Jacob Pithan, a graduate student in the laboratory of Dr. Kendra Greenlee (North Dakota State University), presented their research examining how aging affects exercise performance as well as oxidative health at last month’s Experimental Biology conference in Philadelphia. The oxidative stress theory of aging postulates that aging results from an overproduction of free radicals along with a decrease in antioxidants that can scavenge them. The problem with free radicals is […]
We recently interviewed Meredith Johnson (graduate student), Jordan Glass (graduate student), and Dr. Jon Harrison from the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University about the research they presented at the 2021 annual Experimental Biology conference. Q: You mentioned in one of your presentations that insects have an ‘unusual’ respiratory system. Can you explain how it differs from mammals? Dr. Harrison: Insects exchange gases through blind-ended air-filled tubes called tracheae. There […]
We are excited to share the following interview with Dr. Lizzette Cambron, an NSF Graduate Fellow working in Dr. Kendra Greenlee’s laboratory at North Dakota State University. Dr. Cambron was scheduled to present her research at the 2020 Experimental Biology conference last month in a Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology session hosted by the American Physiological Society. As with many conferences, the meeting was cancelled due to Covid-19. She has agreed […]
Colony collapse disorder happens when worker bees disappear from a hive and there are not enough adult bees to maintain the colony. This is concerning as bees are essential for pollinating crops. Adrian Fisher II, a postdoctoral fellow at Arizona State University, presented results from an interesting study conducted in the laboratory of Dr. Jon Harrison that explored the effects of fungicides on honey bee (Apis mellifera) populations. Pollinating insects like bees […]
Check out this study from RMIT University that shows bees understand the concept of the number zero: The paper was published in Science: Howard SR, Avargues-Weber A, Garcia JE, Greentree AD, Dyer AG. Numerical ordering of zero in honey bees. Science. Vol. 360, Issue 6393, pp. 1124-1126 DOI: 10.1126/science.aar4975
A new study was designed to test whether bees can experience some kind of primordial “emotions”. In the study bees were trained to associate a tunnel marked with a blue flower with a sugar water treat at its end. In contrast, a green flower meant no reward at the end of the tunnel. However, when bees were exposed to flowers with both hues, they either chose not to enter the tunnel or […]
Life Lines by Dr. Dolittle 