HHMI Research Articles

Review: Evolving Switches, Evolving Bodies

Book Review| January 01 2014 Review: Evolving Switches, Evolving Bodies Evolving Switches, Evolving Bodies (DVD, 2012, 15 minutes, http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive) Richard Lord, Jr. Richard Lord, Jr. 123 Blake Ave., Saco, ME 04072 rnlord@aol.com Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar The American Biology Teacher (2014) 76 (1): 65. https://doi.org/10.1525/abt.2014.76.1.14 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Richard Lord, Jr.; Review: Evolving Switches, Evolving Bodies. The American Biology Teacher 1 January 2014; 76 (1): 65. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/abt.2014.76.1.14 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentThe American Biology Teacher Search Part of a series produced by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), this 15-minute presentation is one of two videos on the DVD, The Making of the Fittest, Volume 2, which demonstrate the evolutionary process in action. The story begins with a receding Alaskan ice sheet, which created streams and rivers that opened up possibilities for many species. The three-spined stickleback, a common small ocean fish, migrated into these rivers to spawn. As the land rose, the streams were cut off from the ocean, presenting a survival challenge for the sticklebacks, which would need to adapt to life in freshwater lakes. Now, 8000–10,000 years later, the sticklebacks thrive, but their bodies have changed in many ways to adapt to a freshwater environment. They became smaller, their coloring changed, and even their skeletons were transformed. In the sea, there were numerous predators and no place for the sticklebacks to... You do not currently have access to this content.

PULSE Vision & Change Rubrics

PULSE Vision & Change Rubrics

Review: The Day the Mesozoic Died

Although an image of Tyrannosaurus rex adorns the cover of this fantastic new video produced by the prolific Science Education Department at Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), the surprise is that tiny fossilized protists are the real stars of the show. Intended for “all students in all science classes,” this beautiful and well-produced video offers a glimpse into how scientists constructed an understanding of how and why a mass extinction occurred on Earth 66 million years ago.Instead of focusing on dinosaurs, the story asks why there are size and diversity differences between tiny fossilized microorganisms called foraminifera (or “forams” for short), between sedimentary rocks found near the boundary of Cretaceous and Tertiary (K-T) periods. The video, available free on DVD or online, is divided into three acts, moving seamlessly between locations, people, and “deep time,” reconstructing scientists’ interdisciplinary approach to solving this mystery. The result was a revolutionary theory explaining how a large asteroid impact caused the mass extinction of most of the dinosaurs. The well-paced DVD includes closed-captioning in both English and Spanish, and is engaging for students from middle through high school.Accompanying the video are teacher resources: a film guide for teachers, a student quiz, and six activities. The six lessons, three of which carry a heavy dose of physical science, are appropriate for more than just life-science classes. Each lesson is also available in both student and teacher formats, which outline the objectives, appropriate levels, and prior knowledge required. And as with many HHMI materials, all can be found online linked to common texts and curriculum.While the video is suitable for a wide variety of students and science classes, many of the readers and lesson prompts are written at a college level. Students with below-grade-level reading skills and English language learners may find the text difficult to comprehend. Moreover, some of the lessons require math skills and confidence commonly found only in AP or advanced courses, but with a bit of effort from the teacher, each activity can be reworked to meet individual classroom needs, from middle school through AP.The Day the Mesozoic Died is another vital resource created by HHMI. The DVD and accompanying materials underscore the importance of all science disciplines in understanding the natural world.

Special Section Guest Editorial: Special Section on Fluorescence Molecular Imaging Honoring Prof. Roger Tsien, a Pioneer in Biomedical Optics

