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In my Evolution class, we are completing group projects revolving around the evolution of different diseases or viruses. One group chose to focus on anthrax. I decided, that for this blog post, I would review and discuss their blog. Hopefully, I am not too repetitive because I don't want to bore my teacher with information she has already read!

Misty, Joe, and Claire worked with and participated in grid computing for Rosetta@home. While THIS Rosetta does not teach you different languages, it has critical importance to the scientific world. This particular grid focuses on protein structure and folding within the diseases malaria, anthrax, HIV, Alzheimer’s, and even cancer. There is one specific protein in Bacillus anthracis called EF, which is short for oedema factor. This protein inhibits a different protein in the body which then "lowers the body's ability to fight off foreign invaders." Obviously, without this ability, the body is susceptible to infection.

The group of students also conducted an interview with an expert in the topic of anthrax. Specifically, they interviewed a professor in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Kansas Medical Center, Mark Fisher, Ph.D. Different research projects and his studies of focus seem to be about protein folding. More information can be found here: Mark Fisher Ph.D's web page. In the interview, he first discussed his background information about himself and what events lead him to where he is today. He then discussed his work specifically with anthrax. Developments with the electron microscope have helped his research with ph levels and how they control the protein structure. In regards to evolution specifically, Dr. Fisher mentioned that commonly, when presented with medium that will inhibit growth, bacteria will mutate to survive (sounds familiar!). This causes different strains of the same virus. He wants to figure out, and have other scientists figure out, which regions of the DNA sequences are the ones that will mutate, given the opportunity. The group also asked Dr. Fisher what how he responded when talking with someone who does not believe in evolution. He told them that he explains his stance (pro-evolution) in ways that others can understand. One thing he said that really resonated with me was, "Every human being on Earth...[is] a walking history of evolution on this Earth. We are literally 3 billion years’ worth of information in books that are put on [sic] our genome." Based on the interview blog post alone, Dr. Fisher sounded like a wealth of knowledge and a great resource for the project the group did.

Each member of the group then posted about their feelings and reactions toward the interview. All were positive and showed that they seemed to really enjoy speaking with a professional.

The next post was an article that related to their topic. It is long, but really interesting! Read paper here

A couple things made me widen my eyes with surprise. I always think about anthrax infecting cows, sheep, and maybe a goat or two. This article though states that Bacillus anthracis can also infect...earthworms (specifically the red worm). Weird right? The bacteria spend part of its life cycle in the intestine of these worms. The other thing that really struck me was regarding bacteriophages. Theoretically, it makes sense that a bacteriophage can infect any given bacteria - hence the name bacteriophage. However, I never thought about bacteriophages much outside of my Microbiology flashcards. They actually infect Bacillus anthracis and insert its own DNA. Doing this, the bacteria goes through lysogeny. From this point, it can undergo sporulation. Other options though include making a home in an earthworm or starting a biofilm. It was interesting to learn about other variances between just the simple switch between a spore and a vegetative cell. This picture below shows a bacteriophage. Personally, I think they look like robots!

sahsrojas.pbworks.com

 Overall, I would say that Misty, Claire, and Joe did a wonderful job with their blog! I think they worked hard to maintain it through the semester and related concepts to classwork. It seems as though they each learned something that would not otherwise be taught in a semester introductory course. I encourage you to take a look at it! http://rosettacomputergrid.blogspot.com/

But seriously, I mean it. Read the blog and the article!!

Kelsey

 

The most recent assignment was to find an article pertaining to our topics and answer questions proposed by Dr. Walker. This was the paper the group chose to discuss. http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0006532
It is a bit long