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| James Watson (R) and Francis Crick. |
The Salem State Biologist is an on-line Newsletter of the Department of Biology at Salem State University, Salem, MA. The blog format began as of June 29, (previous newsletters are available in PDF format). Our goal is to share news and activities of our faculty, students and alumni. Please add this page to your favorite folder to keep up with most current posts!
Thursday, February 28, 2013
60th Anniversary of Watson and Crick's Discovery of the Molecular Structure of DNA
Today (Feb 28, 2013) is the 60th anniversary of Watson and Crick's landmark discovery of the molecular structure of DNA - they subsequently published their findings in the Journal Nature (April 25, 1953.).
Saturday, February 16, 2013
DESERT > JUNGLE > GENETOWN - Lunch Seminar with Amanda Kennedy (’12)
DESERT > JUNGLE > GENETOWN
Lunch Seminar with Amanda Kennedy (’12)
Monday, Feb 25th, 11 am, MH 539
Pizza and Drinks--All Departments Invited
How does an aspiring science student go from high school in the “middle of nowhere, New Hampshire” to the desert, the jungle, and finally the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard? Just ask someone who sat at your lab bench—only one year ago! Amanda Kennedy (’12), one of our very own BioSociety alumni, will take a break from “playing with blood and quantifying DNA using an army of robots” to have lunch with us, share her story, and offer advice for students dreaming about their own futures. (She will also be inviting students, on a space available basis, to visit the Broad Institute for a tour later this semester.)
Amanda Kennedy served a lot of drinks at Gulu Gulu Café to fund her studies in Cell and Molecular Biology at Salem State University. She also studied field genetics with Operation Wallacea and the Bedouin people of Sinai, Egypt where she learned to collect biodiversity data and extract DNA from a variety of organisms. After graduating in 2012 with her B.S. in Biology, Amanda was briefly drawn to another field project -- this time in the jungle of Honduras. Between DNA extractions, Amanda applied for jobs back here in Genetown USA (Cambridge, MA), and landed her first full-time position as a technician at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. The Broad is a nonprofit research institute that uses genomic data to address a variety of medical questions such as “puzzling out autism's genetic clues, and uncovering common melanoma mutations.”
It is helpful to RSVP on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/events/417597658315320/
Biological Society Hosts: Eric Silva, Jennifer Sawyer, and Victoria Gillespie
Faculty Hosts: Tracy Ware and Sheila Schreiner
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin - Raffle!
Tickets sold at the Darwin Festival - for $1, you're eligible to win this beautiful edition of the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin! Buy $5, $10, $20 of tickets and increase your odds of winning. 5 books available for 5 draws.
New Bio-Society t-Shirt! $10
Got SSU Biology 2013 t-shirt? Well for only $10 you can get one!
Sold by the BioSociety during the Darwin Festival week.
Sold by the BioSociety during the Darwin Festival week.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
The Big Picture on Evolution - a 16 page booklet
2/12/2013 - Happy Birthday Charles Darwin!
"Nothing in Biology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution," says Theodosius Dobzhansky in 1973.
This 16 page colorful pdf pamphlet explains Evolution to High School students in England. It provides answers to important questions about Darwinian Evolution:
- Why is this theory so controversial?
- What forces control the destiny of life on Earth?
- What is Natural Selection and how does Evolution work?
- How did life begin?
- Which came first, proteins, RNA, or DNA?
Monday, February 11, 2013
Vorticella Feeding Frenzy - Filmed 2/6/2013 at the Micro Lab, SSU
Slide and Microscopy by Professor Amy Sprenkle
Film and edit by Instructor Peter Alachi
Vorticella, a protozoan, is seen here feeding on various microorganisms, mostly bacteria. The genus is commonly found in fresh bodies of water - this sample is from the sedentary water of vase flowers. The ciliate is shown anchored by a stalk onto some substrate while rapidly beating its cilia and creating a vortex to take up mixed microbial populations, which are subsequently digested inside its feeding vacuoles.