Professor Roger Y. Tsien is a renowned world leader in chemical biology and biochemistry whose pioneering work in fluorescence sensing and imaging has revolutionized virtually all of experimental biology. He is an insightful scientist, and a cordial colleague and mentor; always invigorating with his ideas and energy, and inspiring with his vision. His work has profoundly influenced our abilities to study biochemical and molecular processes and events in live cells and animals. His early work on calcium imaging has revealed spatiotemporal characteristics of calcium signaling in various physiological processes and resulted in a widely disseminated use of his methods. But it is his seminal contributions in elucidating the biochemical mechanism of green fluorescent protein (GFP) formation that brought him major acclaim. Over a short period of time, Prof. Tsien further invented a broad spectrum of fluorescent proteins with distinctive colors and characteristics, a technology also adopted in all corners of the biology and biotechnology world. All these contributions have not only provided powerful tools for molecular and cellular imaging, but also advanced our in-depth and systematic understanding of a variety of cellular processes. To date, Prof. Tsien continues to lead and contribute to the emerging fields of molecular and cellular imaging as well as biomedical optics. Because of Prof. Tsien’s seminal scientific achievements, he was awarded the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his role in “the green fluorescent protein: discovery, expression and development” and the Wolf Prize in medicine “for his seminal contribution to the design and biological application of novel fluorescent and photolabile molecules to analyze and perturb cell signal transduction.” Prof. Tsien is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator, and a professor at University of California, San Diego.

Abstract 078: Differential Phosphorylation of Inositol 1,4,5-triphophate Receptor by CaMKIId During Cardiac Remodeling

Natesan Sankar 1 , Sukriti Dewan 1 , Joshua Maxwell 1 , Donald Bers 2 , Joan Heller Brown 3 , Jeffery Molkentin 4 , Pieter deTombe 1 , Gregory Mignery 1 . 1 Department of Cell and Molecular Physiology, Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, IL. 2 Department of Physiology, Department of Pharmacology University of California at Davis, Davis, CA. 3 Department of Pharmacology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA. 4 Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Molecular Cardiovascular Biology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Cincinnati, OH. In cardiac myocytes the type-2 isoform of the inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate receptor (InsP 3 R2) Ca 2+ release channel is expressed predominantly in the nuclear envelope. InsP 3 R2 releases intracellular Ca 2+ bidirectionally towards the cytoplasm and nucleoplasm in response to an array of pro-hypertrophic signaling. Thus, InsP 3 R2 mediated Ca 2+ release may contribute to both Excitation-Contraction Coupling (ECC) and Excitation-Transcription Coupling (ETC) during normal and pathophysiologic conditions such as cardiac remodeling. However, the regulation of InsP 3 R2 mediated Ca 2+ release and its role in ECC and ETC during cardiac remodeling is not fully understood. We have shown that CaMKIIδ and InsP 3 R2 forms a signaling complex in the heart and CaMKII mediated phosphorylation of InsP 3 R2 at S150 modulates its intrinsic Ca 2+ channel activity. Here we show that InsP 3 R2 is differentially phosphorylated by CaMKIIδ B and CaMKIIδ C , the predominant nucleoplasmic and cytoplasmic isoforms respectively, in cardiac myocytes. Using adult rat cardiac myocytes we show that the differential phosphorylation by CaMKII of InsP 3 R2 at S150 leads to elevated nuclear Ca 2+ signaling and diminished release towards the cytoplasm. Additionally we show that the InsP 3 R2 was phosphorylated in the hearts of Angiotensin II infused and pressure overload induced cardiac remodeling animal models. Finally, we show that there was an increase in InsP 3 R2 phosphorylation in human heart-failure samples compared to non-failing hearts. Collectively our studies demonstrate that, CaMKIIδ mediated regulation of InsP 3 R2 Ca 2+ channel activity contributes to ECC and ETC during all the phases of cardiac remodeling processes.

Local treatment of non healing leg ulcers in a patient with hepatitis C virus infection

Infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV), a blood-borne agent, is transmitted by apparent and inapparent parenteral procedures, frequently associated with autoimmune extrahepatic complications 1. Skin is one of the most frequently affected organs and the major skin diseases frequently associated with HCV infection include mixed cryoglobulinemia, porphyria cutaneatarda, palpable purpura, lichen planus cutaneous and necrotising vasculitis, often with very painful leg ulcers. Other skin disorders that may also be linked to hepatitis C are Behçet syndrome, erythaema multiforme and nodosum, malacoplakia, urticaria and pruritus 2. The leg ulcers due to cutaneous vasculitis may or may not be associated to cryoglobulins 3. These are chronic, non-healing ulcers difficult to treat with a significant impact on psychosocial aspects as well as on one's physical well-being 4, 5. We present a case of a 57-year-old female ex-addict who has been suffering from HCV infection for 10 years, cardiopathy, hypertension and arterio-venous pathology. She presented with non-healing ulcers over her right and left thighs for a duration of 3 years (Figure 1). During the 3 years prior to the admission, the patient was treated monthly by her general practitioner and twice a week by a home-care team. The patient was visited at first, in 2011, in our Ambulatory “Ulcers and Difficult Wounds”, Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Sapienza University of Rome. Clinically, the ulcer on the right thigh appeared oval in shape, 10 × 6 cm in size, of varying depth and involving bone, elevated margins and a sanious wound bed. There were also presence of nodules. It was smelly, not painful and indolent on palpation. On the left, the ulcer was smaller, about 7 × 4 cm in size with similar aspect. Dressing was performed everyday. During the dressing the wound was disinfected with sodium hypoclorite 0·05% (Amukine®, S.p.A., Genoa, Italy) and iodopividone 0·5% (Betadine®, Meda Pharma S.p.A., Milano, Italy). After a careful wound disinfection, a layer of the new collagenase plus hyaluronic acid ointment (Bionect Start®, FIDIA Pharmaceutical, Abano, Italy) was applied only on the ulcer area. One year after the first observation, the right ulcer underwent a slight improvement and the ulcer on the left healed (Figure 2). Although the patient did not undergo any type of systemic therapy, this local treatment induced a positive clinical response with rapid pain control of the skin lesions and also improved psychosocial functioning, which allowed better adherence to continuity of care in the patient. HCV-related skin ulcers may represent a therapeutic challenge, which should be managed by means of both local and systemic treatments. Maria G. Onesti, MD; Paolo Fioramonti, MD; Diego Massera, MD; Vittoria Amorosi, MD & Pasquale Fino, MD Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, University of Rome “Sapienza”, Rome, Italy, [email protected]; [email protected] All authors hereby declare not to have any potential conflict of interests and not to have received funding for this work from any of the following organisations: National Institutes of Health (NIH); Wellcome Trust; Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and other(s). Each author participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for the content. Special thanks to Dr. Franco Bartolomei for his help in preparing this manuscript.

Medical Students’ Experiences With Authorship in Biomedical Research

To explore authorship issues related to medical students' primary research projects, assess medical students' knowledge about authorship issues in biomedical research, and determine their interest in learning about authorship guidelines. In 2011, the authors developed and conducted an electronic survey of 243 U.S. medical students who attended an educational event at the National Institutes of Health as part of their funded, yearlong research fellowship programs. The authors then analyzed the results using descriptive statistics. Of 243 students, 152 (63%) responded. Most (120/151; 79%) had completed or were in the process of writing a manuscript based on their projects. Of these, most (95/119; 80%) wrote the entire manuscript independently or with guidance. Whereas almost two-thirds (99/152; 65%) indicated that expectations and criteria for authorship were clarified for them, 26% (40/152) indicated that they were not. Most students (108/118; 92%) were in the authorship position they expected and had no concerns about who the other authors were (91/119; 77%). Of those with concerns, 52% (11/21) did not raise the issue for fear of challenging their mentor. Two-thirds (95/145; 66%) never received formal training in authorship guidelines, and 41% (42/103) believed such training would be valuable. Although a majority of students had conversations about authorship and were clear about the guidelines for ethical authorship, additional work is needed. The authors recommend that academic institutions develop a menu of options for teaching students about this important area in research ethics.

Matthew: Effect or Fable?

In a market context, a status effect occurs when actors are accorded differential recognition for their efforts depending on their location in a status ordering, holding constant the quality of these efforts. In practice, because it is very difficult to measure quality, this ceteris paribus proviso often precludes convincing empirical assessments of the magnitude of status effects. We address this problem by examining the impact of a major status-conferring prize that shifts actors' positions in a prestige ordering. Specifically, using a precisely constructed matched sample, we estimate the effect of a scientist becoming a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator on citations to articles the scientist published before the prize was awarded. We do find evidence of a postappointment citation boost, but the effect is small and limited to a short window of time. Consistent with theories of status, however, the effect of the prize is significantly larger when there is uncertainty about article quality, and when prize winners are of (relatively) low status at the time of election to the HHMI Investigator Program. This paper was accepted by David Hsu, entrepreneurship and innovation.

