Tag: BIOL

Scholar Lunch

Come to L203 at noon. If you’re one of the first to arrive, you can have free pizza. The meal’s entertainment consists of five minute talks by representatives from majors and minors across campus. Speakers will take a single idea they learned from their major or minor coursework, explain it, explain why it’s useful or beautiful, and explain why they personally love it. Scheduled speakers:

  • Angela Cusano, Spanish
  • Mitchell Davis, Bible & Ministry
  • Kristyn Dodge, History
  • Garrett Kraal, Exercise Science
  • Payton Martin, Mathematics
  • Kaleb Miles, Biology
  • Alaina Thomson, Psychology
  • McKenzie Wirth, Communication

L203

Noon – 1 PM

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Benjamin Drach

CRISPR: The Healing Tool of the Future

Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats; 9 nuclease (CRISPR/Cas9) is a new tool based upon a bacterial protein that is associated with CRISPR. Cas9 comes from Streptococcus pyogenes. CRISPR’s functions and associated genes are essential in adaptive immunity in archaea and bacteria, enabling them to respond and eliminate invading genetic materials. The goal of many scientists and their communities is to apply this adaptive immunity to the human race. CRISPR/Cas9 can also be used to remove genetic diseases and even affect future generations of humans. By researching and analysing CRISPR/Cas9 further, humanity could be free from disease, disorders, and even aging. This paper reviews what CRISPR/Cas9 is and its possible future effects it will have upon humanity.

BIOL 499, Capstone

Paul Allee

P114

10:30 – 11 AM

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Jordan Weinkauf

Ebola, A Threat Assessment

Hemorrhagic fevers like Ebola have been in the news over the last several years as severe outbreaks have sprung up in West Africa.  It has captured our imagination due to its extremely virulent nature and by the spectacularly gruesome way in which kills those it infects.  In addition its origin is relatively unknown which furthers the myth of this virus.  Understandably the American public became incredibly worried, with large portions of the population concerned that the pandemic would spread to our shores.  But was all this hype really worth it?  Sure, Ebola is very deadly.  In fact in some cases it kills up to 90% of those infected.  What’s even more incredible is that it is not the virus that ultimately kills you, but rather your own immune system.  Through viral trickery, the Ebola virus silences and short circuits your immune cells causing massive internal bleeding and organ failure.  Also it can last relatively long periods on common hospital surfaces and still remain viable.  However while it is quite destructive on the individual level it seems to be relatively impotent on a global level.  Outbreaks have been severe but still remain locked to a relatively small area.  This becomes very evident if we look at the R0 number and other infection factors of the virus and we can see that it has less teeth than originally thought.  Therefore, I believe Ebola is not the harbinger of some future apocalypse, but it is an incredibly complex and fascinating virus that deserves future study.

BIOL 499, Capstone

Paul Allee

P114

11 – 11:30 AM

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Scholar Lunch

Come to L203 at noon. If you’re one of the first to arrive, you can have free pizza. The meal’s entertainment consists of five minute talks by representatives from majors and minors across campus. Speakers will take a single idea they learned from their major or minor coursework, explain it, explain why it’s useful or beautiful, and explain why they personally love it. Scheduled speakers:

  • Calvin Anderson, Christian Ministry
  • Austin Dame, Business
  • Ben Drach, Biology
  • Colby Hanson, Communication
  • Zoe Herron, English
  • Delaney McMahon, Music & Worship Arts
  • Sam Nervino, Exercise Science
  • Chelsea Taylor, Psychology

L203

Noon – 1 PM

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Michelle Fletcher

Dental Caries: A review of pathogenesis and genetically linked predispositions

Bacteria are small unicellular organisms that can cause an array of human diseases. They can take on a variety of shapes and sizes and can infect through many different modes of transfer. Streptococcus mutans is a spherical, Gram-positive bacterium that is responsible for causing dental caries. This disease is characterized by the breakdown of calcified tooth tissue, and is known more commonly as “cavities”. Studying and understanding the pathogenesis of a disease such as dental caries is helpful for medical professionals to recognize and treat the disease.

Besides understanding the exact mechanisms through which S. mutans invades and infects, it is also worth exploring any genetic predispositions for dental caries. The completion of the Human Genome Project has allowed researchers to sequence complete human gene extracts. With this information, researchers have been able to determine which genes and proteins are responsible for resistance or susceptibility to caries. Alterations to protein expression can lead to modifications in enamel structure, immune response, and sugar metabolism. Any of these modifications make one increasingly susceptible to disease.

Understanding pathogenesis and knowing genetic risk factors for diseases are two powerful weapons in combatting against them. Preventative measures should be taken when fighting against dental caries. Vaccines have been developed with some success, but perhaps the greatest method of prevention rests in low sugar diets and the daily practice of brushing.

BIOL 499, Capstone

Paul Allee

P103

10 – 10:30 AM

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Emily Sanders

Engaging Students at the Junior High Level: How to Overcome Biological Hindrances to Learning and Foster a Prosperous Classroom Environment for a Student’s Ultimate Success

In the teenage years, as one undergoes puberty, many biological changes are occurring. In order, to understand how to teach students at this level, teachers should be aware of how their brain works and the ways in which they learn. Taking a look at the process of myelination and examining different hormones, grasping the effects of poverty on the brain, and seeing how those with disabilities differ in the learning process provides insight into the effects on learning. In schools today there are various types of learners. Some learn through visual means, some auditory, and some kinesthetic. Through understanding these types of learners, a teacher can construct a classroom that accommodates students and pushes them to their highest potential. With the background knowledge of brain structures and functions, it becomes easier to limit distractions in the classroom, build lesson plans which collaborate and invent, and enforce classroom structure and discipline. This also informs how technology is used in the classroom and what type of relationship a teacher should have with students. All of these components construct a complete view of how a classroom can cater towards students and assist them to reach success, no matter the biological hindrances.

