A growing body of evidence supports the contention that many students will benefit from coursewor... more A growing body of evidence supports the contention that many students will benefit from coursework in computer science regardless of their respective academic majors. While there are distinct advantages to learning computer science for students in the quantitative and analytical fields (i.e., Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math or STEM disciplines), the tangible benefits for students in non-STEM areas are less clear. To investigate the influence of computer science methods on students in the liberal arts, we convened a workshop of faculty equally distributed from computer science and various liberal arts disciplines. We also included two career placement professionals, one from a small college and another from a larger technical university. By defining “computer science and the liberal arts”, the group had a common designation with which to work. This consensus-based, interdisciplinary lexicon enriched and guided the group’s dialogue. Next, the group discussed and identified ...
The discordance between genome size and the complexity of eukaryotes can partly be attributed to ... more The discordance between genome size and the complexity of eukaryotes can partly be attributed to differences in repeat density. The Muller F element (~5.2 Mb) is the smallest chromosome in Drosophila melanogaster, but it is substantially larger (>18.7 Mb) in Drosophila ananassae To identify the major contributors to the expansion of the F element and to assess their impact, we improved the genome sequence and annotated the genes in a 1.4 Mb region of the D. ananassae F element, and a 1.7 Mb region from the D element for comparison. We find that transposons (particularly LTR and LINE retrotransposons) are major contributors to this expansion (78.6%), while Wolbachia sequences integrated into the D. ananassae genome are minor contributors (0.02%). Both D. melanogaster and D. ananassae F element genes exhibit distinct characteristics compared to D element genes (e.g., larger coding spans, larger introns, more coding exons, lower codon bias), but these differences are exaggerated in ...
Proceedings of the 47th ACM Technical Symposium on Computing Science Education, 2016
There is a growing body of evidence that indicates that many students would benefit from coursewo... more There is a growing body of evidence that indicates that many students would benefit from coursework in computer science regardless of their academic majors. While there are obvious advantages to learning computer science for students in the quantitative and analytical fields that comprise the STEM disciplines, the advantages to other students are less obvious. In order to investigate the impact of computer science principles and methods on students in the liberal arts we convened a workshop of faculty comprised of an equal number of participants from each discipline, i.e. computer science and the various liberal arts. We identified a clear need to better understand the computational needs of liberal arts students and faculty and we identified opportunities for computer scientists and liberal arts students and faculty to work together to better prepare students in both disciplines and better support faculty research in the liberal arts.
Biochemical and Molecular Aspects of Selected Cancers, 1991
Publisher Summary This chapter describes the mechanism and interactions of tumor-suppressor genes... more Publisher Summary This chapter describes the mechanism and interactions of tumor-suppressor genes with oncogenes and the significance of human neoplasia. At least five methods are employed to identify tumor-suppressor genes in man. The methods listed in the chapter represent only the first step in identification of tumor suppressor genes. Some methods used have been those useful for isolating genes of other types, such as, chromosome walking from linked markers, as in the retinoblastoma case or subtractive hybridization, as in the case of putative suppressors of breast epithelial cell growth. The mechanism of action of tumor-suppressor genes involves four techniques: (1) homozygous inactivation is associated with the development of specific tumors owing to the deficiency of a growth regulator; (2) the gene product interferes in a positive way with the activity of some oncogene by either inhibiting its expression or interfering with its product's action; (3) a single mutant allele is able to interfere with the function of the normal allele and thereby contribute to cell transformation; and (4) deficiency of an extracellular adhesion molecule may contribute to the metastatic character of the cell.
The design, implementation and assessment of a novel, two-track, reformed introductory biology se... more The design, implementation and assessment of a novel, two-track, reformed introductory biology sequence are described in this paper. Course reform was based on the recommendations by the 2009 Vision & Change report from AAAS. Both tracks were based on guided inquiry, with an emphasis on constructivist pedagogy. One track included only students entering college with Advanced Placement Biology credit (N=24), who were given a studio style course that focused on the investigation of the phenomenon of “vanishing amphibians,” from molecules to ecosystems, over the entire year. The other track included the remaining students (N=68), who received more direct content instruction but through the use of numerous student-centered, active learning methods. The “AP Scholars” section entered with higher and more consistent levels of prior knowledge, but both sections made identical normalized learning gains and expressed satisfaction with the course, particularly the reformed aspects. The “AP Scho...
