hands had an
immediate effect on the baby
animal,
which
was
still
unidentifed. Using the internet, I
realized it was a very small
opposum, and as some time
passed, it began to open its eyes
and its shivvering stopped.
As the possum gained strength,
it made a “hissing” sound, to
perhaps communicate hunger.
It licked little drops of water,
and became quite active,
crawling around in my hands.
Using a heating lamp, I made a
little spot for it to sleep while I worked. Later that day, I was
able to contact the closest wildlife animal rescue group which
was located in New Jersey. (The only wildlife rescue group in
New York City is in the Bronx, since the Staten Island wildlife
facility closed over a year ago.). A wildlife rehabilitator
named “Meg,” told me she could take the stranded baby the
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
next evening, which meant I was having a visitor that evening
at home. Since possums are nocternal, I spent most of the
night awake, feeding droplets of pedialyte (an electrolyte
enriched water) to the baby animal. The next day the possum
was in rather good health, sleeping soundly. That evening we
drove to Meg’s facility in New Jersey, and signed a New
Jersey Fish and Wildlife document handing the little female
over to the professionals. It turned out an odd looking circle
on her abdomen was the beginning of a pouch, since possums
are marsupials.
This week we received good news. Our little rescued Staten
Island marsupial grew up among other orphaned opossums
and was just released into the wild! In just three months, her
wild life was given back to her to enjoy. Good luck, little one!
Contributed by Stephanie Rollizo
PEOPLE
NORMAN BORLAUG
The Father of Green Revolution
“Reach for the stars. Although you will never touch them, you
may get a little stardust on your hands”
Norman Borlaug who
died on Sept.12, 2009
at the age of 95 was
the father of the
Green
Revolution.
His work that led to
the production of disease-resistant wheat
varieties is credited
with saving as many
as a billion people
from starvation world
wide and ushering in
the Green Revolution. He brought new
agricultural
techniques, new highyielding seeds, and
modern technology to the poor farmers in underdeveloped and
developing countries and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
for this. He is one of only five individuals to receive the
Congressional Gold medal, the president’s Medal of Freedom
and the Nobel Peace Prize. The others in this distinguished
category are Mother Theresa, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther
King Jr, and Elie Wiesel.
Born of Norwegian descent, Dr. Borlaug was raised in Cresco,
a small farming community in northeast Iowa. His outstanding
contribution and his greatest achievement has been his
unending struggle to integrate the various streams of
agricultural research into viable technologies and to convince
political leaders to bring these advances to bear fruits for the
less fortunate among us. He got a degree in forestry from the
University of Minnesota and worked for the forest service for
sometime. Later he came back to University of Minnesota and
obtained his doctorate in plant pathology. In 1944, he
participated in the Rockefeller Foundation’s pioneering
technical assistance program to Mexico. Part Scientist, part
humanitarian, he realized that improved crop varieties are
essential to solving world hunger. “Norman Borlaug saved
more lives than any man in human history. His heart was as
big as his brilliant mind but it was his passion and compassion
that moved the world” said Josette Sheeran, executive director
of the UN world Food Program.
Borlaug strongly believed that we need to employ technology
and science to increase the food production to feed the hungry
planet. He also recognized that the food production is
seriously affected by diseases, global warming, a lack of
agricultural infrastructure, absence of technology and [poor]
government support. The world-wide financial melt down is
also contributing to reduced funding and support for poor
countries.
When Borlaug was born 95 years ago the world population
was less than 1.5 billion, as opposed to the current figure of
seven billion. As the population grows, we humans are faced
with a choice: convert wilderness areas to farmlands or get
existing farmlands to yield more. Either choice has serious
consequences, the latter will reduce biodiversity but the
former will have more devastating impact, as wilderness is a
much needed habitat for wild life. Much as human existence is
based on agricultural practices, it in essence an “unnatural
practice”, according to Borlaug, and its prime goal is to create
food that we humans can eat in plenty. Humans have become
very insensitive to the issues of Biodiversity and the plight of
all creatures in this planet. Asked what the future holds
Borlaug thinks that Genetically modified crops (GM crops)
has the potential to become part of the solution , if we go in
that direction with caution. Sustained global food security is
essential for the survival of our species. Needless to say that
we also need to make sure that this planet of ours with all its
biodiversity also survives.
Contributed by Dr. Moorthy
OPINION
NEW BROOMS CLEAN WELL!
The above German proverb is often continued with “…, but
old brooms know the corners.” It means that new things may
look good on the first glimpse, but old things can still be better
on the second look. I would like to apply the long version to
the new website of the college.
What a beautiful homepage we got. The slide show is very
attractive, no doubt. However, in my opinion the entire rest of
the new web design is a failure that generated and continues to
generate a lot of work for IT and volunteers, like me, who
spent extra time to update and improve parts of the website.
What had been wrong with the old website of the college? It
had a beautiful design. It was well structured. It was easy to
navigate through the pages, because of the drop down menu
on the homepage. One click, mailport. One click, registrar.
One click, … When navigating through our web pages, 80
percent of each upcoming screen was new, editable
information. Apart of the slim bar at the top that identified the
college, the general background was a shiny white: Easy to
insert figures and photographs, no need to reconfigure the
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
figure background. This supported volunteers to work on
pages. Also the older version of drupal, our online html editor,
was satisfying. I had just accustomed to use it. Admitted, the
homepage had no slide show.
What is wrong with the new design? The structure of the
website is basically unchanged, which is good. However, the
drop down menu on the homepage is missing. Two clicks,
mailport. Two clicks, registrar. Two clicks, … Even worse,
the upper half of each and every upcoming screen is covered
with a large top menu bar, showing four students strolling
along the clock on Trautman Square, and a huge primary
headline. This design moves the editable information on each
page down: Scroll, scroll, scroll, … The background of the
editable space is a light beige. Figures with white background,
meant to be transparent, must be reformatted. The new drupal
evidently does not allow to use the three frame design pattern
that some old department and faculty pages had, and IT had a
hard time to wiggle them through the conversion.
True, we accustom fast. We are using our website daily, and
ultimately we will just adapt to click and scroll faster.
However, we are not the only users of our website. We have
visitors who may come only once to see whether Wagner
College is the right place for them. Our website is like our
business card. It should be graphically attractive, of course.
However, the information should be easily accessible. Even
without the slide show the old website very well satisfied both
purposes. Yes, I agree, the slide show is beautiful and may
lure visitors in for more information. Click, and four students
and the clock on Trautman Square greet. What a nice view,
how attractive. Click, and four students and the clock on
Trautman Square greet. Click, and four students and the clock
on Trautman Square greet. When coming up again and again
and again, this graphical component of our website is
evidently too large and may be seen as a hurdle to reach the
information visitors are looking for. Click, click, click. Scroll,
scroll, scroll. I just hope our visitors do not x us out.
I have been making websites since 15 years. I had to learn
numerous html editors, and I had a lot of trials and errors until
I got results that halfway satisfied me. I browsed through the
web a lot. How do others do it? In the last academic year, I
spent many hours to improve the web pages of the department,
inserting pages of our facilities like greenhouse and
collections. I set up a very informative faculty page,
highlighting my teaching, my research, my students, … I had
pages with recommendations about mosquito prevention and
protection, and I had started a project that displays the
“Woody plants of Wagner College”. All this work, of course
formatted for the old web design, was destroyed, mainly
because of the overlarge bar with the four students and the
clock on Trautman square that appears now on every single
page of the college website. Moreover, I do not yet know how
to make web pages attractive, if the first 50% of each page is
static. On top, I have again to learn a new version of an html
editor. I am annoyed by the way how this was introduced, and
I am discouraged to continue my voluntary efforts.
It would have been so easy to just place a slide show on the
home page and leave the rest as it was.
Contributed by Dr. Onken
PUBLICATIONS
Etinger, A., J. Lebron, and B.G. Palestis. (2009, in press).
Sex-assortative shoaling in zebrafish (Danio rerio). Bios.
Izeirovski, S., Moffett, S. B., Moffett, D. F. & Onken, H.
(2009). The anterior midgut of larval yellow fever mosquitoes
(Aedes aegypti): Effects of nutrients on the transepithelial
voltage and strong luminal alkalinization. Wagner College
Forum for Undergraduate Research.
Izeirovski, S., Moffett, S. B., Moffett, D. F. & Onken, H.
(2009, in press). The anterior midgut of larval yellow fever
mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti): effects of amino acids,
dicarboxylic acids, and glucose on the transepithelial voltage
and strong luminal alkalinization. Journal of Experimental
Zoology, published online, DOI: 10.1002/jez.561.
Moffett, D.F. and Onken, H. (2009, in press). The Cellular
Basis of Extreme Alkali Secretion in Insects: A Tale of Two
Tissues. In: Epithelial Transport Physiology (ed. George A.
Gerencser). Totowa, New Jersey: Humana Press.
Onken, H., & Moffett, D. F. (2009). Revisiting the cellular
mechanisms of strong luminal alkalinization in the anterior
midgut of larval mosquitoes. Journal of Experimental Biology.
212: 373-377.
Onken, H., Patel, M., Javoroncov, M., Izeirovski, S.,
Moffett, S.B. & Moffett, D.F. (2009). Strong alkalinization in
the anterior midgut of larval yellow fever mosquitoes (Aedes
aegypti): Involvement of luminal Na+/K+-ATPase. Journal of
Experimental Zoology. 311A: 155-161.
Palestis, B.G. (2009, in press). Fluctuating asymmetry in
common tern chicks varies with hatching order and clutch
size. The Auk.
Palestis, B.G. (2009, in press). Use of artificial eelgrass mats
by saltmarsh-nesting common terns. In Vivo.
Trivers, R., B.G. Palestis & D. Zaatari. (2009). The Anatomy
of a Fraud: Symmetry and Dance. TPZ Publishers. Antioch,
CA.
Zaatari, D., Palestis, B.G. & Trivers, R. (2009, in press).
Fluctuating asymmetry of responders affects offers in the
Ultimatum Game oppositely according to attractiveness or
need as perceived by proposers. Ethology.
PROFESSIONAL MEETINGS
MACUB CONFERENCE COMING UP
DATE: September 28, 2009
FROM: Donald Stearns, Megerle II Professor of Biology,
Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
REGARDING: 42nd Annual Metropolitan Association of
College and University Biologists (MACUB) Conference,
Kingsborough Community College, Saturday, October 24,
2009
Every year, the Metropolitan Association of College and
University Biologists holds a fall meeting on a Saturday, for
PAGE 4
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
students and faculty interested in the biological sciences. This
fall, the meeting will take place at Kingsborough Community
College, Saturday, October 24th. Registration, continental
breakfast, and exhibitor displays occur from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m.,
followed by a general welcome. This year’s morning keynote
address (9:15 – 10:15 a.m.) is titled Pandemic Flu and
Emerging Infectious Diseases, given by Debra E. Berg, M.D.,
Medical director for the Healthcare Emergency Preparedness
Program, Bureau of Communicable Diseases for the New
York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. After
this presentation, there will be exhibitor displays, poster
presentations, member presentations, and concurrent
workshops (11:15-12:30 p.m.), followed by a luncheon. This
year’s afternoon keynote address (12:30-1:30 p.m.) is titled
Catching Fire: How Cooking Made us Human, given by
Richard Wrangham, Ph.D., Ruth Moore Professor of
Biological Anthropology at Harvard University. After this
presentation, there will be more poster presentations and
exhibitor displays (1:30-3:00 p.m.), followed by poster awards
and an ice cream social (3:00-4:00 p.m.).
Students, faculty, and alumni: You are cordially invited to
attend this event. For current students and faculty, your costs
are covered by the Department of Biological Sciences,
Wagner College. For others, the cost ranges from $35 to $55,
depending on your position and timing of registration
payment.
For more information (including van
transportation), please contact Ms. Stephanie Rollizo, Faculty
Secretary, Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner
College, at (718) 390-3103 or Stephanie.rollizo@wagner.edu.
cup of coffee and Dr. Yarns would come by and sit down and
proceed to tell me stories of his life, and some of these stories
were truly amazing. This is what made the man special, he
always had time for his students, he knew just what to say but
more importantly he knew when to listen. He was always there
throughout my entire stay at Wagner. I could pop into his
office anytime and he would always greet me with a smile and
a warm greeting. He was truly my friend.
I have a son, Nicholas, who graduated from Wagner College
"Class of 2009" and is now a Graduate Student on campus. I
hope he finds his own Dr. Yarns while at Wagner.
If there is anything I can ever do to assist you please do not
hesitate to call on me. I will be more than happy to assist with
academic advisement or any other project you request.
Tony Garofalo
Class of 1977
From the Yearbook of 1977:
Contributed by Dr. Stearns
ALUMNI
Tony Garofalo in 1977
A response to the August Newsletter:
Subject: Thank you for the August newsletter
Dear Dr. Onken;
I wish to thank you for your recent copy of the Department of
Biological Sciences August Newsletter. I am a member of
the "Class of 1977". I enjoyed my time at Wagner and
especially the guidance I received from Dr. Yarns (what an
amazing individual) who always told me to pursue my dreams
and ignor the obstacles which may arise. He was an individual
who could easily step out of his role as professor and into his
role as your friend and advisor. I took his advice and 2 years
after graduation I earned a degree as a Physician Assistant (I
guess Dr. Yarns was right about ignoring obstacles) and then
onto a degree as a Podiatrist. While at Wagner I was never an
"A" student but what I lacked in GPA I more than made up in
determination and drive. I took the advice of Dr. Yarns and
placed my focus on the goal. I am sure there are many students
like myself who at times find course work demanding and
difficult (How I remember, painfully, Organic Chemistry and
Dr. Shultz) but I am proof that hard work and a clear focus on
your goals can overcome any obstacle. There were days I
would walk, well actually run, out of an especially difficult
Organic Chem class, head on over to the "Hawks Nest" have a
Biology Faculty in 1977
Standing: Walter Kanzler, Ralph Priddy, Anette Ruark,
Charles Kiley. Kneeling: Dale Yarns, John Frohlin, Murvel
Annan
PAGE 5
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
Dear Alumni,
If you are interested in contributing to our newsletter, you
are very welcome to do so. Contact Dr. Onken by e-mail
with
your
submission,
(horst.onken@wagner.edu)
comment, ideas or questions! We are excited to hear about
where you are, how and what you do!
“If your experiment needs statistics, then you ought to have
done a better experiment.” Ernest Rutherford (1st Baron Rutherford of
Nelson) (1871- 1937) English physicist, born in New Zealand. Nobel prize for
chemistry 1908.
“No effect that requires more than 10 percent accuracy in
measurement is worth investigating.” Walther Nernst (1864-1941)
German physicist, chemist. Nobel prize, 1920.
PUZZLES, JOKES, QUOTES, CARTOONS
“Basic research is what I am doing when I don't know what I
am doing.” Werner Von Braun (1912-1977) German rocket engineer, in U.
CARTOON:
S. after 1945.
“Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent
perspiration. “ Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) U. S. inventor.
Quotes from: http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/sciquote.htm
GUIDELINES FOR CONTRIBUTORS
Authors in all sections should keep in mind that not all
readers are specialized in their area of interest. Keep your
contribution on a level that everybody can understand.
Contributions may vary in length between about 50 and
500 words and must be submitted by e-mail to
horst.onken@wagner.edu.
Cartoon from www.lab-initio.com
JOKE:
There was this biologist who was doing some experiments
with frogs. He was measuring just how far frogs could jump.
So he puts a frog on a line and says "Jump frog, jump!" The
frog jumps 2 feet. He writes in his lab book: 'Frog with 4 legs
- jumps 2 feet'.
Next he chops off one of the legs and repeats the experiment.
"Jump frog jump!" he says. The frog manages to jump 1.5
feet. So he writes in his lab book: 'Frog with 3 legs - jumps 1.5
feet'.
He chops off another and the frog only jumps 1 foot. He writes
in his book: 'Frog with 2 legs jumps 1 foot'.
He continues and removes yet another leg. " Jump frog jump!"
and the frog somehow jumps a half of a foot. So he writes in
his lab book again: 'Frog with one leg - jumps 0.5 feet'.
Finally he chops off the last leg. He puts the frog on the line
and tells it to jump. "Jump frog, jump!" The frog doesn't
move. "Jump frog, jump!!!" Again the frog stays on the line.
"Come on frog, jump!". But to no avail. The biologist finally
writes in his book: 'Frog with no legs - goes deaf'.
From: mwriggle#NoSpam.uoguelph.ca (Michael Wriggles-worth) posted at:
http://www.xs4all.nl/~jcdverha/scijokes/
QUOTES:
“We know very little, and yet it is astonishing that we know so
much, and still more astonishing that so little knowledge can
give us so much power.” Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English
Photographs or other images that accompany an article are
very welcome, but must be submitted as separate files
(high quality jpg is the preferred file format) attached to
the e-mail. Be aware that photographs/images may be
minimized in size.
Indicate the section of the newsletter where you want your
contribution to appear.
The deadline for submission of a contribution is the 20th of
the month. Contributions received later may or may not be
considered.
The editor reserves his right to edit your contribution
or post an immediate response.
Editing may involve to publish contributions in other
sections as indicated by the author.
All contributions will clearly indicate the author's
identity.
All contributions are reviewed and publication may be
refused by the editor.
The Editorial Board:
Editor: Dr. Horst Onken, Associate Professor
Assistant Editor: Stephanie Rollizo, Dept. Secretary
Student Assistant Editor: Nidhi Khanna (Biology major)
Student Assistant Editor: N.N.
philosopher, mathematician.
PAGE 6
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Letter from the editor / Horst Onken -- Clubs and societies news / Nidhi Khanna, Cassandra Bray, Melissa Alvarez, and Jessica Cozzolino -- Opportunities / Horst Onken, Nidhi Khanna, and Sierra D. Beecher -- Experiences / Stephanie Rollizo -- People : Norman Borlaug / Ammini Moorthy -- Opinion : New brooms clean well / Horst Onken -- Publications and professional meetings / Donald Stearns -- Alumni : A response to the August Newsletter / Anthony (Tony) Garofalo -- Puzzles, jokes, quotes, cartoons
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Limulus
NEWSLETTER
Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
Volume 2009, Issue Fall-03
WALTER KANZLER
September, 2009
"The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled." Plutarch
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
On the 30th of June, Joe Romano sent the following e-mail to
the Wagner Community:
Dr. Walter Kanzler, who served as a member of Wagner's
faculty from 1966 until 2001, most recently as professor of
biology, passed away on Friday. His obituary listing is posted
below:
DR. WALTER KANZLER JERSEY CITY Dr. Walter Kanzler,
70, a lifelong resident of Jersey City, passed away peacefully
at his home on Friday, June 26, 2009. He was a professor for
40 years, of which 35 years was teaching at Wagner College,
Staten Island, NY, retiring in 2000. He held a bachelor's
degree in biology, a Masters degree in counseling psychology,
a Masters degree in zoology, and a Ph.D. in animal behavior.
Dr. Kanzler was highly skilled in his field and named a NASA
fellow, a National Science fund grantee from the University of
California at Davis, and a senior research assistant at the
National Center for Bioethics at Drew University. Dr. Kanzler
had a love for knowledge and a passion for sharing with
others. He never considered teaching work and contributed
his life experiences to his ability to communicate to his
students in and out of the classroom. He will be greatly missed
by his family, friends, and parishioners of St. John's Lutheran
Church, Jersey City. He is survived by his loving sister-in-law
Gerdi Kanzler, dear cousins Ute and Ingo Hass and relatives
in Germany.
The current special issue of the LIMULUS tries to
commemorate Dr. Walter Kanzler
Dr. Horst Onken
The Editor
FINETTE RUSSACK GOES WAY BACK WITH WALTER
Walter and I go way back. To
1974 when I entered campus,
filled with trepidation and
excited expectation. He was the
first professor I approached, and
was met with twinkling eyes and
a warm smile. I absolutely
adored his classes. He employed
the 2 things I’ve taught to future
educators as imperative to
engage students: a firm grasp of
the subject matter and an honest
interest, curiosity and enjoyment for the subject as well.
Simple formula to be a great teacher -Knowledge of topic plus
emotional connection and enthusiasm.
He did have an annoying quirk: he was a stickler for fair
grading. If he set the cut off for an "A" at 90 percent you could
not meet with him to argue that a 89.9 was "close enough".
Not even 89.999! Well, you could try, but you wouldn’t get
anywhere. He was big on meeting expectations and felt that a
student should expect to get the grade he earned .period. And
that if he moved the grading scale to suit circumstance it
would erode those expectations.
Those that so thoroughly enjoyed his classes would take every
class they could, that he taught. Through the years those of us
who fit in nearly every class offered became known as
"Kanzler groupies". Some of us even earned a "diploma". The
title was "Kanzler University Diploma" and the degree granted
was "Official Kanzler Groupie" As a testament to his being
humble about being a favorite, and ability to laugh at his
popularity, he had his cat 'sign' the diploma as registrar, whose
degree was F.D. (Felis domesticus).
He also enjoyed the nickname many used - but only after
being around long enough and earning his permission - W2.
Simple enough - his name - Walter W Kanzler - the W2 stood
for his first 2 initials since his signature was "WW Kanzler".
Because he was not an easy grader, and each grade was
laboriously worked for, the very many groupies through the
years are a testament to his ability and who he was as a
person, an educator. I was honored to have known him first as
my teacher, then as my mentor and later as a colleague; but
my most treasured role he held was my "friend".
I returned to Wagner, holding a fresh and quickly earned
Masters Degree from NYU in hand, and he welcomed me
back into the department. I was an instructor (one of the
youngest ever hired) as well as Greenhouse Coordinator,
Walter made sure I also became proficient handling students
by putting me in charge of student lab assistants - training and
keeping tabs on them. Some were even a year or two older
than I was and that intimidated me - until Walter (who would
have none of that) taught me the "power of the grade book".
And he handed me one from the storeroom. I carried the
"grade book" around and it was my talisman of confidence. I
left to start my family and he was there to help celebrate many
of my children's birthdays despite many gaps in the years,
decades, almost a lifetime that we remained in touch.
When I again returned to grad school (for PhD work at
Rutgers University), soon after I became pregnant with my
third child and Walter was concerned for me. When I
contracted Lyme Disease in my 8th month it was phone calls
from him that kept me steady and insisting that the doctors
leave no stone unturned while they misdiagnosed one after the
other illness.
Ultimately, I managed to accumulate enough classes to be abd
(all but dissertation) but with my health still in a severe
decline, I was unable to complete the Doctorate; instead I
turned to teacher training and science curriculum content
writing for grades k-12. This was in part due to the
encouragement of Walter and his gripe sessions lamenting that
the students in his bio labs were now so woefully unprepared,
and his comments about how dismal science education had
become. For the many years we kept up correspondence and
visits and he made sure to share the milestones - birthdays,
graduations, Bar Mitzvahs.
In the last several years as his own health declined, and he lost
family members as well as friends, he seemed to be resolute
about his shortened future. My biggest regret is never having
told him how much his friendship through the years meant to
me and I am grateful that I did have the chance just after my
oldest son's Bar Mitzvah 13 years ago to explain to him how
our evolving relationship helped shape my own career and
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
even my life's perspectives. He was amazed that he had so
much of an effect upon my life. I remarked that he probably
then, was unaware of the effect on so many others' lives too.
And he looked out from the by then white and bushy beard
and smiled with that twinkle in his eyes and said "you know, I
hope so, but all I was doing was teaching the best I knew how
and trying to spark some interest in subjects I found
fascinating." Humble man, unaware of his own effect on
others.
When I learned of his passing I hadn’t spoken to him in a little
more than a year - the longest we had gone without a note or
phone call. (He had another quirk - he wouldn’t ever and I
mean NEVER be the first to call or write - he assumed that if
you wanted to hear from him, you’d initiate the contact). I had
suffered my own health challenges and also I was trying to
care for my youngest who had been gravely ill for the past 5
years due to gestational Lyme disease wreaking damages for
more than a decade until his body could no longer hide it. I
was by then in a wheelchair and sent home by several
specialists from several hospitals with a very poor prognosis
and 2 saying I would not in fact be alive for too much longer.
And so I didn’t want to call him. I knew he would be worried
about me. And with his own battles with Parkinsonism
draining him I didn’t, couldn’t, add to his worries and stress.
And so I told myself that as soon as I could feel a bit better,
I’d call him.
I had started to improve and had written a note in my planner
to phone Walter. And then before the week had gone by I
received the call that he had passed. And so I was not able to
hear his voice again. Nor tell him I was doing a bit better, so
not to worry. Or that I had missed our long conversations
about all things science as well as political.
I will miss him terribly; and take comfort in knowing that
what he taught me I have passed on to several classes of future
scientists and teachers. I have passed it along to dozens of
classes of current teachers. All of whom will then influence
countless future students. And this humble, skilled educator
who was amazed that anyone would have been so influenced
and so benefitted by having had him as a professor; will live
on a little, in the hearts and minds of those others; who may
even, perhaps, pass his ideas and ideals along to untold future
generations of students.
I hope so! Finette Russak.
WALTER KANZLER THROUGH DIANE’S EYES
I first met Dr. Walter Kanzler as a freshman biology major at
Wagner College in September 1971. As I wandered down the
fourth floor hallway of Megerle, confused and slightly lost,
Dr. Kanzler stepped out of his office, and asked if he could
help me. I stepped back about two steps and he immediately
responded with “Hmmm, your ‘critical distance’ is about 4
feet. That means you’re a friendly person”. Probably looking
more confused than I already was, he proceeded to give me an
impromptu lecture on the meaning of critical distance. That
was my first impression of Dr. Kanzler: friendly, “in your
face” but always the teacher.
I went on to take Animal Behavior and Bioethics with Dr.
Kanzler or WWII as we affectionately called him. He was
always respectful of everyone’s opinions and idiosyncrasies
and he never missed the opportunity to relate our various
behaviors to animal behaviors. For example, one day a young
woman in the class was wearing a yellow shirt and black
pants. Dr. Kanzler quickly pointed out that she would frighten
young suitors away since “black and yellow were the animal
world’s warning signs of danger
or poison.”
I cite these encounters as
examples of Dr. Kanzler’s
persona: humorous, down to
earth, respectful, able to pull
diverse concepts together in a
logical order and above all, a
person, who was kind and
caring enough to put whatever
he was doing aside if a student
came to him with a question or
concern. He loved to teach above all else, and his enthusiasm
for teaching was quite evident. He always “left an
impression.”
Over the years, I spoke to Dr. Kanzler many times via
telephone and he never ended a conversation without
reminding me that “teaching is the noblest profession.” I will
never forget his conversation ender nor will I ever forget Dr.
Kanzler.
“The only thing you take with you when you’re gone is what
you leave behind” John Alston
Diane Berato Pane, MPA, PA-C
BS-Biology-Wagner 1975
Academic Coordinator
Wagner College Physician Assistant Program
HAROLD KOZAK REMEMBERS
I was a student in Dr. Kanzler's
invertebrate zoology class in
1967. He was always very
friendly with his students and
liked raising his two pet spiders
in his office. He enjoyed
teaching, and often told me how
he began his career teaching at
the high school level in Jersey
City. I enjoyed hearing about his
experiences, because I also began
my career teaching at the high
school level as well. One of the things that I remember about
his course, is that he always drew diagrams of the various
invertebrates he was lecturing about.
I began teaching at Wagner in 1994, and was amazed that Dr.
Kanzler remembered me as one of his students. I often
enjoyed visiting him at his office as his colleague. We often
talked about the "good old days at Wagner," especially
thinking about how all the science classes were in the main
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
hall. In addition, we often shared memories about the old
Hawk's Nest as well. Walter was a very unique person, and a
good instructor. He will be missed by his students and
colleagues.
Harold Kozak, Chemistry and Physics
MY FRIEND AND COLEAGUE
I knew Walter for almost thirty
years, from the day I came for a
job interview at Wagner to the
day he died. After his retirement
from Wagner for health reasons,
I saw him only when he came to
Wagner for some special
function, but we kept in touch
over the phone.
The memory
of meeting this tall gentleman,
when I came in for my interview,
in a white lab coat, with a
twinkle in his eyes, sort of
looking like Kenny Rogers is still vivid in my mind. He had a
way of making people feel comfortable around him and he
was the one who walked me down to the Union Building to
meet with the President. He told me how much he enjoyed my
lecture and let me know that I was his number one choice for
the position. His honesty and candid conversation about the
school in general and the department in particular made me
feel very comfortable and we became good friends from that
day on. As our friendship grew and he became a mentor to me,
we talked about being first generation immigrants to this
country and the absence of family in this country. He treated
me like a little sister that he never had and I, who was missing
all my big brothers, welcomed having a big brother on
campus.
Over the years Walter and I served in various committees
together, taught different sections of General Biology lecture
and labs, taught in the IDS and MDS programs, served as
faculty advisors for the Biology Club and the Tri-Beta Honor
society, attended faculty network summer programs at NYU,
seminars at Rutgers University, the MACUB meetings, and
other conferences. We also spent countless hours on the fourth
floor of the Science Building chatting, learning new things and
of course teaching. We respected each other’s judgment, and
occasionally decided to agree to disagree and still be friends.
There are only very few people that I know about whom I can
make the same statement.
In the late nineties Walter developed Parkinson’s symptoms.
He started having problem walking and started losing his
coordination and had problem speaking clearly. His mind was
alert and his thinking still very clear. His body was not
listening to his will and refused to do things that he wanted to
do. He was frustrated and one day told me that a good working
mind in a nonfunctioning body is much worse than a non
functioning mind in a good body. People with the latter
affliction would not know what is happening to them and this
ignorance can be bliss.
Here are some observations, incidents and anecdotes related to
Walter that I want to share with you, his students, colleagues
and friends. Teaching came naturally to him and he was a
keen observer of human nature. He had tremendous patience,
he was very good at story telling and he was a good listener.
Students trusted him and flocked to the courses he taught.
When Walter introduced a course in Bioethics, he had close to
150 students sign up for his course that semester and he taught
them all in Spiro 2. He never pretended to be anything more
than what he was, a caring and compassionate teacher.
The first semester I was at Wagner, one evening late in
October I saw Walter and his students cutting out flying-bird
patterns from construction paper and sticking them on the
glass windows in the Science Hall. Asked for a logical
explanation for this strange behavior, Walter gave me a big
lecture on how this simple feat by him and his students saves a
number of migrating birds from hitting against the glass
windows and killing themselves. To this day we in the
Biology Department try to do this. Being on an elected
committee with Walter was always a learning experience. At
times in committee meetings he would look like he was asleep
with his eyes closed but most of the time that was not the case
at all. He was concentrating on the conversation and
arguments that are going on to decoct the main points and
discard everything else. As a record keeping secretary, his
writings were always precise, concise and to the point. I
always admired this skill in Walter.
Walter made a deep impression on many of his students. Dr.
Judith Goodenough, Professor of Behavior at Amherst
University in Massachusetts dedicated her text book to Walter
with these words “To Dr. Walter Kanzler: You must have said
something in my introductory class that sparked my interest. I
wonder how many other students you have inspired.” I am
sure there are countless students out there who feel the same
way as Judith does. Walter was so proud when he got a copy
of this book from Judith with the written statement. He went
around showing this book to all of us. For a dedicated and
gifted teacher like Walter and others like him the biggest
reward that there is, is to know that you inspired your students.
On a more personal front my daughter Meena who was only
three years old when I joined Wagner often came with me to
Wagner and Walter soon became her BIG friend. He let her
play with all his Smurfs (he had a great collection), gave her
some of his plastic animals, doodled with her on the black
board with colored chalks and once in a while took her to his
class. Uncle Walter became her buddy and when she started
sending out Valentine cards in first grade, she gave one to
Walter. Walter had stopped in, in my house on his way to visit
his brother in Rutgers. Meena and Walter kept in touch with
occasional Phone calls. In 2002, when she was in Medical
college they met again, Walter in his wheelchair and Meena a
young woman with a boy friend. Walter jokingly told her that
he still has her Valentine card and they both laughed. This
ability to connect with people and remember events was
something that came naturally to Walter.
I can go on and on remembering things but let me stop now
and bid farewell to my colleague and good friend Walter
Kanzler. Walter in many ways lived up to his potential, with a
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
heart capable of caring deeply and a mind that engaged in
intellectual, spiritual and artistic pursuits and in the time he
was here he touched many lives and made a positive impact on
many of us. I will always cherish the memories and be grateful
to have known him for so many years.
Ammini Moorthy, Biology
WALTER KANZLER WAS AN INSPIRATION
Walter
Kanzler
was
an
inspiration to numbers of
students and a friend to many.
He taught Animal Behavior and
Exploring Biology, as well as
ornithology and mammalogy.
His office was filled with
pictures and mementos. He told
his students to give him some
small item he could keep to
remember them. This led to a
tiny menagerie of gorillas, lions
and all sorts of animals as well
as Smurfs and other chachkas filling his desk. Even years later
he was able to relay the story of the student associated with
each one. If he really liked you he gave you a diploma from
“Kanzler University.” He would not miss a MACUB
conference and free breakfast! He was known for his white
lab coat although his labs involved neither chemicals nor
dissections. He once did research with Giant hissing
cockroaches some of which are rumored to still reside in the
Science building. He enjoyed Wagner plays and other campus
events. He was here when I graduated in ’73 and still here
when I returned to work at Wagner in 1993, unmistakable in
his white lab coat and nature man beard. He was a member of
the Biology Department and our colleague for thirty years.
Unfortunately Parkinson’s disease led him to an early
retirement. We miss his good conversation, interesting
opinions, kind advice and warm presence.
Linda Raths, Biology
MEMORIES OF WALTER
I was hired in 2001 as the faculty
member to replace Walter
Kanzler after his retirement.
Although he was no longer
teaching at Wagner College, I
was lucky to interact with him.
On a couple of occasions I
transported him to campus and
back to his house so that he
could sort through and collect
books from his office. I very
much enjoyed the conversations
I had with him – a product of
both his pleasant personality and sense of humor and our
shared interested in animal behavior, ecology, and
evolutionary biology. By this time his Parkinson’s symptoms
were quite severe. Just getting him in and out of my car was a
major undertaking requiring more than one person to lift him.
It was very sad to see someone with such an active mind
trapped in a body that no longer worked and largely restricted
to lying in bed in a single room.
In Walter’s will, he donated his enormous collection of books
to the Department of Biological Sciences. The sheer number
of books in his small house was incredible and demonstrated
his love of learning. An eclectic mix of books lined the walls
and often floors of every room. We did not come close to
taking every book present, yet needed 35 boxes divided
between two college vans. We estimate that 600 books were
transported to Wagner, many of them the same books I had
helped him bring home a few years earlier. The books have
been distributed to faculty in the department (given our
common interests, I benefitted the most), the department
library and field guide collection, and the Wagner College
library.
I attended a memorial service at Walter’s church and it was
wonderful to hear the parishioners and neighbors speak of how
Walter had touched their lives. I wish that I had had the
opportunity to get to know him better.
Brian Palestis, Chair, Department of Biological Sciences
AN ANECDOTE
I live in south Jersey. Last
summer I went to a local facility
for dental care, for the first time.
I completed the usual paperwork
as a new patient, waited a bit,
and then was taken to a room for
cleaning and for a dental
examination. The dentist and I
engaged in some conversation,
which is when I learned that he
was an alumnus of Wagner
College. I further learned that he
had taken courses with Walter
years before I began working at
Wagner College. In fact, he was
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
Walter’s dentist for several years before moving to south
Jersey and running his own facility. There was clearly a
connection between the dentist and Walter that went beyond a
student-teacher relationship: Walter helped prepare the student
for life and for service in the community, and the student later
provided that service to Walter and others. This seems to me
to be honorable testimony to what Walter professed: to kindle
fires instead of simply filling vessels. Walter did not think of
teaching as only the dissemination of information; he cared
more about the fire he tried to instill in students during his
time with them. This encounter with the dentist illustrates
what he meant by that lofty notion.
Don Stearns, Biology
MEETING WALTER KANZLER
I have met Walter Kanzler, although I never met him. What a
strange sentence, but it is still true. I should explain this in a
little more detail for your entertainment.
I have never met Dr. Kanzler. He retired from Wagner College
in 2001 and, thus, long before I came to Wagner College in
2006. Walter Kanzler never came to Wagner College while I
was here, and I did never even see a photograph of him.
Evidently Dr. Kanzler and I never met.
This summer while I was in Washington State for my summer
research I received an e-mail, saying that Walter Kanzler had
passed away. The only thing that rang a bell was the note that
Dr. Kanzler had been, like I am, a faculty member of the
Department of Biological Sciences at Wagner College. When I
returned to the college in the middle of August, Professor
Linda Raths told me that Walter Kanzler, a former, now
retired member of our department had died during the summer
and that there were some books in Science Hall, Room 402,
which he had given to the college. “Look whether you can
find something of interest for you, before we get the Library to
pick up the rest,” Linda said. I kind of postponed it from day
to day. I had too much to do to prepare my teaching for the fall
semester. I love books, but I thought there is a box with may
be 20-30 more or less uninteresting books of somebody to
whom I cannot relate. Who, the heck, was Walter Kanzler, and
what, the heck, do I have to do with him? Finally, on a Friday
afternoon, the last day to look at Walter Kanzler’s books, I
went to Room 402 to have at least a short glimpse.
