will.ferguson | CAS in the Media | Washington State University

^{CAS in the Media} _{Arts and Sciences Media Headlines}

Tasmanian devils evolve to resist deadly cancer

August 30, 2016 will.ferguson

Tasmanian devils are evolving in response to a highly lethal and contagious form of cancer, a Washington State University researcher has found.

Andrew Storfer, WSU professor of biology, and an international team of scientists discovered that two regions in the genomes of Australia’s iconic marsupials are changing in response to the rapid spread of devil facial tumor disease (DFTD), a nearly 100 percent fatal and transmissible cancer first detected in 1996.

The work, published today in Nature Communications, suggests some Tasmanian devil populations are evolving genetic resistance to DFTD that could help the species avoid extinction.

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Discover Magazine Blog

PNNL gives students hands-on experience

August 26, 2016 will.ferguson

Many of us remember writing that dreaded essay about how we spent our summer vacation — often struggling to recall what we did or make it sound interesting.

That won’t be a problem for the almost 800 students at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory this summer.

Tenisha Meadows, a graduate student in chemistry at WSU, is working to understand conditions that affect the processing of legacy tank waste at places like Hanford. She is using a scientific measurement technique called spectroscopy to observe what is happening inside the tank. This data will improve predictions of when certain solids will form, which in turn helps us understand the correlation between material characteristics and process history.

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Tri-City Herald

Ask Dr. Universe: Why do we feel pain?

August 17, 2016 will.ferguson

Pain is unpleasant, but we need it for survival. Just the other day I was out exploring when I stubbed my paw and let out a big meow. My nervous system was doing its job.

Pain is actually the number one reason people see a doctor, said my friend Raymond Quock. He’s a scientist here at Washington State University who is really curious about pain.

“Pain in many aspects is good,” he said. “It’s a warning that your body is in danger.”

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Ask Dr. Universe

Ask Dr. Universe: Why do volcanoes ‘die?’

August 9, 2016 will.ferguson

Each volcano’s life is a little different. Many of them are born when big chunks of the Earth’s crust, or tectonic plates, collide or move away from each other. The moving plates force hot, liquid rock, or magma, to rise up from deep within the Earth. Some volcanoes can spew ash and lava several miles into the sky. Others will slowly ooze out lava.

Just as each volcano is unique, so are the reasons they go extinct. Generally, though, if a volcano doesn’t have a source of magma, it won’t erupt. That’s what I found out from my friend John Wolff, a geologist at Washington State University.

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Ask Dr. Universe

Illuminating sulfides’ roles in the body

August 9, 2016 will.ferguson

For the first time, researchers at Washington State University have created an injectable compound or “probe” that illuminates hydrogen sulfide and hydrogen polysulfides in different colors when they are present in cells.

Hydrogen sulfide and hydrogen polysulfides are gases notorious as the source of rotten egg stench. They are produced and used for a wide variety of processes in the body. They are thought to play a role in aging as well as diabetes, Alzheimer’s, heart attack, cancer and many other diseases, but their precise functions remain a mystery.

The new probe, developed by WSU chemistry professor Ming Xian, will give medical researchers the ability to start identifying the functions each gas plays in specific biological processes, such as inflammation in the heart or the buildup of tumor cells, which could eventually lead to the design of new drugs and medical therapies.

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WSU News

Phys.org