Scientists Confront Joint HIV-TB Epidemics by Taking Fight to the Front Lines

THE EMERGENCE OF EXTENSIVELY drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDRTB) in patients at a rural hospital in theKwaZulu-NatalprovinceofSouth Africa gained international attention in 2005. By that point, physicians had becomeaccustomedtoencounteringcases of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB). When first-line antibiotics failed, they knew they could turn to more toxic and lesseffectivesecond-linechoices.But the outbreakinKwaZulu-Natalledtothe“recognition that untreatable TB was out there,”explainedWilliamR.Bishai,MD, PhD, codirector of the Johns Hopkins Center for Tuberculosis Research in Baltimore. Ultimately, 52 of the 53 patients first identifiedashavingXDR-TBinKwaZuluNatal died, on average within 16 days of diagnosis(GandhiNRetal.Lancet.2006; 368[9547]:1575-1580). From January 2005toMarch2006, theresearcherswho documented these first cases examined sputum from a total of 1539 TB patients inKwaZulu-Natalandfoundthat39%of the patients had MDR-TB and 6% had XDR-TB. “It was a real wake-up call for South Africa and the world,” Bishai said. In addition to his work at Hopkins, Bishai is leading a new international research center, which opened last month in Durban, South Africa. The KwaZuluNatal Research Institute for Tuberculosis and HIV (K-RITH) is the fruit of a cooperative effort between the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and the University of KwaZulu-Natal to bring world-class researchers and state-of-the-art facilities to the front lines of the fight against XDR-TB and HIV coinfection. Dr Bishai discussed this new venture with JAMA. JAMA: Why was K-RITH created? Dr Bishai: The HHMI trustees and University of KwaZulu-Natal leadership decided it was time to do something different, something in global

Next Steps for Vision and Change: Moving from Setting the Vision to Change

Next Steps for <i>Vision and Change</i>: Moving from Setting the Vision to Change

Cultivating ‘Habits of Mind’ in the Scholarly Pharmacy Clinician: Report of the 2011-12 Argus Commission

The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Argus Commission is comprised of the five immediate past AACP presidents and is annually charged by the AACP President to examine one or more strategic questions related to pharmacy education often in the context of environmental scanning. Depending upon the specific charge, the President may appoint additional individuals to the Commission. President Crabtree requested that the 2011-12 Argus Commission examine the following questions as part of his examination of critical issues of excellence and relevance in academic pharmacy: • What is core with respect to the scientific foundation of clinical education? • How and when do we teach this foundational material? • How can we infuse an attitude of inquisitiveness and scholarly thinking in pharmacists and other health care professionals? • How can we nurture emerging scientists among our students and young faculty? • What ultimately will keep our graduates from being technicians vs. professional clinicians? The work of the Argus Commission was advanced significantly by examining related reports and projects from outside pharmacy and from engaging in dialogue with education leaders across the health professions. When the Commission met in December 2011 they were joined by leaders from academic dentistry, allopathic and osteopathic medicine, nursing, optometry, physicians assistant, public health, veterinary medicine and health administration programs. The meeting began with a presentation by Cynthia Bauerle, Ph.D., Senior Program Officer for PreCollege and Undergraduate Science Education at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) based in Chevy Chase, MD. HHMI and the Association of American Medical Colleges have collaborated on several projects to ensure that the scientific foundation for physician education remains contemporary and strong. They jointly published the “Report of Scientific Foundations for Future Physicians Committee”1 in 2009, which the Argus Commission considered carefully in its work. Dr. Bauerle presented an on-going HHMI project referred to as the NEXUS Project2. The National Experiment in Undergraduate Science Education is relevant to all programs in health professions education which depend on the adequate undergraduate preparation of future clinical scientists in core competencies in mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology. This four year project which began in early 2010 involves grantees at four universities (Purdue University, University of Maryland College Park, University of Maryland Baltimore County and the University of Miami) and draws heavily upon the scientific foundations for future physicians report as the project teams work to significantly modify the pedagogical approach for teaching and assessing learning in the fundamental building blocks of science at the undergraduate level. Throughout the full day meeting and subsequent analysis by the Argus Commission, participants acknowledged the continuum of learning and competency attainment so vital to ensuring that future pharmacists and colleagues across the spectrum of the health professions are inquisitive learners and problem solvers comfortable in applying both the scientific method and evidence-based content to the identification and resolution of clinical issues/problems at the individual patient and population levels. This begins far down the pipeline in pre-collegiate education and continues throughout the period of pre-professional and professional education with an ultimate goal of creating a scientific thinker with the requisite abilities to apply that knowledge in practice.