Believe it or not, but when I entered Science Hall 402 on that
day I met Walter Kanzler. There were not 30 books. There
were more than 500 books. I was stunned, especially because I
had heard that this was only a minor fraction of the books that
were piled up in his house. Looking through the many boxes
of Walter Kanzler’s books, I got myself again and again
thinking: “I got this book” or “I would have gotten that book.”
The latter kind of book I squeezed under my arm. Very soon I
got a bunch of books under my arm. When I could not hold
them any longer, I got a box. The box was filled up with a
selection of Walter’s books in approximately 10 minutes,
although I had inspected only the first few of Walter’s book
piles. Finally, I hauled four big boxes of books over to my
office. One of them I even took home.
As I could easily guess from some of his books, Walter was
evidently of Southern German origin. I am German. If I see a
German copy of Goethe’s “Faust“, I think back to my High
School times. Walter had an old copy, approximately from
1925. Apart of during high school times, I had seen copies of
German classics in the attic of my home, remnants of my
grandparents and their nine children. These old copies are not
like the recently printed versions, like my high school copy:
Old gothic letters …the smell of mold … the kind of sticky,
humid touch of the pages. I was back home on the attic for a
while.
Walter Kanzler was evidently a naturalist with interests in all
flavors that biology has to offer. Just through watching his
books I can see him creeping through brushes to catch an
insect here, collect a leaf there. I can see him walking on the
beach at Great Kills; head down to see what has been flooded
to the shore. I am sure he was not just an academic biologist.
Walter Kanzler was a “real” biologist. He was somebody with
eyes and ears, with smell and taste. He was somebody who
had the ability to touch his way through the natural world.
As I had heard, Walter severely suffered from Parkinson’s
disease during his post retirement years. Again, something
pops up in some edge of my brain. My dad, who died in ’91,
suffered from this disease. So, I can relate, and I see my dad, a
professional gardener and a naturalist of a different kind, and
Walter holding hands in the space where their souls are
hovering now: In our memories.
Writing these lines, I am reminded of Conrad Aiken and his
grave stone in Savannah which I once visited. It is a bench for
visitors to have a seat and enjoy a drink of Madeira, as Aiken
had wished. The bench is
engraved with “Give my love to
the world” and “Cosmos Mariner
– Direction Unknown.” That is
the direction where we all are
ultimately heading, I guess. Fare
well, Walter, I met you in
Science Hall, Room 402, and I
will meet you again sometime
somewhere on our ways across
the universes. For the time being
you are well kept in my and
many others’ memories.
Horst Onken, Biology
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A BRIEF HISTORY OF WALTER’S WAGNER TIME
Accompany me on a brief journey through time – the time of Walter Kanzler at Wagner College. You might
recognize Walter on the following photographs from the different yearbooks. Some may think of a particular
photograph, “Yes, that is Walter when I was in his class.” Let’s make our memories fly. Let’s think of his
looks, his smile, his voice, his laughter…
Let’s keep Walter Kanzler alive in our memories.
1973
1968
1971
1975
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1980
1976
1977
1981
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1982
1983
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1984
1986
1985
1992
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Early 90s
1993
1993
1992
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1996
1997
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
1999
The current faculty and staff of the Department of Biology is planning to dedicate one of the trees on
the northwest side of the Megerle Science Building to their former colleague and friend, Dr. Walter
Kanzler. Like the “Dr. Anthony Pfister-Tree,” the “Dr. Walter Kanzler-Tree” will be marked with a
circular border and a plaque commemorating Walter.
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
Dedication of the Yearbook 2001 to Dr. Walter Kanzler
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
The Editorial Board:
Editor: Dr. Horst Onken, Associate Professor
Assistant Editor: Stephanie Rollizo, Dept. Secretary
Student Assistant Editor: Nidhi Khanna (Biology major)
Student Assistant Editor: N.N.
PAGE 15
�
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Onken, Horst
Russak, Finette
Berato Pane, Diane
Kozak, Harold
Moorthy, Ammini
Raths, Linda
Palestis, Brian
Stearns, Donald
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Limulus
NEWSLETTER
Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
Volume 2009, Issue Fall-04
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
I hope everybody had a great Halloween! About five more
weeks and another fall semester is going into finals week.
Amazing, how fast time rushes by.
I would like to thank all alumni and colleagues for their kind
and encouraging comments about our newsletter
commemorating Dr. Walter Kanzler. This special issue even
got applause in the last Committee of the Whole meeting.
As can be imagined for a mid semester Limulus, this issue is
packed with experiences. Biology Club and Tri Beta report
about their past and upcoming activities. Dr. Kozak from
Physics contributes his experiences at the Burgess Shale. He
visited there last summer and will give a presentation in the
ACE in spring. BI 217 visited the Snug Harbor Botanical
Gardens. We get an overview with a number of beautiful
photographs by our Assistant Editor Nidhi Khanna. Dr.
Moorthy, frequent contributor to the Limulus, gives us her
personal insights about women in science with a special
tribute to the recent female Nobel awardees. The list of 2009
publications was updated, and the newsletter offers a review
of the most recent visit at the MACUB meeting.
The current newsletter is rounded with opportunities,
recommendations, a joke and the usual cartoon. I hope you
enjoy reading the current issue of the LIMULUS.
Dr. Horst Onken
The Editor
BIOLOGY STAFF AND FACULTY NEWS
GREENHOUSE AND GARDEN
At the last department meeting, Dr. Onken was elected to be
the coordinator for greenhouse and garden. The greenhouse
will be restructured to house a plant diversity exhibition. Apart
of the exhibition, bench space is offered for classes held in the
Department of Biological Sciences. Forms and Functions of
Life (BI 217) will study the influence of plant hormones in
spring 2010. Microbial Ecology (MI 523) will investigate
plant-microbe symbiosis and phytopathogenesis. Depending
on the remaining space, students who want to do their
Experiential Component of the Senior RFT may reserve space
for their research project through Dr. Onken. Any students
from outside the department who want to use the greenhouse
or to participate in the greenhouse maintenance should contact
Dr. Onken.
Most of the planters in the garden besides the powerhouse
have been cleared for winter. Some work still remains to be
October, 2009
done and students are welcome to participate in these efforts.
For spring 2010, it is planned to convert the planters in a
theme garden that could be used for classes in the fall.
Contributed by Dr. Onken.
BIOLOGY CLUB NEWS
The Biology Club had a meeting on October 19th, and
discussed a variety of issues. Members of the Biology Club
participated in the annual Breast Cancer Walk that takes place
in Clove Lakes Park. The club will be doing their on-campus
community service event on Tuesday November 10th. The
event is intended to raise awareness about animal cruelty.
Members of the club will display a poster about animal cruelty
in the union that day during lunchtime. Donations that go
towards raising awareness about animal cruelty will be
collected during lunchtime as well. The club will host a
showing of an Animal Planet movie that all members of the
Wagner community are invited to attend. The film will be
shown at 8pm on November 10th, with location TBD.
The Bodies Exhibit trip at the South Street Seaport will take
place on November 22nd. All Wagner students are welcomed
to attend. Participants should be advised to meet everyone at
the 10:40am shuttle. Fliers will be distributed in the following
weeks and there will be a sign up sheet as well. Only 25
participants may attend, and several members of the club are
already planning to attend, so act fast!
The next meeting will be on Monday, November 2nd at 9pm in
the lobby of the 4th floor in Haborview Hall. Please contact the
Biology
Club
president
Cassandra
Bray
(Cassandra.bray@wagner.edu) if you have any questions.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna and Cassandra Bray
TRI-BETA NEWS
Tri-Beta held their last meeting on Monday October 14th.
Members completed their off-campus community service by
participating in the Breast Cancer Walk that took place in
Clove Lakes Park. Despite the gusty winds, and treacherous
rain, many members of Tri-Beta went to the Breast Cancer
Walk to support a good cause.
Tri-Beta also completed their on-campus community service
for this semester. Members dressed up in Halloween costumes
and participated in the Haunted Hallways event on Sunday
October 25th. Haunted Hallways is an event that is open to the
public (people outside of the Wagner community) and takes
place annually. The Marketing Club sponsors the event, and
various clubs and organizations are allowed to rent a room in
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
Main Hall. Each club is permitted to decorate their rooms and
participants are encouraged to dress up in Halloween
costumes. Children from all over Staten Island come to Main
Hall and go “trick or treating” in all of the rooms, and Wagner
students give them candy along with a good scare.
Members of Tri-Beta decided to have a “Mad Scientist” theme
for their room. Students used skeletons and a variety of organs
from the Biology laboratories. The event was an overall
success.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
OPPORTUNITIES
COMMUNITY SERVICE OPPORTUNITY
Greetings Everyone,
I am Nidhi Khanna and I am currently a junior. I am working
with this non-profit organization called Planting Peace.
Planting Peace has many sub-organizations including one
called The Clean World Movement. The Clean World
Movement is trying to encourage more individuals around the
world to recycle and to take better care of the planet. I am
working with The Clean World Movement as the
environmental director in my community. I am organizing
some clean-ups in Staten Island during the semester. If
anybody is interested in helping out, please feel free to contact
me at nidhi.khanna@wagner.edu. Thanks for your interest and
I look forward hearing from you! If you would like more
information about the organization I am working with, please
visit: http://www.plantingpeace.org/.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
RESEARCH WITH MOSQUITOES AND CRABS
Dr.
Onken
offers
research opportunities
for students in the frame
of a project in which he
collaborates with scientists from Washington
State University, the University of Idaho, and the University
of Alberta (Edmonton, CA). The project is funded by the
National Institute of Health and studies the physiology of the
midgut of larval yellow fever mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti).
Mosquitoes are vectors of a number of parasites, transmit
devastating diseases like malaria, yellow fever and dengue,
and are a major threat to the health of billions of people on our
planet. The principal investigators of this project address
larval mosquitoes, because it appears more straightforward to
fight these vectors as long as they are confined in an aquatic
habitat.
In collaboration with colleagues from the U.S. (Mt. Desert
Island Biological Laboratories, Maine), Brazil (University of
São Paulo in Ribeirão Preto, University of Paraná in Curitiba)
and Canada (University of Manitoba in Winnipeg) Dr. Onken
pursues research with Crustacea related to the osmoregulatory
capacities and mechanisms of crabs. Together with Dr.
Alauddin (Chemistry) and Professor Beecher (Biology), an
ecophysiological study is in an early stage of planning.
Dr. Onken can offer research opportunities for two to three
students. If interested contact Dr. Onken in his office (Megerle
Science Hall Room 411), lab (Megerle Science Hall Room
406) or via e-mail (horst.onken@wagner.edu) or phone 4204211.
Contributed by Dr. Onken
EXPERIENCES
A VISIT TO THE BURGESS SHALE
This past July, I gave a
lecture
entitled,
"Aliens in Rocks" at
the
Geoscience
Foundation in Field,
British
Columbia,
Canada. I gave it as a
part
of
my
assignments as a Solar
System Ambassador
for NASA/JPL. In
addition, the following day, I was an assistant guide on a 22
kilometer hike to the Walcott Quarry in Yoho National Park,
where I was able to examine various invertebrate fossils
dating back over 530 million years ago.
The rock formations in the Burgess Shale provide us with a
"time machine", taking us
back through the evolution
of life on the Earth. Could
the strange creatures found
in these rock formations
have, in a similar fashion,
also evolved on other
worlds within our solar
system? Could they have
traversed the vacuum of
space and possibly "seeded" our planet back in time? The
plethora of lifeforms seen at this world famous site and the
famous book, "A Wonderful Life" written by Stephen Jay
Gould, clearly proves that
Darwin's theory of Natural
Selection
is
a
valid
explanation of evolution.
Although the hike up to the
walcott Quarry was very
strenuous, it was the most
amazing experience of my
life.
Contributed by Harold Kozak
BI 217 CLASS VISITS SNUG HARBOR BOTANICAL
GARDEN
Earlier this month, Professor Beecher took her Forms and
Functions class to visit the Snug Harbor Botanical Garden.
Fifteen enthusiastic students traveled with Professor Beecher
and Graduate Assistant Zulmarie Franco to the Botanical
Garden on a pleasant Wednesday afternoon.
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
Professor Beecher was teaching her class about photosynthesis
and about plant forms and functions. The students were able to
see an assortment of different plants at the Botanical Garden.
As a current student in Forms and Functions, I learned from
Professor Beecher that there are over 300,000 species of
plants, and all plants are differing in their size and shape.
In many plant species, photosynthesis occurs in the leaves and
students were able to see all kinds of leaves in a wide-ranging
of plants species. The trip was an overall fun experience and
allowed students to relate the knowledge they learned in class
to the “real world.” As a class, we were also supporting a
local attraction that more Staten Island residents should
appreciate. The Botanical Garden was established in 1977. For
more information on the Botanical Garden, please visit
(http://www.snug-harbor.org/horticulture.html).
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
OPINION
The Nobel Prize was established from the will and estate of
Swedish chemist and inventor of the high explosive dynamite
Alfred Nobel in 1895. Originally the prize money was to be
shared by the ones chosen from the fields of Physics,
Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace.
The first set of Nobel Prizes in these categories was given in
1901. The Nobel Prize in Economics was added to the list in
1969. The front side of the three "Swedish" medals (Physics
and Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Literature) is the
same, featuring a portrait of Alfred Nobel and the years of his
birth and death in Latin; the Economics and Peace Prizes have
a different design. Up to 1980 the "Swedish" medals, each
weighing approximately 200 g and with a diameter of 66 mm,
were made of 23-karat gold. Since then they have been made
of 18-karat green gold plated with 24-karat gold. To date more
than 800 men and 40 women have been the recipients of this
prestigious award. Of all the women who have won the Nobel,
Marie Curie and Barbara McClintock have been exceptional in
that Marie Curie has been honored twice, in 1903 with a
Nobel in Physics and in 1911 with a Nobel in Chemistry.
Barbara McClintock was the only woman in science to win
this prize solo. This year has been exceptional in that five
women have won the coveted price in Physiology or
Medicine, Chemistry, Literature and Economics. That is a
total of four fields out of six, which is quite remarkable.
Only 10 women compared to more than 500 recipients have
won the Nobel Prize in the sciences. The fact that Nobels are
given almost exclusively to academic researchers means that
universities also share some responsibilities for this
remarkable disparity. In the early days of the Nobel, laws and
parental oppositions prevented many women from entering
universities. In the United States women could get a university
education, but no job. Until the 1970s, many leading research
universities and technological institutes were only for men. To
teach in women’s colleges and coeducational universities
American women were expected to stay single. Barbara
McClintock, the Nobel Prize winning geneticist was a few
years from membership in the National Academy of the
Sciences when her boss at the University of Missouri
threatened her in 1936 saying, “If you ever marry, you will be
fired.” McClintock stomped out planning to become a weather
forecaster, until she found a job in a private college (from
“Feeling for an Organism” biography of McClintock). Even
today women scientists find it very hard to get that final
promotion to a “FULL PROFESSOR” in American Academia.
In 1971 a law was passed requiring universities to hire women
into their faculties or risk losing federal dollars. Dr. MaryLou Pardue, who now holds a chair in Microbiology and is a
member of the National Academy of Sciences, says this in
recounting the story of her hiring. “When I applied for a
position at MIT, MIT’s response was ‘Thank you for your
letter. We have had hundreds of responses to our ad’.” Women
scientists even today face subtle discrimination.
Communications can be complicated. As Pardue puts it, “you
can’t go up to a man at a meeting and say ‘let us have a drink,
and I will tell you about my science’ without getting more
than you bargained for.” It is those honest sincere networking
connections that men are privileged to that women hope and
wish for but never get.
Being a full professor in a small Liberal Arts College in the
field of Genetics, I have pondered over this question and here
are my thoughts. I am the only female fulltime professor in the
sciences in the college that I teach. “X” is the symbol for the
unknown and we women have two of those Xs where as the
men have only one. I wonder whether that has anything to do
with it. From a genetics point of view that cannot be true,
because I know that we have more genes on two of our X
chromosomes than the men with an X and Y. The Y
chromosome is such a small chromosome compared to the X
and there are only very few genes on the Y. We know women
in general live longer and are better multi taskers compared to
men. So why is it that there is such a tremendous discrepancy?
Only thing I can think of is that, societal, economical and
other reasons contribute to this problem. It is very refreshing
to see that these stereotyping and taboos are slowly melting
away. This year has been a remarkable year for women in
terms of winning the Nobel Prize and I want to applaud these
winners.
Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn,
Morris Herztein Profes-sor
of Biology and Physiology
in the Department of
Biochem-istry
and
Biophysics at the University
of California is a leader in
the area of telomere,
telomerase research. Dr.
Carol Greider, the co-winner of this award is a Professor at
Johns Hopkins. The molecular nature of telomeres, the end of
eukaryotic chromosomes that serve as protective caps essential
for preserving the genetic information, and the
ribonucleoprotein enzyme, telomerase and the roles they play
in aging and development of cancer was the riddle that these
scientists have been working on for the last several years.
Dr. Ada E. Yonath won the Nobel
Prize along with two other
scientists for her work on
Ribosomes, the cell’s most
multifaceted machine, at the
molecular level. She is a
distinguished scientist from the
Weizmann Institute of Science,
Rehovot, Israel.
Ribosomes,
found in the cytoplasm of the cell
are involved in protein synthesis.
Proteins and enzymes are made
based on the blue print information
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
carried in the DNA. Proteins and enzymes in turn control the
chemistry of all living organisms. As Ribosomes are crucial to
life they are also target for new antibiotics. An understanding
of the innermost working of the Ribosomes is important for
the scientific understanding of life. This knowledge can be put
to practical and immediate use, since many of today’s
antibiotics cure various diseases by blocking the function of
bacterial Ribosomes.
Herta Muller, winner of the
Nobel Prize in literature was born
in the German-speaking town of
Nitzkydorfmin Banat, Romania.
Muller made her debut with a
collection of short stories,
“Niederungen,”
which
was
censored in Romania. She
published the uncensored version
in Germany. The same year she
also published “Druckender Tango” in Romania. In these two
works Muller depicts life in a small German speaking village,
and the corruption, intolerance and repression to be found
there.
Elinor Ostrom became the first
woman to win a Nobel Prize in
Economics along with fellow
American Oliver Williamson for
analyzing economic governance:
the rules by which people
exercise authority in companies
and economic systems. Ostrom is
a political scientist at Indiana
University who showed how
common resources like forests,
fisheries, oil fields and grazing
lands
can
be
managed
successfully by the people who
use them rather than by the government or private companies.
What 2009 has proved to us all is that given enough
encouragement and equal chances, women can be just as
successful as men. Stereotyping individuals and excluding
opportunities for success to any group based on gender, race
or other criteria should be a thing of the past.
Contributed by Dr. Moorthy
PUBLICATIONS
Etinger, A., Lebron, J. & Palestis, B. J.. (2009, in press).
Sex-assortative shoaling in zebrafish (Danio rerio). Bios.
Izeirovski, S., Moffett, S. B., Moffett, D. F. & Onken, H.
(2009). The anterior midgut of larval yellow fever mosquitoes
(Aedes aegypti): Effects of nutrients on the transepithelial
voltage and strong luminal alkalinization. Wagner College
Forum for Undergraduate Research.
Izeirovski, S., Moffett, S. B., Moffett, D. F. & Onken, H.
(2009, in press). The anterior midgut of larval yellow fever
mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti): effects of amino acids,
dicarboxylic acids, and glucose on the transepithelial voltage
and strong luminal alkalinization. Journal of Experimental
Zoology, published online, DOI: 10.1002/jez.561.
Jagadeshwaran, U., Onken, H., Hardy, M., Moffett, S. B. &
Moffett, D. F. (2009, in press). Cellular mechanisms of acid
secretion in the posterior midgut of the larval mosquito Aedes
aegypti. Journal of Experimental Biology, in press.
Lamb, C. M., Moorthy, A. S., Corbo, C.P. & Fulop, Z. L.
(2009). Teratogenic effects of lithium chloride on eye
development in early embryogenesis of Zebrafish (Danio
rerio). In Vivo 31(1): 24-31.
Moffett, D.F. and Onken, H. (2009, in press). The Cellular
Basis of Extreme Alkali Secretion in Insects: A Tale of Two
Tissues. In: Epithelial Transport Physiology (ed. George A.
Gerencser). Totowa, New Jersey: Humana Press.
Onken, H., & Moffett, D. F. (2009). Revisiting the cellular
mechanisms of strong luminal alkalinization in the anterior
midgut of larval mosquitoes. Journal of Experimental Biology.
212: 373-377.
Onken, H., Patel, M., Javoroncov, M., Izeirovski, S.,
Moffett, S.B. & Moffett, D.F. (2009). Strong alkalinization in
the anterior midgut of larval yellow fever mosquitoes (Aedes
aegypti): Involvement of luminal Na+/K+-ATPase. Journal of
Experimental Zoology. 311A: 155-161.
Palestis, B.G. (2009). Fluctuating asymmetry in common tern
chicks varies with hatching order and clutch size. The Auk
126: 815-822.
Palestis, B.G. (2009). Use of artificial eelgrass mats by
saltmarsh-nesting common terns (Sterna hirundo). In Vivo
30(3): 11-16.
Trivers, R., B.G. Palestis & D. Zaatari. (2009). The Anatomy
of a Fraud: Symmetry and Dance. TPZ Publishers. Antioch,
CA.
Zaatari, D., Palestis, B.G. & Trivers, R. (2009). Fluctuating
asymmetry of responders affects offers in the Ultimatum
Game oppositely according to attractiveness or need as
perceived by proposers. Ethology115: 627-632.
PROFESSIONAL MEETINGS
MACUB CONFERENCE
On a rainy Saturday morning, a handful of Biology students
and faculty traveled to Kingsborough Community College
where the annual Metropolitan Association of College and
University Biologists Conference was held.
The conference began with a keynote address made by Debra
E. Berg, M.D. Dr. Berg is in charge of the Healthcare
Emergency Preparedness Program in the Bureau of
Communicable Diseases for the New York City Department
of Health and Mental Hygiene. Dr. Berg gave a lecture that
focused on both the seasonal flu and swine flu. She
encouraged the audience to get vaccinated for both the
seasonal flu and swine flu. Both vaccinations are available to
the public now, and are also made with eggs. She advised
individuals that may be allergic to eggs to seek professional
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
consultation before receiving either vaccination. For more
information
about
swine
flu,
please
visit:
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/public/vaccination_q
a_pub.htm.
Another keynote speaker at the conference, Dr. Richard
Wrangham (Professor of Biological Anthropology at Harvard
University), gave a lecture about his research focusing on how
cooking has helped human beings evolve as a species. Dr.
Wrangham claims that many primates devout most of their
energy during the day just chewing up their food. According
to Wrangham, cooking raw food enables humans to eat rather
quickly and devout their time to other activities. Dr.
Wrangham suggests that it is much easier to digest cooked
food, and cooking is not only a social practice, but an
important part of human evolution. For more information
about
this
speaker
please
visit:
http://www.harvardscience.harvard.edu/culturesociety/articles/invention-cooking-drove-evolution-humanspecies-new-book-argues.
Wagner Professors, Dr. Stearns and Dr. Mosher gave a
presentation together at a MACUB workshop. Dr. Stearns and
Dr. Mosher spoke about the assessment program that Biology
Department introduced in 2003. Senior Biology and
Microbiology majors are evaluated in their final year at
Wagner. Students take an assessment test and the faculty
reviews these tests to see if students have an exceptional
understanding of the material that students learn during their
undergraduate careers. The results of these tests do not affect a
student’s overall grades.
Biology undergraduate students and Microbiology graduate
students gave poster presentations of their research at the
conference. Senior Michael Gutkin (Biology Major) received
acknowledgment at the conference. Gutkin was awarded best
presentation for his paper that was titled, “Scanning Electron
Microscopic Characterization of Structural Reorganization of
the Adult Zebrafish Optic Tectum in Organotypic Culture.”
Professor Corbo, Dr. Fulop, and Professor Raths all advised
Gutkin with his research. The Limulus staff would like to
congratulate Mike and all of the other Wagner students who
participated in this prestigious conference.
Ten other students gave presentations. The names of the
students and the titles of their research are below:
Anna Lysenko (junior psychology major, biology minor) coauthored on paper presented by Kingsborough student Luesoni
Johnson: “Use of Zebrafish Embryos in Undergraduate
Education: Teaching Science and Scientific Research in an
Easy Way.” Research under the supervision of Prof.
Christopher Corbo, Dr. Zoltan Fulop and Prof. Linda Raths of
Wagner College, and Kristin Polizzotto of Kingsborough
Community College.
Jessica Browning (graduate student in microbiology):
“Antibiotic-Resistant Salmonella Contamination of Mute
Swan (Cygnus olor) Eggs in the Jamaica Bay Wildlife
Refuge, Brooklyn and Queens, N.Y.” Research under the
supervision of Dr. Adam Houlihan
Zulmarie Franco (graduate student in microbiology) and
Marlene Streisinger (senior nursing major): “Ultrastructural
Characterization of Formed Elements in Peripheral Blood
of Adult Zebrafish (Danio rerio).” Research under the
supervision of Prof. Christopher Corbo, Dr. Zoltan Fulop and
Prof. Linda Raths
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
PHOTO GALLERY ON NEXT PAGE!
Yolana Fuks (senior biology major, chemistry minor) and
Melanie Valencia (sophomore): “Electrophysiology of the
Isolated and Perfused Midgut of Adult Yellow Fever
Mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti): First Results.” Research under
the supervision of Dr. Horst Onken, with co-authors from
Washington State.
Lynsey Brandwein (junior psychology major, biology minor),
Julianna Maniscalco (junior biology major) and Medije
Mashkulli (junior biology major): “Inhibition of Strong
Midgut Alkalinization in Larval Yellow Fever Mosquitoes
(Aedes aegypti) with HEPES Buffer.” Research under the
supervision of Dr. Horst Onken, with co-authors from
Washington State.
PAGE 6
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
ALUMNI
CARTOON:
Dear Alumni,
If you are interested in contributing to our newsletter, you
are very welcome to do so. Contact Dr. Onken by e-mail
(horst.onken@wagner.edu)
with
your
submission,
comment, ideas or questions! We are excited to hear about
where you are, how and what you do!
RECOMMENDATIONS
Dr. STEARNS RECOMMENDS PROJECT VOTE SMART
www.votesmart.org
If you seriously wish to become reliably informed as a voter
regarding the positions of any U.S. candidate or elected
official on practically any issue, I recommend
www.votesmart.org. This web site is maintained in a fair,
impartial manner by individuals representing all political
persuasions. The web site is designed to educate—not
persuade—the voter, “exposing the facts on over 40,000
candidates and elected officials” (p. 5, Project Vote Smart’s
2008 Voter’s Self-Defense Manual). In an age where
politicians are advertised to the public like consumer products,
where most media outlets have replaced serious and
thoughtful comparisons with sensationalized fluff, where bias
is evident in newspaper editorials and most other web sites,
where very few journalists provide deep comparisons, where
television and radio programs often substitute heated opinion
for fact, and where debates have morphed into venues where
positions are promoted rather than debated, this web site is
refreshingly informative. Using www.votesmart.org, you can
identify the three congressional members who represent you
on Capitol Hill (the two senators who represent your state and
the member of the House of Representatives who represents
the district where you live). For each politician, the web site
provides the individual’s voting record, background, positions
on different issues, speeches and public statements, campaign
contributions, endorsements, and interest group ratings, among
other things.
PUZZLES, JOKES, QUOTES, CARTOONS
JOKE:
A biology professor was addressing his class, wanting to see if
they'd read the assigned text.
Professor: Miss Smith, please stand. What part of the human
body increases ten times when excited?
Miss Smith blushes and hesitates and giggles.
Professor: Miss Smith, please sit down. Miss Jones, please
stand and tell me if you know what part of the human body
increases ten times when excited.
Miss Jones: Yes, Professor. It's the pupil of the eye.
Professor: Very good. Thank you Miss Jones, you may sit
down. Miss Smith, will you please stand again. I have three
things to say to you.
1. You have not done your homework.
2. You have a very dirty mind.
3. You're in for a big disappointment.
Cartoon from www.lab-initio.com
GUIDELINES FOR CONTRIBUTORS
Authors in all sections should keep in mind that not all
readers are specialized in their area of interest. Keep your
contribution on a level that everybody can understand.
Contributions may vary in length between about 50 and
500 words and must be submitted by e-mail to
horst.onken@wagner.edu.
Photographs or other images that accompany an article are
very welcome, but must be submitted as separate files
(high quality jpg is the preferred file format) attached to
the e-mail. Be aware that photographs/images may be
minimized in size.
Indicate the section of the newsletter where you want your
contribution to appear.
The deadline for submission of a contribution is the 20th of
the month. Contributions received later may or may not be
considered.
The editor reserves his right to edit your contribution
or post an immediate response.
Editing may involve to publish contributions in other
sections as indicated by the author.
All contributions will clearly indicate the author's
identity.
All contributions are reviewed and publication may be
refused by the editor.
The Editorial Board:
Editor: Dr. Horst Onken, Associate Professor
Assistant Editor: Stephanie Rollizo, Dept. Secretary
Student Assistant Editor: Nidhi Khanna (Biology major)
Student Assistant Editor: N.N.
PAGE 8
�
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Limulus: The Newsletter of the Wagner College Biological Sciences Department
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The Department of Biological Sciences circulates a newsletter that will be updated monthly, culminating in two special issues per year (January and September). The January edition reviews the fall semester and the September edition reviews the spring semester and summer events. The name of the newsletter is LIMULUS and it is made available as pdf files.
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Limulus Newsletter, October 2009
Table Of Contents
A list of subunits of the resource.
Letter from the editor / Horst Onken -- Greenhouse and garden / Horst Onken -- Clubs and societies news / Nidhi Khanna and Cassandra Bray -- Opportunities / Nidhi Khanna and Horst Onken -- A visit to the Burgess shale / Harold Kozak -- BI 217 class visits Snug Harbor Botanical Garden / Nidhi Khanna -- Opinion / Ammini Moorthy -- Publications, professional meetings / Nidhi Khanna -- Alumni -- Dr. Stearns recommends Project Vote Smart -- Puzzles, jokes, quotes, cartoons
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Wagner College, Department of Biological Sciences
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Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
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2009-10
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Wagner College Digital Collections
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Limulus
NEWSLETTER
Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
Volume 2011, Issue Fall-02
October, 2011
BIOLOGY CLUB MEMBERS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Biology Staff and Faculty News
Curriculum News
News from Clubs and Societies
Experiences
Opportunities
Publications, Presentations and Professional Meetings
Alumni
Cartoon
Guidelines for Contributors and Editorial Board
2
2
3
5
6
6
7
8
8
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
The October LIMULUS is coming this year after the first
winter storm. The reason is not that the newsletter is late I
admit it sometimes happens), but that winter hit New York
exceptionally early. Under Curriculum News, the current
newsletter presents two First Year Learning Communities with
participation of the Department of Biological Sciences. The
Biology Club had a major event, and also the other student
societies associated with the department are very active. As
usual, reports from such activities and events are found in the
LIMULUS. A horse surgery externship at the Hagyard Equine
Medical Institute is the highlight of the EXPERIENCES
described in the October newsletter. A review of the fall
conference of the Metropolitan Association of College and
University Biologists (MACUB) should be another part of the
LIMULUS that I expect to find a lot of readers.
We all got an unusually early taste of winter this last weekend.
However, I very much hope that the winter will retreat again
that we all can enjoy some more pleasant fall weather. I hope
everybody had a HAPPY HALLOWEEN, and I wish all
students good luck with registration. Finally, let me remind
you that there are only a few weeks until THANKSGIVING.
HANG IN THERE AND GOOD LUCK IN THE FINALS!
Best regards,
Dr. Horst Onken, The Editor
PAGE 1
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
BIOLOGY STAFF AND FACULTY NEWS
PEER EVALUATIONS
A Peer Evaluation Group (PEG), consisting of the full-time
faculty members of the Department of Biological Sciences and
two peers from outside the department (Dr. Mohammad
Alauddin and Dr. Mark Wagner), met on Tuesday, October 25
to evaluate Dr. Onken in his 6th year at Wagner College. Dr.
Onken requested tenure and promotion to full professor. The
evaluation will be continued by the Faculty Personnel
Committee and the Provost, before a decision is made.
Dr. Cook has been tenured in spring and is coming up for
promotion. Her PEG will meet on November 15.
Contributed by Dr. Onken
CURRICULUM NEWS
LC 17 ON THE ROAD AGAIN AND AGAIN
Between October 19th and October 21st, 2011, Dr. Stearns and
Dr. Mosher presented a poser about first-year learning
communities (LCs) titled “Experiential Learning: Integrating
the Field Trip, Research and Civic Engagement Models in a
First Year Learning Community.”
For the past three fall semesters, Dr. Stearns has collaborated
with Dr. Houlihan (now at Randolph College) and now Dr.
Mosher to create the LC 17, titled “Bacteria, Human Health
and Survival.” This LC is composed of two introductory
courses, namely Microbiology (MI200, with laboratory
experience) and Biostatistics and Experimental Design
(BI221), and a third course called the Reflective Tutorial
(RFT). The RFT integrates components from microbiology
and biostatistics to “stimulate critical thinking, discussion,
research and formal writing around the common theme of the
LC.”
Moreover, this LC involves off-campus field-trips to connect
what is learned in the classroom about microorganisms, for
example, to the “real world.” To illustrate, this fall’s LC
students have toured numerous places, including a hospital, a
local wastewater treatment facility, scientific conferences,
laboratories and a medical school. Dr. Stearns writes, “where
possible, each trip is coordinated with subject matter being
considered in the LC lecture courses.”
Furthermore, LC 17 includes a research component called the
Bioremediation Project. This project is designed so that
students can use the scientific method as well as standard
microbiological procedures to “culture bacteria in the
presence/absence of [an industrial] chemical” and to see if
these bacteria can decompose a particular compound. Not only
do first-year students have the unparalleled experience of
conducting their own experiment, but they are also expected to
carry out standard literature research. At the end of this
project, each student writes a paper, which follows the
scientific formatting style, reporting his result. Students
organize Powerpoint presentations, explaining their literature
research as well as their experiments and their subsequent
results.
In addition to the field-trip and research components, LC
students visit an elementary school, where they explain
microbiology to grade-school students. An LC instructor
accompanies these students to assess their performance. The
purpose of this experience is to “reinforce [the students’]
understanding of the subject matter, and at the same time,
provide learning experiences for elementary school students in
the local community.” In this component, students work
together to assemble a Powerpoint presentation as well as
“hands-on” experiences for the children.
In short, the purpose of this LC is to improve first-year
students’ “critical thinking and civic thinking skills”
throughout the semester. From field trips to civic engagement,
students learn to make connections between what is taught in
the classroom and the real world.
I would like to thank Dr. Stearns for sharing this valuable
information with me.
LC 13 SNUG HARBOR WATER FRONT CLEAN UP
About twenty-five Wagner College students from Learning
Community (L.C.) 13, taught by Dr. Heather Cook, and Dr.
Gelabert, cleaned up the Snug Harbor Water Front. After four
straight hours of cleaning, students totaled over sixty bags of
garbage, including trash such as bottles and car parts.
Contributed by Gregory Balaes, and Dr. Heather Cook. Photos by Jonathan
Hinrichs.
PAGE 2
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
NEWS FROM CLUBS AND SOCIETIES
BIOLOGY CLUB
Members of the Biology Club once again had a big turn out at
their last event, titled “MED-iterranian Medley Health
Awareness Feast.” The event lasted from 4pm-7pm on
Wednesday, October 16th. The event was so successful that
more food had to be ordered within the second hour. Funds
were raised to benefit the American Cancer Society Making
Strides Against Breast Cancer. Members, students, faculty,
and staff alike helped raise funds and awareness for a great
cause. This is the second time the biology club has worked
with the ACS to make a donation in the name of Wagner
College Biology Club.
Six tables were set up in Beisler Lounge describing
information of different aspects of biology. The six tables had
their own theme, including: Microbes, Pharmacology, Oral
Hygiene, Breast Cancer, Pre-Veterinary/Environmental
Biology, and most importantly a Biology Information table
that promoted the biological sciences and included models
from the biology department. Each table had raffles including
microbe plushy toys, giveaways, and cookies made personally
by the club members that served as prizes for answering
biological trivia questions correctly.
Every table had pamphlets about its respective topic and
posters created by the members of the club. The microbe table
explained information regarding sex cells, where students
were also able to pick up free condoms. A pharmacology table
offered information regarding drug and alcohol abuse, and the
biochemical effects on the brain. Other information such as an
oral hygiene table gave out gum, toothpaste and toothbrushes
brought by a club member and a breast cancer table was also
on display with biological cancer effects.
Mediterranean food was the center of the event, offering foods
such as baklava, chicken, beef, and lamb kebabs, Turkish
bread, babaganoush, delicious sauces, grilled vegetables, and
tiramisu, just to name a few. The focal point of the event was
to bring delicious food to campus residents and educate the
public about biology and how it is related to everyday life.
The members were fully engaged and helped every step of the
way from decorations to clean up. Everyone worked together
to created a successful event. Close to 300 people passed by
including our new provost.
Please look for future events such as the Biology Club’s breast
cancer walk, and their “feeding meeting,” which will feature a
science with sushi night.