BIOL 499, Capstone

Paul Allee

P103

10:30 – 11 AM

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Cassidy Winters

Food and People: a Review of the Western Diet and Implications for Human Health

The need for food is something that all humans have in common and is something that has not changed since we have started walking the Earth. What has shifted, however, is the way that we obtain food. Immense change has occurred at various levels of the food chain, from the crops grown, to raising meat, all the way to how we eat. Known as the “western diet” our way of eating today looks far different from our hunter-gatherer days, with highly processed foods full of refined sugar, fat, and grains comprising over half of our energy intake. With the emergence of the western diet phenomenon, so have “western diseases”, which are understood to be noninfectious chronic diseases common to developed societies, including type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, and various types of cancer, not to mention obesity.  Wherever people have shifted towards a westernized way of eating, western diseases have seemed to follow. As eating and food becomes more simplified, it seems that our health continues to get more complicated.

BIOL 499, Capstone

Paul Allee

P103

11 – 11:30 AM

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Scholar Lunch

Come to L203 at noon. If you’re one of the first to arrive, you can have free pizza. The meal’s entertainment consists of five minute talks by representatives from majors and minors across campus. Speakers will take a single idea they learned from their major or minor coursework, explain it, explain why it’s useful or beautiful, and explain why they personally love it. Scheduled speakers:

  • Brady Box, Education
  • Haley Cochell, Psychology and Philosophy
  • Alleya Harris, Exercise Science
  • Josh Higashi, Communication
  • Zeph Hollins, Biology
  • Delia House-Lopez, Music
  • Marina Irish, Business
  • Gabrielle Morales, English
  • Rosa Schmidt, Math

L203

Noon – 1 PM.

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Kayla Hansen, Sierra Schorer-Noll & Amy Stanton

Adding Sugar to Snapdragon Plants

This experiment was designed to see the effects that different kinds of sugars had on the photosynthesis of snapdragon plants. The control plant received water. The experimental plants were given a sugar or sugar substitute mixed into water. The second plant received brown sugar, the third received regular sugar, and the fourth plant received sucralose. We predicted that the sugars would improve plant growth and that the sucralose would inhibit plant growth. Plant growth in order of most to least occurred with the brown sugar sucralose (unexpected), water, and finally the regular sugar.

BIOL 200

Tracy Mullins

Banquet Room

9 – 11 AM

Cameron Marshall

Life with Prostate Cancer

Poster will include information about what prostate cancer is. It will talk about the causes and treatments. It will discuss what happens physiologically to the body when prostate cancer is present. It will also address how Christian attitudes are toward diseases and the importance of family support.

BIOL 312

Tracy Mullins

Banquet Room

9 – 11 AM

Riley Swanson, Lindsey Young & Blair Wilkinson

Lactic Acid Fermentation

The focus of this experiment is to investigate the rate at which different sugar solutions will digest and turn acidic the quickest when introduced to the bacterium. The four sugar solutions used consist of glucose, sucrose, lactose, and maltose, along with a positive and negative control group. Within each sugar solution is bacteria (yogurt), base, pH indicator, and KOH. After each solution is made they are placed in an incubator for 48 hours to ferment. The final result of this experiment showed that sucrose was the most active sugar compared to glucose, lactose, or maltose. The negative and positive controls changed as they should have.

BIOL 200

Tracy Mullins

Banquet Room

9 – 11 AM

Ryan Thamm

Insomnia

Insomnia is defined as having difficulty falling asleep and/or staying asleep. Sleep deprivation is a huge problem throughout America because without sleep the body doesn’t function as well as it could. Approximately 60 million adults in the United States have this condition. There are three kinds of insomnia: transient, acute, and chronic. Also, there are different patterns of insomnia. Some causes can be from the diet the person is eating, a hormone shift in their body, mental disorders, or some drugs. There are some treatments available to treat insomnia. It is a growing issue in the United States because of how busy our society is and when people can’t sleep they lose performance the next day.

BIOL 312

Tracy Mullins

Banquet Room

9 – 11 AM

Ryan Thamm & Brittney Yip

Effects of Fluid Supplementation on Plant Growth

The goal was to study the growth of plants using different drinks (vitamin enriched water, black coffee, and a water protein supplement). We had a positive control and negative control group and three other groups. We did different tests, one that lasted one week and another that lasted two weeks. Both of the control groups died, and out of the three other groups we had, two outlasted the control groups. They were coffee and vitamin water.

BIOL 200

Tracy Mullins

Banquet Room

9 – 11 AM

Lissa Hatefi, Jeneca Hoidal & Kara Nelson

Response of Yeast to Wheat Flour versus White Flour

This lab was designed to see if whole wheat flour would provide a more efficient cell division than refined white flour.  Our hypothesis was that is would.  Through research, we found that whole wheat flour contains more nutrients, such as protein; which may speed up mitosis.  Our hypothesis was correct.

Tracy Mullins

Banquet Room

9 AM – 11 AM

Brandon Kundert & Cameron Marshall

Apple Pigment Separation Lab

The lab we conducted was to test if the pigment of a red  delicious apple was lipid soluble or water soluble.  The lab took two different trials and tests to come up with the result.  We used two types of solvents—isopropyl alcohol, and 92% petroleum ether with 8% acetone solution.  Using these two types of solvents we then conducted a chromatography test to make a conclusion on if the red apple pigment was lipid soluble or water soluble.

Tracy Mullins

Banquet Room

9 AM – 11 AM