Search Results for: big questions

Career Conversations: Q&A with Neuroimmunology Researcher Jingru Sun

“If you want to pursue a career in science, it’s very important to foster a hardworking attitude, a creative mind, and critical thinking,” says Jingru Sun, Ph.D., an associate professor of translational medicine and physiology at Washington State University’s Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine in Spokane. Our interview with Dr. Sun highlights how her …

Career Conversations: Q&A with Structural Biologist Lauren Parker Jackson

“A confusing experimental result almost always means you’ve stumbled upon something interesting and maybe even exciting. I think that’s what makes science fun,” says Lauren Parker Jackson, Ph.D., an assistant professor of biological sciences at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee. Check out the highlights of our interview with Dr. Jackson to learn how she became a …

Making a MARC at Vanderbilt

“What we’re trying to do is support the students’ attachment to being a scientist, to becoming part of the community,” says Douglas McMahon, Ph.D., the Stevenson Professor of Biological Sciences at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, and a co-director of Vanderbilt’s Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) program. MARC focuses on undergraduates from diverse backgrounds …

Freezing a Moment in Time: Snapshots of Cryo-EM Research

To get a look at cell components that are too small to see with a normal light microscope, scientists often use cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). As the prefix cryo- means “cold” or “freezing,” cryo-EM involves rapidly freezing a cell, virus, molecular complex, or other structure to prevent water molecules from forming crystals. This preserves the sample …

RNA Polymerase: A Target for New Antibiotic Drugs?

DNA, with its double-helix shape, is the stuff of genes. But genes themselves are only “recipes” for protein molecules, which are molecules that do the real heavy lifting (or do much of the work) inside cells. Artist interpretation of RNAP grasping and unwinding a DNA double helix. Credit: Wei Lin and Richard H. Ebright. Here’s …

PREP Scholar’s Passion for Understanding Body’s Defenses

Charmaine N. Nganje, PREP scholar at Tufts University in Boston. Credit: Katherine Suarez. Charmaine N. Nganje Hometown: Montgomery Village, Maryland Influential book : The Harry Potter series (not exactly influential, but they’re my favorite) Favorite movie/TV show: The Pursuit of Happyness/The Flash Languages: English (and a bit of Patois) Unusual fact: I’m the biggest Philadelphia …

The Skull’s Petrous Bone and the Rise of Ancient Human DNA: Q & A with Genetic Archaeologist David Reich

The human petrous bone in the skull protects the inner ear structures. Though it is one of the hardest, densest bones in the body, some portions (such as the area in orange, protecting the cochlea) are denser than others. Possibly because the petrous bone is so dense, DNA within the petrous bone is better preserved …