BioScience 113

Streptococcus agalactiae (Group B Strep, GBS) infections in neonates are often fatal and strongly associated with maternal GBS vaginal colonization. The use of preventive intrapartum antibiotics, while effective against early onset diseases, have their own pitfalls and have no effect on late onset neonatal GBS diseases. As such, a more long-term strategy such as vaccination is required to contain GBS infections. Here, we investigated the role of a previously uncharacterized but highly conserved protein, BvaP, in GBS vaginal colonization.

Walter Adams is an Associate Professor of Biological Sciences at San José State University where his lab studies how to prevent the respiratory pathogen S. pneumoniae from causing severe disease. By investigating how specific host and bacterial factors impact lung epithelial integrity, the Adams Lab aims to develop novel treatments for patients with respiratory infections.

Dr. Zachary Silver’s research explores the evolutionary origins of social cognition through an exploration of domestic dogs’ ability to make social decisions, solve novel problems, demonstrate inhibitory control, and interpret human emotions. By comparing social cognition in domestic dogs to that of humans, nonhuman primates, and non-domesticated canid species, Silver’s research seeks to understand the role of artificial selection, social environment, and training history on the roots of sophisticated social cognition and reasoning.

There is a rich history of plant-animal interactions within seagrass meadows. As foundation species, seagrasses host a diverse array of associated fauna. Although the direct positive impact of seagrass habitat structure on faunal diversity and abundance is widely acknowledged, the role of animals on seagrass productivity and resilience range dramatically from positive to negative. Often these plant-animal interactions even involving the same species change along gradients of environmental stress.

Elasmobranch fishes are a subclass of cartilaginous fishes which have a distinct metabolic physiology when compared to other vertebrates. In addition to their different metabolism, elasmobranchs have a unique immune system with reportedly low instances of disease. Elasmobranchs are commonly targeted as sportfish by recreational anglers and caught as bycatch in recreational fisheries. This capture typically involves physical restraint, human handling, and air exposure.

Anthracene, a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), is a widespread environmental pollutant that poses potential risks to human health. Exposure to anthracene can result in various adverse health effects, including skin-related disorders. Photo exposure sufficiently removes the anthracene from the environment but also generates degradation products which can be more toxic. The goal of this study was to assess the change in anthracene dermotoxicity caused by photodegradation and understand the mechanism of this change.

In our age of increasing and compounding drivers of environmental change, understanding not just how Earth’s landscapes are impacted in the immediate aftermath, but also how they regenerate over a longer time scale after specific events is of critical importance. In the Southeastern Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, forest regeneration following hurricanes has supported both continent wide conservation corridors, but also local communities who depend on forests for resources and food for millenia.

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most common type of kidney cancer. Despite significant clinical achievement in treating RCC especially using Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB), the response rates remain limited especially in metastatic disease. To better understand immune alterations associated with ICB resistance, my work has focused on assessing blood biomarkers in renal cancer patients classified as responders or non-responders to first line immunotherapy.

Coastal environments represent hotspots not only of biodiversity and ecosystem services, but human development and exploitation. This study establishes a baseline describing benthic organisms present along the western coast of Placentia Bay, a declared Ecologically and Biologically Significant Area (EBSA) of the Island of Newfoundland, Canada. Concurrently, this research investigates the methodology behind habitat mapping – using physical seafloor characteristics to predict the distribution of a target organism or group – and discusses ways it can be improved.

Birds see and produce an astonishing diversity of colors that span the human visible and ultraviolet spectrums. These colors are produced by numerous mechanisms and perceived by birds differently depending on their visual system sensitivity. Despite the wealth of knowledge on bird coloration and vision, few large-scale comparative studies link the evolution of the avian visual system and the colors birds produce. Using genomic data, 3D models of bird museum specimens, and a resolved phylogeny of all bird species we examine how visual system sensitivity evolves across the bird tree of life.