All organisms possess circadian clocks, which generate daily oscillations in clock controlled gene expression that regulate many essential biological functions in synchrony with the 24-hour light/dark cycles. When the genes that control the internal clock are weakened, accelerated aging symptoms are observed. Past research in Drosophila demonstrated that aging flies...
Climate change is predicted to affect ecosystems, including systems already stressed by human impacts. One ecosystem that is already highly impacted by human land use is the cold headwater stream system of the Pacific Northwest. One method of assessing the function of an ecosystem is by using an indicator species....
Aging is a complex biological phenomenon that alters many different physiological processes. Although many age-related phenotypes, such as neurodegeneration, weakening circadian rhythms, and inflammaging, are well-studied, the links between them are not. To elucidate these links we created an inflammation-like state in Drosophila melanogaster by overexpressing Relish (Rel), an NFκB...
Circadian rhythms are the daily oscillations in multiple organism functions, from clock gene expression to behavior. Lost or irregular rhythms lead to health problems later in life including nervous system disorders, abnormal sleep/activity cycles, diabetes and obesity. However, it is not known whether strengthening the expression of clock genes throughout...
Natural selection, in its most basic form, is described as a process in which traitsincrease or decrease in frequency depending on their fitness, and only the trait withthe highest fitness will remain in the population. Yet, populations rarely have asingle `optimal' trait. The way natural selection maintains this observed variationwithin...
Despite its promise as a potentially beneficial new source of energy, the ocean-based renewable energy industry is still in its infancy, and like any new idea there are many unknowns with the potential to affect both people and our natural environments. A permit for marine renewable energy (MRE) must cut...
Fifty-seven species of wildlife rely on or frequently use snags for breeding, roosting, or denning in Oregon and Washington. Several publications offer information on use of snags by wildlife, influence of management activities on snags and snag users, and approaches to managing snags to benefit wildlife. Because of the diverse...