John S. Karling Distinguished Lectureship
Roderick MacKinnon, professor of Molecular Neurobiology and Biophysics at Rockefeller University gave a lecture entitled: Potassium Channels to Purdue faculty and graduate students. Roderick MacKinnon won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with Peter Agre in 2003 for his work on the structure and operation of ion channels.
New effort probes how two groups of viruses cause disease
Purdue is leading a team of researchers in a federally funded effort aimed ultimately at developing better vaccines and antiviral drugs against two types of disease-causing viruses by learning critical details about their life cycles.
The viruses also pose a potential homeland security threat because they have been used to make biological weapons, said Richard Kuhn, a professor and head of the Department of Biological Sciences at Purdue. More
Birds' selective fall hearing may hold lessons for humans, researchers say
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - It appears that some birds have found a simple solution when they are not looking for a mate in the fall - they just ignore love's call by muting their hearing.
Purdue University biologists studying how both birds and humans adapt to noise have found that some bird species have degraded hearing ability in the fall - when it's not mating season - as well as in other select situations. The findings have potential implications for hearing loss in humans, said Jeffrey Lucas, a Purdue professor of biological sciences.
"We've been thinking a lot about human hearing," Lucas said. "The world is getting noisier as the environment gets more urbanized. Noise becomes much more important to understand."
In ongoing research, Lucas is looking at how birds adapt the precision of their hearing to seasonal changes as well as to disturbances in their environment. His work even goes so far as to suggest hearing ability differs between the sexes. MORE
Researchers Continue Learning About H1N1
As confirmed cases of H1N1 flu increase in Indiana, Purdue University's Dr. David Sanders explains what researchers are learning about the virus. Appearing on WIBC's First Day program Sunday, Sanders says unlike seasonal flu where older adults are susceptible, H1N1 is primarily affecting older children and younger adults.
The Purdue SACNAS Student Chapter was named the 2009 National Chapter of the Year at the SACNAS National Conference in Dallas, TX on Oct. 17, 2009.
SACNAS is a national organization whose mission is to advance underrepresented groups, especially Hispanics/Chicanos and Native Americans, in science by promoting higher education. The Purdue SACNAS Student Chapter, first in the Big Ten, was cited for its special accomplishments for 1) event planning, 2) securing institutional support for its mission of professional development of chapter members, and 3) collaborations with other groups, on campus and in the community, that promote diversity and education. Faculty Advisors for the Chapter are Biological Sciences Professors Morris Levy, Ignacio Camarillo, and Nancy Pelaez.