School of Biological Sciences

Tailocins: The next generation of antibiotics might just come from understanding the viruses that infect bacteria

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Talia Backman – Ph.D. student, School of Biological Sciences, shares a micrograph of tailocins. “Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of purified tailocins performed at the Electron Microscopy Core Laboratory at the University of Utah by David Belnap” Talia studies how bacteria create and use weapons, called “tailocins,” by repurposing genes from viruses. From multicellular organisms, like […]

November 20, 2024

BioChar Robots win Wilkes Center Climate Launch Prize

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Sep 25, 2024 Above: Applied Carbon’s pyrolyzer. PHOTO CREDIT: Applied Carbon Applied Carbon, formerly known as Climate Robotics, has developed a mobile, in-field solution that picks up crop waste left after harvesting and converts it into carbon-rich biochar in a single pass. The resulting product is deposited back onto the field, simultaneously increasing soil health, […]

October 18, 2024

Shared Landscapes Wolves, Humans in Rural Turkey

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May 30, 2024 Above: Photo of the wolf captured by Çağan Şekercioğlu on eastern Turkey’s Kars-Ardahan plateau. Photo Credit: Çağan Şekercioğlu Utah biologists track gray wolves with GPS collars and camera traps as their numbers rebound into populated parts of northeast Turkey. After 14 years of gathering and analyzing field data, an international research team […]

June 28, 2024

The Promising World of Bacteriophages

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Bacteriophages, viruses that attack and destroy bacteria, are everywhere in the natural world where they play a vital role in regulating microbe populations in ways that are not yet well understood. New research led by the University of Utah and University College London (UCL) has found that plant bacterial pathogens are able to repurpose elements of […]

June 18, 2024

Establishing a “Wildfire Resilience Collective” Wilkes Center Hackathon, 2024

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By Hannah Meier , PhD Student, School of Biological Sciences Caption: [from left to right]: Tegan Lengyel, a PhD student in the Anderegg lab, investigates the impact of climate change on forest biodiversity and carbon sequestration. Rebecca Senft, a PhD student in the Aparecido lab, delves into the interaction between global change and invasive species. Hannah Meier, […]

May 13, 2024

Why can zebrafish regenerate damaged heart tissue

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A heart attack will leave a permanent scar on a human heart, yet other animals, including some fish and amphibians, can clear cardiac scar tissue and regrow damaged muscle as adults. Scientists have sought to figure out how special power works in hopes of advancing medical treatments for human cardiac patients, but the great physiological […]

April 22, 2024

Nematode proteins shed light on infertility

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We have two copies of each chromosome in every cell in our bodies except in our reproductive cells. Sperm and egg cells contain a single copy of each chromosome with a unique mix of genes from our parents, an evolutionary trick to give our offspring genetic variability. The sperm and egg are made during […]

January 8, 2024

Christmas trees and climate change

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Small choices can make a big impact this holiday season, starting with your Christmas tree! As Douglas firs and white pines appeared in lots around Salt Lake City, Natalie Vickers, a junior pre-occupational therapy major and video intern at the School of Biological Sciences, got curious—how does the tree-trimming tradition fit into a changing climate? […]

January 2, 2024

PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLAR AWARD

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Associate Professor of biology Sophie Caron is a 2023 awardee. The University of Utah Presidential Scholar Award supports the work of exceptionally promising mid-career faculty in academic units across campus by providing $10,000 in funding each year for three years to the award winners. In addition to Caron, an internationally prominent neuroscientist, other awardees include […]

January 2, 2024

OUR DNA 2023

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Read the full issue of OUR DNA 2023, the magazine of the School of Biological Sciences LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR Keeping the Past Alive

December 14, 2023

Shared Resistance in Breast Cancer

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“Cancer cells are often thought of as maverick cells that break the rules and by doing so end up damaging or even killing their host,” says University of Utah professor Fred Adler. “But cancer cells in fact continue to depend on other cells in their environment to survive, particularly under the intense stress we place them […]

August 8, 2023

Lissy Coley National Academy

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“I first stepped foot in a tropical rainforest in 1975 and have been back every year doing research on how plants defend themselves against getting eaten by insects,” says Phyllis “Lissy” Coley, distinguished professor emerita of biology at the U. She is newly elected member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). NAS Members are elected […]

June 18, 2023

Ty Mellor: Taking the Leap

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A few more than 2,000 people currently live in Salina, Utah just north of Interstate 70 and tumbling west of a 217,000-acre geological feature called the San Raphael Swell. It’s a gateway to some of the most remote (and still yet-to-be-permanently settled) land) in the Beehive State. But for Carl “Ty” Mellor, it’s been an […]

November 15, 2022

You are STEM!

