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!
Saturday, December 14, 2013
A Snowy Owl Spotted at Cat Cove!
A snowy owl was spotted at Cat Cove Marine Laboratory on Thursday, December 12, 2013. Here are 2 photos taken by Scott Weston.
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
More Than 20 Million Children In Syria, Nearby Regions To Be Vaccinated Against Polio.
The following article is from The American Thoracic Society. Thanks Gwen Scottgale for alerting all of us to this!
In what appears to be the largest joint immunization effort ever initiated in the Middle East, Reuters (11/8, Nebehay, Kelland) reports that health workers carrying the polio vaccine hope to reach some 20 million children residing in Syria and neighboring nations. Constant conflict and the mass exodus of people fleeing the fighting continues to impede such campaigns. Hence, the current outbreak.
The United Nations says 10 children have already been left paralyzed and the scourge “poses a threat to hundreds of thousands across a region that had not seen polio for nearly a decade,” the Los Angeles Times (11/8, McDonnell) reports. According to the UN and its health arm the WHO, the situation prompted an “emergency drive” during which 650,000 children in Syria were protected from polio and other infectious ailments like measles and mumps. Altogether, health workers are “targeting 2.4 million” children within Syria and refugees in Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon. Immunization campaigns are also expected to occur in Gaza and the West Bank.
The Red Crescent will be largely responsible for efforts inside Syria, the AP (11/11) reports.
Meanwhile, “two German infectious disease experts warned vaccination efforts of Syrian refugees might not be enough to prevent the infection from spreading to Europe,” CBS News (11/11) reports. Professor Martin Eichner, from the University of Tbingen, and Stefan Brockman, of the Reutlingen Regional Public Health Office, explained that a number of nations still have “low vaccination coverage, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, and Austria.” In other words, should polio find its way into these areas, “herd immunity might not be enough to prevent an outbreak.”
Nonetheless, reports BBC News (11/8), UNICEF’s Peter Crowley says: “[This] is not just a tragedy for children, it is an urgent alarm – and a crucial opportunity to reach all under-immunised children wherever they are.” He also explained that the “new cases in Syria were a “stark reminder” that children are particularly vulnerable to the disease.”
In what appears to be the largest joint immunization effort ever initiated in the Middle East, Reuters (11/8, Nebehay, Kelland) reports that health workers carrying the polio vaccine hope to reach some 20 million children residing in Syria and neighboring nations. Constant conflict and the mass exodus of people fleeing the fighting continues to impede such campaigns. Hence, the current outbreak.
The United Nations says 10 children have already been left paralyzed and the scourge “poses a threat to hundreds of thousands across a region that had not seen polio for nearly a decade,” the Los Angeles Times (11/8, McDonnell) reports. According to the UN and its health arm the WHO, the situation prompted an “emergency drive” during which 650,000 children in Syria were protected from polio and other infectious ailments like measles and mumps. Altogether, health workers are “targeting 2.4 million” children within Syria and refugees in Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon. Immunization campaigns are also expected to occur in Gaza and the West Bank.
The Red Crescent will be largely responsible for efforts inside Syria, the AP (11/11) reports.
Meanwhile, “two German infectious disease experts warned vaccination efforts of Syrian refugees might not be enough to prevent the infection from spreading to Europe,” CBS News (11/11) reports. Professor Martin Eichner, from the University of Tbingen, and Stefan Brockman, of the Reutlingen Regional Public Health Office, explained that a number of nations still have “low vaccination coverage, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, and Austria.” In other words, should polio find its way into these areas, “herd immunity might not be enough to prevent an outbreak.”
Nonetheless, reports BBC News (11/8), UNICEF’s Peter Crowley says: “[This] is not just a tragedy for children, it is an urgent alarm – and a crucial opportunity to reach all under-immunised children wherever they are.” He also explained that the “new cases in Syria were a “stark reminder” that children are particularly vulnerable to the disease.”
Darwin Festival 2014 Schedule
Darwin Festival
Department of Biology
Schedule of Events
10 - 14 February 2014
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Dedicated to Virginia and Richard Keville,
for 35 years of inspiration
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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2014
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7:50 a.m.
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VIDEO: “Charles Darwin: Evolution’s Voice” – Biography.
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Slater Lecture Hall
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9:30 a.m.
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VIDEO: “Meteor Strike” – NOVA.
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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: “Decoding Neanderthals” – NOVA.
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Slater Lecture Hall
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1:40 p.m
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VIDEO: “Can I Eat That?” – NOVAscienceNOW.
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Slater Lecture Hall
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3:05 p.m.
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“’JAWS’ REVISITED: NEW INSIGHTS INTO THE ECOLOGY OF THE WHITE SHARK IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC” – Gregory Skomal, Senior Marine Fisheries Biologist, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.
Sponsored by the Biological Society.
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Veterans Hall
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2014
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8:00 a.m.