Bioinformatics is a relatively new interdisciplinary field with computer science and biology as i... more Bioinformatics is a relatively new interdisciplinary field with computer science and biology as its core supporting disciplines. The rise of bioinformatics presents computer science faculty members with new opportunities and challenges both in education and research. This interdisciplinary panel, comprising two computer scientists and two biologists, will explore issues in teaching bioinformatics courses, developing bioinformatics curricula, and fostering student research projects in bioinformatics.
Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.), 2013
Our ability to manipulate stem cells in order to induce differentiation along a desired developme... more Our ability to manipulate stem cells in order to induce differentiation along a desired developmental pathway has improved immeasurably in recent years. That is in part because we have a better understanding of the intracellular and extracellular signals that regulate differentiation. However, there has also been a realization that stem cell differentiation is not regulated only by chemical signals but also by the physical milieu in which a particular stem cell exists. In this regard we are challenged to mimic both chemical and physical environments. Herein we describe a method to induce stem cell differentiation into cardiomyocytes using a combination of chemical and physical cues. This method can be applied to produce differentiated cells for research and potentially for cell-based therapy of cardiomyopathies.
Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology, 1995
Neurofibromatosis type I (NF1) is a common genetic disease which leads to a variety of clinical f... more Neurofibromatosis type I (NF1) is a common genetic disease which leads to a variety of clinical features affecting cells of neural crest origin. In the period since the NF1 gene was isolated in 1991, our understanding of the genetics of NF1 has increased remarkably. One of the most striking aspects of NF1 genetics is its complexity, both in terms of gene organization and expression. The gene is large and, when mutated, gives rise to diverse manifestations. A growing body of data suggests that mutations in the NF1 gene alone may not be responsible for all of the features of this disease. Epigenetic mechanisms, those which affect the NF1 transcript, play a role in the normal expression of the NF1 gene. Therefore, aberrations in those epigenetic processes are most likely pathogenic. Herein we summarize salient aspects of the vast body of NF1 literature and provide some insights into the myriad of regulatory mechanisms that may go awry in the genesis of this common but complex disease.
A growing body of evidence supports the contention that many students will benefit from coursewor... more A growing body of evidence supports the contention that many students will benefit from coursework in computer science regardless of their respective academic majors. While there are distinct advantages to learning computer science for students in the quantitative and analytical fields (i.e., Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math or STEM disciplines), the tangible benefits for students in non-STEM areas are less clear. To investigate the influence of computer science methods on students in the liberal arts, we convened a workshop of faculty equally distributed from computer science and various liberal arts disciplines. We also included two career placement professionals, one from a small college and another from a larger technical university. By defining “computer science and the liberal arts”, the group had a common designation with which to work. This consensus-based, interdisciplinary lexicon enriched and guided the group’s dialogue. Next, the group discussed and identified ...
The discordance between genome size and the complexity of eukaryotes can partly be attributed to ... more The discordance between genome size and the complexity of eukaryotes can partly be attributed to differences in repeat density. The Muller F element (~5.2 Mb) is the smallest chromosome in Drosophila melanogaster, but it is substantially larger (>18.7 Mb) in Drosophila ananassae To identify the major contributors to the expansion of the F element and to assess their impact, we improved the genome sequence and annotated the genes in a 1.4 Mb region of the D. ananassae F element, and a 1.7 Mb region from the D element for comparison. We find that transposons (particularly LTR and LINE retrotransposons) are major contributors to this expansion (78.6%), while Wolbachia sequences integrated into the D. ananassae genome are minor contributors (0.02%). Both D. melanogaster and D. ananassae F element genes exhibit distinct characteristics compared to D element genes (e.g., larger coding spans, larger introns, more coding exons, lower codon bias), but these differences are exaggerated in ...
Proceedings of the 47th ACM Technical Symposium on Computing Science Education, 2016
There is a growing body of evidence that indicates that many students would benefit from coursewo... more There is a growing body of evidence that indicates that many students would benefit from coursework in computer science regardless of their academic majors. While there are obvious advantages to learning computer science for students in the quantitative and analytical fields that comprise the STEM disciplines, the advantages to other students are less obvious. In order to investigate the impact of computer science principles and methods on students in the liberal arts we convened a workshop of faculty comprised of an equal number of participants from each discipline, i.e. computer science and the various liberal arts. We identified a clear need to better understand the computational needs of liberal arts students and faculty and we identified opportunities for computer scientists and liberal arts students and faculty to work together to better prepare students in both disciplines and better support faculty research in the liberal arts.