February 12, 1809 - Darwin and Lincoln: Birthdays and Evolution
Source - http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,12215148001_1879622,00.html
Darwin Festival Schedule, 2013
Darwin Festival
Salem State UniversityDepartment of BiologySchedule of Events
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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2013
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8:00 a.m.
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VIDEO: “Darwin’s Secret Notebooks” - National Geographic.
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Slater Lecture Hall
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9:00 a.m.
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“HOW RACE BECOMES BIOLOGY: GENES, ENVIRONMENT, AND
HEALTH” - Clarence Gravlee, Department of Anthropology, University of Florida, Gainesville.
Co-sponsored by the Campus Center.
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Veterans Hall
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10:00 a.m.
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VIDEO: “To the Ends of the Earth” - Frozen Planet.
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Slater Lecture Hall
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11:00 a.m.
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“GENES INFLUENCE BEHAVIOR, BUT IT’S NOT SO SIMPLE” - Steven Hyman, Director, Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute, Cambridge MA.
Sponsored by the Salem State Chapter of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.
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Veterans Hall
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12:30 p.m.
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VIDEO: “What Makes Us Human?” - NOVA scienceNOW.
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Slater Lecture Hall
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1:30 p.m
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“A SUSTAINABLE WORKFORCE = A SUSTAINABLE ECONOMY” -
Adrian Dahlin, Rising Green, Holyoke MA.
Sponsored by the Department of Chemistry & Physics and the
Charles Albert Read Trust.
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Veterans Hall
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2:30 p.m.
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VIDEO: “Silence of the Bees” (110 min) - Nature.
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Slater Lecture Hall
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2013 - Charles Darwin’s Birthday
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8:00 a.m.
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VIDEO: “Revealing the Origins of Life” – NOVA scienceNOW - Where Did We Come From?
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Slater Lecture Hall
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9:30 a.m.
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“SEX DIFFERENCES IN CHIMPANZEE BEHAVIOR” - Zarin Machanda, Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge MA.
The Keville-DePalma Founders Lecture
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Veterans Hall
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11:00 a.m.
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VIDEO: “Cracking Your Genetic Code” - NOVA.
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Slater Lecture Hall
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12:30 p.m.
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“THE GEOMETRIC CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH THE
EVOLUTION OF ALGAL CELL WALLS: THE ROAD TO LAND
PLANTS AND COMPLEX MULTICELLULAR LIFE” - Larry Lewis,
Department of Biology, Salem State University, Salem MA.
Sponsored by the Biological Society.
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Veterans Hall
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2:00 p.m
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VIDEO: “Mind Over Money” - NOVA.
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Slater Lecture Hall
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3:15 p.m
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VIDEO: “Incredible Journey of the Butterflies” - NOVA.
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Slater Lecture Hall
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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2013
Charles Albert Read Science Lectures
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8:00 a.m.
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VIDEO: “Ultimate Mars Challenge” - NOVA.
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Slater Lecture Hall
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9:00 a.m.
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“THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF NITROGEN” - Robinson W. Fulweiler,
Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston MA.
Sponsored by the Charles Albert Read Trust.
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Veterans Hall
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10:00 a.m.
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VIDEO: “What Females Want” - Nature.
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Slater Lecture Hall
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11:00 a.m.
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“EFFECT OF WINTER CLIMATE CHANGE ON NORTHERN
HARDWOOD FORESTS” - Pamela Templer, Department of Biology,
Boston University, Boston MA.
Sponsored by the Charles Albert Read Trust.
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Veterans Hall
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12:30 p.m.
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VIDEO: “The Last Frontier” - Frozen Planet.