Contributed by Gregory Balaes
PAGE 3
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
TRI-BETA BIOLOGY HONORS SOCIETY
This past month, Tri-Beta took part in the Light the Night,
with a great turn out, despite the rain. The walk benefited the
leukemia and lymphoma society, where students walked to
raise money for research, and hopefully a cure.
On November 9th, members of Tri-Beta are hosting a Faculty
Luncheon for the Department of Biological Sciences. Students
of Tri-Beta are also holding a Thanksgiving canned food drive
to benefit a local church during the holiday season.
Shown below are students at the Light the Night Walk.
summer.
Lastly, there is a new executive board for the 2011-2012
academic semester. President- Paki Mekki; VP of Medicine Maleeha Memon; VP of Allied Health - Samar Alwani;
Community Service Chair - Antonia Bertelle; Treasurer Noor Hussain; Secretary: Kymberlie Vargas
For more information on future events, please contact
pakinam.mekki@wagner.edu
Contributed by Philip Fomina
PRE-DENTISTRY SOCIETY
On October 22, at 11 AM, the Pre-Dentistry Society held their
bi-annual CPR Certification event through the American Red
Cross at Wagner College. Students were trained on
administering CPR, the abdominal thrust, and how to use the
AED (Automatic External Defibrillator). If you were not able
to be certified in the Fall semester, then don’t worry. There
will be a future CPR certification event in the Spring 2012
semester.
Contributed by Philip Fomina. Photo by Joanna Emilio.
PRE-HEALTH SOCIETY
This semester, PHS has been extremely active. Our members
have attended symposiums, engaged in two community
service events and visited Mount Sinai School of Medicine's
Open House event.
As far as community service, the Pre-Health Society was
involved with the Light the Night walk on October 1st, as well
as a Muslims for Life blood drive on October 19th, in order to
commemorate lives lost on 9/11.
During this year, the Pre-Health Society is extremely
interested in attracting a wide variety of graduate schools to
come speak at Wagner College. For instance, the New York
College of Podiatric Medicine held a symposium on
September 30th, the African Conservation Experience held a
symposium on October 7th, MEDLIFE held a symposium on
October 12th, and NYIT’s New York College of Osteopathic
Medicine held a symposium on October 14th.
To highlight one symposium in particular, Ellen Sziede, a
representative from the African Conservation Experience,
spoke about the wildlife care and veterinary hands-on
experience available to interested students in southern Africa.
In this project, which lasts two to twelve weeks, students
take responsibility for the daily care of injured, orphaned and
poisoned wildlife, working with a wide range of African
species, from large mammals to reptiles and birds. Participants
also assist with veterinary nursing, preparing diet plans,
administering physiotherapy and preparing the wildlife for
release and rehabilitation. This program requires no previous
experience with animals and is ideal for those interested in
veterinary nursing and veterinary medicine. Two Wagner
students, Mark Fealey and Jessica Oppenheimer, are
participating in the African Conservation Experience next
Students administering rescue breaths to their victims and
administering CPR.
Any student interested in dentistry is certainly welcome to join
the Pre-Dentistry Society. For more information, please, email
pre-dental@wagner.edu!
Contributed by Philip Fomina. Photos by Gregory Balaes.
PAGE 4
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
EXPERIENCES
HORSE SURGERY EXTERNSHIP
Hi, my name is Mark Fealey. I am a third-year biology major
and aspiring to become a veterinarian one day.
This past summer, I had a great opportunity to gain experience
with not only large animals, but with the top equine surgeons
in the world. Towards the end of August, I flew down to
Lexington, KY and stayed at the world famous Hagyard
Equine Medical Institute (the world’s oldest and largest equine
practice) to go on a horse surgery externship, an externship
usually only offered to veterinary students. There, I lived with
veterinarians that were from around the world, ranging from
Argentina to Ireland.
On my weeklong stay, I shadowed Hagyard’s senior equine
surgeon, Dr. Michael Spirito (’80 Torino, Italy). I would start
my day by waking up at 6:30 am and travel to various farms to
assist and observe routine home visits horse inspections. This
mainly consisted of checking each horse’s larynx and x-raying
each horse’s legs. By the time we were done, it would be
around 1 pm and we would have x-rayed an average of 35
horses (keep in mind, a set of 36 x-rays per horse will run you
about $500).
Once we finished the home visits for the day, the real fun
began: surgery. To see an animal weighing around 1,000 lbs
go under anesthesia, lifted, prepped and eventually cut open
was remarkable. The one thing that amazed me more was how
quick and efficient the crew operated. For example, one of the
more common surgeries young horses underwent was to put
screws in the cannon of the horse to properly align its growth
plate. The average duration of the surgery was literally 5
minutes, from first incision up to putting sutures in.
Nothing surprised me more than seeing my first colic surgery.
A colic surgery consists of rearranging the large and small
intestines to reduce gas pressure and to make the horse
comfortable. A horse can die if left untreated due to pain
alone. As soon as the surgeon, Dr. Robert J. Hunt (84
University of Georgia), made his first incision, fluids were
pouring out of the horse. There was so much internal fluid that
they needed a vet technician to mop up the floor so the
surgeon wouldn’t slip. In my disbelief, that did not stifle him
as he reached for yards upon yards of large intestine and
continued with the surgery.
The surgeries I saw were very common for the time of year
but still very exciting: screws, osteochronditis dissecans
surgery (performed otoscopically), colic surgery and
castration. In a week’s time, I learned a lot about the
physiology of horses and techniques during surgery, but more
importantly that this is the field and atmosphere I would like
to work in one day.I can’t begin to thank Dr. Spirito enough
for allowing me to shadow one of the greatest, if not the
greatest horse surgeons in the world. I am happy to report that
I’ve been invited back to stay longer and experience another
externship in equine medicine next summer.
Contributed by Mark Fealey
PAGE 5
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
BIRD & MOTH RESCUE ON CAMPUS
This October, the department of biological sciences helped in
the rescue of both a moth and bird. Originally discovered by
staff member Joseph Cosentino and student Ethan Kraft, the
rescue efforts also involved Dr. Palestis, Prof. Raths, Mrs.
Rollizo, and Dr. Onken.
The first, an injured white-throated sparrow was found
“stunned,” but after a nice meal of birdseed and water, Dr.
Palestis decided it was fine to be released. Dr. Palestis gently
gripped the bird and placed it near a garden outside of Megerle
Science. After a few seconds, the bird peeked his head left and
right, and flew without any problems straight to a tree branch.
Stephanie Rollizo explains, “He looked very happy to be back
outside once again.”
The second, a moth, was found near the facilities loading
dock, simply laying on the ground. Joeseph Cosentino said he
passed the cocoon for several weeks, and was curious to see it
finally hatch. When he saw the moth on laying floor, it
disheartened him, where he felt it was his duty to bring it to
the Department of Biological Sciences for rescue. The staff
had no problem caring for the moth, in what he described as
food any moth would love:
“Most moths are quite fond of sugar water. No one quite
knows why they prefer this particular mixture, but they sure
do chow down on it. What you do, is you mix together water
(doesn't matter if it is warm or cold...just don't make it
freezing or piping hot) with A LOT of sugar. Then, you put a
cotton ball into the mixture and let it soak it up. The reason
you want to put it into a cotton ball is because if you just put it
in a bowl, the moth may drown in its food. Kind of squeeze
out some excess water, not a lot, just so the moth can't drown
in it, then you're set to go.”
Contributed by Gregory Balaes and Stephanie Rollizo.
OPPORTUNITIES
RESEARCH WITH MOSQUITOES AND CRABS
Dr. Onken offers research
opportunities for students in
the frame of a project in
which he collaborates with
scientists from Washington
State University, the University of Idaho, and the University
of Alberta (Edmonton, CA). The project is funded by the
National Institute of Health and studies the physiology of the
midgut of larval yellow fever mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti).
Mosquitoes are vectors of a number of parasites, transmit
devastating diseases like malaria, yellow fever and dengue,
and are a major threat to the health of billions of people on our
planet. The principal investigators of this project address
larval mosquitoes, because it appears more straightforward to
fight these vectors as long as they are confined in an aquatic
habitat.
In collaboration with colleagues from the U.S. (Mt. Desert
Island Biological Laboratories, Maine), Brazil (University of
São Paulo in Ribeirão Preto, University of Paraná in Curitiba)
and Canada (University of Manitoba in Winnipeg) Dr. Onken
pursues research with Crustacea related to the osmoregulatory
capacities and mechanisms of crabs.
Dr. Onken can offer research opportunities for two to three
students. If interested contact Dr. Onken in his office (Megerle
Science Hall Room 411), lab (Megerle Science Hall Room
406) or via e-mail (horst.onken@wagner.edu) or phone 4204211.
For the spring semester Dr. Onken offers a work study
position related to his work with mosquitoes.
Contributed by Dr. Onken
The editor would like to encourage faculty members of the
Department of Biological Sciences to describe their
opportunities for research projects in the LIMULUS.
If students are interested to volunteer, to do research for
credit (BI 493 and 494), or to prepare for their research
experience in the frame of the senior learning community,
please, contact the faculty members of the department.
WORK IN THE GARDEN
Students interested in collaborating in the greenhouse and/or
garden during the fall of 2011 should contact Dr. Onken
(horst.onken@wagner.edu).
Contributed by Dr. Onken
BE A LIMULUS ASISTANT EDITOR
Proficient student writers are invited to become assistant
editors for the newsletter of the Department of Biological
Sciences. If you are interested, please, contact Dr. Onken
(horst.onken@wagner.edu).
Contributed by Dr. Onken
PUBLICATIONS
Palestis, B.G., J. Cabrero, R. Trivers, and J.P.M. Camacho.
2010. Prevalence of B chromosomes in Orthoptera is
associated with shape and number of A chromosomes.
Genetica 138: 1181-1189.
PRESENTATIONS
Palestis, B.G. and K.E. Eppinger. 2011. A banding study of
common terns on Pettit Island, NJ: Preliminary results.
Greater New York/New Jersey Harbor Herons and Waterbirds
Working Group. Staten Island, NY. January 12-13.
PAGE 6
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
Palestis, B., I. Nisbet, J. Hatch, J. Arnold, and P. Szczys.
2011. The importance of tail length for sexual selection in
roseate terns. Waterbird Society. Grand Island, NE. March 1316.
PROFESSIONAL MEETINGS
MACUB 2011
The 44th Annual MACUB Conference took place at Seton
Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey on Saturday,
October 29, 2011. MACUB is the Metropolitan Association
of College and University Biologists (see http://macub.org).
Seven faculty and staff of the department of biological
sciences attended with nine students, of which five presented
their research, as follows:
Analyzing the Effect of Phthalates on the Development of
Drosophila melanogaster. Lisa Duncan, Joanna Emilio,
Heather Cook, Wagner College
Electron Microscopic Analysis of Cell Membrane Integrity
when Expressing Tau Pseudophosphorylated at Positions
T212, T213 & S262. Leonid Denisenko, Christopher Corbo,
Wagner College; Alejandra Alonso, CSI
Identification of Proliferating and Immunologically Active
Cells in Surviving Organotypic Culture of Adult Zebrafish
(Danio rerio) Optic Tecturm. Michael C. Gutkin, Christoper
P. Corbo, Linda A. Raths, Zoltan L. Fulop, Wagner College
Imaging Primary Cilia in Pancreatic Cancer Tumor
Initiating Cells. Gina M. Auricchio, Wagner College;
Jennifer Bailty, Florencia McAllister, Anirban Maitra, Steven
Leach, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Measuring Distribution and Permeability of an HIV
Microbicide Gel Vehicle using MRT, SPECT/CT and a
Radiolabeled Small Molecule. Maleeha A. Memon, Wagner
College; Edward Fuchs, Rahul Bakshi, Craig Hendrix, Johns
Hopkins University
Contributed by Stephanie Rollizo
ALUMNI
Dear Alumni,
If you are interested in contributing to our newsletter, you
are very welcome to do so. Contact Dr. Onken by e-mail
(horst.onken@wagner.edu)
with
your
submission,
comment, ideas or questions! We are excited to hear about
where you are, how and what you do!
PAGE 7
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
CARTOON
Cartoons from www.lab-initio.com
GUIDELINES FOR CONTRIBUTORS
Authors in all sections should keep in mind that not all readers are specialized in their area of interest. Keep your contribution on a
level that everybody can understand.
Contributions may vary in length between about 50 and 500 words and must be submitted by e-mail to horst.onken@wagner.edu.
Photographs or other images that accompany an article are very welcome, but must be submitted as separate files (high quality jpg
is the preferred file format) attached to the e-mail. Be aware that photographs/images may be minimized in size.
Indicate the section of the newsletter where you want your contribution to appear.
The deadline for submission of a contribution is the 20th of the month. Contributions received later may or may not be considered.
The editor reserves his right to edit your contribution or post an immediate response.
Editing may involve to publish contributions in other sections as indicated by the author.
All contributions will clearly indicate the author's identity.
All contributions are reviewed and publication may be refused by the editor.
The Editorial Board:
Editor: Dr. Horst Onken, Associate Professor
Assistant Editor: Stephanie Rollizo, Department Secretary
Student Assistant Editor: Gregory Balaes (Biology)
Student Assistant Editor: Philip Fomina (Biopsychology)
Student Assistant Editor: Pakinam Mekki (Biology)
Student Assistant Editor: WANTED!
PAGE 8
�
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Limulus Newsletter, October 2011
Table Of Contents
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Letter from the editor / Horst Onken -- Biology staff and faculty news : Peer evaluations / Horst Onken -- LC 17 on the road again and again -- LC 13 Snug Harbor water front clean up / Gregory Balaes, Heather Cook, and Jonathan Hinrichs -- News from clubs and societies / Gregory Balaes, Philip Fomina, and Joanna Emilio -- Horse surgery externship / Mark Fealey -- Bird and moth rescue on campus / Gregory Balaes and Stephanie Rollizo -- Opportunities, publications, presentations, professional meetings, alumni, and cartoon
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Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
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2011-10
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Limulus
NEWSLETTER
Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
Volume 2012, Issue Spring-01
January, 2012
Finished their Senior RFT in December 2012 (from left to right): Leonid Denisenko, Maximillian Lucci, Ashley Polizzotto, James
Cuzzupe, Dilijeta Bejrami, Krista Carbonara, Julia Mullins, Maleeha Memon, Luesoni Johnson, Benjamin Bustamante, William
Rivera, Dr. Fulop, John Augello.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Biology Staff and Faculty News
Curriculum News
Biology Student News
News from Clubs and Societies
Experiences
Opportunities
Publications, Presentations and Professional Meetings
Alumi
Cartoons, Jokes, Quizzes
2
3
4
5
6
13
13
15
15
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Welcome back to the college. I hope everybody had happy
holidays and a relaxing break. As before, the first newsletter
of the semester reprints and thus reviews the last semester.
In the current newsletter we go actually back to the end of
the last academic year. Enjoy the news and again reflect on
the experiences of our community during summer and fall of
2011.
I wish everybody a healthy and successful 2012.
Best regards,
Dr. Horst Onken, The Editor
PAGE 1
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
BIOLOGY STAFF AND FACULTY NEWS
BIOLOGY PROFESSOR RECEIVES TENURE
Dr. Heather Cook has been
at Wagner College for
several years. She teaches
many courses in the
biology
department
including: Cells, Genes,
and
Evolution,
Gene
Expression
and
Development, Molecular
Cell Biology, and Science:
The Good, the Bad, the
Controversial
(the
Freshman RFT). She is an
active researcher and her
new research project focuses on the effects of endocrine
disrupting chemicals on drosophila development. In the past,
Dr. Cook received the “Teaching with Technology” award at
the Faculty Awards Dinner in 2009. Recently, she learned that
she received tenure. The members of the biology department
went to celebrate Dr. Cook’s good news. Photographs from
the event are pictured in later pages of the newsletter. On the
behalf of the Limulus Staff, I would like to congratulate Dr.
Cook!
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna with a photograph from Dr. Moorthy
DR. ONKEN BECOMES NEW DIRECTOR OF THE
HONORS PROGRAM
Dr. Horst Onken is an associate
professor of Physiology and
Zoology at Wagner College.
Dr. Onken has been teaching at
Wagner since 2006 and has
received recognition for his
exceptional work. He was the
recipient of the “Teaching with
Technology” award and the
Faculty Award for Exceptional
Performance in the Area of
Scholarship.
Dr. Onken has published
articles in various prestigious
publications, including two
articles in the Journal of Experimental Zoology. The papers
published in this journal were co-authored by his Wagner
research students. His research interests include studying
epithelial tissue and working with the Aedes agypti
mosquitoes. In addition to his extensive research schedule, Dr.
Onken teaches several courses in the biology department
including Human Biology, Forms and Functions, Comparative
Vertebrate Anatomy, and Animal Physiology. This past year,
he published a chapter in the book Epithelial Transport
Physiology. He also serves as the chair of the Academic
Honesty Committee.
Dr. Erica Johnson has been the director of the Honors Program
for several years. She has done exceptional work for the
program, and this year alone, the number of graduating
students that participated in the program has doubled. At the
end of the summer, she will be stepping down as the director.
Dr. Onken will be the new director of the program beginning
this fall semester. Congratulations to Dr. Onken!
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
DR. HOULIHAN TEACHING AT RANDOLPH COLLEGE
FALL 2011
Dr.
Houlihan
began
teaching at Wagner during
the fall 2008 semester. Even
though he has been at the
college for a few years, Dr.
Houlihan has definitely
helped
the
biology
department grow. He will
be leaving Wagner to teach
at Randolph College in the
fall. Randolph College is in
Virginia and is a small
liberal arts college. He will
be teaching microbiology
and genetics classes to undergraduate students. Additionally,
he will teach a class that is similar to Wagner’s Cells, Genes,
and Evolution and will have students conducting research in
his lab. The biology department and all of Dr. Houlihan’s
students will miss him dearly, and wish him the best of luck in
the fall.
Dr. Houlihan received his Bachelors in Molecular Biology
from the University of Mississippi. He later obtained his PhD
in Microbiology from Cornell University. Dr. Houlihan’s
research is focused on plant microbe interactions, specifically
the ways in which plants resist and respond to infection. He
recently became more interested in gastrointestinal
microbiology research.
Dr. Houlihan has taught several courses at Wagner including:
Cells, Genes, and Evolution, Plagues and Outbreaks, Applied
Food, Microbial Physiology, Microbiology, Microbial
Ecology, Immunology, Serology, and a few years ago, he
began teaching a freshman learning community with Dr.
Stearns entitled, “Human Health and Survival.”
Prior to Wagner, Dr. Houlihan admits that he had very limited
teaching experience. “I had some teaching assistantships in
graduate school, but at Wagner, this was the first time I was
able to teach in this capacity,” he stated.
Additionally, Dr. Houlihan mentioned that it was extremely
rare for a college with less than 200 undergraduate students to
have such an impressive microbiology program. He said,” The
microbiology program is very unique and is made up of
dedicated faculty. I believe that it is good for the college to
have such an excellent program.”
Dr. Houlihan enjoyed his time at Wagner and believes that the
family environment is beneficial both to the students and
faculty. “The thing that stood out at Wagner was that it felt
like everyone was part of a family. This aspect of the college
is something that I will truly miss,” he said.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
PEER EVALUATIONS
A Peer Evaluation Group (PEG), consisting of the full-time
faculty members of the Department of Biological Sciences and
two peers from outside the department (Dr. Mohammad
Alauddin and Dr. Mark Wagner), met on Tuesday, October 25
to evaluate Dr. Onken in his 6th year at Wagner College. Dr.
Onken requested tenure and promotion to full professor. The
evaluation will be continued by the Faculty Personnel
Committee and the Provost, before a decision is made.
Dr. Cook has been tenured in spring and is coming up for
promotion. Her PEG will meet on November 15.
Contributed by Dr. Onken
CURRICULUM NEWS
LC 17 ON THE ROAD AGAIN AND AGAIN
Between October 19th and October 21st, 2011, Dr. Stearns and
Dr. Mosher presented a poser about first-year learning
communities (LCs) titled “Experiential Learning: Integrating
the Field Trip, Research and Civic Engagement Models in a
First Year Learning Community.”
For the past three fall semesters, Dr. Stearns has collaborated
with Dr. Houlihan (now at Randolph College) and now Dr.
Mosher to create the LC 17, titled “Bacteria, Human Health
and Survival.” This LC is composed of two introductory
courses, namely Microbiology (MI200, with laboratory
experience) and Biostatistics and Experimental Design
(BI221), and a third course called the Reflective Tutorial
(RFT). The RFT integrates components from microbiology
and biostatistics to “stimulate critical thinking, discussion,
research and formal writing around the common theme of the
LC.”
Moreover, this LC involves off-campus field-trips to connect
what is learned in the classroom about microorganisms, for
example, to the “real world.” To illustrate, this fall’s LC
students have toured numerous places, including a hospital, a
local wastewater treatment facility, scientific conferences,
laboratories and a medical school. Dr. Stearns writes, “where
possible, each trip is coordinated with subject matter being
considered in the LC lecture courses.”
Furthermore, LC 17 includes a research component called the
Bioremediation Project. This project is designed so that
students can use the scientific method as well as standard
microbiological procedures to “culture bacteria in the
presence/absence of [an industrial] chemical” and to see if
these bacteria can decompose a particular compound. Not only
do first-year students have the unparalleled experience of
conducting their own experiment, but they are also expected to
carry out standard literature research. At the end of this
project, each student writes a paper, which follows the
scientific formatting style, reporting his result. Students
organize Powerpoint presentations, explaining their literature
research as well as their experiments and their subsequent
results.
In addition to the field-trip and research components, LC
students visit an elementary school, where they explain
microbiology to grade-school students. An LC instructor
accompanies these students to assess their performance. The
purpose of this experience is to “reinforce [the students’]
understanding of the subject matter, and at the same time,
provide learning experiences for elementary school students in
the local community.” In this component, students work
together to assemble a Powerpoint presentation as well as
“hands-on” experiences for the children.
In short, the purpose of this LC is to improve first-year
students’ “critical thinking and civic thinking skills”
throughout the semester. From field trips to civic engagement,
students learn to make connections between what is taught in
the classroom and the real world.
I would like to thank Dr. Stearns for sharing this valuable
information with me.
LC 13 SNUG HARBOR WATER FRONT CLEAN UP
About twenty-five Wagner College students from Learning
Community (L.C.) 13, taught by Dr. Heather Cook, and Dr.
Gelabert, cleaned up the Snug Harbor Water Front. After four
straight hours of cleaning, students totaled over sixty bags of
garbage, including trash such as bottles and car parts.
Contributed by Gregory Balaes, and Dr. Heather Cook. Photos by Jonathan
Hinrichs.
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
BIOLOGY STUDENT NEWS
VIOLETA CAPRIC WINS STUDENT GOVERNMENT
PRESIDENTAL ELECTIONS
Junior Violeta Capric is a double
major
in
biology
and
anthropology. Capric ran a
successful campaign for the
SGA presidency for the 20112012 academic year. She served
as a SGA Senator during his
sophomore year. Additionally,
Capric is currently the Vice
President of Tri-Beta, and is a
member of the co-ed service
fraternity Alpha Phi Omega.
Last year, she received the
Academic Excellence Award
(4.0 GPA) for both the fall and
spring semesters and the Robert
D. Blomquist Memorial Award in Biology at the spring
Undergraduate Awards Ceremony. Congratulations on behalf
of the Limulus staff!
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
SENIOR ACCEPTED BY DENTAL SCHOOLS
Senior biology major and psychology
minor Peter Pisano received acceptances
from four prestigious dental schools.
Peter was accepted to the University of
Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
(UMDNJ) and New York University’s
College of Dentistry last semester.
During spring semester, Pisano learned
that he gained admission to the School
of Dental Medicine at Stony Brook
University and Columbia University. He
will be attending Stony Brook
University in the fall.
Additionally, Pisano will be graduating with departmental
honors. He will receive the Kevin Sheehy Award in Biology,
given in recognition of the highest cumulative grade point
average in the study of biology and the Dr. Norman L. Freilich
Memorial Award, given to a graduating student accepted into
medical or dental school at the Senior Awards Banquet that
will be held before Commencement.
On the behalf of the Limulus staff, I would like to congratulate
Peter on all of his accomplishments!
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
GRADUATING SENIOR TO ATTEND DUAL DEGREE
PROGRAM IN THE FALL
Senior double major (Biology/Chemistry) Victor Stora was
accepted to two excellent veterinary schools. Stora will be
attending Louisiana State University and will be pursuing his
D.V.M. (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine) and PhD in
Molecular Cell Biology starting this fall semester. Stora was
also accepted to Iowa State University College of Veterinary
Medicine.
Stora conducted research this past
summer at the School of
Veterinary Medicine at the
University of Pennsylvania. He
worked in the PennGen Lab for
Inborn Errors of Metabolism and
the Deubler Lab for Genetic
Testing. Stora’s research mentor
was Dr.Urs Giger DVM PD FS MS
ACVIM. The results from this
research are being presented at the
American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in Denver.
It is under review by the Journal of the American Veterinary
Medical Association (JAVMA).
Additionally, he is the vice president of Allied Health for the
Pre-Health Society. He is the SGA representative for Tri-Beta
and works in the Peer Tutoring Center as the biology tutor. On
the behalf of the Limulus staff, I would like to congratulate
Victor on all of his accomplishments and wish him the best of
luck in the fall!
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
BIOPSYCHOLOGY MAJORS ACCEPTED
This year, three biopsychology majors will be attending
various graduate schools this upcoming fall. The Limulus staff
would like to highlight the achievements of these three senior
students.
Leandra Manfredini is a commuter student from Staten Island,
NY. She is a member of various honor societies on campus
including Psi Chi (the International Honor Society in
Psychology), Omicron Delta Kappa (the National Leadership
Honor Society), and Psi Epsilon Alpha (the Biopsychology
Honor Society). Manfredini is also a proud member of the
sorority Alpha Sigma Alpha and served as the VP of
Programming and Ritual for ASA. She also was the Greek
Senate chair for her sorority. Manfredini was accepted to the
City University of New York’s Graduate Program for Doctor
of Physical Therapy (DPT), and will begin her studies this
upcoming fall semester.
Aimee Marin is also a commuter student from Staten Island,
NY. She is a member of ODK, Tri-Beta, Psi Chi, and Gamma
Sigma Epsilon (the Chemistry Honors Society). She founded
the Wagner chapter of Psi Epsilon Alpha (Biopsychology
Honor Society) this year and she served as the organization’s
president. She gained admission to the Evelyn Spiro College
of Nursing at Wagner College. Marin will be pursuing her
second Bachelors in Nursing this fall and hopes to continue
her education at Wagner to receive her Masters in Nursing in
the near future.
Thomas Rammelkamp is a resident student from Long Island,
NY. Rammelkamp is a student athlete and was named to the
NEC (Northeast Conference) Winter Academic Honor Roll on
several occasions during his undergraduate career. Athletes
that are on the NEC Honor Roll need to have a grade point
average of at lease 3.20 and need to have distinction as an
athlete on a varsity college team. He is a member of the Men’s
Track and Field team. Despite having a demanding academic
and athletic schedule, Rammelkamp was able to graduate a
semester early and finished his undergraduate career this past
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
December. He gained admission to Stony Brook University’s
Physical Therapy (DPT) program and will begin his studies
shortly this upcoming June.
On the behalf of the Limulus staff, I would like to congratulate
all of the biopsychology majors on their acceptances to three
excellent graduate programs! I wish you all the best of luck in
the future.
TRI-BETA BIOLOGY HONORS SOCIETY
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
LISA SCHNEIDER ACCEPTED BY UMDNJ
Lisa Schneider, chemistry major with
a concentration in biochemistry, and
biology minor has recently been
accepted to UMDNJ Dental School!
She is the President of ODK, member
of APO, member of BBB, student
ambassador of Wagner College, and
member of the Pre-Dentistry Society
and much more. Lisa has certainly
been an integral part of Wagner’s
community and is looking forward to
her future at UMDNJ Dental School.
In a statement by Lisa, she explained,
“My acceptance into UMDNJ was so
exciting and rewarding for me. It is
my top choice school and I cannot
think of a better fit for me. I would not have accomplished this
goal without the help of Wagner College and the support of
my loving family and friends.”
On behalf of the Limulus editors, I would like to congratulate
Lisa on her remarkable accomplishment!
Contributed by Gregory Balaes.
Tribeta hosted a science faculty and student luncheon on
November 9, 2011. Everyone enjoyed each other's company
and had a great time.Tribeta was able to raise $100 and collect
over 50 canned foods and non-perishables that were donated
to the Our Lady of Grace Food Pantry. We would like to thank
all who attended and donated to this great cause. They were
very grateful and appreciative for this especially during the
holiday season. Tribeta looks forward to participating in more
events in the spring semester.
Contributed by Gregory Balaes. Photo by Joanna Emilio.
PRE-DENTISTRY SOCIETY
NEWS FROM CLUBS AND SOCIETIES
BIOLOGY CLUB
The Biology Club received much appreciation from the
American Cancer Society for their contribution with MEDday. They were thanked for raising funds and awareness for
the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer campaign and look
forward to working together again next Fall.
With the warm Spring weather, next semester would be the
ideal time to visit many museums in Manhattan. As always,
the Biology Club will have their annual trip to the Bodies
Exhibit. The trip is always free and open to the whole campus.
The club also plans on having a small event for members of
the Biological Science faculty and for the club members to
meet and greet. This event is in the works and is set for next
semester. Lastly, the Biology Club would like to thank the
entire faculty that helped with their events, promoting the
club, and for their input and guidance. Club members worked
very hard and without their participation and enthusiasm, there
would not have been such a successful semester. They hope
everyone has a great holiday and please look out for future emails regarding next semester's events.
Contributed by Gregory Balaes.
This month, students attended the Greater NY Dental Meeting.
The meeting is intended for current dental professionals or
dental health students, but is always a motivating experience
for any aspiring dentist. In particular, Lisa Schnedier (above)
is shown enjoying her giveaways in front of a Colgate booth.
Students of the Pre-Dentistry Society are continuing to prepare
for the April 19th 2012 Health Fair. There is also a dinner
being planned for the Pre-Dentistry Society students and the
campus alike.
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
If any club is interested in having a table to promote health on
April 19th, then please email gregory.balaes@wagner.edu
Contributed by Philip Fomina. Photos by Lisa Schneider.
PRE-HEALTH SOCIETY
Last October, the Pre-Health Society welcomed Tommy Flint
and Joseph Tylutki, two representatives from MEDLIFE.
MEDLIFE is a non-profit organization that places premedical, pre-PA, pre-dentistry, pre-nursing and pre-pharmacy
student leaders in Latin America, where they help
impoverished people gain access to healthcare, education and
development. This program encourages students to engage in
hands-on work alongside licensed professionals to bring
meaningful change to the natives of Peru, Ecuador and
Panama.
For
more
information,
please
visit
www.medlifeweb.org
In the past few weeks, a few PHS members expressed interest
in initiating a MEDLIFE chapter at Wagner College, where
we engage in a myriad of activities, ranging from recruiting
interested student leaders to hosting fundraisers for
MEDLIFE’s community development projects. Numerous
colleges have MEDLIFE chapters, including Johns Hopkins
University, the University of Vermont and SUNY
Binghamton.
PHS hopes to have Wagner’s very own MEDLIFE chapter by
next February. Moreover, next semester, we will welcome
Wagner alumni who have thrived in various professional
schools.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me,
Pakinam Mekki, at pakinam.mekki@wagner.edu
Until next semester, we wish you and your families a
wonderful and healthy holiday season!
Contributed by Philip Fomina
EXPERIENCES
BI335: NATURAL HISTORY OF THE MID-ATLANTIC
STATES
During the two weeks following the Spring 2011 semester’s
end, students of BI335 (taught by Dr. Palestis) truly had a
remarkable experience in “learning by doing.” BI335 involved
many trips to several nearby locations, such as the New Jersey
Pine Barrens, Jamaica Bay, the Hackensack Meadowlands,
and the American Museum of Natural History.
Students particularly enjoyed two overnight trips to witness
the horseshoe crab spawning/shorebird migration spectacle in
Delaware Bay and to hunt for marine fossils in the Pocono
Mountains.
If you are interested in the course, please email
bpalesti@wagner.edu in order to express your interest.
Remember, this is elective course, which may be used as one
of the three required electives for the biology major, or
environmental minor.
Above: Students Gregory Balaes and Casey Lindine gearing
up, as they prepare to enter the deep sea!
Above: Dr. Palestis returning a snapping turtle to its habitat.
The turtle was previously stranded on the side of the road,
seemed dehydrated, and clearly lost. If it was not for Dr.
Palestis’ wild-life strategies, it may not have lived. Great job
Dr. Palestis!
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
Students taking a quick rest along side of a dam
at the Watchung Reservation in New Jersey.
Delaware Bay. Student Casey Lindine observed
as shore birds hunt mating horseshoe crab eggs.
Contributed by Gregory Balaes
FROM BLARING HORNS TO SCREAMING PIHAS AND
BACK
During Summer 2011, I was given an amazing opportunity to
experience and learn biodiversity survey methods in the
Iwokrama Forests of Guyana, South America.
Through Operation Wallacea; an organization funded by
tuition fees that operates biological and conservation
management research programs in remote locations across the
world, I was introduced to a type of field work that many do
not get to experience. The program was centered in the
Iwokrama Forests in the
Guyana Shield at the Iwokrama
Research Center however as an
expedition we traveled to
additional sites; including
Canopy
Walkway,
Rock
Landing in Surama Village,
and Sandstone.
The program started in the
capital, Georgetown where our
group of 16 met for the first
time. There were 5 volunteers
from America, 2 from Canada,
1 from Wales, 2 from Scotland,
and 6 from England; our
supervisors included 1 American scientist in the PHD program
at Missouri and two scientists and a doctor from England. Our
first week consisted of introductory lectures into the Guyana
environment and the background information on the animals
and techniques that we would be using over the next 3 weeks.
We learned how to set-up
mist nets, how to extract
birds and bats from the
mist nets, what to look for
on mammal surveys and
herpetology surveys’, and
how best to avoid any
venomous animals we
may encounter. Our stay
at the research facility
was short and mainly
tutorial. The second week
we arrived at Canopy
Walkway, which is a
tourist
attraction
for
Guyana. This week we
began to conduct regular
surveys that started at 5:45 every morning and normally ended
at 11:00 to 11:30. These surveys included bird point counts,
bird nets, two mammal surveys, and a herpetology survey. On
the bird point counts we would walk onto the platforms (see
picture) and watch and listen closely to the birds that were
around us.
We would have either a scientist or an Amerindian guide with
us to help identify the bird, the angle of its direction, and its
distance by the call that it made. The mammal surveys were
similar in that there were transects cut that ranged in distance
from 1.5 km to 3.4 km and a survey consisted of walking
slowly with a guide or scientist and listening and watching
closely for birds or any signs of large mammals. These were
difficult surveys to conduct because the forest is dense and we
as volunteers are clumsy at maneuvering the fallen logs and
swamps so we were easily heard and not always as observant
as our well trained guides. Bird netting was an all day
procedure that began at 6:00 in the morning and ended at 6:00
at night. At each site we set up 18 twelve meter nets, these
nets are made from a thin material and can be hard to see at
certain angles. A bird would fly into it and become tangled;
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
our job was to extract the birds from the net and identify it and
make a small mark on its far right tail feather so we knew that
it had already been counted. We would check the nets every
hour until dusk approached because then it would be time to
open the bat nets. We always kept the bat and bird nets
separate because the bats carry parasites that would potentially
transfer to the birds and be hazardous to their heath. The
herpetology survey consisted of a walk along either a transect,
or an access road that looked promising for reptiles or
amphibians. We would use sticks in order to poke around the
leaf litter on the floor to provoke a frog to jump or in some
cases and snake to slither. In our expedition we were lucky
enough to have caught a juvenile caiman, a juvenile anaconda,
and to see two bi-striped pit vipers, a rare find (see picture
below). During the night there were two activities to
participate in, either the night herpetology walk or bat nets.
The
only
difference in the
night herpetology
walk was that you
had to use you
headlight, 1. to
see where you
were going and 2.
to see the eye
shine
of
the
different animals. Red meant larger animal; caiman, predator
cat, or some type of mammal; blue meant spiders, and orange
or yellow usually meant frogs. Bat netting was similar to bird
netting, the only difference was that with the bats you have to
avoid being bitten by their fangs and the extraction process
was more tedious. The bats tended to bite and thrash more
than the birds creating holes in the net, so when a bat became
tangled, he was really in there and trying to adjust your body
and the bats’ while not being bitten was sometimes a
challenge. The second and third camps that we visited were
off of the Burro
Burro River and
they
included
river
surveys.
River
surveys
consisted
of
traveling
20
minutes either up
or down stream
and
then
switching
the
motor off for an hour and looking to see any large mammals
such as monkeys, tapirs, or river otters in addition to water
birds as we floated down the river. For our entire journey we
stayed in hammocks that were tied between two trees; we
were provided with mosquito nets and a basher or tarp that
was tied above the hammock for protection from the sun and
the rain. Our meals were served on a routine basis of 5:30
a.m., noon, and 6:00 p.m. of local cuisine consisting of rice,
chicken, beef, and fish. This trip was an experience of a
lifetime for so many reasons. Not only did I learn about the
techniques of field work and how science is carried out in a
real life application, but I also made international connections
and lasting friendships. Iwokrama Rainforest is under the
protection of the Guyana Shield and should remain so because
the pristine nature of the forest is remarkable. To be able to
spend a month in one of the last remaining untouched lands
was an honor and a privilege and I encourage all who ever
come across such an opportunity to take it.