Biochemical and Molecular Aspects of Selected Cancers, 1991
Publisher Summary This chapter describes the mechanism and interactions of tumor-suppressor genes... more Publisher Summary This chapter describes the mechanism and interactions of tumor-suppressor genes with oncogenes and the significance of human neoplasia. At least five methods are employed to identify tumor-suppressor genes in man. The methods listed in the chapter represent only the first step in identification of tumor suppressor genes. Some methods used have been those useful for isolating genes of other types, such as, chromosome walking from linked markers, as in the retinoblastoma case or subtractive hybridization, as in the case of putative suppressors of breast epithelial cell growth. The mechanism of action of tumor-suppressor genes involves four techniques: (1) homozygous inactivation is associated with the development of specific tumors owing to the deficiency of a growth regulator; (2) the gene product interferes in a positive way with the activity of some oncogene by either inhibiting its expression or interfering with its product's action; (3) a single mutant allele is able to interfere with the function of the normal allele and thereby contribute to cell transformation; and (4) deficiency of an extracellular adhesion molecule may contribute to the metastatic character of the cell.
The design, implementation and assessment of a novel, two-track, reformed introductory biology se... more The design, implementation and assessment of a novel, two-track, reformed introductory biology sequence are described in this paper. Course reform was based on the recommendations by the 2009 Vision & Change report from AAAS. Both tracks were based on guided inquiry, with an emphasis on constructivist pedagogy. One track included only students entering college with Advanced Placement Biology credit (N=24), who were given a studio style course that focused on the investigation of the phenomenon of “vanishing amphibians,” from molecules to ecosystems, over the entire year. The other track included the remaining students (N=68), who received more direct content instruction but through the use of numerous student-centered, active learning methods. The “AP Scholars” section entered with higher and more consistent levels of prior knowledge, but both sections made identical normalized learning gains and expressed satisfaction with the course, particularly the reformed aspects. The “AP Scho...
Bioinformatics is a relatively new interdisciplinary field with computer science and biology as i... more Bioinformatics is a relatively new interdisciplinary field with computer science and biology as its core supporting disciplines. The rise of bioinformatics presents computer science faculty members with new opportunities and challenges both in education and research. This interdisciplinary panel, comprising two computer scientists and two biologists, will explore issues in teaching bioinformatics courses, developing bioinformatics curricula, and fostering student research projects in bioinformatics.
Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.), 2013
Our ability to manipulate stem cells in order to induce differentiation along a desired developme... more Our ability to manipulate stem cells in order to induce differentiation along a desired developmental pathway has improved immeasurably in recent years. That is in part because we have a better understanding of the intracellular and extracellular signals that regulate differentiation. However, there has also been a realization that stem cell differentiation is not regulated only by chemical signals but also by the physical milieu in which a particular stem cell exists. In this regard we are challenged to mimic both chemical and physical environments. Herein we describe a method to induce stem cell differentiation into cardiomyocytes using a combination of chemical and physical cues. This method can be applied to produce differentiated cells for research and potentially for cell-based therapy of cardiomyopathies.
Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology, 1995
Neurofibromatosis type I (NF1) is a common genetic disease which leads to a variety of clinical f... more Neurofibromatosis type I (NF1) is a common genetic disease which leads to a variety of clinical features affecting cells of neural crest origin. In the period since the NF1 gene was isolated in 1991, our understanding of the genetics of NF1 has increased remarkably. One of the most striking aspects of NF1 genetics is its complexity, both in terms of gene organization and expression. The gene is large and, when mutated, gives rise to diverse manifestations. A growing body of data suggests that mutations in the NF1 gene alone may not be responsible for all of the features of this disease. Epigenetic mechanisms, those which affect the NF1 transcript, play a role in the normal expression of the NF1 gene. Therefore, aberrations in those epigenetic processes are most likely pathogenic. Herein we summarize salient aspects of the vast body of NF1 literature and provide some insights into the myriad of regulatory mechanisms that may go awry in the genesis of this common but complex disease.
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