Science & Technology

Biologists in Arts & Sciences used statistical methods to trace the path of Pieridae family butterflies as they diversified and their plant hosts fought back, over and over again. The study also finds that butterflies often regain hosts they haven’t used for millions of years.

Himadri Pakrasi, the George William and Irene Koechig Freiberg Professor in biology in Arts & Sciences, received a $75,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to support greenhouse gas reduction initiatives.

Biologists at Washington University in St. Louis examined data from 2,600 lizard species worldwide and discovered that while hundreds of different types of lizards have independently evolved arboreal lifestyles, species that possessed sticky toepads prevailed.

Research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by biologist Joshua Blodgett in Arts & Sciences highlights comparative metabologenomics as a powerful approach to expose the features that differentiate strong antibiotic producers from weaker ones.

Minuscule tunnels through the cell membrane help cells to perceive and respond to mechanical forces, such as pressure or touch. A new study led by biologists in Arts & Sciences directly investigates what PIEZO channels are doing in the tip-growing cells in moss and pollen tubes of flowering plants, and how.

Tae Seok Moon, associate professor of energy, environmental and chemical engineering, has received a three-year $501,246 grant from the Office of Naval Research to study heat from the human microbiota.

For microbiologist Arpita Bose, associate professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, science is a collaborative endeavor. Her lab focuses on microbial metabolisms, taking an interdisciplinary approach to address issues related to energy and sustainability.

Researchers in the McKelvey School of Engineering and at the University of Virginia recently developed a high-tech imaging technique that opens up opportunities to study dysfunction in acute and chronic kidney disease.

A study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences led by Michael Moore, a postdoctoral fellow with the Living Earth Collaborative, finds that dragonfly males have consistently evolved less breeding coloration in regions with hotter climates.

Collaborators from eight St. Louis area institutions will investigate the microbiomes of local box turtles; the diversification of flowering plants in the Gulf of Guinea; and adaptation to climate change and biodiversity loss in Madagascar, among other projects.