Contributed by Judy Betz
ANOTHER SUMMER IN WASHINGTON
As in the last years, I
spent the summer
again at Washington
State
University
(WSU) where I have
the chance to focus
on my research with
mosquitoes. Hours of
lab
work
are
accompanied
by
discussions
with
colleagues and students.
However, these times in the Pacific Northwest are not only
dedicated to work. I
meet old friends,
and it may be a
good opportunity to
introduce two of
them to you today.
Stacia and David
Moffett
are
professors
for
Neurobiology and
Physiology
at
WSU. However, they also have a second life. Living in the
vicinity of the Wawawai Canyon close to the canyon of the
Snake River, they are
expert
biological
gardeners who grow
produce and fruit for a
food coop. On top, they
have a vineyard and a
winery, producing a
selection of delicious
wines that are sold at
home, in their tasting
room, or online. Over the years, their place has become a
second home for me. Just to give you a taste of what it means
to grow biologically to
Stacia and David, let me
tell you of their way to
fight grasshoppers and
other
insects
that
threaten their crop.
Instead of spraying
pesticides, David and
Stacia successfully use
chicken, turkeys and
guinea fowl to fight insects. The eggs, sold at the food coop or
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
at a local farmers market, give some additional income. Of
course, these birds need to be taken care of, not only because
they
could
become prey only
too easily to the
cougars, bobcats
or coyotes that
roam
the
countryside.
At
times also other
little vagabonds
need to be taken
care of, like these
two little raccoons that had evidently lost their mom. Small
rodents like the many kinds of mice and moles who favor to
nibble on the roots of
producing plants are
fought more or less
successfully by the
snakes who like to
explore Stacia and
David’s premises for
the abundant food
resources. A special
treat in a country like
Washington State is
for me the opportunity to hike before or after work or on
weekends. It is very different to be surrounded by sheetrock
and cars or by nature and wildlife. In Washington State the
latter is close and you can have marvelous moments in the
most unlikely places.
Since this year, another very pleasant part of my summers in
Washington State is, of
course, my wife and my
family. Some of you
may remember that my
wife
moved
to
Washington State in
2010 to get her PhD in
Molecular Plant Science
at WSU. Instead of
teaching Environmental
Biology at Wagner
College, she is now studying the Münch Hypothesis and
laminar flow in the phloem of Arabidopsis. Professor Beecher
says hello to everybody who remembers her.
Last not least, my
summers are determined
by the drives across the
country. Leaving Staten
Island after graduation,
it almost seemed that the
cold, wintery weather
did not want to let me
pass
the
Rocky
Mountains. Despite the
obstacles, I had a great time driving West at the end of May.
Fortunately, the drive back East in August was considerably
easier. During this last summer
my car crossed 25 states, and I
had the pleasure to visit eleven
National Parks and five National
Monuments. My summer was
enriched by spending time in a
number of very interesting
National Preserves and State
Parks. My “batteries” were
recharged for another academic
year at Wagner College while I
was camping in remote places in
Eastern Oregon or Northern
Colorado. My campfire burnt in
Southern Utah and Western Arizona. Many times, I was
surrounded by most magnificent scenery and amazing animals
and plants.
Contributed by Dr. Onken
LEARNING COMMUNITY AT WASTE WATER PLANT
Last
Tuesday,
September 20, 2011,
the
first-semester
freshmen in Learning
Community 17, taught
by Dr. Mosher and Dr.
Stearns went on their
first of many field trips.
This one in particular
was
to
a
large
wastewater treatment facility, where the students learned how
microbes are used to biodegrade organic wastes.
The experiential component of that learning community
involves several class field trips to see how microbiologists
earn their livings. We go to private pharmaceutical
corporations (e.g., ImClone), academic research institutions
(e.g., microbiology research facilities at Rockefeller
University and New York University), federal facilities (e.g.
Food and Drug Administration), city facilities (e.g. New York
City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene), medical
schools (e.g., New York University Medical School), hospitals
(e.g., Bellevue Hospital), as well as a wastewater treatment
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
facility in New Jersey. The students also have opportunities to
attend two professional meetings especially focused on
microbiology themes this fall (e.g., New York Academy of
Science, and the Metropolitan Association of College and
University Biologists). The students also are preparing to
teach basic microbiology concepts in three local elementary
schools in November.
As part of this learning community, the students also conduct
empirical research to determine if bacteria can survive and
thrive using an industrial chemical as the only source of
carbon. In other words, the students are determining if
bacteria can biodegrade an industrial chemical that they have
been given. For the Bioremediation Project, the students are
working in pairs; each pair has been given a different
chemical. At the end of the semester, they will give a
presentation of their results, to which we will invite the
college community. Anything new that is learned here may be
useful in biologically eliminating lab-created chemicals that
are otherwise long-lived in the environment.
Contributed by Dr. Stearns, Dr. Mosher, and Gregory Balaes
ACE LECTURE ABOUT THE HUMAN GENOME
PROJECT
The field of biology has been advancing
every day. Scientists learned to manipulate
pieces of DNA and even developed ways
to use machines to automate many
laboratory procedures. The first rough
draft of the human genome project was
first proposed at the turn of the century.
The human genome project was an
incredible technological achievement;
however, the project stirred controversy. Many individuals
believed that the genome project was a crazy idea, and many
skeptics did not understand why it would be useful to
sequence the entire human genome.
George Dewey, Provost and a chemistry professor from the
University of La Verne, gave an ACE lecture at Wagner
College recently. In the near future, Dewey speculated that
parents of newborns might receive a CD-ROM version of their
child’s entire genome. Although sequencing the human
genome had many benefits, there were some problems
associated with sequencing the genome. The human genome
has three billion nucleotide base pairs. It was rather difficult
to try to assemble 3 million reads (reads refer to a fragment in
the genome) in perfect order. Craig Venter, a prominent
American biologist, believed that the best way to sequence the
human genome was to use shotgun assembly. This method
chews up the DNA and the computer will be able to read the
fragments. Contrastingly, Francis Collins, an American
physician-geneticist, believed that the best way to sequence
the human genome was to match 1000 reads with the physical
location of the chromosomes. Nevertheless, Venter’s method
was the most efficient sequencing technique, and he did not
need to identify the chromosomes in the fragments. Many
individuals were still skeptical that it was impossible for a
computer to read the DNA libraries. Eventually, Venter
chopped the DNA a second time, and was able to get a
different set of 1000 reads.
After the human genome project was sequenced, there were
many direct outcomes. The human genome project allowed
scientists to discover 1800 new disease genes and 1000
genetic tests for human disease conditions were developed as a
direct result of the human genome project. Additionally, 50
major types of cancer were identified. There were also many
surprises from the human genome project. Scientists realized
that the number of genes in the human genome is roughly
35,000. The human genome also contains many silent genes.
The outcomes from the human genome project also taught
people about genes and race,
Many individuals believe that race can be defined through
genes. Scientists realized that there are no genes for race and it
is difficult to clearly define race through genes. The human
genome project taught scientists about the differences and
similarities between individuals of various races. There are
three million human single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)
in the genome. The SNPs occur at 1 out of every 1000 bases.
The individual variations between people are due to the SNPs,
and the SNPs allow scientists to compare how individuals are
similar and different from each other. Additionally,
individuals of different racial backgrounds can actually have
identical SNPs. Dewey stated that race is a consequence of
population migrations, but, there is no fundamental difference
between race. Race is defined by society, and there is no
scientific way to accurately define race.
Dewey’s lecture on the human genome focused on the
importance and the controversies surrounding the human
genome project. The human genome project allowed scientists
to study the variations and similarities between human beings.
Additionally, many genetic tests and diseases were discovered
using the data that was obtained from the genome project. The
wealth of data from the human genome project has also
allowed scientists to study the evolution of human beings.
Early humans actually had the genes for brown eyes and
lactose intolerance. As agriculture developed, early humans
were pressured to develop a tolerance for lactose. Even though
there are a lot of ethical issues surrounding the human genome
project, scientists can use the information from the genome
project to study the evolutionary history of human beings.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna with a photograph from the University of La
Verne’s website
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
RUTHIE’S RETIREMENT
Ruthie Hernandez has retired from her position of
housekeeping, and will forever go down in history as one of
the best housekeeping ladies ever! To celebrate close to 45
years of hard work, co-workers from the physical sciences,
social sciences, library, registrar, housekeeping and others
gathered in Megerle Science Hall to wish the best of luck to
Ruthie. Her commitment, strength and kind heart made her
more than just another co-worker. She is truly a friend to
many, and not seeing her smiling face will leave a gap in the
daily routine of those who will miss her motherly attention
and vibrant personality.
the science building, and released it. At first its wings were
spread; then it quickly folded them up and rested. We left it
there, overnight, and discovered it had found its way back into
the wild this morning.
Although it is true that bats can transmit rabies, as Dr. Bobbitt
confirms, they still do more good than harm, eating up lots of
mosquitoes, which then decreases the spread of other diseases,
such as West Nile virus. See:
http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/2007/09/15/2007-0915_bats_do_far_more_good_than_harm.html
In addition, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports that a
fungus called white-nose syndrome, first noticed in 2006 in
New York bats, has a 95% mortality.
See:
http://www.fws.gov/whitenosesyndrome/ .
Unfortunately,
according to these studies, it appears the little brown bat, will
become almost extinct in the northeast in 16 years.
For his gallant efforts in saving this elusive, helpful, and now
threatened animal, a big thank you to Dr. Onken!
Contributed by Stephanie Rollizo with a photograph from the US Fish &
Wildlife Service.
HORSE SURGERY EXTERNSHIP
Contributed by Gregory Balaes, Stephanie Rollizo, and Professor Linda Raths
RESCUE OF BROWN BAT
It began when Dr. Kathy Bobbitt came from her “General
Pathology” class to let us know that as she was teaching about
rabies transmission through an animal such as a bat, a student
questioned if a bat was in their classroom. Dr. Bobbitt
assumed the student was kidding around, but it was not a joke
when she spotted the little brown bat clinging onto the ceiling.
Prof. Linda Raths, Dr. Horst Onken and I immediately went to
investigate. And there, quietly attached to a ceiling tile, was
the tiny creature. Luckily, we are prepared in the biological
sciences department, and after assessing the situation thought
we might be able to rescue the frightened mammal.
With an old butterfly net in hand, Dr. Onken climbed atop a
desk, reached up, and caught the bat! With the helpless
animal trapped, we took it on a quick journey up to the roof of
Hi, my name is Mark Fealey. I am a third-year biology major
and aspiring to become a veterinarian one day.
This past summer, I had a great opportunity to gain experience
with not only large animals, but with the top equine surgeons
in the world. Towards the end of August, I flew down to
Lexington, KY and stayed at the world famous Hagyard
Equine Medical Institute (the world’s oldest and largest equine
practice) to go on a horse surgery externship, an externship
usually only offered to veterinary students. There, I lived with
veterinarians that were from around the world, ranging from
Argentina to Ireland.
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
On my weeklong stay, I shadowed Hagyard’s senior equine
surgeon, Dr. Michael Spirito (’80 Torino, Italy). I would start
my day by waking up at 6:30 am and travel to various farms to
assist and observe routine home visits horse inspections. This
mainly consisted of checking each horse’s larynx and x-raying
each horse’s legs. By the time we were done, it would be
around 1 pm and we would have x-rayed an average of 35
horses (keep in mind, a set of 36 x-rays per horse will run you
about $500).
Once we finished the home visits for the day, the real fun
began: surgery. To see an animal weighing around 1,000 lbs
go under anesthesia, lifted, prepped and eventually cut open
was remarkable. The one thing that amazed me more was how
quick and efficient the crew operated. For example, one of the
more common surgeries young horses underwent was to put
screws in the cannon of the horse to properly align its growth
plate. The average duration of the surgery was literally 5
minutes, from first incision up to putting sutures in.
Nothing surprised me more than seeing my first colic surgery.
A colic surgery consists of rearranging the large and small
intestines to reduce gas pressure and to make the horse
comfortable. A horse can die if left untreated due to pain
alone. As soon as the surgeon, Dr. Robert J. Hunt (84
University of Georgia), made his first incision, fluids were
pouring out of the horse. There was so much internal fluid that
they needed a vet technician to mop up the floor so the
surgeon wouldn’t slip. In my disbelief, that did not stifle him
as he reached for yards upon yards of large intestine and
continued with the surgery.
The surgeries I saw were very common for the time of year
but still very exciting: screws, osteochronditis dissecans
surgery (performed otoscopically), colic surgery and
castration. In a week’s time, I learned a lot about the
physiology of horses and techniques during surgery, but more
importantly that this is the field and atmosphere I would like
to work in one day.I can’t begin to thank Dr. Spirito enough
for allowing me to shadow one of the greatest, if not the
greatest horse surgeons in the world. I am happy to report that
I’ve been invited back to stay longer and experience another
externship in equine medicine next summer.
BIRD & MOTH RESCUE ON CAMPUS
This October, the department of biological sciences helped in
the rescue of both a moth and bird. Originally discovered by
staff member Joseph Cosentino and student Ethan Kraft, the
rescue efforts also involved Dr. Palestis, Prof. Raths, Mrs.
Rollizo, and Dr. Onken.
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
The first, an injured white-throated sparrow was found
“stunned,” but after a nice meal of birdseed and water, Dr.
Palestis decided it was fine to be released. Dr. Palestis gently
gripped the bird and placed it near a garden outside of Megerle
Science. After a few seconds, the bird peeked his head left and
right, and flew without any problems straight to a tree branch.
Stephanie Rollizo explains, “He looked very happy to be back
outside once again.”
The second, a moth, was found near the facilities loading
dock, simply laying on the ground. Joeseph Cosentino said he
passed the cocoon for several weeks, and was curious to see it
finally hatch. When he saw the moth on laying floor, it
disheartened him, where he felt it was his duty to bring it to
the Department of Biological Sciences for rescue. The staff
had no problem caring for the moth, in what he described as
food any moth would love:
“Most moths are quite fond of sugar water. No one quite
knows why they prefer this particular mixture, but they sure
do chow down on it. What you do, is you mix together water
(doesn't matter if it is warm or cold...just don't make it
freezing or piping hot) with A LOT of sugar. Then, you put a
cotton ball into the mixture and let it soak it up. The reason
you want to put it into a cotton ball is because if you just put it
in a bowl, the moth may drown in its food. Kind of squeeze
out some excess water, not a lot, just so the moth can't drown
in it, then you're set to go.”
Contributed by Gregory Balaes and Stephanie Rollizo.
OPPORTUNITIES
RESEARCH WITH MOSQUITOES AND CRABS
Dr. Onken offers research
opportunities for students in
the frame of a project in
which he collaborates with
scientists from Washington
State University, the University of Idaho, and the University
of Alberta (Edmonton, CA). The project is funded by the
National Institute of Health and studies the physiology of the
midgut of larval yellow fever mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti).
Mosquitoes are vectors of a number of parasites, transmit
devastating diseases like malaria, yellow fever and dengue,
and are a major threat to the health of billions of people on our
planet. The principal investigators of this project address
larval mosquitoes, because it appears more straightforward to
fight these vectors as long as they are confined in an aquatic
habitat.
In collaboration with colleagues from the U.S. (Mt. Desert
Island Biological Laboratories, Maine), Brazil (University of
São Paulo in Ribeirão Preto, University of Paraná in Curitiba)
and Canada (University of Manitoba in Winnipeg) Dr. Onken
pursues research with Crustacea related to the osmoregulatory
capacities and mechanisms of crabs.
Dr. Onken can offer research opportunities for two to three
students. If interested contact Dr. Onken in his office (Megerle
Science Hall Room 411), lab (Megerle Science Hall Room
406) or via e-mail (horst.onken@wagner.edu) or phone 4204211.
For the spring semester Dr. Onken offers a work study
position related to his work with mosquitoes.
Contributed by Dr. Onken
The editor would like to encourage faculty members of the
Department of Biological Sciences to describe their
opportunities for research projects in the LIMULUS.
If students are interested to volunteer, to do research for
credit (BI 493 and 494), or to prepare for their research
experience in the frame of the senior learning community,
please, contact the faculty members of the department.
WORK IN THE GARDEN
Students interested in collaborating in the greenhouse and/or
garden during the fall of 2011 should contact Dr. Onken
(horst.onken@wagner.edu).
Contributed by Dr. Onken
BE A LIMULUS ASISTANT EDITOR
Proficient student writers are invited to become assistant
editors for the newsletter of the Department of Biological
Sciences. If you are interested, please, contact Dr. Onken
(horst.onken@wagner.edu).
Contributed by Dr. Onken
PUBLICATIONS
Moffett, D. F., Jagadeshwaran, U., Wang, Z., Davis, H. M.,
Onken, H. and Goss, G. G. (in press). Signaling by
intracellular Ca2+ and H+ in larval mosquito (Aedes aegypti)
midgut epithelium in response to serosal serotonin and lumen
pH. Journal of Insect Physiology, accepted in December 2011.
Palestis, B.G., J. Cabrero, R. Trivers, and J.P.M. Camacho.
2010. Prevalence of B chromosomes in Orthoptera is
associated with shape and number of A chromosomes.
Genetica 138: 1181-1189.
PRESENTATIONS
Palestis, B.G. and K.E. Eppinger. 2011. A banding study of
common terns on Pettit Island, NJ: Preliminary results.
Greater New York/New Jersey Harbor Herons and Waterbirds
Working Group. Staten Island, NY. January 12-13.
Palestis, B., I. Nisbet, J. Hatch, J. Arnold, and P. Szczys.
2011. The importance of tail length for sexual selection in
roseate terns. Waterbird Society. Grand Island, NE. March 1316.
See also below!
PROFESSIONAL MEETINGS
MACUB 2011
The 44th Annual MACUB Conference took place at Seton
Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey on Saturday,
October 29, 2011. MACUB is the Metropolitan Association
of College and University Biologists (see http://macub.org).
Seven faculty and staff of the department of biological
sciences attended with nine students, of which five presented
their research, as follows:
PAGE 13
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
Analyzing the Effect of Phthalates on the Development of
Drosophila melanogaster. Lisa Duncan, Joanna Emilio,
Heather Cook, Wagner College
Electron Microscopic Analysis of Cell Membrane Integrity
when Expressing Tau Pseudophosphorylated at Positions
T212, T213 & S262. Leonid Denisenko, Christopher Corbo,
Wagner College; Alejandra Alonso, CSI
Identification of Proliferating and Immunologically Active
Cells in Surviving Organotypic Culture of Adult Zebrafish
(Danio rerio) Optic Tecturm. Michael C. Gutkin, Christoper
P. Corbo, Linda A. Raths, Zoltan L. Fulop, Wagner College
Imaging Primary Cilia in Pancreatic Cancer Tumor
Initiating Cells. Gina M. Auricchio, Wagner College;
Jennifer Bailty, Florencia McAllister, Anirban Maitra, Steven
Leach, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Measuring Distribution and Permeability of an HIV
Microbicide Gel Vehicle using MRT, SPECT/CT and a
Radiolabeled Small Molecule. Maleeha A. Memon, Wagner
College; Edward Fuchs, Rahul Bakshi, Craig Hendrix, Johns
Hopkins University
Contributed by Stephanie Rollizo
SENIOR PRESENTS AT CONFERENCE
Senior biology major and environmental studies minor Farha
Rashid presented at a conference earlier in Spring 2011. She
presented her research that was entitled, “Spectral
Photosensitivity of the Pupal Stage of the Yellow Fever
Mosquitro Aedes aegypti Larvae.” This research was
conducted under the direction of Dr. Stearns and was funded
with the generous donations from the Undergraduate Senior
Thesis Research Fund for the Department of Biological
Sciences.
The research symposium that Rashid attended took place at
William Paterson University. Undergraduate students from the
Mid-Atlantic area presented their findings in biology and
chemistry. Rashid gave a poster presentation.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
Dr. ONKEN IN SCOTLAND
In June/July, Dr. Onken visited Glasgow, UK, for a week to
participate in the annual meeting of the Society of
Experimental Biology. One of the major symposia in the
frame of this conference, entitled “Molecular physiology of
epithelial transport in insects: a tribute to William R.
Harvey.”, was dedicated to the professional life of Bill
Harvey. Dr. Harvey holds a PhD in Biology from Harvard,
worked for decades at Temple University and is currently
Professor of Physiology and Functional Genomics (Whitney
Laboratory, University of Florida) and Professor of Global &
Environmental Health (College of Public Health and Health
Professions, University of Florida). He has significantly
influenced the past 50 years of epithelial transport in insects.
Bill received many honors, organized significant meetings,
and acted as editor of the Journal of Experimental Biology, a
leading journal of the field. The symposium was attended by
about 60 researchers especially active and successful in the
field of epithelial transport in insects. Apart of the scientific
sessions, there was time to socialize and discuss plans,
hypothesis and results.
ALUMNI
Dear Alumni,
If you are interested in contributing to our newsletter, you
are very welcome to do so. Contact Dr. Onken by e-mail
(horst.onken@wagner.edu)
with
your
submission,
comment, ideas or questions! We are excited to hear about
where you are, how and what you do!
CARTOONS
Dr. Onken presented a poster at the conference in the Scottish
Exhibition and Conference Center in Glasgow under the title
“Electrophysiology of the isolated and perfused posterior
midgut of adult, female yellow fever mosquitoes (Aedes
aegypti).” He was also invited to give a keynote lecture at a
satellite meeting in the University of Glasgow (the “home” of
Lord Kelvin). Dr. Onken’s visit in Scotland was financially
supported by the Litzenberger Fund.
Cartoons from www.lab-initio.com
Contributed by Dr. Onken
PAGE 15
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
What is this?
JOKE
An unemployed biologist was having considerable difficulty
in finding a new job. He finally saw an add in a local
newspaper for a position at a zoo. In the interview, the
manager told him that their only gorilla, which had been a star
attraction, had recently died, and it would be sometime before
they could replace it. Meanwhile, they needed someone to
dress up as a gorilla and pretend to be the animal. The
biologist was quite embarrassed, but, being desperate for
money, he accepted the job.
The next day, the biologist put on a gorilla skin and headgear
and entered a cage from a rear entrance. Visitors smiled at him
and threw bread. After a while, the biologist really got into the
act. He jumped up and down, beat his chest and roared as
people cheered.
The following day, the biologist entered the wrong cage by
accident and found himself staring at a lion. The lion roared
and rushed toward him. The scared biologist turned and ran,
while screaming, "Help! Help!" The lion leaped onto the
gorilla, knocked him to the ground and whispered in his ear,
"Hey, it's me Leonard, your former co-worker. Shut up or
we'll both lose our jobs!"
Three Individuals of the Species …?
QUIZZ
What is this?
GUIDELINES FOR CONTRIBUTORS
Authors in all sections should keep in mind that not all readers are specialized in their area of interest. Keep your contribution on a
level that everybody can understand.
Contributions may vary in length between about 50 and 500 words and must be submitted by e-mail to horst.onken@wagner.edu.
Photographs or other images that accompany an article are very welcome, but must be submitted as separate files (high quality jpg
is the preferred file format) attached to the e-mail. Be aware that photographs/images may be minimized in size.
Indicate the section of the newsletter where you want your contribution to appear.
The deadline for submission of a contribution is the 20th of the month. Contributions received later may or may not be considered.
The editor reserves his right to edit your contribution or post an immediate response.
Editing may involve to publish contributions in other sections as indicated by the author.
All contributions will clearly indicate the author's identity.
All contributions are reviewed and publication may be refused by the editor.
The Editorial Board:
Editor: Dr. Horst Onken, Associate Professor
Assistant Editor: Stephanie Rollizo, Dept. Secretary
Student Assistant Editor: Nidhi Khanna (graduated in 2011)
Student Assistant Editor: Gregory Balaes (Biopsychology)
Student Assistant Editor: Pakinam Mekki (Biology)
Student Assistant Editor: Philip Fomina (Biopsychology)
Student Assistant Editor: WANTED!
PAGE 16
�
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Limulus: The Newsletter of the Wagner College Biological Sciences Department
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The Department of Biological Sciences circulates a newsletter that will be updated monthly, culminating in two special issues per year (January and September). The January edition reviews the fall semester and the September edition reviews the spring semester and summer events. The name of the newsletter is LIMULUS and it is made available as pdf files.
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Limulus Newsletter, January 2012
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Cook, Heather
Onken, Horst
Houlihan, Adam
Capric, Violeta
Pisano, Peter
Stora, Victor
Manfredini, Leandra
Marin, Aimee
Rammelkamp, Thomas
Schneider, Lisa
Rashid, Farha
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Letter from the editor / Horst Onken -- Biology staff and faculty news / Nidhi Khanna -- Curriculum news / Gregory Balaes and Jonathan Hinrichs -- Biology student news / Nidhi Khanna -- News from clubs and societies / Gregory Balaes, Joanna Emiliio, Philip Fomina, and Lisa Schneider -- Experiences / Gregory Balaes, Judy Betz, Stephanie Rollizo, Linda Raths, and Mark Fealey -- Opportunities / Horst Onken -- Publications, Presentations, and Professional Meetings / Stephanie Rollizo and Nidhi Khanna -- Alumni -- Cartoon, Jokes, and Quizzes
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2012-01
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Staten Island (New York, N.Y.)
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Limulus
NEWSLETTER
Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
Volume 2009, Issue Fall-05
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Like this year, the November newsletter has always been late.
The reason is evident. There is a peak of work at the end of a
semester when term papers are due and final exams are
coming up. I have always a little of a bad conscience when the
newsletter is late. In order to get rid of this I use the power of
the editor and rename this last issue of the fall semester. It is
the November/December issue! Consequently, it is not late.
Again, I think, we succeeded to make up a wonderful issue,
containing reports of success and tons of opportunities and
experiences in our department. At this point I would like to
especially mention and underline one Name: Nidhi Khanna.
Nidhi has done a marvelous job as Assistant Editor of the
Limulus, not only in this issue, but during the whole year she
is supporting me. Nidhi, thank you so much.
Students, I hope all of you have great final exams and finish
the fall semester with success. I wish everybody Merry
Christmas and all the best for the new year. I am very much
looking forward to see you back at Wagner College for the
spring semester 2010.
Dr. Horst Onken
The Editor
BIOLOGY STAFF AND FACULTY NEWS
BIOLOGY PROFESSORS RECEIVE HONORS AT
FACULTY AWARD DINNER
The faculty awards dinner took place on Tuesday, November
17th. The Biology Department‟s very own Dr. Onken and Dr.
Cook were both honored at this dinner.
Dr. Onken was awarded the Faculty
Award for Exceptional Performance
in the Area of Scholarship. Dr.
Onken began teaching at Wagner
only three years ago, but has made
tremendous contributions to the
Biology Department, particularly by
expanding research opportunities for
undergraduate students. Dr. Onken
research deals with mosquitoes, and
he has been published in six times in
scientific journals while at Wagner.
Dr. Onken has inspired students and faculty to realize that
research in an important part of the learning process, and his
accomplishments have helped the Biology Department grow.
November/December, 2009
Dr. Cook was awarded the Teaching with Technology Award.
Dr. Cook incorporates a variety of
technological resources into the
majority of the courses that she
teaches. In today‟s world, students
need to be better acquainted with
technology in order to compete with
others, and Dr. Cook continues to
prepare her students for the rapidly
changing and technological advance
world. Many of the assignments and
learning tools that she uses are
technology based, and she has even made use of new and
improved technology in her molecular cell research.
Congratulations Dr. Onken and Dr. Cook!
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna (information, including photographs, was
compiled from the Wagner Website)
BIOLOGY LC RECIEVES SPECIAL RECOGNITION
Dr. Stearns and Dr. Houlihan are teaching an LC together
called “Bacteria, Human Health, and Survival.” In accordance
to the Wagner Plan, students in learning community must
complete an experiential component, which requires students
to complete 30 hours of community service. Students in Dr.
Stearns and Dr. Houlihan‟s LC have been teaching middleschool students in local schools about bacteria and hygiene.
Wagner students made presentations to the middle-school
students about “good and bad bacteria” and also told the
youngsters about the importance of maintaining good hygiene.
The LC was recently featured in an article in the Staten Island
Advance. To view the article, please visit the following link:
http://www.wagner.edu/news/sites/wagner.edu.news/files/091
125%20Advance%20%28Diane%20Lore%29%2C%20Outrea
ch%20by%20college%20students%20%28WEB%29.jpg. The
information for this article was provided from the Staten
Island Advance.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
BIOLOGY CLUB NEWS
The Biology Club sponsored a table in the Union raising
awareness about animal cruelty on November 17th. Biology
Club members encouraged people from the Wagner
community to donate money to that would help save animals
from abusive owners. Members also gave out free bags of
candy that included startling facts about animal cruelty.
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
Pictures from Breast Cancer Walk contributed by Shannon
O‟Neill:
Victor Stora, Jessica Cozzolino, and Michael Migliorini help
out at the Animal Cruelty table.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
TRI-BETA NEWS
The members of Tri-Beta have been extremely busy towards
the end of this semester. They completed their on and offcampus community service, and pictures from both of these
events are featured below. Everyone is excited that winter
break is approaching, and they are looking forward to a new
semester filled with more fun activities and community
service!
Contributed by Yolana Fuks
Pictures from Haunted Hallways contributed by Yolana Fuks:
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
PRE-HEALTH SOCIETY
The Pre-Health Society participated in two on-campus
community service events this past month. Members took part
in the letter writing campaign that thanked soldiers for the
sacrifices that they were making overseas. Members also
participated in the Up „Til Dawn event that occurred on
November 18th. Up „Til Dawn is also a letter writing campaign
that helps raise money for St. Jude‟s Research Hospital. The
Pre-Health Society had a great turn out for both of these
events!
Victor Stora (Pre-Health Society Treasurer) and Jessica
Cozzolino (Pre-Health Society‟s Pre-Veterinary VP) write
letters at Up „Til Dawn.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
OPPORTUNITIES
SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Scholarship opportunities for sophomores and juniors are
available from the Morris K. Udall Foundation
(www.udall.gov) for the following categories:
1.) Students committed to an environmental career
2) Native American/Alaskan Native students interested in
Native health care or tribal public policy
The scholarship is for $5000 and includes a mandatory 4-day
conference in August. Honorary Mention awards are for $350.
Any students interested in applying should contact Brian
Palestis (bpalesti@wagner.edu).
Contributed by Dr. Palestis
WORK IN THE GARDEN
Students interested in collaborating in the greenhouse and/or
garden during the spring of 2010 should contact Dr. Onken
(horst.onken@wagner.edu).
planet. The principal investigators of this project address
larval mosquitoes, because it appears more straightforward to
fight these vectors as long as they are confined in an aquatic
habitat.
In collaboration with colleagues from the U.S. (Mt. Desert
Island Biological Laboratories, Maine), Brazil (University of
São Paulo in Ribeirão Preto, University of Paraná in Curitiba)
and Canada (University of Manitoba in Winnipeg) Dr. Onken
pursues research with Crustacea related to the osmoregulatory
capacities and mechanisms of crabs. Together with Dr.
Alauddin (Chemistry) and Professor Beecher (Biology), an
ecophysiological study is in an early stage of planning.
Dr. Onken can offer research opportunities for two to three
students. If interested contact Dr. Onken in his office (Megerle
Science Hall Room 411), lab (Megerle Science Hall Room
406) or via e-mail (horst.onken@wagner.edu) or phone 4204211.
Contributed by Dr. Onken
Contributed by Dr. Onken
BE A LIMULUS ASISTANT EDITOR
Proficient student writers are invited to become assistant
editors for the newsletter of the Department of Biological
Sciences. If you are interested, please, contact Dr. Onken
(horst.onken@wagner.edu).
Contributed by Dr. Onken
COMMUNITY SERVICE OPPORTUNITY
Greetings Everyone,
I am Nidhi Khanna and I am currently a junior. I am working
with this non-profit organization called Planting Peace.
Planting Peace has many sub-organizations including one
called The Clean World Movement. The Clean World
Movement is trying to encourage more individuals around the
world to recycle and to take better care of the planet. I am
working with The Clean World Movement as the
environmental director in my community. I am organizing
some clean-ups in Staten Island during the semester. If
anybody is interested in helping out, please feel free to contact
me at nidhi.khanna@wagner.edu. Thanks for your interest and
I look forward hearing from you! If you would like more
information about the organization I am working with, please
visit: http://www.plantingpeace.org/.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
RESEARCH WITH MOSQUITOES AND CRABS
Dr.
Onken
offers
research opportunities
for students in the frame
of a project in which he
collaborates with scientists from Washington
State University, the University of Idaho, and the University
of Alberta (Edmonton, CA). The project is funded by the
National Institute of Health and studies the physiology of the
midgut of larval yellow fever mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti).
Mosquitoes are vectors of a number of parasites, transmit
devastating diseases like malaria, yellow fever and dengue,
and are a major threat to the health of billions of people on our
EXPERIENCES
TRIP TO STATEN ISLAND ZOO
This semester, I am taking Forms and Functions with
Professor Beecher. For one of our assignments, the class was
asked to visit the Staten Island Zoo. Despite being a Staten
Island native, I must admit that this was the first time I
actually paid a visit to the zoo that literally minutes away from
my home.
For my assignment, I was required to pick an animal that I
found interesting and research about its biology and create a
fact sheet. Even though I was supposed to write about one
animal at the zoo, I was eager to observe the large variety of
species in the zoo‟s botanical garden. At the zoo, visitors can
learn about amphibians, birds, reptiles, fish, and other
mammals. In 1936, the zoo was opened and it was actually the
only zoo in the entire world to have 32 rattlesnakes. Even
today, the zoo has an extensive collection of rattlesnakes and
other snakes including Anacondas. Another interesting fact
about the Staten Island Zoo is that it was the first American
zoo to employ a female veterinarian to serve as the zoo‟s
doctor.
The zoo‟s mission is to educate visitors about the importance
of animals and to appreciate the existence of the wide-range of
animals that nature has to offer. The zoo is currently
constructing a few new attractions including a Leopard
exhibit, Red Panda Exhibit, and a carousel for children to
enjoy. Many activities at the zoo are centered around children,
but adults and individuals of all ages can visit the zoo and
learn something new! The zoo also started a Meerkat Project
that is focused on renovating the homes of the meerkats that
inhabit the zoo. People that are interested in supporting this
project can donate money directly to the zoo. The zoo also
offers opportunities to the public to volunteer and adopt
animals. This month, the zoo is hosting a few events including
a “Charles Dickens” themed event that includes caroling and
lighting of the Christmas Tree. Another scheduled event
includes a holiday breakfast with a visit from another animal
that will make an appearance at the zoo, a reindeer. For more
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
information
about
the
www.statenislandzoo.org.
zoo,
please
visit
A selection of photographs follows on the next page:
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
VISIT TO THE MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
Recently, I paid a visit to the Museum of Natural History to do
an assignment for Professor Beecher‟s Forms and Functions
Class. I have visited
the museum several
times, but I learn
something new during
every visit. While at
the
museum,
I
wandered into the
Primates, Dinosaurs,
and
Reptile
and
Amphibians exhibit.
Currently, the museum has a few new exhibits that seem very
interesting and educational. The Spider Silk exhibit includes
an elaborate silk textile that was created by over one million
spiders! The spiders spun the silk for four years, and about 80
people in Madagascar collected the millions of spiders to
make this textile. Men and women wove the silk after the
spiders produced this extremely soft and strong silk. Every
thread in the textile actually represents 96 strands of spider
silk! Currently, the Museum of Natural History is the only
place in the world that has a textile of the woven spider silk.
Another great new exhibit is Frogs: A Chorus of Colors. This
exhibit will be open until January 3rd. The museum has an
extensive exhibit of various frog species including Fire-bellied
toads, Waxy Monkey Frogs, and the Blue Dart Poison Frog.
The exhibit provides visitors with a lot of fun facts about
frogs. It is definitely a treat to see a variety of frog species and
the different colors that each species comes in. Many frog
species are getting smaller and this is primarily due to climate
change, and human involvement. Human activity has
destroyed frog habitats and humans have polluted the areas
that are inhabited by frogs.
The Museum of Natural History is a great place to visit,
especially when you are trying to think of something fun to do
in New York City. The museum always has new and
interesting exhibits that are not only educational but fun to
visit as well. During my visit, I took some pictures, and I hope
you like them! For more information on the museum, please
visit http://www.amnh.org/.
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
Some more photographs follow on the next page:
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
PARTICPATION IN BLIND TASTE TEST
Professor Beecher‟s Environmental Biology class has been
discussing several important environmental issues that affect
the global community. Recently, the class started to do some
research on various types of labels, like free trade, rainforest
alliance, shade grown, and recycling. Some students gave
individual presentations on specific labels and their meanings.
Free trade products are basically sold directly from the vender
to the consumer. The government or other “middlemen” do
not have any involvement with the buying and selling of the
products. Products that have a rainforest alliance label are
deemed acceptable by this non-governmental organization. In
order to be rainforest alliance certified, farming methods that
are harmful to ecosystems cannot be used, and workers
growing the crops must be treated fairly, and their lives should
not be in danger. Farha Rashid (a student in the class) did a
presentation on Fair Trade products. She discovered that
farmers who produce these products are paid a fair price and
fair trade ensures that forced child labor is not used in the
production.