National Genome Research Initiative: A New Paradigm For Teaching Research To Undergraduates In South America

Introduction: From 2007 to 2011, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) recruited professors across the US to test a new paradigm in undergraduate education: the National Genome Research Initiative (NGRI). Undergraduates were taught to isolate bacteriophages, characterize their findings, and report to the scientific community. Objective: The educational goal of the NGRI program was to expose science undergraduates to an authentic research experience to increase graduation rates. The scientific goal was to isolate mycobacteriophages to be used as therapeutic agents against disease-causing mycobacteria. Materials and Methods: In a one-semester lab course undergraduates are taught to find, grow, and purify bacteriophages. In the second semester, students use bioinformatic software to annotate sequences of their bacteriophages. Results: Ahead of data on student graduation rates, the NGRI program has generated expanded productivity for US undergraduates. Over a four year period, thousands of participants were taught to collect bacteriophages, annotate sequences, and present their findings. Those undergraduates will have isolated 2300+ phages, annotated 250+ sequences, presented hundreds of posters at conferences across the US, and are co-authors on papers published by labs participating in the NGRI program. Discussion: Many professors in the US academic community are convinced that the NGRI program will have lasting impact on the US educational system. Several professors have banded together to form the Phage Galaxy Consortium to continue HHMI’s goal of implementation of the NGRI program at all US colleges. Conclusions: HHMI’s paradigm is ready for distribution to Central and South America.

The death of neurons derived from familial Alzheimer's disease pluripotent stem cells is no different from the death of neurons derived from normal controls

Neuronal death, a pathological hallmark of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is seen in patients whose presenilin‐1 (PS1) mutation causes their autosomal dominant AD. We assayed markers of the apoptotic death of neurons induced from pluripotent stem cells obtained from human PS1 and non‐demented controls. Our investigation included immunofluorescent imaging, analyzing TUNEL, MAP2, Caspase 3, and GABA staining for multiple samples from different PS1 individuals at different length of culture conditions. We found no significant differences between the PS1 and control groups. These baseline observations of an in‐vitro model suggest that expression of the AD phenotype requires factors beyond standard culturing conditions. This model can be used to explore stresses on the control and PS1 cell populations that will differentiate them, providing a disease‐in‐a‐dish model for those biochemical alterations likely to express the premature apoptotic phenotype of autosomal dominant AD. Research support was provided by CIRM (California Institute of Regenerative Medicine) and HHMI (Howard Hughes Medical Institute).Grant Funding Source : CIRM (California Institute of Regenerative Medicine), HHMI (Howard Hughes Medical Institute)

Usual Source of Care and the Quality of Medical Care Experiences

Department of Surgery, Division of Trauma Surgery, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, China This manuscript received no funding for this work from any of the following organizations: National Institutes of Health (NIH), Wellcome Trust, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), or other. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Bone morphogenetic protein 2 and casein kinase 2 regulate the differentiation of osteoblasts

