CAS in the Media | Washington State University

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Biology and physics students contribute to Elwha insect research

February 6, 2014

Last spring, entomology professor Richard Zack brought to Washington State University hundreds of thousands of insect specimens collected before removal of the 100-year-old Elwha dam in the Olympic National Park. He is leading a project to sort, identify and curate the insects and create a database to provide insight into how the Elwha Valley ecosystem might change in the next several decades. Changes in insects will play a key role in how the new ecosystem develops.

But where do you start when you have hundreds of thousands of bugs to organize? With the beetles, said WSU biology student Laura Hamada, who plans to pursue insect taxonomy. She and fellow student Noah Austin, a WSU double major in physics and music, work in a lab in the entomology department where they sort, prepare and identify the aquatic bugs, caddisflies, mayflies, stoneflies, true flies and beetles. Eventually, most of these specimens will be sent to specialists for specific identification.

Read the full story and watch a video about understanding the Elwha ecosystem

Dazzling fluorescent rocks on display

February 5, 2014

Geologist Kurt Wilkie. WSU’s fluorescent rocks are beacons to students and visitors. (Photos by Shelly Hanks, WSU Photo Services)

“There’s always lots of oohing and aahing when kids see them and, as you can see, they get as close as they possibly can,” said WSU geologist Kurt Wilkie. He’s one of several scientists who give tours of the S. Elroy McCaw Fluorescent Mineral Display located on campus – and who sometimes must clean the viewing window of so many small hand and nose prints.

On display behind the glass, 150 rocks glow in brilliant yellows, purples, oranges and greens. Set against a dark background, they make up a nocturnal garden that captivates adult visitors as well, said Wilkie.

Feb. 6-8: Art music festival free to public

February 4, 2014

The WSU Festival of Contemporary Art Music, one of the University’s signature events, will feature guest composer Dana Wilson, whose works have been performed and/or commissioned by diverse ensembles worldwide.

Free, public events Feb. 6-8 include the Student Composers’ Concert, featuring new music written by WSU students and performed by School of Music faculty and students. The Faculty Composers’ Concert presents works by Scott Blasco, Ryan M. Hare, David Jarvis and Gregory Yasinitsky. The Electroacoustic Music Concert features the world premiere of a surround-audio minimalist/drone composition by Blasco and a genre-bending and -blending (“hybrid vaporwave/dance/noise”) composition.

Get more details and a list of events

Saving babies: first international collaboration to study infant health, culture, lactation connection

February 4, 2014

Michelle McGuire, left, and Courtney Meehan lead an international study to help babies thrive

Working with colleagues from 12 institutions around the globe, two Washington State University researchers are leading the first comprehensive international study of human lactation and milk composition.

“It’s all about saving babies,” said Michelle McGuire, associate professor of biology at WSU and principal investigator (PI) for a three-year $950,000 National Science Foundation grant funding the project.

Biological and anthropological data will be collected at 11 sites in eight countries across Europe, Africa and North and South America to better understand how diet, hygiene and cultural practices relate to human milk composition and infant health.

Despite six years of working on the same campus and their common research interest in infant health and breastfeeding, Michelle McGuire and co=PI Courtney Meehan, an assistant professor in anthropology at WSU, only learned about each other when a colleague suggested they have lunch together.

Biologist named one of top 20 promising young investigators

February 4, 2014

GenomeWeb’s 8th annual list of top Young Investigators included Joanna Kelley, an assistant professor of biology in the WSU School of Biological Sciences. As a mathematics and biology undergraduate, Kelley focused her Ph.D. work on genetic adaptation. In her lab at Washington State University, research focuses on genetic changes as populations diverge and adapt to the (sometimes extreme) environments they encounter. Among other projects, her lab is comparing populations of fish that have adapted to live in hydrogen sulfide-rich waters and studying the genome of an Antarctic fly.

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WSU Daily Evergreen
WSU News
The Kelley Lab at WSU