Shade grown coffee is basically grown under a number of
trees. The coffee is grown under the shade, and this is
beneficial to the environment. When coffee is grown under the
sun, many farmers use hazardous insecticides and chemicals.
Recycling labels are identifiable by almost everyone, and
these labels have been encouraging the public to reduce and
reuse recyclable materials.
Several other students gave presentations on labels. Tyler
discussed on Certified Naturally Grown labels. These labels
are geared towards small local farmers and focus on farm-tomarket values. Lawrence researched Pure Fun Organic Candy
and realized that this kind of label ensures that workers are
treated nicely, and organic products are used in manufacturing
processes. Lynette, Peter, Jim, and Ayn worked together and
learned about USDA Organic labels. In order for foods to
obtain this label, the food must be produced in an
environmentally sustainable manner. Hormones and relatively
few pesticides are utilized.
After each student in the class researched a specific label, they
shared their findings with the rest of the class. Students
learned how farmers get certified for certain labels. Professor
Beecher conducted a blind taste test, and she had students try
to detect the difference between organic shade coffee and
Dunkin Donuts coffee. Students were blindfolded, drank each
kind of coffee, and then revealed to the class which coffee
they preferred. Emily Pierce liked the shade coffee, Pete
Westwood liked the Dunkin Donuts coffee, and James Lee
was unable to detect any difference between the two coffee
types. The class enjoyed drinking coffee during the rest of the
class, and then spoke about different kinds of renewable
energy technologies like wind, photovoltaics, and hydrogen
fuel cells. To learn more about these labels, please visit the
following websites:
http://www.naturallygrown.org/
http://www.organiccandy.com/
http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STE
LDEV3004446&acct=nopgeninfo
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
http://www.transfairusa.org/
Contributed by Professor Beecher, The Environmental Biology Class, and
Nidhi Khanna
EDWARD CALBRESE ABOUT HORMESIS
On a cold November night, Edward
Calabrese, professor of toxicology
and environmental science at the
University of Massachusetts, came
to inform students about the
importance
of
the
leading
proponent of hormesis. Calabrese
has published many papers on this
topic, including several major
review papers summarizing a large
number of studies that have shown hormesis (where a
substance that is inhibitory at high doses can be stimulatory at
low doses).
Coincidently, this phenomenon has been the basis of many
research projects at Wagner. A professor of Anatomy &
Physiology, Dr.Fulop, along with his students have performed
experiments on the effects of alcohol on zebrafish. Another
professor in the biology department at Wagner College, Dr.
Moorthy, has had students examine the effects of lithium
chloride on zebrafish embryos and alcohol on Drosophila.
Dr. Calabrese explained this to us as “a response phenomenon
characterized by a low dose stimulation and a high dose of
inhibition.” Early in his speech, it was stressed to us that the
beneficial/harmfulness of hormesis should not be included into
the definition. Basically, hormesis is the idea that a toxin will
have an opposite effect in small doses as in large doses.
Hormesis is a generalized phenomenon: independent of
model, endpoint and agent.
When applying the phenomenon of hormesis, two possible
responses that could be graphed are: J–shaped or inverted Ushaped. One area of study with hormesis is aging. Survival
capacity depends on homeostatic ability and was studied with
mild stressors. These mild stressors were shown to have anti
aging effects. Mild stressors included heat shock, irradiation,
hyper gravity and food restrictions.
“The reasons for this reluctance to change are complex but can
be traced in large part to the fact that toxicology has been,
primarily, an applied discipline with the creditable goal of
protecting health. Faced with a huge number of compounds to
be tested, toxicologists therefore streamlined their processes to
reduce the number of animals used per dose and the number of
doses per experiment” stated Dr. Calabrese, in his effort to
explain why hormesis was overlooked by toxology.
After grasping a greater knowledge on this topic, it still leaves
the lingering question: why is the phenomenon of hormesis
important? To Dr. Calabrese he stresses that it will change
how radiation health experts, chemical toxologists,
pharmacologists, high risk assessors, and physicians do their
job. By applying this new way of thinking and approach to
toxology, it may open new doors to many professions.
Ultimately, the decision of if you would like to believe in
hormesis is up to you.
PUBLICATIONS
Etinger, A., Lebron, J. & Palestis, B. J.. (2009, in press).
Sex-assortative shoaling in zebrafish (Danio rerio). Bios.
Izeirovski, S., Moffett, S. B., Moffett, D. F. & Onken, H.
(2009). The anterior midgut of larval yellow fever mosquitoes
(Aedes aegypti): Effects of nutrients on the transepithelial
voltage and strong luminal alkalinization. Wagner College
Forum for Undergraduate Research.
Izeirovski, S., Moffett, S. B., Moffett, D. F. & Onken, H.
(2009, in press). The anterior midgut of larval yellow fever
mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti): effects of amino acids,
dicarboxylic acids, and glucose on the transepithelial voltage
and strong luminal alkalinization. Journal of Experimental
Zoology, published online, DOI: 10.1002/jez.561.
Jagadeshwaran, U., Onken, H., Hardy, M., Moffett, S. B. &
Moffett, D. F. (2009, in press). Cellular mechanisms of acid
secretion in the posterior midgut of the larval mosquito Aedes
aegypti. Journal of Experimental Biology, in press.
Lamb, C. M., Moorthy, A. S., Corbo, C.P. & Fulop, Z. L.
(2009). Teratogenic effects of lithium chloride on eye
development in early embryogenesis of Zebrafish (Danio
rerio). In Vivo 31(1): 24-31.
Moffett, D.F. and Onken, H. (2009, in press). The Cellular
Basis of Extreme Alkali Secretion in Insects: A Tale of Two
Tissues. In: Epithelial Transport Physiology (ed. George A.
Gerencser). Totowa, New Jersey: Humana Press.
Onken, H., & Moffett, D. F. (2009). Revisiting the cellular
mechanisms of strong luminal alkalinization in the anterior
midgut of larval mosquitoes. Journal of Experimental Biology.
212: 373-377.
Onken, H., Patel, M., Javoroncov, M., Izeirovski, S.,
Moffett, S.B. & Moffett, D.F. (2009). Strong alkalinization in
the anterior midgut of larval yellow fever mosquitoes (Aedes
aegypti): Involvement of luminal Na+/K+-ATPase. Journal of
Experimental Zoology. 311A: 155-161.
Palestis, B.G. (2009). Fluctuating asymmetry in common tern
chicks varies with hatching order and clutch size. The Auk
126: 815-822.
Palestis, B.G. (2009). Use of artificial eelgrass mats by
saltmarsh-nesting common terns (Sterna hirundo). In Vivo
30(3): 11-16.
Trivers, R., B.G. Palestis & D. Zaatari. (2009). The Anatomy
of a Fraud: Symmetry and Dance. TPZ Publishers. Antioch,
CA.
Zaatari, D., Palestis, B.G. & Trivers, R. (2009). Fluctuating
asymmetry of responders affects offers in the Ultimatum
Game oppositely according to attractiveness or need as
perceived by proposers. Ethology115: 627-632.
Contributed by Lynsey Brandwein and Julianna Maniscalco
PAGE 6
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
PROFESSIONAL MEETINGS
“SEAHAWKS” PARTICIPATE IN WATERBIRDS
CONFERENCE
The 33rd Annual Meeting of the Waterbird Society, a scientific
organization dedicated to the study of marine and aquatic birds
(http://www.waterbirds.org/), took place in Cape May, NJ,
from November 4 through November 7. I attend this meeting
in most years to present my research on the behavior and
ecology of terns. The conference usually takes place in a good
location to see birds and Cape May is certainly no exception.
Although I enjoy the opportunity to travel to far away places
(recent meetings have been in Barcelona and South Padre
Island, Texas), the nearby location had the advantage that
Wagner College was well-represented at the meeting.
I presented a paper on
fluctuating asymmetry in
common
tern
chicks.
Fluctuating asymmetry is a
measure
of
small
deviations from perfect
bilateral symmetry and can
be used as a measure of
stress during development
or of “good genes”.
Microbiology
Masters
student Jusuf Husic gave a
poster presentation on his
work characterizing ectoparasites on tern feathers (feather lice) and testing for the
presence of pathogenic bacteria in tern chicks (so far he has
found none). Coauthors on his
paper include Microbiology
professors Roy Mosher and
Adam Houlihan and myself.
Two undergraduate Biopsychology majors, Maleeha
Memon and Ashley Nati, also
attended part of the meeting.
Ashley and Maleeha will be
working in the field with me
in the future, and they were
able not only to learn about
waterbirds but also to see
what a scientific meeting is
like.
Presentations by Wagner College authors are listed below:
Husic, J., R. Mosher, A. Houlihan, and B. Palestis. 2009.
Evaluation for carriage of parasites and pathogens in common
tern (Sterna hirundo) chicks. Presented at the Meeting of the
Waterbird Society, 4-7 November, Cape May, NJ.
Palestis, B. 2009. Fluctuating asymmetry in common tern
chicks varies with hatching order and clutch size. Presented at
the Meeting of the Waterbird Society, 4-7 November, Cape
May, NJ.
Ashley Nati and Maleeha Memon took these photos at Cape
May Point State Park from the site of the Cape May Bird
Observatory‟s hawk watch platform.
Contributed by Dr. Palestis
ALUMNI
Dear Alumni,
If you are interested in contributing to our newsletter, you
are very welcome to do so. Contact Dr. Onken by e-mail
(horst.onken@wagner.edu)
with
your
submission,
comment, ideas or questions! We are excited to hear about
where you are, how and what you do!
PUZZLES, JOKES, QUOTES, CARTOONS
POETRY:
From: news:bionet.microbiology --by someone signing as Yersinia
A Mad Scientist Christmas
Twas the night before Christmas and all thru my house,
Not a specimen was stirring, not even a louse.
The test tubes were capped and the rat cages closed,
The mold cultures fuzzy, the mice in repose.
The oven kept warm the ebola and pox,
I still need to locate my husband's clean socks...
But that has to wait till tomorrow, I know;
My buggies still need that much more time to grow.
When from the kitchen came a massive explosion,
I leapt from my bed in perpetual motion.
Grabbing my lab coat I pulled on my pants,
Struggling into them a sick sort of dance.
With fury and haste I put on a shirt,
Running out of the bedroom on feet black with dirt.
Buttoning my lab coat and donning a mask,
I ran into the kitchen holding an Erlenmeyer flask.
I nearly passed out when the man who I saw,
dressed in containment gear sealed without flaw,
Held high a huge sack with his arm stiff and straight,
I could tell he must have a hard time with his weight.
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
Through the mike from his suit he said without pause,
"Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas, I'm Hanta Claus!"
Over his shoulder he hefted the sack,
We walked into the living room, I offered a snack.
He took it and smiled, placed the sack by my bench,
Instantly I noticed the Clostridium stench.
Brimming with joy, I cried out with glee,
"Did you bring all of these germies for me?"
"Oh yes," said Hanta, "I must show propriety;
By bringing you microbes, I'm saving society.
"You are the only one who loves these diseases.
Therefore I'm glad to oblige who it pleases."
Delirious with excitement I sat by his side
While he gave me a year's stock of microscope slides,
And pasteur pipettes, drug resistant bacteria,
Such as staph, strep and cultures from the genus Neisseria.
The gleam in my eyes caused the house to be lit,
The moment he gave me a gram-staining kit,
Clostridium tetani, perfringens and sporogenes,
Salmonella typhi and Streptococcus pyogenes!
Plus viruses known to produce hepatitis,
Herpes, and rabies, yellow fever and meningitis!
But that was not all, he had parasites too,
Plasmodia, trypanosomes and schistosomes true!
Tapeworms and roundworms, plague-carrying fleas.
How sincerely generous, Hanta did aim to please!
At long last he said he must now go away,
His sled was experiencing radioactive decay.
"Thanks for the presents," I said, shaking his hand,
"They'll keep me off the streets, you understand."
Hanta Claus smiled and bid me goodnight,
Shouting "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good blight!"
GUIDELINES FOR CONTRIBUTORS
Authors in all sections should keep in mind that not all
readers are specialized in their area of interest. Keep your
contribution on a level that everybody can understand.
Contributions may vary in length between about 50 and
500 words and must be submitted by e-mail to
horst.onken@wagner.edu.
Photographs or other images that accompany an article are
very welcome, but must be submitted as separate files
(high quality jpg is the preferred file format) attached to
the e-mail. Be aware that photographs/images may be
minimized in size.
Indicate the section of the newsletter where you want your
contribution to appear.
The deadline for submission of a contribution is the 20th of
the month. Contributions received later may or may not be
considered.
The editor reserves his right to edit your contribution
or post an immediate response.
Editing may involve to publish contributions in other
sections as indicated by the author.
All contributions will clearly indicate the author's
identity.
All contributions are reviewed and publication may be
refused by the editor.
The Editorial Board:
Editor: Dr. Horst Onken, Associate Professor
Assistant Editor: Stephanie Rollizo, Dept. Secretary
Student Assistant Editor: Nidhi Khanna (Biology major)
Student Assistant Editor: N.N.
CARTOON:
PAGE 8
�
Dublin Core
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Limulus: The Newsletter of the Wagner College Biological Sciences Department
Description
An account of the resource
The Department of Biological Sciences circulates a newsletter that will be updated monthly, culminating in two special issues per year (January and September). The January edition reviews the fall semester and the September edition reviews the spring semester and summer events. The name of the newsletter is LIMULUS and it is made available as pdf files.
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Title
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Limulus Newsletter, November and December 2009
Subject
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Cook, Heather
Houlihan, Adam
Stearns, Donald
Stora, Victor J.
Cozzolino, Jessica
Migliorini, Michael
Electronic newsletters
Table Of Contents
A list of subunits of the resource.
Letter from the editor / Horst Onken -- Biology professors receive honors at faculty award dinner / Nidhi Khanna -- Biology LC receives special recognition / Nidhi Khanna -- Biology Club News / Nidhi Khanna -- Tri-Beta News / Yolanda Fuks -- Pre-Health News / Nidhi Khanna -- Scholarship Opportunities / Brian Palestis -- Work in the Garden / Horst Onken -- Be a LIMULUS assistant editor / Horst Onken -- Community service opportunity / Nidhi Khanna -- Research with mosquitoes and crabs / Horst Onken -- Trip to Staten Island Zoo / Nidhi Khanna -- Visit to the Museum of Natural History / Nidhi Khanna -- Edward Calbrese about hormesis / Lynsey Brandwein and Julianna Maniscalco -- Publications -- "Seahawks" participate in waterbird conference / Brian Palestis -- A Mad Scientist Christmas
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Wagner College, Department of Biological Sciences
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Wagner College
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2009-12
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Wagner College Digital Collections
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8 leaves
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en
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Text
newsletters
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Staten Island (New York, N.Y.)
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Limulus
NEWSLETTER
Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
Volume 2010, Issue Spring-01
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Welcome back and all the best wishes for 2010! As always in
the beginning of a semester, also the January Limulus is a
magazine-style newsletter that summarizes the last semester.
Here we reprint the major parts of the issues from September,
October, November and December. Everybody can use this
newsletter to refresh memories, and transfer students and other
newcomers can get an impression about what is going on in
the Department of Biological Sciences at Wagner College.
There is one new piece of information to which I want to draw
your special attention: See our summer course offerings on
page 2!
Dr. Horst Onken
The Editor
BIOLOGY STAFF AND FACULTY NEWS
GREENHOUSE AND GARDEN
At the last department meeting, Dr. Onken was elected to be
the coordinator for greenhouse and garden. The greenhouse
will be restructured to house a plant diversity exhibition. Apart
of the exhibition, bench space is offered for classes held in the
Department of Biological Sciences. Forms and Functions of
Life (BI 217) will study the influence of plant hormones in
spring 2010. Microbial Ecology (MI 523) will investigate
plant-microbe symbiosis and phytopathogenesis. Depending
on the remaining space, students who want to do their
Experiential Component of the Senior RFT may reserve space
for their research project through Dr. Onken. Any students
from outside the department who want to use the greenhouse
or to participate in the greenhouse maintenance should contact
Dr. Onken.
Most of the planters in the garden besides the powerhouse
have been cleared for winter. Some work still remains to be
done and students are welcome to participate in these efforts.
For spring 2010, it is planned to convert the planters in a
theme garden that could be used for classes in the fall.
Contributed by Dr. Onken.
BIOLOGY PROFESSORS RECEIVE HONORS AT
FACULTY AWARD DINNER
The faculty awards dinner took place on Tuesday, November
17th. The Biology Department‘s very own Dr. Onken and Dr.
Cook were both honored at this dinner.
Dr. Onken was awarded the Faculty Award for Exceptional
Performance in the Area of Scholarship. Dr. Onken began
January, 2010
teaching at Wagner only three years ago,
but has made tremendous contributions to
the Biology Department, particularly by
expanding research opportunities for
undergraduate students. Dr. Onken
research deals with mosquitoes, and he has
been published in six times in scientific
journals while at Wagner. Dr. Onken has
inspired students and faculty to realize that
research in an important part of the learning process, and his
accomplishments have helped the Biology Department grow.
Dr. Cook was awarded the Teaching
with Technology Award. Dr. Cook
incorporates a variety of technological
resources into the majority of the
courses that she teaches. In today‘s
world, students need to be better
acquainted with technology in order to
compete with others, and Dr. Cook
continues to prepare her students for the
rapidly changing and technological advance world. Many of
the assignments and learning tools that she uses are
technology based, and she has even made use of new and
improved technology in her molecular cell research.
Congratulations Dr. Onken and Dr. Cook!
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna (information, including photographs, was
compiled from the Wagner Website)
BIOLOGY LC RECIEVES SPECIAL RECOGNITION
Dr. Stearns and Dr. Houlihan are teaching an LC together
called ―Bacteria, Human Health, and Survival.‖ In accordance
to the Wagner Plan, students in learning community must
complete an experiential component, which requires students
to complete 30 hours of community service. Students in Dr.
Stearns and Dr. Houlihan‘s LC have been teaching middleschool students in local schools about bacteria and hygiene.
Wagner students made presentations to the middle-school
students about ―good and bad bacteria‖ and also told the
youngsters about the importance of maintaining good hygiene.
The LC was recently featured in an article in the Staten Island
Advance. To view the article, please visit the following link:
http://www.wagner.edu/news/sites/wagner.edu.news/files/091
125%20Advance%20%28Diane%20Lore%29%2C%20Outrea
ch%20by%20college%20students%20%28WEB%29.jpg. The
information for this article was provided from the Staten
Island Advance.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
CURRICULUM NEWS
2010 Summer courses and intended audience:
BI 110/110L Environmental Biology. Session A (Nonscience majors and Environmental Studies minors)
BI 120 Human Biology. Runs May 17-May 28 (Non-science
majors)
BI 209/209L Human Anatomy and Physiology I. Session A
(Nursing and Physician Assistant majors)
BI 210/210L Human Anatomy and Physiology II. Session B
(Nursing and Physician Assistant majors)
BI/MI 213/213L Cells, Genes, and Evolution. Session B
(Biology and Microbiology majors, Pre-health students)
BI 335/335L Natural History of the Mid-Atlantic States.
Runs May 17-May 28 (Biology majors and Environmental
Studies minors)
BI/MI 400E Experiential Component of the Senior RFT.
Session A (Biology and Microbiology majors)
MI 109 Plagues, Outbreaks and Biological Warfare.
Session B (Non-science majors)
MI 200/200L Microbiology. Session A (Microbiology,
Nursing, and Physician Assistant majors)
MI/BI 517/517L Electron Microscopy. Session A
(Microbiology and Biology majors and Microbiology graduate
students)
MI 615/615L Electron Microscopy. Session A
(Microbiology graduate students)
MI 797, 798, 799 Research. Session A (Microbiology
graduate students)
BIOLOGY CLUB NEWS
The Biology Club had a successful first meeting. The next
meeting will be held on MONDAY OCTOBER 5TH at 9pm,
location TBD. Individuals who wish to be part of the Biology
Club should contact the president of the Biology Club Cassie
Bray. (Cassandra.bray@wagner.edu)
If current members are unable to attend the next meeting, they
must contact the secretary of the Biology Club Melissa
Alvarez. (Melissa.alvarez@wagner.edu) If students fail to
contact Melissa about their absence, they will no longer be
listed as members of the Biology Club. The club discussed
several important things at the meeting.
The club plans to complete their off-campus community
service event at the reservoir located on Arthur Kill Road.
Members will clean up trash at the reservoir on either a
Sunday morning or afternoon. This event will take place in
November. Details to be followed shortly.
For the next meeting, Cassie is encouraging members to
suggest a good on-campus community service opportunity. At
the last meeting, members were also considering buying club
t-shirts. Cassie would like members to think of creative ideas
to bring to the next meeting as well.
On Sunday, October 18th(tentatively) the Biology Club will
hold an event at the Bodies Exhibit on the South Street
Seaport. This is a campus-wide event and all are invited to
attend, but you must act fast! Only 25 seats are available and
the part of the ticket will be covered for by the Biology club‘s
SGA budget.
The Biology Club is thinking about having movie nights on
campus. At the next meeting, members will discuss further
details. Members will address more issues, but these four
issues are currently the highest priority.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna (information was complied with the help of
Cassie Bray and Melissa Alvarez)
The Biology Club had a meeting on October 19 th, and
discussed a variety of issues. Members of the Biology Club
participated in the annual Breast Cancer Walk that takes place
in Clove Lakes Park. The club will be doing their on-campus
community service event on Tuesday November 10 th. The
event is intended to raise awareness about animal cruelty.
Members of the club will display a poster about animal cruelty
in the union that day during lunchtime. Donations that go
towards raising awareness about animal cruelty will be
collected during lunchtime as well. The club will host a
showing of an Animal Planet movie that all members of the
Wagner community are invited to attend. The film will be
shown at 8pm on November 10th, with location TBD.
The Bodies Exhibit trip at the South Street Seaport will take
place on November 22nd. All Wagner students are welcomed
to attend. Participants should be advised to meet everyone at
the 10:40am shuttle. Fliers will be distributed in the following
weeks and there will be a sign up sheet as well. Only 25
participants may attend, and several members of the club are
already planning to attend, so act fast!
The next meeting will be on Monday, November 2 nd at 9pm in
the lobby of the 4th floor in Haborview Hall. Please contact the
Biology
Club
president
Cassandra
Bray
(Cassandra.bray@wagner.edu) if you have any questions.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna and Cassandra Bray
Biology Club sponsored a table in the Union raising awareness
about animal cruelty on November 17th. Biology Club
members encouraged people from the Wagner community to
donate money to that would help save animals from abusive
owners. Members also gave out free bags of candy that
included startling facts about animal cruelty.
Victor Stora, Jessica Cozzolino, and Michael Migliorini help
out at the Animal Cruelty table.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
PAGE 2
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
TRI-BETA NEWS
Welcome new members and welcome back returning
members of Tri Beta!
My name is Jessica Cozzolino and I am the secretary of Tri
Beta this year. I will be sending everybody the minutes after
each meeting and will keep you all updated with any Tri
Beta activities.
For our off-campus community service activity we will be
participating in the Breast Cancer Walk taking place on
Sunday, October 18, 2009 at Cloves Lakes Park (1150 Clove
Road, Staten Island, NY.) If you will be participating in this
event please email the president of Tri Beta Yolana Fuks @
Yolana.Fuks@wagner.edu
We were also considering getting team Tee shirts for this
event. So if you are interested or have any ideas you can
email Yolana.
For our on campus community service, we will be
participating in the Haunted Hallways event. In this event
we get our own room in main hall and we decorate the
classroom for Halloween. Children from around the area will
come to Wagner College to see our displays. We are not sure
of the exact date for this yet (most likely the weekend before
Halloween), but I will keep everyone updated. We can also
dress up for this event according to our room theme.
Our next meeting will take place one day in the week prior to
the Breast Cancer Walk on October 18, 2009.
Feel free to E-Mail me with any questions.
Have a great day and see you all at the next meeting =)
Contributed Jessica Cozzolino
Tri-Beta held their last meeting on Monday October 14th.
Members completed their off-campus community service by
participating in the Breast Cancer Walk that took place in
Clove Lakes Park. Despite the gusty winds, and treacherous
rain, many members of Tri-Beta went to the Breast Cancer
Walk to support a good cause.
Tri-Beta also completed their on-campus community service
for this semester. Members dressed up in Halloween costumes
and participated in the Haunted Hallways event on Sunday
October 25th. Haunted Hallways is an event that is open to the
public (people outside of the Wagner community) and takes
place annually. The Marketing Club sponsors the event, and
various clubs and organizations are allowed to rent a room in
Main Hall. Each club is permitted to decorate their rooms and
participants are encouraged to dress up in Halloween
costumes. Children from all over Staten Island come to Main
Hall and go ―trick or treating‖ in all of the rooms, and Wagner
students give them candy along with a good scare.
Members of Tri-Beta decided to have a ―Mad Scientist‖ theme
for their room. Students used skeletons and a variety of organs
from the Biology laboratories. The event was an overall
success.
break is approaching, and they are looking forward to a new
semester filled with more fun activities and community
service!
Contributed by Yolana Fuks
Pictures from Haunted Hallways contributed by Yolana Fuks:
Pictures from Breast Cancer Walk contributed by Shannon
O‘Neill:
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
The members of Tri-Beta have been extremely busy towards
the end of this semester. They completed their on and offcampus community service, and pictures from both of these
events are featured below. Everyone is excited that winter
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
PAGE 3
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
PRE-HEALTH SOCIETY
The Pre-Health Society participated in two on-campus
community service events this past month. Members took part
in the letter writing campaign that thanked soldiers for the
sacrifices that they were making overseas. Members also
participated in the Up ‗Til Dawn event that occurred on
November 18th. Up ‗Til Dawn is also a letter writing campaign
that helps raise money for St. Jude‘s Research Hospital. The
Pre-Health Society had a great turn out for both of these
events!
Mosquitoes are vectors of a number of parasites, transmit
devastating diseases like malaria, yellow fever and dengue,
and are a major threat to the health of billions of people on our
planet. The principal investigators of this project address
larval mosquitoes, because it appears more straightforward to
fight these vectors as long as they are confined in an aquatic
habitat.
In collaboration with colleagues from the U.S. (Mt. Desert
Island Biological Laboratories, Maine), Brazil (University of
São Paulo in Ribeirão Preto, University of Paraná in Curitiba)
and Canada (University of Manitoba in Winnipeg) Dr. Onken
pursues research with Crustacea related to the osmoregulatory
capacities and mechanisms of crabs. Together with Dr.
Alauddin (Chemistry) and Professor Beecher (Biology), an
ecophysiological study is in an early stage of planning.
Dr. Onken can offer research opportunities for two to three
students. If interested contact Dr. Onken in his office (Megerle
Science Hall Room 411), lab (Megerle Science Hall Room
406) or via e-mail (horst.onken@wagner.edu) or phone 4204211.
Contributed by Dr. Onken
COMMUNITY SERVICE OPPORTUNITY
Victor Stora (Pre-Health Society Treasurer) and Jessica
Cozzolino (Pre-Health Society‘s Pre-Veterinary VP) write
letters at Up ‗Til Dawn.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
OPPORTUNITIES
COMMUNITY SERVICE OPPORTUNITY
Greetings Everyone,
I am Nidhi Khanna and I am currently a junior. I am working
with this non-profit organization called Planting Peace.
Planting Peace has many sub-organizations including one
called The Clean World Movement. The Clean World
Movement is trying to encourage more individuals around the
world to recycle and to take better care of the planet. I am
working with The Clean World Movement as the
environmental director in my community. I am organizing
some clean-ups in Staten Island during the semester. If
anybody is interested in helping out, please feel free to contact
me at nidhi.khanna@wagner.edu. Thanks for your interest and
I look forward hearing from you! If you would like more
information about the organization I am working with, please
visit: http://www.plantingpeace.org/.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
RESEARCH WITH MOSQUITOES AND CRABS
Dr.
Onken
offers
research opportunities
for students in the frame
of a project in which he
collaborates with scientists from Washington
State University, the University of Idaho, and the University
of Alberta (Edmonton, CA). The project is funded by the
National Institute of Health and studies the physiology of the
midgut of larval yellow fever mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti).
Greetings Everyone,
I am Nidhi Khanna and I am currently a junior. I am working
with this non-profit organization called Planting Peace.
Planting Peace has many sub-organizations including one
called The Clean World Movement. The Clean World
Movement is trying to encourage more individuals around the
world to recycle and to take better care of the planet. I am
working with The Clean World Movement as the
environmental director in my community. I am organizing
some clean-ups in Staten Island during the semester. If
anybody is interested in helping out, please feel free to contact
me at nidhi.khanna@wagner.edu. Thanks for your interest and
I look forward hearing from you! If you would like more
information about the organization I am working with, please
visit: http://www.plantingpeace.org/.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
IT‘S SO EASY
I recently attended the talk given at Wagner by the
Environmental Author, Robert K. Musil. In his talk, he
encouraged students who are concerned about environmental
issues to try to engage with policy makers. I want to share a
way to do that that I have discovered that takes very close to
zero effort. There are several organizations like the Sierra
Club, The National Wildlife Federation, the Nature
Conservancy, and the League of Conservation Voters. They
research and follow environmental legislative activity very
closely, and advocate strongly for environmental conservation.
If you get on their e-mailing lists, they will contact you
whenever important environmental legislation is coming
before the house or senate. They usually have a form letter
that encourages the relevant decision-makers to vote for or
against a bill and explains their reasoning. You can modify
these letters, and sign by using a password. They know which
decision-makers to send the letters to by your zip-code.
PAGE 4
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
Sometimes you get some e-mail from them asking for
donations, etc., which, as a ―starving college student‖, you
don‘t have to feel guilty about ignoring for now. You can tell
that the letters really go to the politicians, because they almost
always reply. Here is a link you can follow to sign up for the
League of Conservation Voters:
https://admin3.getactive.com/lcv/join.html
BE A LIMULUS ASISTANT EDITOR
Proficient student writers are invited to become assistant
editors for the newsletter of the Department of Biological
Sciences. If you are interested, please, contact Dr. Onken
(horst.onken@wagner.edu).
day, I was an assistant guide
on a 22 kilometer hike to the
Walcott Quarry in Yoho
National Park, where I was
able to examine various
invertebrate fossils dating
back over 530 million years
ago.
The rock formations in the
Burgess Shale provide us with a "time machine", taking us
back through the evolution of life on the Earth. Could the
strange creatures found in
these rock formations
have, in a similar fashion,
also evolved on other
worlds within our solar
system? Could they have
traversed the vacuum of
space
and
possibly
"seeded" our planet back
in time? The plethora of lifeforms seen at this world famous
site and the famous book, "A Wonderful Life" written by
Stephen Jay Gould, clearly
proves that Darwin's theory
of Natural Selection is a valid
explanation of evolution.
Although the hike up to the
walcott Quarry was very
strenuous, it was the most
amazing experience of my
life.
Contributed by Dr. Onken
Contributed by Harold Kozak
Contributed by Professor Beecher
SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Scholarship opportunities for sophomores and juniors are
available from the Morris K. Udall Foundation
(www.udall.gov) for the following categories:
1.) Students committed to an environmental career
2) Native American/Alaskan Native students interested in
Native health care or tribal public policy
The scholarship is for $5000 and includes a mandatory 4-day
conference in August. Honorary Mention awards are for $350.
Any students interested in applying should contact Brian
Palestis (bpalesti@wagner.edu).
Contributed by Dr. Palestis
WORK IN THE GARDEN
Students interested in collaborating in the greenhouse and/or
garden during the spring of 2010 should contact Dr. Onken
(horst.onken@wagner.edu).
Contributed by Dr. Onken
COMMUNITY SERVICE OPPORTUNITY
Greetings Everyone,
I am Nidhi Khanna and I am currently a junior. I am working
with this non-profit organization called Planting Peace.
Planting Peace has many sub-organizations including one
called The Clean World Movement. The Clean World
Movement is trying to encourage more individuals around the
world to recycle and to take better care of the planet. I am
working with The Clean World Movement as the
environmental director in my community. I am organizing
some clean-ups in Staten Island during the semester. If
anybody is interested in helping out, please feel free to contact
me at nidhi.khanna@wagner.edu. Thanks for your interest and
I look forward hearing from you! If you would like more
information about the organization I am working with, please
visit: http://www.plantingpeace.org/.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
EXPERIENCES
VISIT TO THE BURGESS SHALE
This past July, I gave a lecture entitled, "Aliens in Rocks" at
the Geoscience Foundation in Field, British Columbia,
Canada. I gave it as a part of my assignments as a Solar
System Ambassador for NASA/JPL. In addition, the following
OPOSSUM
On a very wet morning in June,
what appeared to be a child‘s toy
lay in a puddle on the steps
behind the Megerle Science
Building. On closer inspection, I
realized something was alive and
moving! With the rain coming
down, I wrapped a tiny creature
in tissue and brought it upstairs
to my office in Biological
Sciences. The heat from my
hands had an immediate effect
on the baby animal, which was
still unidentifed. Using the
internet, I realized it was a very
small opposum, and as some time passed, it began to open its
eyes and its shivvering stopped.
As the possum gained strength, it made a ―hissing‖ sound, to
perhaps communicate hunger. It licked little drops of water,
and became quite active, crawling around in my hands. Using
a heating lamp, I made a little spot for it to sleep while I
worked. Later that day, I was able to contact the closest
wildlife animal rescue group which was located in New
Jersey. (The only wildlife rescue group in New York City is in
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
the Bronx, since the Staten Island wildlife facility closed over
a year ago.). A wildlife rehabilitator named ―Meg,‖ told me
she could take the stranded baby the next evening, which
meant I was having a visitor that evening at home. Since
possums are nocternal, I spent most of the night awake,
feeding droplets of pedialyte (an electrolyte enriched water) to
the baby animal. The next day the possum was in rather good
health, sleeping soundly. That evening we drove to Meg‘s
facility in New Jersey, and signed a New Jersey Fish and
Wildlife document handing the little female over to the
professionals. It turned out an odd looking circle on her
abdomen was the beginning of a pouch, since possums are
marsupials.
This week we received good news. Our little rescued Staten
Island marsupial grew up among other orphaned opossums
and was just released into the wild! In just three months, her
wild life was given back to her to enjoy. Good luck, little one!
Contributed by Stephanie Rollizo
BI 217 CLASS VISITS SNUG HARBOR BOTANICAL
GARDEN
Earlier this month, Professor Beecher took her Forms and
Functions class to visit the Snug Harbor Botanical Garden.
Fifteen enthusiastic students traveled with Professor Beecher
and Graduate Assistant Zulmarie Franco to the Botanical
Garden on a pleasant Wednesday afternoon.
Professor Beecher was teaching her class about photosynthesis
and about plant forms and functions. The students were able to
see an assortment of different plants at the Botanical Garden.
As a current student in Forms and Functions, I learned from
Professor Beecher that there are over 300,000 species of
plants, and all plants are differing in their size and shape.
In many plant species, photosynthesis occurs in the leaves and
students were able to see all kinds of leaves in a wide-ranging
of plants species. The trip was an overall fun experience and
allowed students to relate the knowledge they learned in class
to the ―real world.‖ As a class, we were also supporting a
local attraction that more Staten Island residents should
appreciate. The Botanical Garden was established in 1977. For
more information on the Botanical Garden, please visit
(http://www.snug-harbor.org/horticulture.html).
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
project can donate money directly to the zoo. The zoo also
offers opportunities to the public to volunteer and adopt
animals. This month, the zoo is hosting a few events including
a ―Charles Dickens‖ themed event that includes caroling and
lighting of the Christmas Tree. Another scheduled event
includes a holiday breakfast with a visit from another animal
that will make an appearance at the zoo, a reindeer. For more
information
about
the
zoo,
please
visit
www.statenislandzoo.org.
A selection of photographs:
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
TRIP TO STATEN ISLAND ZOO
This semester, I am taking Forms and Functions with
Professor Beecher. For one of our assignments, the class was
asked to visit the Staten Island Zoo. Despite being a Staten
Island native, I must admit that this was the first time I
actually paid a visit to the zoo that literally minutes away from
my home.
For my assignment, I was required to pick an animal that I
found interesting and research about its biology and create a
fact sheet. Even though I was supposed to write about one
animal at the zoo, I was eager to observe the large variety of
species in the zoo‘s botanical garden. At the zoo, visitors can
learn about amphibians, birds, reptiles, fish, and other
mammals. In 1936, the zoo was opened and it was actually the
only zoo in the entire world to have 32 rattlesnakes. Even
today, the zoo has an extensive collection of rattlesnakes and
other snakes including Anacondas. Another interesting fact
about the Staten Island Zoo is that it was the first American
zoo to employ a female veterinarian to serve as the zoo‘s
doctor.
The zoo‘s mission is to educate visitors about the importance
of animals and to appreciate the existence of the wide-range of
animals that nature has to offer. The zoo is currently
constructing a few new attractions including a Leopard
exhibit, Red Panda Exhibit, and a carousel for children to
enjoy. Many activities at the zoo are centered around children,
but adults and individuals of all ages can visit the zoo and
learn something new! The zoo also started a Meerkat Project
that is focused on renovating the homes of the meerkats that
inhabit the zoo. People that are interested in supporting this
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
change, and human involvement. Human activity has
destroyed frog habitats and humans have polluted the areas
that are inhabited by frogs.