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Slater Lecture Hall
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1:30 p.m
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“TINY FOSSILS TELL TIME ACROSS THE PACIFIC” - Nicholas Venti,
University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Sponsored by the Department of Geological Sciences and the
Charles Albert Read Trust
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Veterans Hall
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2:30 p.m
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VIDEO: “Blue Gold: World Water Wars” (90 min) - PBS
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Slater Lecture Hall
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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013
Charles Albert Read Science Lectures
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8:00 a.m.
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VIDEO: “Ice Age Death Trap” - NOVA.
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Slater Lecture Hall
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9:30 a.m.
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“THE BENEFIT OF BUDDIES: AN INSECT PERSPECTIVE ON COOPERATION AND SOCIAL LIVING” - Lynn Fletcher, Department of Biology, Salem State University, Salem MA.
Sponsored by the Charles Albert Read Trust.
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Veterans Hall
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11:00 a.m.
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“DOWN TO THE LAST DROP: CLIMATE CHANGE AND WATER
RESOURCES IN THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST” - Christopher Williams, Department of Geography, Clark University, Worcester MA.
Sponsored by the Department of Geography and the Charles Albert Read Trust.
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Veterans Hall
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12:30 p.m.
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VIDEO: “Can I Eat That?” - NOVA scienceNOW.
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Slater Lecture Hall
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2:00 p.m
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VIDEO: “And What Males Will Do” - Nature.
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Slater Lecture Hall
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3:15 p.m.
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VIDEO: “A Sense of Wonder” - Bullfrog Films.
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Slater Lecture Hall
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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2013 - Biology Alumni Day
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8:00 a.m.
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VIDEO: “Animal Odd Couples” - Nature.
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Slater Lecture Hall
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9:00 a.m.
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VIDEO: “Lice and Human Evolution” - NOVA scienceNOW - Where
Did We Come From?
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Slater Lecture Hall
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10:00 a.m.
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VIDEO: “On Thin Ice” - Frozen Planet.
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Slater Lecture Hall
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11:00 a.m.
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“ACOUSTICS: BEYOND WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE” - Seth Horowitz,
President, The Engine Institute, Warwick, RI.
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Veterans Hall
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12:30 p.m.
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“HOW SLOW CAN LIFE GO? LESSONS FROM THE SUBSEAFLOOR” - Steven D'Hondt, Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, Kingston.
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Veterans Hall
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1:30 p.m
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VIDEO: “Hurricane Katrina: The Storm That Drowned a City” - NOVA.
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Slater Lecture Hall
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2:30 p.m
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“INTERNAL PARASITES OF NORTH ATLANTIC SHARKS” - Mae
Taylor SSU ‘07, Visiting Lecturer, Biology Department, Salem State
University.
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Veterans Hall
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Founded By: Philip A. DePalma and Virginia F. Keville
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If you require interpretative services, please contact the Office for Students with Disabilities at TTY (978)-542-7146 orosd@salemstate.edu. To help us best meet your needs, please notify us of your requirements at least 2 weeks in advance. All videos are close-captioned.
Veterans Hall is located on the 2nd floor of the Ellison Campus Center.
Dr. Schuyler G. Slater Lecture Hall (MH 444) is located on the 4th floor of the Frederick A. Meier Arts & Sciences Hall.
The Festival is open to the public. All events are free.
The location for all events is
Major funding for the DARWIN FESTIVALSM has been provided by the Salem State University Administration, the Charles Albert Read Trust Fund, the Student Government Association through the Biological Society, the Keville-DePalma Darwin Festival Endowment Fund, contributions from Hayden McNeil Publishers, McGraw Hill, Pearson Higher Education,Simbiotic Software, WH Freeman, and other individual contributions.
Darwin FestivalSM Committee: Susan M. Case (Coordinator), Juditha C. A. Burchsted, Ryan Fisher, Lynn Fletcher, Gary Heisermann, Paul Kelly, Sheila Schreiner, T. Nelson Scottgale, Alan M. Young. and Amanda Viecelli (President, Biological Society).
Founded by Philip A. DePalma and Virginia F. Keville
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