Friday, October 13, 2006

  

Did all those biology classes you took REALLY teach you about mitosis?
Two things really stick in students minds about "learning" mitosis. First, the photos and movies we saw were really fascinating. Second, the details seemed really daunting, even if they weren't as "bad" as meiosis. But asking "How?", about any of that really brings up the complicated and interesting parts.

So, C. elegans (shown here) doesn't have a centromere. Plants don't have centrioles. Spindle fibers have to actually attach to something, they have to be able to apply an actual physical force, and when they appear to shorten, they actually do. How? Check out Kelly Dawe's research at the University of Georgia.

Moreover, even the relative positions of the chromosomes appears not to be random, and there is a memory of position from division to division. Indeed!

For more "options" on how to do the anaphase thing, check this out.

Quote of the day -

"Most institutions demand unqualified faith; but the institution of science makes skepticism a virtue."

Robert K. Merton

MySpace: How public can you afford to be?

From a recent article from the National Association of Colleges and Employers: "If you’ve got a profile on a social networking site such as MySpace or Facebook, be prepared for potential employers to view it, according to a new study conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE)." More details.

An Inconvenient Truth - A convenient time

The Environmental Council and the University YMCA are sponsoring two free showings of Al Gore's movie on Tuesday, October 24th. The first is at noon at the campus YMCA (Wright Street). The secnd is in the auditorium of Temple Buell Hall at 7 p.m.

If you haven't yet seen this, do it NOW! Regardless of your career interest (as you see it now), your future hangs in the balance.

Pre-registration and Halloween are upon us

Pre-registration starts on October 30th. It's time to make an appointment with Prof. Cheeseman for your semester-ly consult, and perhaps with Gary Spezia in the Advising Office, too. Get to Gary before the crowds hit. Make more of his services than a 15 minute hit at the last minute.

Jobs, Internships & Scholarships - Improving your c.v.

Check here NOW for links to sites, announcements, deadlines and how-to-apply's. Check here for the upcoming Environmental Minor deadline! Note: the Careers Center link has been fixed!

Of special interest - the Health and Graduate School Fair is next week. It isn't too early to check it out, y'know.

Announcements

Formal Fridays are here. What better way to show good herd behavior and make your friends wonder than dressing to the 9's on Friday. Remember, it's not just for Steve's any more!

Don't forget the Songs

It isn't just the grad students and post-docs who have too much time on their hands. Professors fall into the same well sometimes. Check out the biochemistry songs from Kevin Ahern at the University of Oregon.

And for the featured song of this week... B-DNA...