The Museum of Natural History is a great place to visit,
especially when you are trying to think of something fun to do
in New York City. The museum always has new and
interesting exhibits that are not only educational but fun to
visit as well. During my visit, I took some pictures, and I hope
you like them! For more information on the museum, please
visit http://www.amnh.org/.
Some more photographs:
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
VISIT TO THE MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
Recently, I paid a
visit to the Museum
of Natural History to
do an assignment for
Professor Beecher‘s
Forms and Functions
Class. I have visited
the museum several
times, but I learn
something
new
during every visit. While at the museum, I wandered into the
Primates, Dinosaurs, and Reptile and Amphibians exhibit.
Currently, the museum has a few new exhibits that seem very
interesting and educational. The Spider Silk exhibit includes
an elaborate silk textile that was created by over one million
spiders! The spiders spun the silk for four years, and about 80
people in Madagascar collected the millions of spiders to
make this textile. Men and women wove the silk after the
spiders produced this extremely soft and strong silk. Every
thread in the textile actually represents 96 strands of spider
silk! Currently, the Museum of Natural History is the only
place in the world that has a textile of the woven spider silk.
Another great new exhibit is Frogs: A Chorus of Colors. This
exhibit will be open until January 3rd. The museum has an
extensive exhibit of various frog species including Fire-bellied
toads, Waxy Monkey Frogs, and the Blue Dart Poison Frog.
The exhibit provides visitors with a lot of fun facts about
frogs. It is definitely a treat to see a variety of frog species and
the different colors that each species comes in. Many frog
species are getting smaller and this is primarily due to climate
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
PAGE 8
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
PARTICPATION IN BLIND TASTE TEST
Professor Beecher‘s Environmental Biology class has been
discussing several important environmental issues that affect
the global community. Recently, the class started to do some
research on various types of labels, like free trade, rainforest
alliance, shade grown, and recycling. Some students gave
individual presentations on specific labels and their meanings.
Free trade products are basically sold directly from the vender
to the consumer. The government or other ―middlemen‖ do
not have any involvement with the buying and selling of the
products. Products that have a rainforest alliance label are
deemed acceptable by this non-governmental organization. In
order to be rainforest alliance certified, farming methods that
are harmful to ecosystems cannot be used, and workers
growing the crops must be treated fairly, and their lives should
not be in danger. Farha Rashid (a student in the class) did a
presentation on Fair Trade products. She discovered that
farmers who produce these products are paid a fair price and
fair trade ensures that forced child labor is not used in the
production.
Shade grown coffee is basically grown under a number of
trees. The coffee is grown under the shade, and this is
beneficial to the environment. When coffee is grown under the
sun, many farmers use hazardous insecticides and chemicals.
Recycling labels are identifiable by almost everyone, and
these labels have been encouraging the public to reduce and
reuse recyclable materials.
Several other students gave presentations on labels. Tyler
discussed on Certified Naturally Grown labels. These labels
are geared towards small local farmers and focus on farm-tomarket values. Lawrence researched Pure Fun Organic Candy
and realized that this kind of label ensures that workers are
treated nicely, and organic products are used in manufacturing
processes. Lynette, Peter, Jim, and Ayn worked together and
learned about USDA Organic labels. In order for foods to
obtain this label, the food must be produced in an
environmentally sustainable manner. Hormones and relatively
few pesticides are utilized.
After each student in the class researched a specific label, they
shared their findings with the rest of the class. Students
learned how farmers get certified for certain labels. Professor
Beecher conducted a blind taste test, and she had students try
to detect the difference between organic shade coffee and
Dunkin Donuts coffee. Students were blindfolded, drank each
kind of coffee, and then revealed to the class which coffee
they preferred. Emily Pierce liked the shade coffee, Pete
Westwood liked the Dunkin Donuts coffee, and James Lee
was unable to detect any difference between the two coffee
types. The class enjoyed drinking coffee during the rest of the
class, and then spoke about different kinds of renewable
energy technologies like wind, photovoltaics, and hydrogen
fuel cells. To learn more about these labels, please visit the
following websites:
http://www.naturallygrown.org/
http://www.organiccandy.com/
http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STE
LDEV3004446&acct=nopgeninfo
http://www.transfairusa.org/
Contributed by Professor Beecher, The Environmental Biology Class, and
Nidhi Khanna
EDWARD CALBRESE ABOUT HORMESIS
On a cold November night, Edward
Calabrese, professor of toxicology
and environmental science at the
University of Massachusetts, came
to inform students about the
importance
of
the
leading
proponent of hormesis. Calabrese
has published many papers on this
topic, including several major
review papers summarizing a large
number of studies that have shown hormesis (where a
substance that is inhibitory at high doses can be stimulatory at
low doses).
Coincidently, this phenomenon has been the basis of many
research projects at Wagner. A professor of Anatomy &
Physiology, Dr.Fulop, along with his students have performed
experiments on the effects of alcohol on zebrafish. Another
professor in the biology department at Wagner College, Dr.
Moorthy, has had students examine the effects of lithium
chloride on zebrafish embryos and alcohol on Drosophila.
Dr. Calabrese explained this to us as ―a response phenomenon
characterized by a low dose stimulation and a high dose of
inhibition.‖ Early in his speech, it was stressed to us that the
beneficial/harmfulness of hormesis should not be included into
the definition. Basically, hormesis is the idea that a toxin will
have an opposite effect in small doses as in large doses.
Hormesis is a generalized phenomenon: independent of
model, endpoint and agent.
When applying the phenomenon of hormesis, two possible
responses that could be graphed are: J–shaped or inverted Ushaped. One area of study with hormesis is aging. Survival
capacity depends on homeostatic ability and was studied with
mild stressors. These mild stressors were shown to have anti
aging effects. Mild stressors included heat shock, irradiation,
hyper gravity and food restrictions.
―The reasons for this reluctance to change are complex but can
be traced in large part to the fact that toxicology has been,
primarily, an applied discipline with the creditable goal of
protecting health. Faced with a huge number of compounds to
be tested, toxicologists therefore streamlined their processes to
reduce the number of animals used per dose and the number of
doses per experiment‖ stated Dr. Calabrese, in his effort to
explain why hormesis was overlooked by toxology.
After grasping a greater knowledge on this topic, it still leaves
the lingering question: why is the phenomenon of hormesis
important? To Dr. Calabrese he stresses that it will change
how radiation health experts, chemical toxologists,
pharmacologists, high risk assessors, and physicians do their
job. By applying this new way of thinking and approach to
toxology, it may open new doors to many professions.
Ultimately, the decision of if you would like to believe in
hormesis is up to you.
Contributed by Lynsey Brandwein and Julianna Maniscalco
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
PEOPLE
NORMAN BORLAUG
The Father of Green Revolution
―Reach for the stars. Although you will never touch them, you
may get a little stardust on your hands‖
Norman Borlaug who
died on Sept.12, 2009
at the age of 95 was
the father of the
Green
Revolution.
His work that led to
the production of disease-resistant wheat
varieties is credited
with saving as many
as a billion people
from starvation world
wide and ushering in
the Green Revolution. He brought new
agricultural
techniques, new highyielding seeds, and
modern technology to the poor farmers in underdeveloped and
developing countries and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
for this. He is one of only five individuals to receive the
Congressional Gold medal, the president‘s Medal of Freedom
and the Nobel Peace Prize. The others in this distinguished
category are Mother Theresa, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther
King Jr, and Elie Wiesel.
Born of Norwegian descent, Dr. Borlaug was raised in Cresco,
a small farming community in northeast Iowa. His outstanding
contribution and his greatest achievement has been his
unending struggle to integrate the various streams of
agricultural research into viable technologies and to convince
political leaders to bring these advances to bear fruits for the
less fortunate among us. He got a degree in forestry from the
University of Minnesota and worked for the forest service for
sometime. Later he came back to University of Minnesota and
obtained his doctorate in plant pathology. In 1944, he
participated in the Rockefeller Foundation‘s pioneering
technical assistance program to Mexico. Part Scientist, part
humanitarian, he realized that improved crop varieties are
essential to solving world hunger. ―Norman Borlaug saved
more lives than any man in human history. His heart was as
big as his brilliant mind but it was his passion and compassion
that moved the world‖ said Josette Sheeran, executive director
of the UN world Food Program.
Borlaug strongly believed that we need to employ technology
and science to increase the food production to feed the hungry
planet. He also recognized that the food production is
seriously affected by diseases, global warming, a lack of
agricultural infrastructure, absence of technology and [poor]
government support. The world-wide financial melt down is
also contributing to reduced funding and support for poor
countries.
When Borlaug was born 95 years ago the world population
was less than 1.5 billion, as opposed to the current figure of
seven billion. As the population grows, we humans are faced
with a choice: convert wilderness areas to farmlands or get
existing farmlands to yield more. Either choice has serious
consequences, the latter will reduce biodiversity but the
former will have more devastating impact, as wilderness is a
much needed habitat for wild life. Much as human existence is
based on agricultural practices, it in essence an ―unnatural
practice‖, according to Borlaug, and its prime goal is to create
food that we humans can eat in plenty. Humans have become
very insensitive to the issues of Biodiversity and the plight of
all creatures in this planet. Asked what the future holds
Borlaug thinks that Genetically modified crops (GM crops)
has the potential to become part of the solution , if we go in
that direction with caution. Sustained global food security is
essential for the survival of our species. Needless to say that
we also need to make sure that this planet of ours with all its
biodiversity also survives.
Contributed by Dr. Moorthy
OPINION
NEW BROOMS CLEAN WELL!
The above German proverb is often continued with ―…, but
old brooms know the corners.‖ It means that new things may
look good on the first glimpse, but old things can still be better
on the second look. I would like to apply the long version to
the new website of the college.
What a beautiful homepage we got. The slide show is very
attractive, no doubt. However, in my opinion the entire rest of
the new web design is a failure that generated and continues to
generate a lot of work for IT and volunteers, like me, who
spent extra time to update and improve parts of the website.
What had been wrong with the old website of the college? It
had a beautiful design. It was well structured. It was easy to
navigate through the pages, because of the drop down menu
on the homepage. One click, mailport. One click, registrar.
One click, … When navigating through our web pages, 80
percent of each upcoming screen was new, editable
information. Apart of the slim bar at the top that identified the
college, the general background was a shiny white: Easy to
insert figures and photographs, no need to reconfigure the
figure background. This supported volunteers to work on
pages. Also the older version of drupal, our online html editor,
was satisfying. I had just accustomed to use it. Admitted, the
homepage had no slide show.
What is wrong with the new design? The structure of the
website is basically unchanged, which is good. However, the
drop down menu on the homepage is missing. Two clicks,
mailport. Two clicks, registrar. Two clicks, … Even worse,
the upper half of each and every upcoming screen is covered
with a large top menu bar, showing four students strolling
along the clock on Trautman Square, and a huge primary
headline. This design moves the editable information on each
page down: Scroll, scroll, scroll, … The background of the
editable space is a light beige. Figures with white background,
meant to be transparent, must be reformatted. The new drupal
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
evidently does not allow to use the three frame design pattern
that some old department and faculty pages had, and IT had a
hard time to wiggle them through the conversion.
True, we accustom fast. We are using our website daily, and
ultimately we will just adapt to click and scroll faster.
However, we are not the only users of our website. We have
visitors who may come only once to see whether Wagner
College is the right place for them. Our website is like our
business card. It should be graphically attractive, of course.
However, the information should be easily accessible. Even
without the slide show the old website very well satisfied both
purposes. Yes, I agree, the slide show is beautiful and may
lure visitors in for more information. Click, and four students
and the clock on Trautman Square greet. What a nice view,
how attractive. Click, and four students and the clock on
Trautman Square greet. Click, and four students and the clock
on Trautman Square greet. When coming up again and again
and again, this graphical component of our website is
evidently too large and may be seen as a hurdle to reach the
information visitors are looking for. Click, click, click. Scroll,
scroll, scroll. I just hope our visitors do not x us out.
I have been making websites since 15 years. I had to learn
numerous html editors, and I had a lot of trials and errors until
I got results that halfway satisfied me. I browsed through the
web a lot. How do others do it? In the last academic year, I
spent many hours to improve the web pages of the department,
inserting pages of our facilities like greenhouse and
collections. I set up a very informative faculty page,
highlighting my teaching, my research, my students, … I had
pages with recommendations about mosquito prevention and
protection, and I had started a project that displays the
―Woody plants of Wagner College‖. All this work, of course
formatted for the old web design, was destroyed, mainly
because of the overlarge bar with the four students and the
clock on Trautman square that appears now on every single
page of the college website. Moreover, I do not yet know how
to make web pages attractive, if the first 50% of each page is
static. On top, I have again to learn a new version of an html
editor. I am annoyed by the way how this was introduced, and
I am discouraged to continue my voluntary efforts.
It would have been so easy to just place a slide show on the
home page and leave the rest as it was.
Contributed by Dr. Onken
The Nobel Prize was established from the will and estate of
Swedish chemist and inventor of the high explosive dynamite
Alfred Nobel in 1895. Originally the prize money was to be
shared by the ones chosen from the fields of Physics,
Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace.
The first set of Nobel Prizes in these categories was given in
1901. The Nobel Prize in Economics was added to the list in
1969. The front side of the three "Swedish" medals (Physics
and Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Literature) is the
same, featuring a portrait of Alfred Nobel and the years of his
birth and death in Latin; the Economics and Peace Prizes have
a different design. Up to 1980 the "Swedish" medals, each
weighing approximately 200 g and with a diameter of 66 mm,
were made of 23-karat gold. Since then they have been made
of 18-karat green gold plated with 24-karat gold. To date more
than 800 men and 40 women have been the recipients of this
prestigious award. Of all the women who have won the Nobel,
Marie Curie and Barbara McClintock have been exceptional in
that Marie Curie has been honored twice, in 1903 with a
Nobel in Physics and in 1911 with a Nobel in Chemistry.
Barbara McClintock was the only woman in science to win
this prize solo. This year has been exceptional in that five
women have won the coveted price in Physiology or
Medicine, Chemistry, Literature and Economics. That is a
total of four fields out of six, which is quite remarkable.
Only 10 women compared to more than 500 recipients have
won the Nobel Prize in the sciences. The fact that Nobels are
given almost exclusively to academic researchers means that
universities also share some responsibilities for this
remarkable disparity. In the early days of the Nobel, laws and
parental oppositions prevented many women from entering
universities. In the United States women could get a university
education, but no job. Until the 1970s, many leading research
universities and technological institutes were only for men. To
teach in women‘s colleges and coeducational universities
American women were expected to stay single. Barbara
McClintock, the Nobel Prize winning geneticist was a few
years from membership in the National Academy of the
Sciences when her boss at the University of Missouri
threatened her in 1936 saying, ―If you ever marry, you will be
fired.‖ McClintock stomped out planning to become a weather
forecaster, until she found a job in a private college (from
―Feeling for an Organism‖ biography of McClintock). Even
today women scientists find it very hard to get that final
promotion to a ―FULL PROFESSOR‖ in American Academia.
In 1971 a law was passed requiring universities to hire women
into their faculties or risk losing federal dollars. Dr. MaryLou Pardue, who now holds a chair in Microbiology and is a
member of the National Academy of Sciences, says this in
recounting the story of her hiring. ―When I applied for a
position at MIT, MIT‘s response was ‗Thank you for your
letter. We have had hundreds of responses to our ad‘.‖ Women
scientists even today face subtle discrimination.
Communications can be complicated. As Pardue puts it, ―you
can‘t go up to a man at a meeting and say ‗let us have a drink,
and I will tell you about my science‘ without getting more
than you bargained for.‖ It is those honest sincere networking
connections that men are privileged to that women hope and
wish for but never get.
Being a full professor in a small Liberal Arts College in the
field of Genetics, I have pondered over this question and here
are my thoughts. I am the only female fulltime professor in the
sciences in the college that I teach. ―X‖ is the symbol for the
unknown and we women have two of those Xs where as the
men have only one. I wonder whether that has anything to do
with it. From a genetics point of view that cannot be true,
PAGE 11
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
because I know that we have more genes on two of our X
chromosomes than the men with an X and Y. The Y
chromosome is such a small chromosome compared to the X
and there are only very few genes on the Y. We know women
in general live longer and are better multi taskers compared to
men. So why is it that there is such a tremendous discrepancy?
Only thing I can think of is that, societal, economical and
other reasons contribute to this problem. It is very refreshing
to see that these stereotyping and taboos are slowly melting
away. This year has been a remarkable year for women in
terms of winning the Nobel Prize and I want to applaud these
winners.
Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn,
Morris Herztein Profes-sor
of Biology and Physiology
in the Department of
Biochem-istry
and
Biophysics at the University
of California is a leader in
the area of telomere,
telomerase research. Dr.
Carol Greider, the co-winner of this award is a Professor at
Johns Hopkins. The molecular nature of telomeres, the end of
eukaryotic chromosomes that serve as protective caps essential
for preserving the genetic information, and the
ribonucleoprotein enzyme, telomerase and the roles they play
in aging and development of cancer was the riddle that these
scientists have been working on for the last several years.
Dr. Ada E. Yonath won the Nobel
Prize along with two other
scientists for her work on
Ribosomes, the cell‘s most
multifaceted machine, at the
molecular level. She is a
distinguished scientist from the
Weizmann Institute of Science,
Rehovot, Israel.
Ribosomes,
found in the cytoplasm of the cell
are involved in protein synthesis.
Proteins and enzymes are made
based on the blue print information
carried in the DNA. Proteins and enzymes in turn control the
chemistry of all living organisms. As Ribosomes are crucial to
life they are also target for new antibiotics. An understanding
of the innermost working of the Ribosomes is important for
the scientific understanding of life. This knowledge can be put
to practical and immediate use, since many of today‘s
antibiotics cure various diseases by blocking the function of
bacterial Ribosomes.
Herta Muller, winner of the Nobel
Prize in literature was born in the
German-speaking
town
of
Nitzkydorfmin Banat, Romania.
Muller made her debut with a
collection
of
short
stories,
―Niederungen,‖ which was censored
in Romania. She published the
uncensored version in Germany. The
same year she also published ―Druckender Tango‖ in
Romania. In these two works Muller depicts life in a small
German speaking village, and the corruption, intolerance and
repression to be found there.
Elinor Ostrom became the first
woman to win a Nobel Prize in
Economics along with fellow
American Oliver Williamson for
analyzing economic governance:
the rules by which people
exercise authority in companies
and economic systems. Ostrom is
a political scientist at Indiana
University who showed how
common resources like forests,
fisheries, oil fields and grazing
lands
can
be
managed
successfully by the people who
use them rather than by the government or private companies.
What 2009 has proved to us all is that given enough
encouragement and equal chances, women can be just as
successful as men. Stereotyping individuals and excluding
opportunities for success to any group based on gender, race
or other criteria should be a thing of the past.
Contributed by Dr. Moorthy
PUBLICATIONS
Etinger Etinger, A., Lebron, J. & Palestis, B. J.. (2009, in
press). Sex-assortative shoaling in zebrafish (Danio rerio).
Bios.
Izeirovski, S., Moffett, S. B., Moffett, D. F. & Onken, H.
(2009). The anterior midgut of larval yellow fever mosquitoes
(Aedes aegypti): Effects of nutrients on the transepithelial
voltage and strong luminal alkalinization. Wagner College
Forum for Undergraduate Research.
Izeirovski, S., Moffett, S. B., Moffett, D. F. & Onken, H.
(2009). The anterior midgut of larval yellow fever mosquitoes
(Aedes aegypti): effects of amino acids, dicarboxylic acids,
and glucose on the transepithelial voltage and strong luminal
alkalinization. Journal of Experimental Zoology 311A: 719726.
Jagadeshwaran, U., Onken, H., Hardy, M., Moffett, S. B. &
Moffett, D. F. (2009). Cellular mechanisms of acid secretion
in the posterior midgut of the larval mosquito Aedes aegypti.
Journal of Experimental Biology 213: 295-300.
Lamb, C. M., Moorthy, A. S., Corbo, C.P. & Fulop, Z. L.
(2009). Teratogenic effects of lithium chloride on eye
development in early embryogenesis of Zebrafish (Danio
rerio). In Vivo 31(1): 24-31.
Moffett, D.F. and Onken, H. (2009, in press). The Cellular
Basis of Extreme Alkali Secretion in Insects: A Tale of Two
Tissues. In: Epithelial Transport Physiology (ed. George A.
Gerencser). Totowa, New Jersey: Humana Press.
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
Onken, H., & Moffett, D. F. (2009). Revisiting the cellular
mechanisms of strong luminal alkalinization in the anterior
midgut of larval mosquitoes. Journal of Experimental Biology.
212: 373-377.
Onken, H., Patel, M., Javoroncov, M., Izeirovski, S.,
Moffett, S.B. & Moffett, D.F. (2009). Strong alkalinization in
the anterior midgut of larval yellow fever mosquitoes (Aedes
aegypti): Involvement of luminal Na +/K+-ATPase. Journal of
Experimental Zoology. 311A: 155-161.
Palestis, B.G. (2009). Fluctuating asymmetry in common tern
chicks varies with hatching order and clutch size. The Auk
126: 815-822.
Palestis, B.G. (2009). Use of artificial eelgrass mats by
saltmarsh-nesting common terns (Sterna hirundo). In Vivo
30(3): 11-16.
Trivers, R., B.G. Palestis & D. Zaatari. (2009). The Anatomy
of a Fraud: Symmetry and Dance. TPZ Publishers. Antioch,
CA.
Zaatari, D., Palestis, B.G. & Trivers, R. (2009). Fluctuating
asymmetry of responders affects offers in the Ultimatum
Game oppositely according to attractiveness or need as
perceived by proposers. Ethology115: 627-632.
PROFESSIONAL MEETINGS
MACUB CONFERENCE COMING UP
DATE: September 28, 2009
FROM: Donald Stearns, Megerle II Professor of Biology,
Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
REGARDING: 42nd Annual Metropolitan Association of
College and University Biologists (MACUB) Conference,
Kingsborough Community College, Saturday, October 24,
2009
Every year, the Metropolitan Association of College and
University Biologists holds a fall meeting on a Saturday, for
students and faculty interested in the biological sciences. This
fall, the meeting will take place at Kingsborough Community
College, Saturday, October 24th. Registration, continental
breakfast, and exhibitor displays occur from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m.,
followed by a general welcome. This year‘s morning keynote
address (9:15 – 10:15 a.m.) is titled Pandemic Flu and
Emerging Infectious Diseases, given by Debra E. Berg, M.D.,
Medical director for the Healthcare Emergency Preparedness
Program, Bureau of Communicable Diseases for the New
York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. After
this presentation, there will be exhibitor displays, poster
presentations, member presentations, and concurrent
workshops (11:15-12:30 p.m.), followed by a luncheon. This
year‘s afternoon keynote address (12:30-1:30 p.m.) is titled
Catching Fire: How Cooking Made us Human, given by
Richard Wrangham, Ph.D., Ruth Moore Professor of
Biological Anthropology at Harvard University. After this
presentation, there will be more poster presentations and
exhibitor displays (1:30-3:00 p.m.), followed by poster awards
and an ice cream social (3:00-4:00 p.m.).
Students, faculty, and alumni: You are cordially invited to
attend this event. For current students and faculty, your costs
are covered by the Department of Biological Sciences,
Wagner College. For others, the cost ranges from $35 to $55,
depending on your position and timing of registration
payment.
For more information (including van
transportation), please contact Ms. Stephanie Rollizo, Faculty
Secretary, Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner
College, at (718) 390-3103 or Stephanie.rollizo@wagner.edu.
Contributed by Dr. Stearns
MACUB CONFERENCE
On a rainy Saturday morning, a handful of Biology students
and faculty traveled to Kingsborough Community College
where the annual Metropolitan Association of College and
University Biologists Conference was held.
The conference began with a keynote address made by Debra
E. Berg, M.D. Dr. Berg is in charge of the Healthcare
Emergency Preparedness Program in the Bureau of
Communicable Diseases for the New York City Department
of Health and Mental Hygiene. Dr. Berg gave a lecture that
focused on both the seasonal flu and swine flu. She
encouraged the audience to get vaccinated for both the
seasonal flu and swine flu. Both vaccinations are available to
the public now, and are also made with eggs. She advised
individuals that may be allergic to eggs to seek professional
consultation before receiving either vaccination. For more
information
about
swine
flu,
please
visit:
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/public/vaccination_q
a_pub.htm.
Another keynote speaker at the conference, Dr. Richard
Wrangham (Professor of Biological Anthropology at Harvard
University), gave a lecture about his research focusing on how
cooking has helped human beings evolve as a species. Dr.
Wrangham claims that many primates devout most of their
energy during the day just chewing up their food. According
to Wrangham, cooking raw food enables humans to eat rather
quickly and devout their time to other activities. Dr.
Wrangham suggests that it is much easier to digest cooked
food, and cooking is not only a social practice, but an
important part of human evolution. For more information
about
this
speaker
please
visit:
http://www.harvardscience.harvard.edu/culturesociety/articles/invention-cooking-drove-evolution-humanspecies-new-book-argues.
Wagner Professors, Dr. Stearns and Dr. Mosher gave a
presentation together at a MACUB workshop. Dr. Stearns and
Dr. Mosher spoke about the assessment program that Biology
Department introduced in 2003. Senior Biology and
Microbiology majors are evaluated in their final year at
Wagner. Students take an assessment test and the faculty
reviews these tests to see if students have an exceptional
understanding of the material that students learn during their
undergraduate careers. The results of these tests do not affect a
student‘s overall grades.
Biology undergraduate students and Microbiology graduate
students gave poster presentations of their research at the
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
conference. Senior Michael Gutkin (Biology Major) received
acknowledgment at the conference. Gutkin was awarded best
presentation for his paper that was titled, ―Scanning Electron
Microscopic Characterization of Structural Reorganization of
the Adult Zebrafish Optic Tectum in Organotypic Culture.‖
Professor Corbo, Dr. Fulop, and Professor Raths all advised
Gutkin with his research. The Limulus staff would like to
congratulate Mike and all of the other Wagner students who
participated in this prestigious conference.
Ten other students gave presentations. The names of the
students and the titles of their research are below:
Yolana Fuks (senior biology major, chemistry minor) and
Melanie Valencia (sophomore): “Electrophysiology of the
Isolated and Perfused Midgut of Adult Yellow Fever
Mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti): First Results.” Research under
the supervision of Dr. Horst Onken, with co-authors from
Washington State.
Lynsey Brandwein (junior psychology major, biology minor),
Julianna Maniscalco (junior biology major) and Medije
Mashkulli (junior biology major): ―Inhibition of Strong
Midgut Alkalinization in Larval Yellow Fever Mosquitoes
(Aedes aegypti) with HEPES Buffer.” Research under the
supervision of Dr. Horst Onken, with co-authors from
Washington State.
Anna Lysenko (junior psychology major, biology minor) coauthored on paper presented by Kingsborough student Luesoni
Johnson: ―Use of Zebrafish Embryos in Undergraduate
Education: Teaching Science and Scientific Research in an
Easy Way.‖ Research under the supervision of Prof.
Christopher Corbo, Dr. Zoltan Fulop and Prof. Linda Raths of
Wagner College, and Kristin Polizzotto of Kingsborough
Community College.
Jessica Browning (graduate student in microbiology):
―Antibiotic-Resistant Salmonella Contamination of Mute
Swan (Cygnus olor) Eggs in the Jamaica Bay Wildlife
Refuge, Brooklyn and Queens, N.Y.” Research under the
supervision of Dr. Adam Houlihan
Zulmarie Franco (graduate student in microbiology) and
Marlene Streisinger (senior nursing major): ―Ultrastructural
Characterization of Formed Elements in Peripheral Blood
of Adult Zebrafish (Danio rerio).‖ Research under the
supervision of Prof. Christopher Corbo, Dr. Zoltan Fulop and
Prof. Linda Raths
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
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�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
―SEAHAWKS‖ PARTICIPATE IN WATERBIRDS
CONFERENCE
The 33rd Annual Meeting of the Waterbird Society, a scientific
organization dedicated to the study of marine and aquatic birds
(http://www.waterbirds.org/), took place in Cape May, NJ,
from November 4 through November 7. I attend this meeting
in most years to present my research on the behavior and
ecology of terns. The conference usually takes place in a good
location to see birds and Cape May is certainly no exception.
Although I enjoy the opportunity to travel to far away places
(recent meetings have been in Barcelona and South Padre
Island, Texas), the nearby location had the advantage that
Wagner College was well-represented at the meeting.
I presented a paper on
fluctuating asymmetry in
common
tern
chicks.
Fluctuating asymmetry is a
measure
of
small
deviations from perfect
bilateral symmetry and can
be used as a measure of
stress during development
or of ―good genes‖.
Microbiology
Masters
student Jusuf Husic gave a
poster presentation on his
work characterizing ectoparasites on tern feathers (feather lice) and testing for the
presence of pathogenic bacteria in tern chicks (so far he has
found none). Coauthors on his
paper include Microbiology
professors Roy Mosher and
Adam Houlihan and myself.
Two undergraduate Biopsychology majors, Maleeha
Memon and Ashley Nati, also
attended part of the meeting.
Ashley and Maleeha will be
working in the field with me
in the future, and they were
able not only to learn about
waterbirds but also to see
what a scientific meeting is
like.
Presentations by Wagner College authors are listed below:
Husic, J., R. Mosher, A. Houlihan, and B. Palestis. 2009.
Evaluation for carriage of parasites and pathogens in common
tern (Sterna hirundo) chicks. Presented at the Meeting of the
Waterbird Society, 4-7 November, Cape May, NJ.
Palestis, B. 2009. Fluctuating asymmetry in common tern
chicks varies with hatching order and clutch size. Presented at
the Meeting of the Waterbird Society, 4-7 November, Cape
May, NJ.
Ashley Nati and Maleeha Memon took these photos at Cape
May Point State Park from the site of the Cape May Bird
Observatory‘s hawk watch platform.
Contributed by Dr. Palestis
ALUMNI
A response to the August Newsletter:
Subject: Thank you for the August newsletter
Dear Dr. Onken;
I wish to thank you for your recent copy of the Department of
Biological Sciences August Newsletter. I am a member of
the "Class of 1977". I enjoyed my time at Wagner and
especially the guidance I received from Dr. Yarns (what an
amazing individual) who always told me to pursue my dreams
and ignor the obstacles which may arise. He was an individual
who could easily step out of his role as professor and into his
role as your friend and advisor. I took his advice and 2 years
after graduation I earned a degree as a Physician Assistant (I
guess Dr. Yarns was right about ignoring obstacles) and then
onto a degree as a Podiatrist. While at Wagner I was never an
"A" student but what I lacked in GPA I more than made up in
determination and drive. I took the advice of Dr. Yarns and
placed my focus on the goal. I am sure there are many students
like myself who at times find course work demanding and
difficult (How I remember, painfully, Organic Chemistry and
Dr. Shultz) but I am proof that hard work and a clear focus on
your goals can overcome any obstacle. There were days I
would walk, well actually run, out of an especially difficult
Organic Chem class, head on over to the "Hawks Nest" have a
cup of coffee and Dr. Yarns would come by and sit down and
proceed to tell me stories of his life, and some of these stories
were truly amazing. This is what made the man special, he
always had time for his students, he knew just what to say but
more importantly he knew when to listen. He was always there
throughout my entire stay at Wagner. I could pop into his
office anytime and he would always greet me with a smile and
a warm greeting. He was truly my friend.
PAGE 15
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
I have a son, Nicholas, who graduated from Wagner College
"Class of 2009" and is now a Graduate Student on campus. I
hope he finds his own Dr. Yarns while at Wagner.
If there is anything I can ever do to assist you please do not
hesitate to call on me. I will be more than happy to assist with
academic advisement or any other project you request.
Tony Garofalo
Class of 1977
From the Yearbook of 1977:
Tony Garofalo in 1977
RECOMMENDATIONS
Dr. STEARNS RECOMMENDS PROJECT VOTE SMART
www.votesmart.org
If you seriously wish to become reliably informed as a voter
regarding the positions of any U.S. candidate or elected
official on practically any issue, I recommend
www.votesmart.org. This web site is maintained in a fair,
impartial manner by individuals representing all political
persuasions. The web site is designed to educate—not
persuade—the voter, ―exposing the facts on over 40,000
candidates and elected officials‖ (p. 5, Project Vote Smart‘s
2008 Voter’s Self-Defense Manual). In an age where
politicians are advertised to the public like consumer products,
where most media outlets have replaced serious and
thoughtful comparisons with sensationalized fluff, where bias
is evident in newspaper editorials and most other web sites,
where very few journalists provide deep comparisons, where
television and radio programs often substitute heated opinion
for fact, and where debates have morphed into venues where
positions are promoted rather than debated, this web site is
refreshingly informative. Using www.votesmart.org, you can
identify the three congressional members who represent you
on Capitol Hill (the two senators who represent your state and
the member of the House of Representatives who represents
the district where you live). For each politician, the web site
provides the individual‘s voting record, background, positions
on different issues, speeches and public statements, campaign
contributions, endorsements, and interest group ratings, among
other things.
Biology Faculty in 1977
Standing: Walter Kanzler, Ralph Priddy, Anette Ruark,
Charles Kiley. Kneeling: Dale Yarns, John Frohlin, Murvel
Annan
Dear Alumni,
If you are interested in contributing to our newsletter, you
are very welcome to do so. Contact Dr. Onken by e-mail
(horst.onken@wagner.edu)
with
your
submission,
comment, ideas or questions! We are excited to hear about
where you are, how and what you do!
PAGE 16
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
PUZZLES, JOKES, QUOTES, CARTOONS
CARTOONS:
"Come on frog, jump!". But to no avail. The biologist finally
writes in his book: 'Frog with no legs - goes deaf'.
From: mwriggle#NoSpam.uoguelph.ca (Michael Wriggles-worth) posted at:
http://www.xs4all.nl/~jcdverha/scijokes/
Cartoon from www.lab-initio.com
A biology professor was addressing his class, wanting to see if
they'd read the assigned text.
Professor: Miss Smith, please stand. What part of the human
body increases ten times when excited?
Miss Smith blushes and hesitates and giggles.
Professor: Miss Smith, please sit down. Miss Jones, please
stand and tell me if you know what part of the human body
increases ten times when excited.
Miss Jones: Yes, Professor. It's the pupil of the eye.
Professor: Very good. Thank you Miss Jones, you may sit
down. Miss Smith, will you please stand again. I have three
things to say to you.
1. You have not done your homework.
2. You have a very dirty mind.
3. You're in for a big disappointment.
QUOTES:
―We know very little, and yet it is astonishing that we know so
much, and still more astonishing that so little knowledge can
give us so much power.‖ Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English
philosopher, mathematician.
―If your experiment needs statistics, then you ought to have
done a better experiment.‖ Ernest Rutherford (1st Baron Rutherford of
Nelson) (1871- 1937) English physicist, born in New Zealand. Nobel prize for
chemistry 1908.
―No effect that requires more than 10 percent accuracy in
measurement is worth investigating.‖ Walther Nernst (1864-1941)
German physicist, chemist. Nobel prize, 1920.
―Basic research is what I am doing when I don't know what I
am doing.‖ Werner Von Braun (1912-1977) German rocket engineer, in U.
S. after 1945.
Cartoon from www.lab-initio.com
―Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent
perspiration. ― Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) U. S. inventor.
JOKE:
There was this biologist who was doing some experiments
with frogs. He was measuring just how far frogs could jump.
So he puts a frog on a line and says "Jump frog, jump!" The
frog jumps 2 feet. He writes in his lab book: 'Frog with 4 legs
- jumps 2 feet'.
Next he chops off one of the legs and repeats the experiment.
"Jump frog jump!" he says. The frog manages to jump 1.5
feet. So he writes in his lab book: 'Frog with 3 legs - jumps 1.5
feet'.
He chops off another and the frog only jumps 1 foot. He writes
in his book: 'Frog with 2 legs jumps 1 foot'.
He continues and removes yet another leg. " Jump frog jump!"
and the frog somehow jumps a half of a foot. So he writes in
his lab book again: 'Frog with one leg - jumps 0.5 feet'.
Finally he chops off the last leg. He puts the frog on the line
and tells it to jump. "Jump frog, jump!" The frog doesn't
move. "Jump frog, jump!!!" Again the frog stays on the line.
Quotes from: http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/sciquote.htm
POETRY:
From: news:bionet.microbiology --by someone signing as Yersinia
A Mad Scientist Christmas
Twas the night before Christmas and all thru my house,
Not a specimen was stirring, not even a louse.
The test tubes were capped and the rat cages closed,
The mold cultures fuzzy, the mice in repose.
The oven kept warm the ebola and pox,
I still need to locate my husband's clean socks...
But that has to wait till tomorrow, I know;
My buggies still need that much more time to grow.
When from the kitchen came a massive explosion,
I leapt from my bed in perpetual motion.
Grabbing my lab coat I pulled on my pants,
PAGE 17
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
Struggling into them a sick sort of dance.
With fury and haste I put on a shirt,
Running out of the bedroom on feet black with dirt.
Buttoning my lab coat and donning a mask,
I ran into the kitchen holding an Erlenmeyer flask.
I nearly passed out when the man who I saw,
dressed in containment gear sealed without flaw,
Held high a huge sack with his arm stiff and straight,
I could tell he must have a hard time with his weight.
