Browsing Faculty of Arts and Sciences by Keyword "biology"
Now showing items 1-20 of 63
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Attenuation of Notch and Hedgehog Signaling Is Required for Fate Specification in the Spinal Cord
(Public Library of Science, 2012)During the development of the spinal cord, proliferative neural progenitors differentiate into postmitotic neurons with distinct fates. How cells switch from progenitor states to differentiated fates is poorly understood. ... -
Comparative Cognitive Development and Endocrinology in Pan and Homo
(2012-08-23)Key insights into the evolutionary origins of human social behavior can be gained via study of our closest living relatives, bonobos (Pan paniscus) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Despite being equally related to humans, ... -
Context-Specific Protein Network Miner – An Online System for Exploring Context-Specific Protein Interaction Networks from the Literature
(Public Library of Science, 2012)Background: Protein interaction networks (PINs) specific within a particular context contain crucial information regarding many cellular biological processes. For example, PINs may include information on the type and ... -
Control of Turning Behaviors by Spinal Projection Neurons in the Larval Zebrafish
(2012-09-17)This thesis aims to examine how hindbrain spinal projection neurons (SPNs), namely RoV3, MiV1 and MiV2 control tail undulations during turning behaviors. I find that phototaxic turns differ from forward swims by an increased ... -
Cytoprotective Pathways that Contribute to Lifespan Extension in C. elegans
(2013-02-11)Stress tolerance and lifespan are intimately associated. Extension of lifespan is accompanied by increased tolerance of heat, oxidative stress, radiation and other stressors, while genetic perturbations that abrogate ... -
Discovering Communities through Friendship
(Public Library of Science, 2012)We introduce a new method for detecting communities of arbitrary size in an undirected weighted network. Our approach is based on tracing the path of closest‐friendship between nodes in the network using the recently ... -
Disruption of Mitochondrial Dynamics in Tauopathy
(2013-02-06)Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized pathologically by proteinaceous aggregates composed primarily of amyloid \(\beta (A \beta)\) and tau. Diseases characterized by abnormal deposition of tau are collectively termed ... -
Dopamine Signaling Is Essential for Precise Rates of Locomotion by C. elegans
(Public Library of Science, 2012)Dopamine is an important neuromodulator in both vertebrates and invertebrates. We have found that reduced dopamine signaling can cause a distinct abnormality in the behavior of the nematode C. elegans, which has only eight ... -
Ecological Patterns and Processes in Sarracenia Carnivorous Pitcher Plant Fungi
(2012-10-31)The kingdom Fungi is taxonomically and ecologically diverse, containing an estimated 1.5 million species. Fungi include decomposers, pathogens, and plant and animal mutualists. Many fungi are microorganisms, and the processes ... -
Elucidating the Regulation and Effectors of the Breast Cancer Oncogene, IKKepsilon
(2012-12-19)The IkappaB kinase epsilon (IKKepsilon, IKKi, IKBKE) is both a regulator of innate immunity and a breast cancer oncogene that is amplified and overexpressed in ~30% of breast cancers. IKKepsilon promotes malignant ... -
Evidence for a Novel Multipotent Mammary Progenitor with Pregnancy-Specific Activity
(2012-12-20)The mouse mammary gland has emerged as a model system for studying processes involved in the development of epithelial tissues. Current evidence suggests the existence of a differentiation hierarchy in the mammary gland, ... -
Evolution of Deep-Sea Mussels (Bathymodiolinae) and Their Chemosynthetic Endosymbionts
(2013-02-20)Symbiosis is one of the most widespread evolutionary strategies on Earth. In the deep-sea, symbioses between chemosynthetic bacteria and invertebrates are abundant at hydrothermal vents and cold seeps. These mutualisms, ... -
Evolution, Genetics and Ecology of Burrowing Behavior in Deer Mice (Genus Peromyscus)
(2013-02-08)Behavioral differences among closely related species can result from adaptation via natural selection, and this is especially true of innately expressed behavior that shows evidence of complex design or function. A major ... -
Exploring the Plasticity of Cellular Fate Using Defined-Factor Reprogramming
(2012-11-02)Cellular fate, once established, is usually stable for the lifetime of the cell. However, the mechanisms that restrict the developmental potential of differentiated cells are in principle reversible, as demonstrated by the ... -
Expression and Putative Function of Innate Immunity Genes under In Situ Conditions in the Symbiotic Hydrothermal Vent Tubeworm Ridgeia piscesae
(Public Library of Science, 2012)The relationships between hydrothermal vent tubeworms and sulfide-oxidizing bacteria have served as model associations for understanding chemoautotrophy and endosymbiosis. Numerous studies have focused on the physiological ... -
The Facilitation of Protein-DNA Search and Recognition by Multiple Modes of Binding
(2012-12-12)The studies discussed in this thesis unify experimental and theoretical techniques, both established and novel, in investigating the problem of how a protein that binds specific sites on DNA translocates to, recognizes, ... -
Female Adolescent Energy Expenditure in the Gambia
(2013-02-25)Adolescence is a life history transition of individual and evolutionary importance: the body begins to allocate energy available above maintenance costs away from somatic growth and towards reproductive function. This study ... -
Foxp3 Interacts With c-Rel to Mediate NF-\(\kappa\)B Repression
(Public Library of Science, 2011)Expression of the lineage-specific DNA-binding factor Foxp3 controls the development and function of naturally occurring regulatory T cells. Foxp3 has been shown to interact with a multitude of transcriptional regulators ... -
Genetic Approaches to Study Human Embryonic Stem Cell Self-Renewal and Survival
(2012-08-23)Embryonic stem (ES) cells can be maintained indefinitely in culture while retaining the ability to give rise to cellular derivatives from the three germ layers. These unique characteristics hold great promise for regenerative ... -
Genome-wide Integrative Analysis of Transcription Factor Occupancy and Gene Regulation in Models of Human Cancer and Cellular Differentiation
(2012-11-19)Few transcription factors (TFs) have been studied in the context of an integrative analysis incorporating genomic datasets from diverse genome regulatory mechanisms. Such an analysis allows the testing of specific regulatory ...