Duke Biology News

Biology Researcher Honored by ISI as One of the "Most Highly Influential Scientists and Scholars"

July 2004: ISI recently introduced a publicly available, web-based gateway to the world's most cited authors. It "gives research professionals working in a variety of occupations an invaluable tool to identify individuals, departments and laboratories that have made fundamental contributions to the advancement of science and technology in recent decades". Prof. Rob Jackson was one of the scientists honored by inclusion in this new ISI assessment of research productivity. Follow this link to view this site.

Scientific "saboteurs": Mutating genes to create havoc

The research of Prof. Philip Benfey and colleagues is highlighted in the Sept-Oct 2004 issue of Duke Magazine. The article by Dennis Meredith describes how specific genes of Arabidopsis thaliana are intentionally mutated in order to disrupt biochemical signals between actively-growing root cells and the rest of the plant. The resulting "havoc" that is created provides these researchers with insights into the complex world of growth pathways. For full story, please see "Root Cause"

Engineering for animals. Biomechanics explores natural solutions to the physical problems of living

Biomechanics, the intellectually vibrant intersection of engineering and biology, is fundamental to our efforts to study everything from how proteins fold to how whales float … But the challenges of integrating these fields can be daunting, particularly for students with a phobia about maths, unhappy memories of physics classes, or simply the lack of an inspiring teacher … Now, thanks to Prof. Steven Vogel’s Comparative Biomechanics, we have a delightful and comprehensive textbook that is perfect for undergraduates and those of us who need a refresher. From book review in Nature. More

Battle of "good" vs. "evil" fungi in cacao trees

Article by Elizabeth Arnold (postdoctoral fellow) summarized in Recent Journal Articles and highlighted in Nature ( New & Views, v. 427: 401-402) - "Fungi and the food of the gods"

Photo: Comparison of Phytophthora-infected cacao tree leaves with and without endophyte protection. Photo by Luis Mejia (Duke News Service).

Gene Expression Map of the Arabidopsis Root

Prof. Philip Benfey and colleagues present data for localization of expression of more than 22,000 genes in the Arabidopsis root. Their expression map correlates groups of genes to specific cell fates and should serve to guide reverse genetics. See full story in: K Birnbaum, D Shasha, J Wang, J Jung, G Lambert, D Galbraith & P Benfey, Science Dec 12 (2003): 1956-1960. Full story

The Magnificent 7
Prof. Philip Benfey honored by the journal Nature . his News and Views article, “ Molecular biology: MicroRNA is here to stay ” (425,244–245) was one of seven selected for accolades during 2003. Benfey's writing was selected because it: "Goes beyond the main paper under discussion in surveying previous work, neatly stepping across the bog of abbreviations that makes writing on cell and molecular biology so tough." See A Magnificent Seven

Mimulus , a genus whose members are commonly known as monkeyflower. Prof. John Willis is leading a new project to understand speciation events and species integrity. See NSF FIBR Award

STUDIES LINK HUMAN ACTIVITY, ECOLOGICAL DAMAGE

National Public Radio, Morning Edition, Nov. 10, 2003. Prof. Rob Jackson comments on two new studies that tentatively link man-made intervention and ecological damage. ... Full story