Through the mike from his suit he said without pause,
"Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas, I'm Hanta Claus!"
Over his shoulder he hefted the sack,
We walked into the living room, I offered a snack.
He took it and smiled, placed the sack by my bench,
Instantly I noticed the Clostridium stench.
Brimming with joy, I cried out with glee,
"Did you bring all of these germies for me?"
"Oh yes," said Hanta, "I must show propriety;
By bringing you microbes, I'm saving society.
"You are the only one who loves these diseases.
Therefore I'm glad to oblige who it pleases."
Delirious with excitement I sat by his side
While he gave me a year's stock of microscope slides,
And pasteur pipettes, drug resistant bacteria,
Such as staph, strep and cultures from the genus Neisseria.
The gleam in my eyes caused the house to be lit,
The moment he gave me a gram-staining kit,
Clostridium tetani, perfringens and sporogenes,
Salmonella typhi and Streptococcus pyogenes!
Plus viruses known to produce hepatitis,
Herpes, and rabies, yellow fever and meningitis!
But that was not all, he had parasites too,
Plasmodia, trypanosomes and schistosomes true!
Tapeworms and roundworms, plague-carrying fleas.
How sincerely generous, Hanta did aim to please!
At long last he said he must now go away,
His sled was experiencing radioactive decay.
"Thanks for the presents," I said, shaking his hand,
"They'll keep me off the streets, you understand."
GUIDELINES FOR CONTRIBUTORS
Authors in all sections should keep in mind that not all
readers are specialized in their area of interest. Keep your
contribution on a level that everybody can understand.
Contributions may vary in length between about 50 and
500 words and must be submitted by e-mail to
horst.onken@wagner.edu.
Photographs or other images that accompany an article are
very welcome, but must be submitted as separate files
(high quality jpg is the preferred file format) attached to
the e-mail. Be aware that photographs/images may be
minimized in size.
Indicate the section of the newsletter where you want your
contribution to appear.
The deadline for submission of a contribution is the 20th of
the month. Contributions received later may or may not be
considered.
The editor reserves his right to edit your contribution
or post an immediate response.
Editing may involve to publish contributions in other
sections as indicated by the author.
All contributions will clearly indicate the author's
identity.
All contributions are reviewed and publication may be
refused by the editor.
The Editorial Board:
Editor: Dr. Horst Onken, Associate Professor
Assistant Editor: Stephanie Rollizo, Dept. Secretary
Student Assistant Editor: Nidhi Khanna (Biology major)
Student Assistant Editor: WANTED!
Hanta Claus smiled and bid me goodnight,
Shouting "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good blight!"
PAGE 18
�
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Limulus: The Newsletter of the Wagner College Biological Sciences Department
Description
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The Department of Biological Sciences circulates a newsletter that will be updated monthly, culminating in two special issues per year (January and September). The January edition reviews the fall semester and the September edition reviews the spring semester and summer events. The name of the newsletter is LIMULUS and it is made available as pdf files.
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Limulus Newsletter, January 2010
Subject
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Onken, Horst
Cook, Heather
Stearns, Donald
Houlihan, Adam
Stora, Victor J.
Cozzolino, Jessica
Migliorini, Michael
Kanzler, Walter
Priddy, Ralph
Ruark, Anette
Kiley, Charles
Yarns, Dale
Frohlin, John
Annan, Murvel
Electronic newsletters
Table Of Contents
A list of subunits of the resource.
Letter from the editor / Horst Onken -- Biology staff and faculty news / Horst Onken and Nidhi Khanna -- Curriculum news -- Biology club news / Nidhi Khanna, Cassandra Bray, and Melissa Alvarez -- Tri-beta news / Jessica Cozzolino, Yolana Fuks, Shannon O‘Neill, and Nidhi Khanna -- Pre-health society / Nidhi Khanna -- Opportunities / Nidhi Khanna and Horst Onken -- Experiences / Harold Kozak, Stephanie Rollizo, and Nidhi Khanna -- People -- Opinion / Ammini Moorthy -- Publication -- Professional meetings -- Alumni -- Recommendations -- Puzzles, jokes, quotes, and cartoons
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Wagner College, Department of Biological Sciences
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Wagner College
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2010-01
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Garofalo, Anthony (Tony)
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18 leaves
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en
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newsletters
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Staten Island (New York, N.Y.)
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Limulus
NEWSLETTER
Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
Volume 2010, Issue Spring-02
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
The February newsletter looks back onto a month with
relatively few classes, but with many snow days. Nevertheless,
some vibrant things are always going on in our department.
We celebrated Darwin Day and enjoyed the related exhibition
set up by Professor Raths. Especially highlighted are two
people in the current issue: Dr. Stearns (see below) and
Luesoni Johnson, a visiting research student from
Kingsborough Community College (see page 6).
The summer course offerings are reprinted on page 2, and you
can meet our new student assistant editor, Joanna Kielkucki,
on page 3.
Dr. Horst Onken
The Editor
BIOLOGY STAFF AND FACULTY NEWS
DR. STEARNS DISCUSSES RESEARCH PROJECTS
Dr. Donald Stearns has
spent 23 years of his
professional career serving
as
full-time
college
professor. During the week,
students can find Dr. Stearns
working away in his office
until the late hours of the
night. He is a dedicated and
caring professor that is
currently working on two
important research projects.
Dr. Stearns is studying the
way organisms respond to
different light cues. He also
received a grant from the
National Science Foundation
to study the connection between critical thinking and civic
thinking (CT)2.
After receiving his B.A. in Biology from the Ivy League
institution Dartmouth College, Dr. Stearns attended the
University of New Hampshire and earned a Masters in
Zoology. Before pursuing a PhD in Zoology at Duke
University, he taught undergraduate students in Mexico at the
University of Baja California.
As a graduate student at Duke University, Dr. Stearns focused
on behavioral ecology, especially of marine organisms. He
developed an interest in the cyclic behaviors of nocturnal
February, 2010
migration. Dr. Stearns basically studied daily patterns of
marine organisms and wanted to know how light played a role
in effecting those behaviors. He proposed that organisms
behave differently under various light conditions. “Organisms
can see different light conditions that human beings are unable
to see, and this is quite fascinating to me,” he said.
The effects of light and behavior can help answer a lot of
important questions, such as what specific light cues can
trigger behavioral responses in the natural field. Currently Dr.
Stearns has five research students at Wagner that are working
in the photophysiology lab. In this dark room, the students are
able to control the color and brightness of light using special
filters. The students are using mosquitoes and observing how
the insects respond to different light cues. If the mosquitoes do
not respond to the light cues, then Dr. Stearns will conclude
that the insects did not see the light. He is observing the
organisms’ behavior as a way to measure what the mosquitoes
can and cannot see.
In addition to conducting research in the laboratory, Dr.
Stearns has been working on a new project, CT 2. He has been
involved in the project with three other institutions. Dr.
Stearns wants to encourage students to have a heightened
sense of concern in their community, and believes that
students must use critical thinking in order to develop into
responsible citizens. Most colleges want students to volunteer
or participate in civic engagement. However, Dr. Stearns
stresses that volunteering is not the same as being a
responsible citizen.
“You can have a heart of gold and decide that you want to
donate to some charity. However, if you don’t do your
research and use critical thinking, you may end up donating
money to an organization that uses those donations to pay high
salaries to the heads of that organization. As an individual,
you may think that you are helping improve conditions in your
society by donating to that organization, but you actually have
not used critical thinking correctly. People need to separate
facts from falsehoods to achieve a clearer understanding of
any situation,” he said.
In order to become a critical thinker that is engaged in his or
her community, an individual must recognize a problem in his
or her community. The critical thinker needs to not only show
a sense of concern for improving their community, but the
individual should devise a plan to improve the situation in
their community.
I would like to thank Dr. Stearns for taking the time to explain
his two research projects to me.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
PAGE 1
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
CURRICULUM NEWS
2010 Summer courses and intended audience:
BI 110/110L Environmental Biology. Session A (Nonscience majors and Environmental Studies minors)
BI 120 Human Biology. Runs May 17-May 28 (Non-science
majors)
BI 209/209L Human Anatomy and Physiology I. Session A
(Nursing and Physician Assistant majors)
BI 210/210L Human Anatomy and Physiology II. Session B
(Nursing and Physician Assistant majors)
BI/MI 213/213L Cells, Genes, and Evolution. Session B
(Biology and Microbiology majors, Pre-health students)
BI 335/335L Natural History of the Mid-Atlantic States.
Runs May 17-May 28 (Biology majors and Environmental
Studies minors)
BI/MI 400E Experiential Component of the Senior RFT.
Session A (Biology and Microbiology majors)
MI 109 Plagues, Outbreaks and Biological Warfare.
Session B (Non-science majors)
MI 200/200L Microbiology. Session A (Microbiology,
Nursing, and Physician Assistant majors)
MI/BI 517/517L Electron Microscopy. Session A
(Microbiology and Biology majors and Microbiology graduate
students)
MI 615/615L Electron Microscopy. Session A
(Microbiology graduate students)
MI 797, 798, 799 Research. Session A (Microbiology
graduate students)
BIOLOGY CLUB NEWS
The Biology club held several meetings during this semester.
Members discussed a few important topics at the last meeting,
which was held on Monday, February 22 nd. Please look below
for upcoming events.
• On-campus community service
◦
Once the weather begins to get better, the on-campus
community service will take place. Members will be
sitting at a table outside the Union. The Biology club
will be asking for donations (for a cause that is TBD).
Donors will receive “prizes” in exchange for their
contributions.
• Off-campus community service
◦
Members are looking into the possibility of
participating in the National Pillow Fight Day in the
city. The date is Saturday, April 3rd. This is the
Saturday before Easter Sunday. Please let email
Cassandra Bray if anyone is interested in participating
in this event. The pillow fight day works by asking the
participants to donate their pillows at the end of the
day. Any donated pillows are given to animal shelters
in the NY area to make beds for the animals.
• PR events to make the campus aware of the Biology Club
◦
Campus-wide trip to the Bodies: The Exhibition in
Manhattan
◦
Campus-wide trip to the National Museum of History
◦
Table at Wagnerstock (April 17th)
◦
Movie night
• Tie-dye of Biology Club t-shirts
• Members will be tie-dying our club t-shirts on Sunday,
April 11th at 11am on the oval (pending good weather).
Contributed by Cassandra Bray and Nidhi Khanna
TRI-BETA NEWS
Members of Tri-Beta met early this month. Professor Raths
serves as the faculty advisor for Tri-Beta and she suggested
that members participate in an upcoming conference at The
College of New Jersey. The conference will be held on
Saturday March 27th. Students may already have a poster
prepared at that time for the Eastern Colleges Science
Conference and should consider going to this conference as
well. The deadline for submitting abstracts electronically for
all oral and poster presentations is March 16th. March 21 st is
the deadline for registering online. ”Walk in” posters will be
allowed the day of the conference, and students have the
opportunity to register the day of the conference.
Contributed by Yolana Fuks, Professor Raths, and Nidhi Khanna
PRE-HEALTH SOCIETY
The Pre-Health Society held their first meeting of the semester
this month. The organization is planning to get involved in a
number of off-campus and on-campus community service
events. Members plan to volunteer at the Soup Kitchen on
Staten Island and will participate in the March of Dimes walk
that will be held in April.
In addition, students that are interested in getting clinical
experience are encouraged to volunteer at Staten Island
University Hospital. The hospital procedures and instructions
that volunteers must follow will be available to members on
the Moodle site. If students would like to volunteer at SIUH,
they
should
contact
Violeta
Capric
(violeta.capric@wagner.edu).
Members are invited to join the Pre-Health Society’s
fundraising/community service committee. Please contact VP
of Medicine (President of MAPS), Melanie Valencia
(melanie.valencia@wagner.edu) for more information. The
committee will be planning a Salsa Night event to raise money
for the campus-wide Haiti relief efforts. The committee meets
at 4pm on Tuesdays.
Students interested in applying to Medical School should look
out for a presentation from Bryan Fleischman, the Associate
Director of Admissions of the American University of
Antigua-College of Medicine. The presentation will be held on
Tuesday April 20th at 4:00pm, room TBA. Students that
would like to learn more about AUA should visit the
university’s website (http://www.auamed.org/).
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
PAGE 2
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
OPPORTUNITIES
COMMUNITY SERVICE OPPORTUNITY
Greetings Everyone,
I am Nidhi Khanna and I am currently a junior. I am working
with this non-profit organization called Planting Peace.
Planting Peace has many sub-organizations including one
called The Clean World Movement. The Clean World
Movement is trying to encourage more individuals around the
world to recycle and to take better care of the planet. I am
working with The Clean World Movement as the
environmental director in my community. I am organizing
some clean-ups in Staten Island during the semester. If
anybody is interested in helping out, please feel free to contact
me at nidhi.khanna@wagner.edu. Thanks for your interest and
I look forward hearing from you! If you would like more
information about the organization I am working with, please
visit: http://www.plantingpeace.org/.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
RESEARCH WITH MOSQUITOES AND CRABS
Dr.
Onken
offers
research opportunities
for students in the frame
of a project in which he
collaborates with scientists from Washington
State University, the University of Idaho, and the University
of Alberta (Edmonton, CA). The project is funded by the
National Institute of Health and studies the physiology of the
midgut of larval yellow fever mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti).
Mosquitoes are vectors of a number of parasites, transmit
devastating diseases like malaria, yellow fever and dengue,
and are a major threat to the health of billions of people on our
planet. The principal investigators of this project address
larval mosquitoes, because it appears more straightforward to
fight these vectors as long as they are confined in an aquatic
habitat.
In collaboration with colleagues from the U.S. (Mt. Desert
Island Biological Laboratories, Maine), Brazil (University of
São Paulo in Ribeirão Preto, University of Paraná in Curitiba)
and Canada (University of Manitoba in Winnipeg) Dr. Onken
pursues research with Crustacea related to the osmoregulatory
capacities and mechanisms of crabs. Together with Dr.
Alauddin (Chemistry) and Professor Beecher (Biology), an
ecophysiological study is in an early stage of planning.
Dr. Onken can offer research opportunities for two to three
students. If interested contact Dr. Onken in his office (Megerle
Science Hall Room 411), lab (Megerle Science Hall Room
406) or via e-mail (horst.onken@wagner.edu) or phone 4204211.
BE A LIMULUS ASISTANT EDITOR
Proficient student writers are invited to become assistant
editors for the newsletter of the Department of Biological
Sciences. If you are interested, please, contact Dr. Onken
(horst.onken@wagner.edu).
JOANNA KIELKUCKI
Joanna is our second student
assistant editor. Joanna is 19
years old, majors in English,
minors in Gender Studies, and
concentrates on PreMed.
Joanna lists numerous special
interests in her portfolio:
1) Judo athlete for 6 years - 2007
National
Champion
Gold
Medalist, 2008 Olympic Trials
Participant.
2) Musician - saxophone, flute,
clarinet- attended LaGuardia
High School with a major in
Music.
3) Psychiatry dealing with adolescent/adult substance abuse
and violence (what I anticipate to be in the future)
4) Haitian/Caribbean-American literature - Edwidge Danticat's
"Breath, Eyes, Memory" and "Krik Krak" (favorite author and
texts).
5) Biking and running
6) Traveling and learning about world culture, mostly dealing
with gender equality and health care. Learning about my
Polish culture ( both of my parents are from Poland and Polish
was my first language).
Joanna is a member of the Pre-Health Society, Habitat for
Humanity, the Honors Program, the Jazz Ensemble, the PreHealth Program, and Joanna is a Chemistry Lab Assistant. Off
campus, Joanna is in the Columbia University College of
Physicians & Surgeons NERA Med-Prep Program (3-year
summer program), she is a NY DOJO - judo athlete, she
participates in the CAMBA Ramp-Up Mentoring Program
(P.S.92), and is active in the Maimonides Medical CenterKids Weight Down Program.
Welcome to the team, Joanna!
Contributed by Dr. Onken
Contributed by Dr. Onken
WORK IN THE GARDEN
Students interested in collaborating in the greenhouse and/or
garden during the spring of 2010 should contact Dr. Onken
(horst.onken@wagner.edu).
Contributed by Dr. Onken
PAGE 3
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
EXPERIENCES
DARWIN DAY BECOMES ANNUAL TRADITION
Last year, the Biology Department celebrated the 200th
birthday of Charles Darwin. This year, Professor Raths and
Secretary Stephanie Rollizo decided to hold a special lunch
again this year in honor of Darwin’s birthday. Last year,
everyone had such a wonderful time at the event, and
Professor Raths and Stephanie wanted to organize a
celebration again this year.
Professor Raths had a special Darwin Exhibit set up in one of
the laboratories. She did a marvelous job with the exhibit, and
included interesting facts about Charles Darwin.
Some interesting facts about Charles Darwin include:
Darwin was not comfortable being on ships. He suffered from
seasickness and did not spend that much time on the Beagle.
He did most of his research on land rather than on ship due to
his problem with seasickness.
His father was a physician wanted Darwin to attend medical
school. Darwin’s father did not think highly of his son, and
pushed him to attend Edinburgh University to pursue a career
in medicine. Darwin did not want to become a doctor, and his
father said that he was “a disgrace to himself and his family.”
Charles Darwin’s wife was very religious. When he was
younger, he studied the University of Cambridge. He was
interested in joining the clergy, but he later pursued other
interests. Eventually, Darwin made the transition from being
religious to becoming an agnostic.
On behalf of the Limulus staff, I would like to thank Professor
Raths and Stephanie for organizing the event. This event could
not have been possible without all of their hard work and
contributions. I would also like to acknowledge anyone else
who made delicious treats for everyone else to enjoy.
Interesting
facts
were
compiled
from:
(http://www.livescience.com/history/090211-darwinfacts.html)
From Professor Raths’ Darwin Exhibit
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
PAGE 4
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
PAGE 5
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
WAGNER IN THE SNOW
PAGE 6
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
PEOPLE
LUESONI JOHNSON
VISITING RESEARCH STUDENT COLLABORATES
WITH DR. FULOP AND RECEIVES HONORS
In November, the annual Biomedical Research Conference for
Minority Students was in Phoenix, Arizona. Biology students
attend this prestigious conference to present their research in
developmental biology. Luesoni Johnson, a sophomore from
Kingsborough Community College received honors for her
poster presentation that dealt with the effects of alcohol on
zebrafish embryos. Johnson has been working on this research
project with her advisor from Kingsborough, Dr. Kristen
Polizzotto and Dr. Fulop since the summer 2009. Recently, I
had the privilege to speak with both Dr. Polizzotto and
Luesoni about the research collaboration they have formed
with Wagner College.
Dr. Polizzotto described the different grants that are available
to students at Kingsborough Community College. The first
grant that the college offers is called the Bridges to the
Baccalaureate Program. This grant is funded by the National
Institute of Health (NIH) and is given to underrepresented
students. This program helps students attending community
colleges transition into a four-year college. The students work
with a four-year college (Medgar Evers College) and must
apply to this program. These individuals will then take a
research methods class and get assigned to work with a
mentor. Students have the opportunity to make connections
with mentors and complete research over the summer.
Eventually, these students will make posters and will be
required to present at three different noteworthy conferences.
Kingsborough offers a second grant to underrepresented
students. This grant is basically similar to the grant that is
funded by NIH, but students have the chance to collaborate
with mentors from different colleges. The grant is funded by
the New York State Education Department and is entitled
Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program. Luesoni
was the recipient of this grant and she became interested in
studying zebrafish. Dr. Polizzotto had zebrafish in her lab at
Kingsborough and searched for mentors at different colleges.
Kingsborough has a limited faculty and Dr. Fulop was eager to
serve as Luesoni’s mentor.
Dr. Polizzotto was pleased with the way this research
collaboration with Dr. Fulop turned out. She stated, “ This
collaboration may be one of the most successful programs.
Luesoni had the opportunity to work with many Wagner
students and faculty. She was lucky enough to be supported by
such great faculty and was able to have a high quality research
experience.”
She added, “In Kingsborough, there are fewer opportunities
for students because the college has a low-budget. The
possibilities at Kingsborough are nothing like what Luesoni
did here, and she was able to have a real lab experience.”
Dr. Fulop was interested to help Luesoni and gave up his time
without expecting anything in return. Professors Raths and
Corbo and students Anna Lysenko and Zulmarie France
assisted Luesoni with her research.
Luesoni’s research included using 40 zebrafish embryos. She
used three different concentrations of alcohol on the zebrafish
and the experiment lasted 14 days. She analyzed the physical
features of the zebrafish . She compared the features to
zebrafish with fetal alcohol syndrome. In her findings, she
discovered hormesis. Hormesis deals with biological effects
that result from low levels of toxins. The biological effects
appeared to be positive.
Dr. Polizzotto described the way hormesis works. “When you
have a low dosage of a toxin, you won’t get a linear graph.
The toxin is expected to show steadily worse results in an
organism.”
She added, “Many people don’t believe in hormesis, but many
pharmaceutical companies use hormesis to indicate how much
dosage doctors should give patients when dealing with
medications. Zebrafish serve as a good model and can provide
drug companies with more information when dealing with
different dosages.”
Luesoni felt that she had a very positive experience while
conducting research at Wagner. Anna Lysenko, a senior
Biopsychology major, served as Luesoni’s student mentor.
Anna helped Luesoni with her research while Anna worked on
her own research as well. Zulmarie Franco, a recent graduate
of the Microbiology program, was also generous enough to
give up her time to help Luesoni with her research. Zulmarie
allowed Luesoni to shadow and assist her while she completed
her research for her thesis.
In addition to conducting research at Wagner, Luesoni was
able to make an important decision about her future. Prior to
studying zebrafish in the laboratory, Luesoni was not sure
what field she would like to pursue after she graduated from
college. After doing research at Wagner, she discovered that
she was especially interested in developmental biology and
neuroscience. Recently, Luesoni applied to Wagner as a
transfer student and is looking forward to join organizations
like the Biology Club.
I would like to thank Dr. Polizzotto and Luesoni for taking the
time out of their schedules to meet with me. I would also like
to congratulate Leusoni for all of the accolades she received
for her research project!
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
PAGE 7
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
PUBLICATIONS
CARTOON
Jagadeshwaran, U., Onken, H., Hardy, M., Moffett, S. B. &
Moffett, D. F. (2010). Cellular mechanisms of acid secretion
in the posterior midgut of the larval mosquito Aedes aegypti.
Journal of Experimental Biology 213: 295-300.
Moffett, D.F. and Onken, H. (2010). The Cellular Basis of
Extreme Alkali Secretion in Insects: A Tale of Two Tissues.
In: Epithelial Transport Physiology (ed. George A.
Gerencser), pp. 91-112 . Totowa, New Jersey: Humana Press.
ISBN: 978-1-60327-228-5.
PROFESSIONAL MEETINGS
EASTERN COLLEGES SCIENCE CONFERENCE
Get ready for the abstract submission deadline for ECSC. We
reprint here a recent e-mail from the Wagner College
coordinator for the ECSC, Dr. Adam Houlihan:
Dear colleagues,
I would like to remind you that the 2010 Eastern Colleges
Science Conference will take place on Saturday, April 24 at
Pace University's Pleasantville, NY campus.
This conference provides a forum for undergraduates from 2030 colleges and universities to present their empirical research
in the natural, health, and social sciences. Please see the
current ECSC web site for registration information and
presentation guidelines. A schedule of events is also available
on the website.
The deadline for online registration is noon on Tuesday,
March 30.
The deadline for online abstract submission for student poster
and platform presentations has been extended to noon on
Monday, March 15.
Individuals must register and submit abstracts via the
conference website. Instructions for the submission of fulllength student manuscripts is also available on the conference
website.
Please let me know if you, or your students, will require
transportation to the conference.
Thanks,
Adam J. Houlihan
Assistant Professor of Microbiology
Wagner College
Office phone: (718) 390-3385
Full
URL
for
the
2010
ECSC
conference:
http://www.pace.edu/pace/dyson/academic-departments-andprograms/biology-and-health-sciences/events-andannouncements/ecsc2010/
ALUMNI
Dear Alumni,
If you are interested in contributing to our newsletter, you
are very welcome to do so. Contact Dr. Onken by e-mail
(horst.onken@wagner.edu)
with
your
submission,
comment, ideas or questions! We are excited to hear about
where you are, how and what you do!
Cartoon from www.lab-initio.com
GUIDELINES FOR CONTRIBUTORS
Authors in all sections should keep in mind that not all
readers are specialized in their area of interest. Keep your
contribution on a level that everybody can understand.
Contributions may vary in length between about 50 and
500 words and must be submitted by e-mail to
horst.onken@wagner.edu.
Photographs or other images that accompany an article are
very welcome, but must be submitted as separate files
(high quality jpg is the preferred file format) attached to
the e-mail. Be aware that photographs/images may be
minimized in size.
Indicate the section of the newsletter where you want your
contribution to appear.
The deadline for submission of a contribution is the 20th of
the month. Contributions received later may or may not be
considered.
The editor reserves his right to edit your contribution
or post an immediate response.
Editing may involve to publish contributions in other
sections as indicated by the author.
All contributions will clearly indicate the author's
identity.
All contributions are reviewed and publication may be
refused by the editor.
The Editorial Board:
Editor: Dr. Horst Onken, Associate Professor
Assistant Editor: Stephanie Rollizo, Dept. Secretary
Student Assistant Editor: Nidhi Khanna (Biology)
Student Assistant Editor: Joanna Kielkucki (English)
Student Assistant Editor: WANTED!
PAGE 8
�
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Limulus: The Newsletter of the Wagner College Biological Sciences Department
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The Department of Biological Sciences circulates a newsletter that will be updated monthly, culminating in two special issues per year (January and September). The January edition reviews the fall semester and the September edition reviews the spring semester and summer events. The name of the newsletter is LIMULUS and it is made available as pdf files.
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Title
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Limulus Newsletter, February 2010
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Stearns, Donald
Kielkucki, Joanna M.
Raths, Linda
Johnson, Luesoni D.
Table Of Contents
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Letter from the editor / Horst Onken -- Biology staff and faculty news / Nidhi Khanna -- Curriculum news -- Biology club news / Cassandra Bray and Nidhi Khanna -- Tri-beta news / Yolanda Fuks, Linda Raths, and Nidhi Khanna -- Pre-health society / Nidhi Khanna -- Opportunities / Nidhi Khanna and Horst Onken -- Experiences / Nidhi Khanna -- People / Nidhi Khanna -- Publications, professional meetings, cartoon, and alumni
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Limulus
NEWSLETTER
Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
Volume 2010, Issue Spring-03
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
The March newsletter comes a little late. I am sorry, if you
had to wait some more days. This month‟s LIMULUS gets
back to our adjunct professor series: A late “Welcome” to Dr.
Rosenberg and a “Good Luck” to Professor Beecher, who
joins a PhD program at Washington State University. I
advertise again for our summer courses, and Dr. Palestis joins
me, describing his summer course and inserting photographs
to give you an impression how much fun it is to take “Natural
History of the Mid-Atlantic States” or one of the other
summer courses offered by the department (see page 2 and 3).
There are news from the Bio Club, Tri Beta and the Pre-health
Society. Don‟t miss to at least fly your eyes over the
Opportunities and Experiences.
I wish everybody a great spring!
Dr. Horst Onken
The Editor
BIOLOGY STAFF AND FACULTY NEWS
HONORNG OUR ADJUNCTS
PROFESSOR BEECHER
March, 2010
Professor Beecher (in the above photograph on the right with
her students in the Botanical Garden) began teaching at
Wagner in 2007. She received her Bachelor of Science in
Biology at Washington State University, which is located in
Pullman, Washington. She stayed at Washington State
University and obtained a Masters in Environmental Science
and Regional Planning.
While studying in graduate school, she became interested in
watersheds and sediment chemistry. She said, “Watersheds
can greatly help reduce the problems that the global
community faces with maintaining clean water supplies.”
Professor Beecher feels that it is vital to pay attention to
watersheds and sediment chemistry because all the materials
that people dump into the Earth eventually settles into lakes.
“Most of the pollution is concentrated in the bottom of lakes
and it is important that individuals take action and reduce
pollution,” she said.
Professor Beecher is a dedicated adjunct faculty member, and
teaches during the fall and spring semesters, and even during
summer sessions. She teaches several classes including
Human Biology, Environmental Biology, Environmental
Issues, and Forms and Functions (the lecture and lab sections
for all four classes).
In addition to her interests in sediment chemistry, she is
fascinated by photosynthesis and will be returning to
Washington State University in the fall to join the PhD
program in molecular plant science. The molecular plant
science program at this university is internationally known and
is one of the top programs in its field.
Professor Beecher really enjoyed teaching at Wagner, and will
miss all of her students and the wonderful faculty she was able
to work with. She likes to teach at Wagner because she is able
to help students as much as she can due to the small classes. “I
love Wagner students and I enjoy coming to work every day. I
never felt like teaching was a job, but something that I really
enjoyed doing. It was such an incredible pleasure to teach at
Wagner and the Biology department is completely supportive.
Stephanie is such a great secretary and she is always so caring
and helpful. I loved teaching at Wagner and I hope to continue
teaching one day again in the future, “she said.
On the behalf of the Limulus staff, I would like to congratulate
Professor Beecher on her acceptance to the PhD program at
Washington State and I wish her the best of luck! I would also
like to thank Professor Beecher for taking the time out of her
busy schedule to conduct this interview.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
PAGE 1
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
Dr. ROSENBERG
Professor
Rosenberg
began
teaching
at
Wagner about two years
ago. He is a Bronx
native and, where he
received a Bachelors in
History at Dartmouth
College. After college,
he went on to George
Washington University
to pursue a medical
degree. Dr. Rosenberg
returned to New York
to complete an internship at Mt. Sinai, and was a blood and
cancer specialist. He eventually moved to Massachusetts and
was a physician for 30 years of his professional career. In
addition to practicing medicine, he received a PhD in
Biophysics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
While in Cambridge, he served as a Biochemistry professor at
MIT and was a professor at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Rosenberg‟s research interests include molecular biology
and while he taught medicine at Harvard, he also ran
Harvard‟s molecular biology lab. When he studied medicine in
GWU, Dr. Rosenberg became interested in blood. “Blood is
very molecular, and when you study blood you can figure out
the precise causes of diseases. I have watched the hematology
discipline change and increase in power during my career,” he
stated.
In addition to Dr. Rosenberg‟s extensive work at Harvard, he
became actively involved in many social causes. He started
the first free medical clinic in Cambridge with a group of his
colleagues. After teaching at Harvard and MIT for eleven
years, he eventually retired. Dr. Rosenberg holds honor
doctorates from the University of Amsterdam and University
of Paris.
Dr. Rosenberg moved back to New York recently, and has
been teaching several laboratory sections at Wagner. He
teaches the Anatomy and Physiology labs, and will be
teaching the Cells, Genes, and Evolution lab next year. Dr.
Rosenberg enjoys teaching at Wagner and wants to help his
students to be able to think critically. “I want to help students
think through complicated problems and I feel that is
important to help train students to be good critical thinkers. I
want to students to relate the information they learned in lab to
real life situations,” he said.
In his classes, Dr. Rosenberg believes that it is necessary for
the instructor to cater to the students‟ interests. “Currently, I
have some students in my class interested in sports medicine. I
also have some nursing students as well. I try to engage the
students by adding sports medicine related questions in the
homework problems and I include clinical examples in my
lectures because it interests the nursing students. The students
often complain that my homework assignments are difficult,
and I give them hard questions in order for them to prepare for
the examinations. The difficult questions gets them thinking,
and this is the same way I taught my students at MIT,” he
added.
Dr. Rosenberg has an impressive list of accomplishments, and
many of his former students are leading successful lives as
professors all over the globe in academic institutions like
Harvard.
I would like to thank Dr. Rosenberg for taking the time to
speak with me, and it was such a privilege to learn more about
you.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
CURRICULUM NEWS
2010 Summer courses and intended audience:
BI 110/110L Environmental Biology. Session A (Nonscience majors and Environmental Studies minors)
BI 120 Human Biology. Runs May 17-May 28 (Non-science
majors)
BI 209/209L Human Anatomy and Physiology I. Session A
(Nursing and Physician Assistant majors)
BI 210/210L Human Anatomy and Physiology II. Session B
(Nursing and Physician Assistant majors)
BI/MI 213/213L Cells, Genes, and Evolution. Session B
(Biology and Microbiology majors, Pre-health students)
BI 335/335L Natural History of the Mid-Atlantic States.
Runs May 17-May 28 (Biology majors and Environmental
Studies minors)
BI/MI 400E Experiential Component of the Senior RFT.
Session A (Biology and Microbiology majors)
MI 109 Plagues, Outbreaks and Biological Warfare.
Session B (Non-science majors)
MI 200/200L Microbiology. Session A (Microbiology,
Nursing, and Physician Assistant majors)
MI/BI 517/517L Electron Microscopy. Session A
(Microbiology and Biology majors and Microbiology graduate
students)
MI 615/615L Electron Microscopy. Session A
(Microbiology graduate students)
MI 797, 798, 799 Research. Session A (Microbiology
graduate students)
BIOLOGY CLUB NEWS
The next Biology club meeting will held on Monday April
12th. The elections will take place and members will be voting
on the new Executive Board for next year.
Contributed Nidhi Khanna
TRI-BETA NEWS
The Biological Honor Society will hold its initiation ceremony
for new members on Friday April 16th in Gatehouse Lounge.
Members will be completing their off-campus community
service at the Rahway River in New Jersey on Saturday April
17th. Tri-Beta goes to the Rahway River annually during the
springtime to clean up the trash that is scattered around near
the river.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
PRE-HEALTH SOCIETY
Melanie Valencia is the vice-president of the Pre-Health
Society. She also serves as the president of the Minority
PAGE 2
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
Association of Pre-Medical Students (MAPS). MAPS is a
subgroup of the Pre-Health Society. For the past few months,
Melanie has been working with a group of students in the PreHealth Society to organize a „Salsa Night.‟ This event will be
held on Thursday, April 8th at 8pm in Gatehouse Lounge. An
instructor will be coming to teach all attendees a few salsa
steps. The cost of the event is $5 and all proceeds will be
going to the organization Knowledge is the Cure, which funds
projects in Kenya. The event was a huge success last semester,
and all Wagner students are encouraged to attend!
Students that are interested in applying for medical school
should look out for a presentation from Bryan Fleischman, the
Associate Director of Admissions of the American University
of Antigua-College of Medicine in April. The presentation
will be held on Tuesday April 20th at 4:00pm, room TBA. If
you would like to learn more about AUA, please visit the
website (http://www.auamed.org/).
In addition, students that would like to get more clinical
experience are encouraged to volunteer at Staten Island
University Hospital. The hospital procedures and instructions
that volunteers must follow will be available to members on
the Moodle site. If students would like to volunteer at SIUH,
they
should
contact
Violeta
Capric
(violeta.capric@wagner.edu).
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
and are a major threat to the health of billions of people on our
planet. The principal investigators of this project address
larval mosquitoes, because it appears more straightforward to
fight these vectors as long as they are confined in an aquatic
habitat.
In collaboration
with colleagues
from the U.S.
(Mt. Desert Island
Biological Labs,
Maine),
Brazil
(University of São
Paulo in Ribeirão
Preto, University
of Paraná in Curitiba) and Canada (University of Manitoba in
Winnipeg) Dr. Onken pursues research with Crustacea related
to the osmoregulatory capacities and mechanisms of crabs.
Together with Dr. Alauddin (Chemistry) and Professor
Beecher (Biology), an ecophysiological study is in an early
stage of planning.
Dr. Onken can offer research opportunities for two to three
students. If interested contact Dr. Onken in his office (Megerle
Science Hall Room 411), lab (Megerle Science Hall Room
406) or via e-mail (horst.onken@wagner.edu) or phone 4204211.
Contributed by Dr. Onken
OPPORTUNITIES
COMMUNITY SERVICE OPPORTUNITY
Greetings Everyone,
I am Nidhi Khanna and I am currently a junior. I am working
with this non-profit organization called Planting Peace.
Planting Peace has many sub-organizations including one
called The Clean World Movement. The Clean World
Movement is trying to encourage more individuals around the
world to recycle and to take better care of the planet. I am
working with The Clean World Movement as the
environmental director in my community. I am organizing
some clean-ups in Staten Island during the semester. If
anybody is interested in helping out, please feel free to contact
me at nidhi.khanna@wagner.edu. Thanks for your interest and
I look forward hearing from you! If you would like more
information about the organization I am working with, please
visit: http://www.plantingpeace.org/.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
RESEARCH WITH MOSQUITOES AND CRABS
Dr.
Onken
offers
research opportunities
for students in the frame
of a project in which he
collaborates with scientists from Washington
State University, the University of Idaho, and the University
of Alberta (Edmonton, CA). The project is funded by the
National Institute of Health and studies the physiology of the
midgut of larval yellow fever mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti).
Mosquitoes are vectors of a number of parasites, transmit
devastating diseases like malaria, yellow fever and dengue,
WORK IN THE GARDEN
Students interested in collaborating in the greenhouse and/or
garden during the spring of 2010 should contact Dr. Onken
(horst.onken@wagner.edu).
Contributed by Dr. Onken
BE A LIMULUS ASISTANT EDITOR
Proficient student writers are invited to become assistant
editors for the newsletter of the Department of Biological
Sciences. If you are interested, please, contact Dr. Onken
(horst.onken@wagner.edu).