The objective of this research is to study the shuttling and localization of BMP2 receptors on the cell membrane during signaling leading to osteoblast differentiation. Signaling is initiated by the binding of bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) to transmembrane BMP receptors type Ia (BMPRIa) and type II (BMPRII). Intracellularly, the protein casein kinase II (CK2) is associated with BMPRIa at three binding sites, denoted 2.1, 2.2, and 2.3. CK2 is a negative regulator of BMP2 signaling. Its dissociation, in response to BMP2 binding or blockage of CK2 binding sites, leads to signal transduction. As a location of BMP receptors, the membrane domains caveolae are known to be involved in signaling. To study the localization of BMP receptors in response to BMP2 and blockage of CK2 binding sites with blocking peptides, mesenchymal stem cells of the mouse cell line C2C12 were labeled for caveolin 1 (marker for caveolae), BMPRIa, and CK2 and imaged. The technique of image cross correlation spectroscopy determined the spatial similarity (colocalization) of the proteins to establish where BMP receptors were located on the membrane. The results showed that BMP2 stimulation and blockage of CK2 binding site 2.3, led to increased colocalization of BMPRIa with caveolin 1. This indicates that BMP receptors are localizing to caveolae with these particular treatments. Funding provided through the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)

Drosophila track CO2 in flight

Event Abstract Back to Event Drosophila track CO2 in flight Sara Wasserman1, Daniel Malkin1 and Mark A. Frye1* 1 UCLA/Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, United States Natural environments contain both attractive and aversive signals and organisms must encode both the direction and valence of these stimuli to control appropriate behavioral responses. Drosophila melanogaster tracks the spatial gradient of both attractive and aversive odors in flight. The need for adult fruit flies to locate and track both attractive and aversive olfactory cues is crucial for foraging, oviposition, and courtship. However, assigning a positive or negative valance to an odor can be dependent upon the behavioral or physiological state of the animal. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is released from fly food sources and oviposition sites. As such, CO2 emanating from a host has been shown to elicit attractive flight responses from mosquitos, but, paradoxically has been shown to be innately aversive to walking fruit flies. Here, we explore D. melanogaster in-flight olfactory behavior to CO2. We find that the valance assigned to CO2, a prevalent environmental stimulus is flexible and is determined by the behavioral state (walking vs. flying) of the fruit fly. Whereas we replicate avoidance responses in standard walking assays, interestingly, CO2 elicits active plume tracking during tethered flight. As previously reported, tethered fruit flies actively track an apple cider vinegar (ACV) plume. On average one animal will spend 7.4±0.7sec in an ACV plume over a 25sec trial. CO2 plume tracking is less robust when compared to ACV, with an average of 3.6±0.6sec spent in the plume. Overall, flies spend a significantly greater amount of time in an ACV or CO2 plume as compared to an air plume (1.8±0.3sec). This first look at in-flight responses to CO2 suggests that the fly assigns valence to environmental stimuli in a behavioral state-dependent manner. Keywords: Behavior, Carbon Dioxide, Drosophila melanogaster, flight, Odor Tracking Conference: Tenth International Congress of Neuroethology, College Park. Maryland USA, United States, 5 Aug - 10 Aug, 2012. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation (see alternatives below as well) Topic: Sensorimotor Integration Citation: Wasserman S, Malkin D and Frye MA (2012). Drosophila track CO2 in flight. Conference Abstract: Tenth International Congress of Neuroethology. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnbeh.2012.27.00133 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 27 Apr 2012; Published Online: 07 Jul 2012. * Correspondence: Prof. Mark A Frye, UCLA/Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-7239, United States, frye@ucla.edu Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Sara Wasserman Daniel Malkin Mark A Frye Google Sara Wasserman Daniel Malkin Mark A Frye Google Scholar Sara Wasserman Daniel Malkin Mark A Frye PubMed Sara Wasserman Daniel Malkin Mark A Frye Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.

Encoding of stimulus velocity by insect cercal system wind-sensitive interneurons: A comparative study.

Encoding of stimulus velocity by insect cercal system wind-sensitive interneurons: A comparative study.