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One of the best ways to engage in science, technology, engineering and math is through hands-on activities. Utah STEM Fest does just that and much more! This year the event takes place September 27-28 with a family night Sept. 27 from 4-8 pm with free admission! STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. It’s […]

July 19, 2022

Major Alex Horn, PhD’21 | USAF C-17 Pilot

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By Alex Horn I joined the Air Force as an 18-year-old cadet. I came to the U as part of a program that would allow me to later return to the Air Force Academy to teach. In my doctoral studies, I wanted to understand the relationships between our evolved propensity to form intense fraternal bonds […]

June 27, 2022

Letters from Galápagos Islands #3

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To whom It may concern, No, avian vampire flies do not parasitize vampires. January 31, 2022, Week 02 – Isla De Santa Cruz, Ecuador Philornis downsi is a fly that I’ve mentioned in my past couple letters, but I haven’t talked much about its importance, or our project for that matter. Originally, it was suggested […]

January 31, 2022

Cells: Whole other Worlds within our World

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You’ve heard of cells. But what are they exactly? If they’re so small, they’ve got to be simple, right? Not so fast. Watch this video. It’s an introduction from Khan Academy to cellular biology. Now that you know more about cells, check out this video which talks about the difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. […]

January 12, 2022

New Gene-editing Tools Detailed in Cover Article

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The expanding CRISPER-Cas universe continues to provide new tools for manipulating genomes in animals. James “Jamie” Gagnon who currently holds the Mario Capecchi Endowed Chair at the School of Biological Sciences understands that embryonic cells “talk” to each other to coordinate the construction process. “Cells are master linguists – they use dozens of different languages, […]

January 7, 2022

“The 28 Day Cycle” Art Installation

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“I made an impractical decision that I do not regret,” says Danielle Okelberry who goes by “Dani.” The UofU senior who is finishing up her art degree, slowed her graduation considerably by declaring herself a pre-med undergraduate. Truthfully, there are very few pre-med students at the U who are art majors. All the more unusual, […]

December 2, 2021

2007 Nobel laureate Mario Capecchi on this year’s award

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Each year thousands of professors, members of national committees, Nobel laureates, and parliamentary assemblies lobby their candidates to the Nobel committee for the Nobel Prize. The results of this year’s selection were announced on Oct. 8 by The Norwegian Nobel Committee for research that the committee describes as “having conferred the greatest benefit on mankind.” […]

November 19, 2021

Woodrat microbiomes: It’s who you are that matters most

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More than diet or geography, evolutionary history has the strongest influence on bacterial gut communities in both wild and captive woodrats. Every mammal hosts a hidden community of other organisms—the microbiome. Their intestines teem with complex microbial populations that are critical for nutrition, fighting disease and degrading harmful toxins. Throughout their lives, mammals are exposed […]

November 16, 2021

Cottam’s Gulch

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One of the most tranquil spots at the University is Cottam’s Gulch, the small gully that runs behind the Crocker Science Center to University Street. The grassy, tree-lined area, with its meandering stone pathway and lone bench, is a perfect place to read, meditate, picnic, or enjoy exuberant birdsong. It’s a place rich in history, […]

November 4, 2021

Ilham Batar: Creating the unimaginable

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In the office of the UofU President, now, currently occupied by Taylor Randall, Presidential Interns are students provided with an unparalleled opportunity to learn from and collaborate with the president and other university administrators. In August 2018, Ilham Batar, BS’21, was enlisted in this prestigious group. “In May 2019, I was appointed as a co-leader […]

October 26, 2021

Featured Art in SBS

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The School of Biological Sciences has many feet of wall space to decorate, and occasionally it has snagged work, commissioned or bought, from notable Utah artists. For a time a large, vertical painting by the late modernist Douglas Snow hung in the atrium of South Biology (Bldg. 89), but was taken down after a time. […]

October 22, 2021

Staff: Jeff Mauger, Facilities

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Jeff has been a part of the University community in many different roles since his arrival to Utah in fall of 1997. Not planning to stay very long, he started out as a student, eventually receiving both a Bachelor and Master of Fine Art. His artwork has been shown and sold in a number of […]

July 23, 2019