Contributed by Dr. Onken
EXPERIENCES
DO NOT MISS THIS EXPERIENCE
Summer Field Course: BI 335 Natural History of the MidAtlantic States
This course, taught by Dr. Palestis, runs for two weeks (May
17-28) after the end of the Spring semester and before the start
of the main summer session. It can be used as an elective for
the Biology major and minor and for the Environmental
Studies minor. The course is a great opportunity to experience
nature, as it is almost entirely field-trip based.
Trips include several nearby locations such as the New Jersey
Pine Barrens, Jamaica Bay, and the Great Swamp. There will
also be two overnight trips, to witness the horseshoe crab
spawning/shorebird migration spectacle on Delaware Bay and
to hunt for marine fossils in the Pocono Mountains. Students
will learn about the organisms, ecology, and geology of a wide
variety of habitat types, and will also learn basic methodology
for field research.
PAGE 3
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
Students in BI335 from Summer 2007 in front of a cranberry
bog at Double Trouble State Park in Ocean County, NJ.
Students from left to right are Shannon O‟Neill, Amanda
Rollizo, Jusuf Husic, and Frankie Costanza. Photo by Dr.
Palestis.
A fallen tree blocking Campus Road.
Public Safety in action. A wind gust blew over a whole row of
pines behind the Science Building.
Shorebirds feeding on horseshoe crab eggs at Reeds Beach on
Delaware Bay in Cape May County, NJ. Most of the birds in
this photo are ruddy turnstones. The endangered red knot and
more than one species of sandpiper are also visible. Photo by
Dr. Palestis.
Contributed by Dr. Palestis
WAGNER AFTER THE STORM
In February, the college was hit by snow. On a number of days
classes had to be canceled. In the February newsletter I shared
some photographs of Wagner College in the snow. In March,
the college was hit by a major rain storm, and I share some
photographs of the damages on campus (see below). This
storm caused major damages in different states of the East
Coast. On Staten Island many trees were blown over and
thousands of houses were without power for up to some days.
Also our beautiful campus suffered, and public safety and
maintenance were extremely busy. A couple of trees crashed
and some windows broke.
Broken window in the Library.
PAGE 4
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
Water damage at the Science Building.
After the summer it is planned to sand the surface of the stem
slice and to conserve it with varnish. The annual rings of the
tree can then be accurately counted. A rough estimate is that
the tree is between 150 and 200 years old. The stem slice can
then be used as an item to display American and Wagner
College history.
Contributed by Dr. Onken
PUBLICATIONS
Jagadeshwaran, U., Onken, H., Hardy, M., Moffett, S. B. &
Moffett, D. F. (2010). Cellular mechanisms of acid secretion
in the posterior midgut of the larval mosquito Aedes aegypti.
Journal of Experimental Biology 213: 295-300.
Moffett, D.F. and Onken, H. (2010). The Cellular Basis of
Extreme Alkali Secretion in Insects: A Tale of Two Tissues.
In: Epithelial Transport Physiology (ed. George A.
Gerencser), pp. 91-112 . Totowa, New Jersey: Humana Press.
ISBN: 978-1-60327-228-5.
PROFESSIONAL MEETINGS
EASTERN COLLEGES SCIENCE CONFERENCE
At the end of the April the Eastern Colleges Science
Conference is held at Pace University. Everybody who
registered a contribution should get ready with the
presentation. If you have any further questions do not hesitate
to contact Wagner College coordinator for the ECSC, Dr.
Adam Houlihan (adam.houlihan@wagner.edu).
ALUMNI
Dear Alumni,
One of the trees that was blown over on campus was a big, old
oak besides Lyle‟s House (see above). When it fell it barely
missed Lyle‟s House. Lyle Guttu‟s good spirits must have
protected his former home. On the initiative of our department
secretary, Stephanie Rollizo, the department got a slice of the
stem of the tree. It is now in a storage room of the department
and will dry over the summer.
If you are interested in contributing to our newsletter, you
are very welcome to do so. Contact Dr. Onken by e-mail
(horst.onken@wagner.edu)
with
your
submission,
comment, ideas or questions! We are excited to hear about
where you are, how and what you do!
PAGE 5
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
CARTOON
Cartoon from www.lab-initio.com
GUIDELINES FOR CONTRIBUTORS
Authors in all sections should keep in mind that not all
readers are specialized in their area of interest. Keep your
contribution on a level that everybody can understand.
Contributions may vary in length between about 50 and
500 words and must be submitted by e-mail to
horst.onken@wagner.edu.
Photographs or other images that accompany an article are
very welcome, but must be submitted as separate files
(high quality jpg is the preferred file format) attached to
the e-mail. Be aware that photographs/images may be
minimized in size.
Indicate the section of the newsletter where you want your
contribution to appear.
The deadline for submission of a contribution is the 20th of
the month. Contributions received later may or may not be
considered.
The editor reserves his right to edit your contribution
or post an immediate response.
Editing may involve to publish contributions in other
sections as indicated by the author.
All contributions will clearly indicate the author's
identity.
All contributions are reviewed and publication may be
refused by the editor.
The Editorial Board:
Editor: Dr. Horst Onken, Associate Professor
Assistant Editor: Stephanie Rollizo, Dept. Secretary
Student Assistant Editor: Nidhi Khanna (Biology)
Student Assistant Editor: Joanna Kielkucki (English)
Student Assistant Editor: WANTED!
PAGE 6
�
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Letter from the editor / Horst Onken -- Biology staff and faculty news / Nidhi Khanna -- Curriculum news -- Biology club news, Tri-beta news, and Pre-health society / Nidhi Khanna -- Opportunites / Nidhi Khanna and Horst Onken -- Experiences / Brian Palestis -- Publications, professional meetings, alumni, and cartoon
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Limulus
NEWSLETTER
Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
Volume 2010, Issue Spring-04
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
This Limulus is coming again a little later. Like already at the
end of the fall semester when we sent out a
November/December issue, we are now presenting to you
another two months issue: April/May. With the flood of work
at the end of semesters, this procedure is much more
convenient for us.
I would also loke to announce that we have another new
student Assistant Editor: Farha Rashid is a Biology major and
April/May, 2010
she straight away contributed an article. On pages 6 and 7,
Farha reports about the Eastern Colleges Science Conference.
Apart of other reports from conferences we have more
interesting news from the department. Of course, at this time
there is a lot of focus on our seniors (see below).
I wish everybody a great summer!
Dr. Horst Onken
The Editor
SENIORS IN THE RFT MAJORING IN BIOLOGY, MICROBIOLOGY, OR BIOPSYCHOLOGY
In the front from left to right: Janine Bright, Kristyn Beyar, Cassandra Bray, Jessica Cozzolino, Medije Mashkulli,
Nicholas Lepore, Yolana Fuks. In the back from left to right: Dina Benedetto, Lara Kirkbride, Rachel Delp, Michael
Gutkin, Benjamin Serbiak, Michael Stanton, Almir Spahiu, Sarmed Owaid.
PAGE 1
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
SPECIAL TOPIC
BIOLOGY AND MICROBIOLOGY RESEARCH FUND
In the summer of 2009, with the help and support of the
Department of Biological Sciences, the Administration and the
Office of Institutional Advancement (OIA), Dr. Ammini
Moorthy’s hope to establish an Undergraduate Senior Thesis
Research Fund for the Biology/Microbiology Department
became a reality.
Currently all biology/microbiology majors participate in
undergraduate research under the supervision of a faculty
member as part of their graduation requirement. With the
assistance of Ms. Stephanie Rollizo (faculty secretary), Dr.
Moorthy worked with Ms. Kristen Koehler (OIA) to reach out
to our alumni for help in creating the fund to subsidize this
important part of the curriculum. The fund provides much
needed resources for our students to purchase materials for
their research projects.
The alumni who have already graciously donated are:
Robert Agnello, Danielle Cavallo, Robert Corry, James
D’Amico, Louis DeSantis, Letizia Hobbs, Louise Kaufman,
Stacy Kubikian, Christina Lamb, Christine MarroneMassaro, Robert Peterman, Michael Ponzo, and Carol
Russell.
With the approval of Dr. Brian Palestis (chair of biological
sciences) and Prof. Linda Raths (who maintains expense
records), several students have already benefited from this
fund. Their names and their research projects are:
Nicholas Lepore and Almir Spahiu (Advisor Kathy Bobbitt):
Chemical components and antimicrobial properties of mastic
Medije Mashkulli (Advisor Horst Onken): Set up of a yellow
fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti) colony
Philip Kaplan, Glenn Muoio, Peter Pisano, Farha Rashid and
Lauren Raynor (Advisor Donald Stearns): Developmental
changes in larval photosensitivity of the yellow fever
mosquito (Aedes aegypti)
Kaitlin Eppinger (Advisor Brian Palestis): A banding study of
the common tern (Sterna hirundo)
Cassandra Bray (Advisor Brian Palestis): Escape response as a
behavioral assay of blindness in zebrafish (Danio rerio)
Alex Moleson (Advisor Roy Mosher):
mutagenesis of green fluorescent protein
Site-directed
Roseanna Valant (Advisor Ammini Moorthy): Genotoxicity of
mitoxantrone in human cells
Felicia Giunta (Advisor Heather Cook): Effects of endocrine
disrupters on Drosophila development
Benjamin Serbiak (Advisor Ammini Moorthy): The efficacy
of sunscreen blockers in prevention of the effects ultraviolet
light in Vicia faba
Alexander Zilberman (Advisor Adam Houlihan): "Use of PCR
to validate culture-based detection of Salmonella from
waterfowl eggs in the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Julianna Maniscalco (Advisor Horst Onken): Inhibition of
strong midgut alkalinization in larval yellow fever mosquitoes
(Aedes aegypti)
Thanks again to the alumni who contributed and made this
possible. Your generosity is already paying dividends. We
need more of you, our alumni, to step forward and contribute
whatever you can. During the summer of 2010, the alumni
will once again be approached to ask for their support.
Alumni who happen to read this article are encouraged to
proactively contribute. It is not often that one gets a chance to
make a donation and see its impact directly and promptly.
Contributed by Stephanie Rollizo, Dr. Moorthy, and Dr. Palestis.
CURRICULUM NEWS
2010 Summer courses and intended audience:
BI 110/110L Environmental Biology. Session A (Nonscience majors and Environmental Studies minors)
BI 120 Human Biology. Runs May 17-May 28 (Non-science
majors)
BI 209/209L Human Anatomy and Physiology I. Session A
(Nursing and Physician Assistant majors)
BI 210/210L Human Anatomy and Physiology II. Session B
(Nursing and Physician Assistant majors)
BI/MI 213/213L Cells, Genes, and Evolution. Session B
(Biology and Microbiology majors, Pre-health students)
BI 335/335L Natural History of the Mid-Atlantic States.
Runs May 17-May 28 (Biology majors and Environmental
Studies minors)
BI/MI 400E Experiential Component of the Senior RFT.
Session A (Biology and Microbiology majors)
MI 109 Plagues, Outbreaks and Biological Warfare.
Session B (Non-science majors)
MI 200/200L Microbiology. Session A (Microbiology,
Nursing, and Physician Assistant majors)
MI/BI 517/517L Electron Microscopy. Session A
(Microbiology and Biology majors and Microbiology graduate
students)
MI 615/615L Electron Microscopy. Session A
(Microbiology graduate students)
MI 797, 798, 799 Research. Session A (Microbiology
graduate students)
WAGNER ANNOUNCES NEW 5 YEAR B.S./M.S.
MICROBIOLOGY PROGRAM
Recently, I had the opportunity
to speak with Dr. Roy Mosher,
the director of the Microbiology
Masters Program at Wagner. Dr.
Mosher teaches a number of
courses at Wagner including
Biochemistry I and II, Medical
and
Public
Health,
Microbiology,
Microbial
Genetic, Applied, Food, and
Industrial Microbiology, and
Pathogenic Fungi.
PAGE 2
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
Wagner announced that the Microbiology Program would
offer students a chance to obtain a five-year B.S./M.S.
beginning in the Fall 2010 semester. The new program is not
offered in any other college or university in the Northeast.
Associate Provost Dr. Jeffrey Kraus spearheaded the idea for
the new program. Dr. Kraus is also head of all the graduate
studies programs at the college, and initially he asked Dr.
Mosher if it would be possible to develop a five-year
B.S./M.S. Microbiology graduate program at Wagner.
Dr. Mosher was a little reluctant at first because the
Microbiology Department was shorthanded and would not be
able to expand the program due to the limited faculty. Luckily,
Dr. Adam Houlihan joined the Wagner faculty recently, and
Dr. Mosher believed with Houlihan’s help, the new program
would be more feasible.
After Dr. Kraus proposed the idea, Dr. Mosher needed to get
the program approved by the Biology Department and then by
the Academic Program Committee, which regulates academic
programs on campus. Dr. Mosher brought the idea to the New
York State Department of Education and they finally gave the
final approval for the program. The entire process took about a
year to complete from start to finish.
Earlier last fall, Dr. Mosher received exciting news from the
Department of Education that Wagner would be allowed to
offer this new program to students the following year.
According to Dr. Mosher, Professor Christopher Corbo, an
adjunct Biology professor at Wagner (’06 B.S., ’08 M.S.),
deserves a tremendous amount of credit in helping Dr. Mosher
obtain the proper certifications for the program. Additionally,
Dr. Kathleen Bobbit and Dr. Houlihan played an integral part
in developing the program, and Dr. Mosher could not have
completed this process without their assistance.
The new program offers students a chance to receive their
Masters degree quickly and this program is more research
oriented. “The current two-year Masters program allows
students to choose whether they would like to do a research
based or non-research based thesis. The Masters students
simply do not have enough time to sufficient research, and the
new program allows students to get a head start with their
research,” stated Dr. Mosher.
Students participating in the program will begin to conduct
research in the laboratory during their junior year. They will
be required to complete their senior RFT during the fall
semester of their senior year. This allows students to begin
their Masters research in the spring semester of their senior
year. The advantage of this program is that students can start a
research project as an undergraduate student and have the
opportunity to defend their thesis as a senior. Eventually, the
students can expand on their senior thesis project, and have the
opportunity to have an engaging and intensive research
experience. “Students completing their Masters in
Microbiology usually need time to do research, and by the
time they learn the necessary skills to do the research, it is
time for the students to graduate,” said Dr. Mosher. The new
program allows students to spend more time learning the
techniques in the lab, and hopefully the students will be able
to present their projects at major regional or national
conferences.
Currently, seven undergraduate students have officially
declared an interest in the program. The program allows
students to “exit” out of the program, and students can pursue
other graduate schools if they wish. Students hoping to go to
medical school or dental school can enroll in the five-year
program, but if they get accepted to either medical or dental
school, they can opt to “exit” out of the program. Basically,
the students can choose to obtain their B.S. in Microbiology,
and may opt out of pursuing the Masters in Microbiology in
order to attend another graduate school after they complete
their senior year at Wagner.
Dr. Mosher offered some important advice for students that
are interested in the program. “Anyone that wishes to
participate in the program should make the decision by their
sophomore year, however, it would be better if you decide
during your freshman year. New students and freshman should
try to get into Dr. Stearns’ and Dr. Houlihan’s Learning
Community: Bacteria, Human Health and Survival. This LC
allows students to complete their basic microbiology
requirements and it is important to get the introductory course
out of the way. Then, students will be able to fit their other
microbiology classes in the following semester, and it would
be optimal if students put this LC as their top choice, “ he
stated.
I would like to thank Dr. Mosher for taking the time out of his
busy schedule to complete this interview!
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
BIOLOGY STUDENT NEWS
AWARDS
BIOLOGY STUDENTS HONORED AT UNDERGRAUATE AWARDS
DINNER
The Undergraduate Awards Dinner was held on Friday April
30th. Many students from the department received honors and
recognition for their exceptional academic work. The awards
that students received are in italics. The students that
maintained a 4.0 GPA for the Spring 2009 and Fall 2010
semesters received a special plaque. The following students
were honorees at the dinner:
Violeta Capric (Biology/Anthropology Majors)- Academic
Excellence Award (4.0 g.p.a)** and the Robert D. Blomquist
Memorial Award in Biology
Terryn Marette (Biology Major)- Biological Science Award
PAGE 3
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
Peter Pisano (Biology Major)- Academic Excellence Award
(4.0 g.p.a)**
Victor Stora (Biology/Chemistry Majors)- Academic
Excellence Award (4.0 g.p.a)
Melanie Valencia Biology Minor)- Academic Excellence
Award (4.0 g.p.a); Diversity Action Council Award;
Community Service Award. (Biology Minor)
Lisa Duncan (Biopsychology Major)- Academic Excellence
Award (4.0 g.p.a)
Marlena Mason (Biology Major)- Academic Excellence Award
(4.0 g.p.a
Nidhi Khanna (Biology/Philosophy Majors)- Outstanding
Service in Communication Award
Congratulations to all the honorees!
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna (with the help of Stephanie Rollizo)
SENIORS RECEIVE DEPARTMENTAL HONORS
Some seniors received special recognition for their
outstanding work in the biology department. Three seniors
received awards for presenting at a conference, and for their
high GPA. Congratulations to Yolana Fuks, Medije Mashkulli,
and Michael Stanton!
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
GRADUATE STUDENTS AWARDS CEREMONY
During the first week of May, a few graduate students
received special recognition for their work in the
Microbiology department. Congratulations to all of the
winners!
Microbiology Award- Zulmarie Franco
Highest Academic Achievement-Kristin Belitz
Outstanding Academic Achievement-Janet Sum
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna (with the help of Stephanie Rollizo)
BIOLOGY STUDENTS INITIATED INTO ODK
The National Leadership Honor Society held its Spring
initiation for new members on Friday April 9th at 6pm.
Omicron Delta Kappa was founded in 1914 at Washington and
Lee University. This organization recognizes excellence in
academics and leadership of students at each of its
participating colleges.
Several students from the Biology Department were inducted
into ODK, as well as a faculty member from the department.
Congratulations to all the new members!
Anna Lysenko (Biopsychology Major), Violeta Capric
(Biology), Leandra Manfredi (Biopsychology), Aimee Marin
(Biopsychology), and Dr. Horst Onken (faculty initiate).
Limulus would also like to recognize the Biology students that
were inducted in the fall. I apologize for the late recognition!
Philip Kaplan (Biology Major, chemistry minor), Victor Stora
(Biology/Chemistry
Majors),
and
Nidhi
Khanna
(Biology/Philosophy Majors).
Several graduating seniors from the department have been
members of ODK. I would like to wish them the best of luck
in their future endeavors!
Yolana Fuks (Biology Major, Chemistry Minor), Shannon
O’Neill (Biology Major), Anna Lysenko (Biopsychology
Major), Colleen Janson (Biology Minor), and Danielle
Sheehan (Biology Minor).
BIOLOGY CLUB NEWS
The Biology Club completed their on-campus community
service in the last week of April. Members distributed free
condoms in the Union and collected donations to support
Community Health Action.
Elections were also held and the newly elected president is
Leonid Denisenko and the vice president is Caroline Mroz.
Current President, Cassie Bray had a few final words that she
would like to share: “Lastly, I wanted to thank everyone who
was an active member this past year. It felt great to know the
hard work and time I put into making the club better paid off.
I'll miss everyone next year, but be excited for Leonid to take
control. Awesome things will get done during his reign!
Have a great summer, everyone!”
-Cassie Bray
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna and Cassie Bray
TRI-BETA NEWS
NEW MEMBERS
Congratulations to the new members of Tri-Beta!
Daniel Fitzpatrick, Philip Kaplan, Terryn Marette, Aimee
Marin, Maleeha Memon, Caroline Mroz, Ashley Nati, Farha
Rashid, and Victor Stora.
ELECTIONS
Tri-Beta recently held elections for its new officers.
Congratulations to all! President: Medije Mashkulli, Vice
President: Violeta Capric, Secretary: Philip Kaplan, Treasurer:
Peter Pisano, and Historian: Farha Rashid.
GRADUATING SENIORS
The Limulus Staff would like to wish the seniors from TriBeta the best of luck in their future endeavors!
Graduating Seniors: Lauren Carasso, Samantha Cook, Jessica
Cozzolino (Secretary), Yolana Fuks (President), Colleen
Janson, Michele Marotto, Shannon O’Neill (Historian),
Danielle Sheehan, Almir Spahiu , Ashley Stackpole, Michael
Stanton (Vice President), Salvatore Valenti, and Kayla Wong.
PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE INITIATION
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
PAGE 4
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
Secretary: Medije Mashkulli
Treasurer: John Geli
SGA Representative: Lisa Duncan
Current President Aimee Marin and Secretary Nidhi Khanna
decided to “retire” from the E-board of the Pre-Health Society,
and did not wish to run in the elections. Aimee wrote a final
farewell letter to members that I would like to share:
It has been an honor to serve in the office of president for the
PHS. We can be proud of our achievements and look forward
to even greater achievements in the future. Now is the time for
me to turn over the leadership as the club moves forward with
fresh ideas.
If anyone has any questions or concerns, feel free to e-mail
me. I will be working with the Colleges Against Cancer club
next semester, and I look forward to seeing familiar faces at
those meetings. Thank you once again,
Aimee Marin
Lastly, I wanted to thank everyone in the society for a great
year and for all of your hard work and participation in PHS. It
was an honor and such a pleasure to serve as PHS secretary
for the past year. I am sure Medije will go above and beyond
her duties as secretary next year, and I feel confident of her
abilities.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
EXPERIENCES
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
FUN FIELD TRIP
These photos below are from a class field trip for BI 492
Ecological and Evolutionary Theory to two nearby locations
in New Jersey, Hutcheson Memorial Forest and Cheesequake
State Park. Hutcheson Memorial Forest is owned by Rutgers
University and is the sight of various field research projects,
including a long-term study of ecological succession. Students
were able to see a patch of old-growth forest, forests of known
age that developed from abandoned farm fields, a field kept in
an early successional stage, and evidence of the effects of deer
herbivory and invasive species. Cheesequake contains a wide
variety of different habitat types in a small area, due to its
location at the borders of northern and southern vegetation and
of coastal and upland vegetation. Habitats include deciduous
forest, pine barren, cedar and hardwood swamps, and
saltmarsh.
PRE-HEALTH SOCIETY
ELECTIONS
The Pre-Health Society held its annual elections on Thursday,
April 29th. This was the first time the organization allowed
members that could not attend the elections to submit their
vote electronically by emailing their votes to the Secretary
(Nidhi Khanna). All the candidates were very well qualified
and ran a great race! Thanks to all who participated.
Congratulations to our new officers!
President: Felicia Giunta
VP of Medicine: Julianna Maniscalco
VP of Allied Health: Victor Stora
VP of Dental: Lisa Schneider
Ben Serbiak and Lara Kirkbride tasting sassafras leaves.
PAGE 5
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
environmental degradation. The students of the Department of
Biological Sciences contributed with platform presentations
and posters. See below for the titles and authors. Two platform
presentations won Excellence Awards. The Limulus Staff
would like to congratulate all of the participants and winners
for a job well done!
CONGRATULATIONS TO ANTHONY RAFETTO AS
RECIPIENT OF THE AWARD FOR BEST PLATFORM
PRESENTATION (CATEGORY: MATHEMATICS AND
ENGINEERING SCIENCES)
Anthony Rafetto. "U.S. population growth." Research under
the supervision of Dr. Otto Raths.
The class walks on a boardwalk through the swampy section
of Cheesequake State Park.
Contributed by Dr. Palestis
PUBLICATIONS
Jagadeshwaran, U., Onken, H., Hardy, M., Moffett, S. B. &
Moffett, D. F. (2010). Cellular mechanisms of acid secretion
in the posterior midgut of the larval mosquito Aedes aegypti.
Journal of Experimental Biology 213: 295-300.
Moffett, D.F. and Onken, H. (2010). The Cellular Basis of
Extreme Alkali Secretion in Insects: A Tale of Two Tissues.
In: Epithelial Transport Physiology (ed. George A.
Gerencser), pp. 91-112 . Totowa, New Jersey: Humana Press.
ISBN: 978-1-60327-228-5.
PROFESSIONAL MEETINGS
EASTERN COLLEGES SCIENCE CONFERENCE
On Saturday April 24th, Pace University hosted the 64th
annual Eastern Colleges Science Conference. 209
undergraduate students participated in the meeting with 16
student presentations from Wagner for this prestigious event.
A handful of students represented the Biology Department in
the conference. Participants included: Yasemin Alev,Violeta
Capric,Leonid Denisenko,William Etts,Stefani Fanara,Yolana
Fuks,Felicia Giunta,Michael Gutkin,Philip Kaplan,Anna
Lysenko,Julianna
Maniscalco,Medije
Mashkulli,Glenn
Muoio,Peter
Pisano,Anthony
Rafetto,Lauren
Raynor,Benjamin
Serbiak,Michael
Stanton,Megan
Stolze,Melanie Valencia,Alexander Zilberman. During the
afternoon, attendees had the option to take a tour of Pace
University's beautiful Pleasantville, NY Campus. In addition,
attendees were able to watch the falcon show presented by the
university’s very own falcon trainer. During dinner attendees
had the pleasure of listening to guest speakers. Dr. Deborah
Poe, an assistant Professor of English at Pace University. She
read from her collection Elements based on the Periodic Table.
Her writing has recently appeared in journals such as
Colorado Review, Sidebrow, and Ploughshares to name a few.
She is also fiction editor of the international online journal of
the arts, Drunken Boat. The second speaker was Dr. William
H. Schlesinger who is President of the Cary Institute of
Ecosystem Studies .He gave an interesting lecture about the
role of human population growth, resource demands and
technology in driving and potentially solving our trajectory of
CONGRATULATIONS ALSO TO MEGAN STOLZE AS
RECIPIENT OF THE AWARD FOR THE BEST
PLATFORM
PRESENTATION
(CATEGORY:
PSYCHOLOGY)
Megan Stolze. "The association between BMI, sweet
preference and drug use." Research under the supervision of
Dr. Laurence J. Nolan.
There were 14 additional poster and platform presentations by
students from Wagner College:
Benjamin Serbiak. "The efficacy of sunscreen blockers in
prevention of the clastogenic effects of long wave and short
wave ultraviolet light in Vicia faba." (platform). Research
under the supervision of Dr. Ammini Moorthy.
Stefani Fanara and Megan Stolze. "Television viewing and
food intake: Is physical fitness a factor?" (platform). Research
under the supervision of Dr. Laurence J. Nolan.
Michael Stanton. "Behavioral responses of common tern
chicks to feather sampling." (platform). Research under the
supervision of Dr. Brian Palestis.
Leonid Denisenko. "U.S. population studies." (platform)
Research under the supervision of Dr. Otto Raths.
Melanie Valencia, Violeta Capric, William Etts and
Yolana Fuks. "Electrophysiology of the isolated and perfused
midgut of adult yellow fever mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti): First
results." (poster). Research under the supervision of Dr. Horst
Onken, with co-authors S.B. Moffett and D.F. Moffett of
Washington State University.
Michael C. Gutkin. "Detection of proliferating cells in
surviving organotypic culture of adult zebrafish (Danio rerio)
optic tectum." (poster). Research under the supervision of
Prof. Christopher Corbo, Dr. Zoltan Fulop and Prof. Linda
Raths.
Anna Lysenko and Yasemin Alev. "Scanning electron
microscopic imaging of the developing neuromasts of the
lateral line system in 7 day old zebrafish embryos." (poster).
Research under the supervision of Prof. Christopher Corbo,
Dr. Zoltan Fulop and Prof. Linda Raths, with co-author
Luesoni Johnson of Kingsboro Community College.
Anna Lysenko. "Effects of alcohol show hormetic
characteristics on development of zebrafish embryos."
(poster). Research under the supervision of Prof. Christopher
Corbo, Dr. Zoltan Fulop and Prof. Linda Raths, with lead
author Luesoni Johnson of Kingsboro Community College.
Alexander Zilberman. "Use of an InvA-specific PCR primer
set to validate culture-based detection of Salmonella from
PAGE 6
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
waterfowl eggs in the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Queens,
New York." (poster). Research under the supervision of Dr.
Adam J. Houlihan, with co-author Jessica Browning of the
U.S. National Park Service.
Medije Mashkulli. "Set up of a yellow fever mosquito (Aedes
aegypti) colony." (poster). Research under the supervision of
Dr. Horst Onken, with co-authors S.B. Moffett and D.F.
Moffett of Washington State University.
Julianna Maniscalco. "Inhibition of strong midgut
alkalinization in larval yellow fever mosquitoes (Aedes
aegypti) with HEPES buffer." (poster). Research under the
supervision of Dr. Horst Onken, with co-authors S.B. Moffett
and D.F. Moffett of Washington State University.
Yolana Fuks. "Increased expression of mitochondrial
glutathione peroxidase 4 and superoxide dismutase 2 reduces
cone cell death in retinitis pigmentosa." (poster). Research
under the supervision of Lili Lu and Peter A. Campochiaro of
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Felicia Guinta, Bethny Brown and Alexandra Videll.
"Analyzing the effect of endocrine disrupting chemicals on
Drosophila development." (poster). Research under the
supervision of Dr. Heather A. Cook.
Peter Pisano, Lauren Raynor, Philip Kaplan and Glenn
Muoio. "Developmental changes in larval photosensitivity of
the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti." (poster). Research
under the supervision of Dr. Donald E. Stearns.
Some photographs from the event:
Contributed by Farha Rashid
PAGE 7
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
HORMESIS RESEARCH FEATURED IN DOSERESPONSE CONFERENCE
Five representatives from Wagner College participated in the
annual meeting of the International Dose-Response Society at
the University of Massachusetts (Amherst, MA, 27-28 April,
2010): Dr. Zoltan Fulop, Dr. Brian Palestis, Anna Lysenko
(senior Psychology major), Anastasia Kurta (Biopsychology,
Class of 2007), and Luesoni Johnson. Luesoni is currently a
student at Kingsborough Community College who is working
in Dr. Fulop’s lab and is transferring in to Wagner.
The major focus of the conference was hormesis, a
phenomenon where a substance with inhibitory effects at high
doses has the opposite effects at low doses. For example,
alcohol is classified as a depressant but often has stimulatory
effects at low doses. Hormesis is much more common than
most biologists realize, and is characterized by an inverted Ushaped or J-shaped dose-response curve, rather than fitting the
standard linear or threshold model.
Hormesis has also been the subject of research in the
Department of Biological Sciences for several years (see the
Sept 2008 issue of Limulus for a summary of the “Hormesis
Project”). Much of this work has been funded by an
anonymous donor. In Fall 2009, Dr. Ed Calabrese, the leading
authority on hormesis, spoke at Wagner College (see the
Nov/Dec 2009 issue of Limulus) and invited us to attend the
conference.
Luesoni and Anna gave a poster presentation on work they
have done with Dr. Fulop using zebrafish as a model for fetal
alcohol syndrome, and Dr. Palestis presented a poster
summarizing the work his students have done on the effects of
alcohol on the behavior of adult zebrafish. Dr. Palestis also
served as chair of the session on toxicology and risk
assessment. In addition, a paper written by Anastasia Kurta
and Dr. Palestis was recently accepted for publication by the
society’s journal, Dose-Response. The reference for this paper
and for the two poster presentations are given below:
Kurta, A. and B.G. Palestis. (2010, in press). Effects of
ethanol on shoaling behavior in zebrafish (Danio rerio). DoseResponse.
Johnson, L.D., A. Lysenko, C. Corbo, L. Raths, B. Palestis,
and Z. Fulop. 2010. Alcohol shows hormetic characteristics on
development of zebrafish embryos. Annual Meeting of the
International Dose-Response Society. Amherst, MA. 27-28
April.
Palestis, B.G. 2010. Effects of ethanol on the behavior of
zebrafish (Danio rerio). Annual Meeting of the International
Dose-Response Society. Amherst, MA. 27-28 April.
Contributed by Dr. Palestis
MICROBIOLOGY GRADUATE PRESENTS AT
PRESTIGIOUS CONFERENCE
Recently, Zulmarie Franco presented her research at a
conference at Harvard Medical School in February. She is the
first Wagner student that was ever selected to present at this
conference. I would like to thank Zulmarie for taking the time
to help me with this interview.
Q: What was your research?
A: My research was entitled Morphophysiological
Characterization of Peripheral Blood of Adult Zebrafish
(Danio rerio). This research was performed to aid in the study
of degenerative and regenerative processes that take place in
the injured zebrafish brain, main focus of study in Dr. Fulop's
lab. Information such as the ultrastructural features and the
basic characterization of the blood cells was necessary to
understand these processes and to be able to record the
activities of white blood cells in brain injuries. So I collected
the blood from the heart of a mature zebrafish and with it I
prepared blood smears, which I stained to be able to
differentiate among the different white blood cells in the light
microscope. Also I characterized the cells using the
transmission electron microscope and from the scanning
electron microscope I was able to obtain information on the
physiological activities of the cell. I performed other tests but
these were the most significant ones.
Q: What was the conference like?
A: It was a great experience. Its main focus was on
Biomedical careers and research projects. The speakers were
very motivating; besides talking about their current research
they would start by telling their stories of how they were able
to get to where they are right now. They were mostly
minorities so they talk about all the obstacles they had to
overcome to be were they are right now. Particularly there was
one speaker that I found his story very impressing and
motivating, his name is Dr. Alfredo Quinones Hinojosa, he is
a Neurosurgeon at John Hopkins and performs research on the
role of stem cells in the origin of brain tumors and the
potential role stem cells can play in fighting brain cancer and
regaining neurological function. His story was very
impressing because he talked about how he started working in
the fields when he came to the states and after years of hard
work he decided to go to school and after overcoming all the
obstacles he became a well known doctor conducting a very
promising research
Q: Was the conference overall a good experience? How does
it feel to be the first student from Wagner to attend the
conference?
A: There were around 300 poster presentations of students
from bachelor's degree level up to MD/PhD, so it was very
competitive. You would have two hours to stand by your
poster and talk to the judges and anyone else who would go by
your poster, about the research. But the posters were set up
early in the morning for exhibit while the students were
participating in the conferences. Amazing research projects
were being presented. For me the experience of just being
selected to present my research there made me feel really
proud and thankful for all the opportunities I had at Wagner
and for the great people that helped me all the way (Dr. Fulop,
Chris and my family back in Puerto Rico). I can say that all
the hard work was definitely worth it.
Contributed by Nidhi Khanna
PAGE 8
�The Newsletter of the Department of Biological Sciences, Wagner College
ALUMNI
Dear Alumni,
GUIDELINES FOR CONTRIBUTORS
If you are interested in contributing to our newsletter, you
are very welcome to do so. Contact Dr. Onken by e-mail
(horst.onken@wagner.edu)
with
your
submission,
comment, ideas or questions! We are excited to hear about
where you are, how and what you do!
Authors in all sections should keep in mind that not all
readers are specialized in their area of interest. Keep your
contribution on a level that everybody can understand.
CARTOON
Contributions may vary in length between about 50 and
500 words and must be submitted by e-mail to
horst.onken@wagner.edu.
Photographs or other images that accompany an article are
very welcome, but must be submitted as separate files
(high quality jpg is the preferred file format) attached to
the e-mail. Be aware that photographs/images may be
minimized in size.
Indicate the section of the newsletter where you want your
contribution to appear.
The deadline for submission of a contribution is the 20th of
the month. Contributions received later may or may not be
considered.
The editor reserves his right to edit your contribution
or post an immediate response.
Cartoon from graduationcards.blogspot.com
Editing may involve to publish contributions in other
sections as indicated by the author.
All contributions will clearly indicate the author's
identity.
All contributions are reviewed and publication may be
refused by the editor.
The Editorial Board:
Editor: Dr. Horst Onken, Associate Professor
Assistant Editor: Stephanie Rollizo, Dept. Secretary
Student Assistant Editor: Nidhi Khanna (Biology)
Student Assistant Editor: Farha Rashid (Biology)
Student Assistant Editor: Joanna Kielkucki (English)
Student Assistant Editor: WANTED!
PAGE 9
�
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Limulus: The Newsletter of the Wagner College Biological Sciences Department
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The Department of Biological Sciences circulates a newsletter that will be updated monthly, culminating in two special issues per year (January and September). The January edition reviews the fall semester and the September edition reviews the spring semester and summer events. The name of the newsletter is LIMULUS and it is made available as pdf files.
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Title
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Limulus Newsletter, April-May 2010
Subject
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Kirkbride, Lara A.
Serbiak, Benjamin P.
Franco, Zulmarie
Table Of Contents
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Letter from the editor / Horst Onken -- Special topic : biology and microbiology research fund / Stephanie Rollizo, Ammini Moorthy, and Palestis, Brian -- Curriculum news : Wagner announces new 5 year B.S. / M.S. microbiology program / Nidhi Khanna -- Biology students honored at undergraduate awards dinner / Nidhi Khanna and Stephanie Rollizo -- Biology students initiated into ODK / Nidhi Khanna -- Biology club news, Tri-beta news and Pre-health society news / Nidhi Khanna -- Experiecnes / Brian Palestis -- Publications, Professional meetings / Rashid, Farha -- Hormesis research featured in dose-response conference / Brian Palestis -- Microbiology graduate presents at prestigious conference / Nidhi Khanna -- Alumni and cartoon
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Wagner College, Department of Biological Sciences
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2010-04
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en
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