Competencies: A Cure for Pre-Med Curriculum

COMMENTARY Gallery of ocean life Attributing weather for policy? LETTERS I BOOKS I POLICY FORUM I EDUCATION FORUM I PERSPECTIVES LETTERS edited by Jennifer Sills THE REPORT “COPING WITH CHAOS: HOW DISORDERED CONTEXTS PROMOTE STEREOTYPING AND discrimination” by D. A. Stapel and S. Lindenberg (1) reported the effects of the physi- cal environment on human stereotyping and discriminatory behavior. On 31 October 2011, Tilburg University held a press conference to announce interim fi ndings of its investiga- tion into possible data fraud in the body of work published by Stapel. The offi cial report in Dutch (translated into English using Google software) indicates that the extent of the fraud by Stapel is substantial. Pending further details of the Tilburg Committee’s fi ndings, Science is publishing this Editorial Expression of Concern to alert our readers that serious concerns have been raised about the validity of the fi ndings in this Report. BRUCE ALBERTS Editor-in-Chief Reference 1. D. A. Stapel, S. Lindenberg, Science 332, 251 (2011). Published online 1 November 2011; 10.1126/science.1216027 IN 2009, THE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN Medical Colleges (AAMC), in collaboration with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), reviewed the educational prereq- uisites for admission to medical school in the United States. Because a large fraction of undergraduate students enroll in science courses to meet the requirements for admis- sion to medical school, courses satisfy- ing these requirements dominate the under- graduate science curriculum. The prescribed course structure has impeded educational innovation, particularly the development of new, multidisciplinary courses. To address this situation, the AAMC- HHMI report (1) recommends that scien- tifi c competencies replace specifi c courses as requirements for medical school admis- sions. They recommend that students “dem- onstrate both knowledge of and ability to use basic principles of mathematics and statis- tics, physics, chemistry, biochemistry, and biology needed for the application of the sci- ences to human health and disease; demon- strate observational and analytical skills and the ability to apply those skills and principles to biological situations.” The report articu- lates eight competencies in the areas of scien- tifi c knowledge and reasoning and provides learning objectives with examples in each of these areas, independent of the identity of the specifi c courses taken to achieve these com- petencies. In March 2011, a committee of the AAMC released preliminary recommenda- tions (2) for changes to the Medical College Admission Test based on this report, with planned implementation in 2015. We are HHMI professors who share the goal of promoting excellence in science edu- cation through the development of novel 11 NOVEMBER 2011 WINSTON A. ANDERSON, 1 RICHARD M. AMASINO, 2 MANUEL ARES JR., 3 UTPAL BANERJEE, 4 BONNIE BARTEL, 5 VICTOR G. CORCES, 6 CATHERINE L. DRENNAN, 7 SARAH C. R. ELGIN, 8 IRVING R. EPSTEIN, 9 ELLEN FANNING, 10 LOUIS J. CREDIT: ISTOCKPHOTOS Competencies: A Cure for Pre-Med Curriculum Downloaded from www.sciencemag.org on August 8, 2014 Editorial Expression of Concern approaches to science teaching, curricular design, and mentoring. We strongly endorse the recommendation for transition to a competency-based curriculum for pre- medical education. There is room for dis- cussion about which specifi c competencies should be included, and there is a need to ensure that curricular changes do not dilute course content, but we foresee that this inno- vation will have a substantial positive impact toward the invigoration of undergraduate education in science, math, and engineer- ing. Specifi cally, it will simplify the develop- ment and implementation of course offerings within and between traditional disciplines as well as facilitate greater curricular innovation by science departments and multidisciplinary programs. Adoption of these reforms will provide enhanced opportunities to introduce curricular innovations that match the partic- ular strengths of individual institutions and stimulate a widespread discussion of creative advancements in undergraduate education. N ow is the time for science faculty to convene to reconsider what all future scien- tists (not just medical doctors) should know and how that material should be taught in their institutions. We encourage discussions within and between science departments of curricular revisions that take advantage of this enhanced fl exibility in keeping with the competencies recommended by the HHMI- AAMC report. VOL 334 SCIENCE www.sciencemag.org Published by AAAS

Chemistry And The Premedical Curriculum

HOW WILL PROPOSED CHANGES to the premedical curriculum affect the chemistry curriculum? The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) released a rep...

A tale of two callings

First, I want to thank Ralph for that wonderful presentation. After listening to all that, I can hardly wait to hear what I am going to say. Preparing these Kober Medal presentations requires a tremendous amount of work. When I first asked Ralph if he would do me the honor of making these remarks, he asked if I had any guidelines I wanted to give him. I responded: Ralph you know that I would want something simple and modest — not overly ostentatious or hagiographic — no matter how long it takes.