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VIDEO: “What Plants Talk About” – Nature.
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Slater Lecture Hall
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9:25 a.m.
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“MORAL TRIBES: EMOTION, REASON, AND THE GAP BETWEEN US AND THEM” – Joshua Greene, Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge MA
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Veterans Hall
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10:50 a.m.
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VIDEO: “What Females Want” – Nature.
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Slater Lecture Hall
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12:15 p.m.
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“Artemisia annua, AN EFFECTIVE AND SIMPLE HERBAL
TREATMENT FOR MALARIA AND OTHER DISEASES” – Pamela Weathers, Department of Biology and Biotechnology, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester MA.
Sponsored by the Charles Albert Read Trust.
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Veterans Hall
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1:40 p.m
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VIDEO: “Chasing Ice” – New Video Group (75 min).
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Slater Lecture Hall
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3:05 p.m
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VIDEO: “Deadliest Tornadoes” – NOVA.
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Slater Lecture Hall
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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2014 - Charles Darwin’s Birthday
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7:50 a.m.
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VIDEO: “Silence of the Bees” – Nature.
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Slater Lecture Hall
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9:25 a.m.
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VIDEO: “The Human Spark” – PBS.
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Slater Lecture Hall
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10:50 a.m.
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“LIFE IN THE ‘PLASTISPHERE’: THE ECOLOGY OF PLASTIC MARINE DEBRIS” – ErikZettler, Sea Education Association, Woods Hole MA.
Sponsored by the Charles Albert Read Trust.
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Veterans Hall
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12:15 p.m.
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VIDEO: “Ultimate Mars Challenge" – NOVA.
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Slater Lecture Hall
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1:40 p.m
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“HUMAN EVOLUTION: NEW SURPRISES FROM SOUTH AFRICA” – Jeremy DeSilva, Department of Anthropology, Boston University, Boston MA.
The Keville-DePalma Founders Lecture.
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Veterans Hall
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3:05 p.m
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VIDEO: “Mind of a Rampage Killer” – NOVA.
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Slater Lecture Hall
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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2014
Charles Albert Read Science Lectures
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7:50 a.m.
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VIDEO: “The Animal House” – Nature.
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Slater Lecture Hall
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9:25 a.m.
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VIDEO: “Hurricane Sandy: Inside the Megastorm” – NOVA.
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Slater Lecture Hall
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10:50 a.m.
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“THE REALITY OF CLIMATE CHANGE: ADAPTATION PLANNING FOR COASTLINES” – Paul Kirshen, Department of Civil Engineering, University of New Hampshire, Durham NH.
Sponsored by the Department of Geography and the Charles Albert Read Trust.
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Veterans Hall
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12:15 p.m.
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“EXOPLANETS AND THE SEARCH FOR HABITABLE WORLDS” – Sara Seager, Departments of Planetary Science and Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge MA.
Sponsored by the Department of Chemistry & Physics and the Charles Albert Read Trust.
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Veterans Hall
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1:40 p.m.
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VIDEO: “Bag It – Is Your Life Too Plastic?” – Reel Thing Film (78 min).
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Slater Lecture Hall
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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2014 - Biology Alumni Day
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7:50 a.m.
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VIDEO: “How Smart Can We Get?” – NOVAscienceNOW.
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Slater Lecture Hall
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9:25 a.m.
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“RABIES: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE” – Catherine Brown, State Public Health Veterinarian, Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
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Veterans Hall
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10:50 a.m.
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VIDEO: “What Males Will Do” – Nature.
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Slater Lecture Hall
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12:15 p.m.
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“BREAKTHROUGHS IN GENETICS: FROM SEX CHROMOSOMES TO SILENCING THE DOWN SYNDROME CHROMOSOME” – Lisa Hall, Department of Cell & Developmental Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester MA.
Sponsored by the Charles Albert Read Trust.
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Veterans Hall
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1:40 p.m
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"SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES – WHAT THE PERMIAN-TRIASSIC MASS EXTINCTION TELLS US ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE AND EARTH’S FUTURE” – RobynHannigan, School for the Environment, University of Massachusetts, Boston, Boston MA.
Sponsored by the Department of Geological Sciences and the Charles Albert Read Trust.
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Veterans Hall
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3:05 p.m
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VIDEO: “Invasion of the Giant Pythons” – Nature.
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Slater Lecture 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 or osd@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 Salem State University's North Campus, 352 Lafayette St., Salem, Massachusetts, 01970. For directions, go to http://www.salemstate.edu or contact the Biology Department (978-542-6236).
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, SimbioticSoftware, WH Freeman, and other individual contributions. Darwin FestivalSM Committee: Susan M. Case (Coordinator),Juditha C. A. Burchsted, Ryan Fisher, Lynn Fletcher, Paul Kelly, Sheila Schreiner, T. Nelson Scottgale, Alan M. Young andNoelia Fernandez (President, Biological Society).
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