Tags: Human Nature

capuchin monkeys with tools
Kudos, August 2017

A new collaboration on microbial ecosystems, the summer program in public history, and Write@UGA were just some of the news worth crowing about this summer. A few more awards and news items worthy of congratulations: UGA researchers report report milestone in global fight against a major cause of diarrheal disease – research by Distinguished Research Professor of Cellular Biology Boris Striepen, Sumiti Vinayak Researchers return to the Gulf of…

algae bloom photo from space
Noted and Quoted, summer 2017

Algal blooms, Waffle House eclipse-viewing, food insecurity, Planet of the Apes, work-life conflicts and many more stories, Franklin College faculty kept a full schedule in media across the globe this summer. Here's a sampling: Assistant professor of geography Jerry Shannon creates map of Waffle House restaurants to watch the solar eclipse from – AJC, R&B, WSB, Q & A in the Chronicle of Higher Education Science says: Trump team garbles…

map of great lakes region
Iroquois: Population Dispersal and Signaling Networks

inquiry for decades. Social network analysis presented here indicates that sites from Jefferson County, New York at the head of the St. Lawrence River controlled flow within regional signaling networks during the fifteenth century A.D. The simulated removal of this group of sites from the networks results in greater network fragmentation. Centrality measures indicate that Jefferson County sites acted as bridges between New York and Ontario…

montage pf laboratory photos with people
UGA research expenditures hit all-time high

Remarkable growth in extramural funding to the university has led to an all-time high of $458 million in research expenditures for fiscal year 2017: Externally funded research activity has climbed 37 percent over the past three years to $198 million in fiscal year 2017. "This tremendous growth in productivity reflects the unyielding commitment of UGA faculty to solve the important challenges of our time," said President Jere W.…

ball and stick model of protein
Researchers describe protein previously unknown in biology

Research sheds new light on process of iron storage in microorganisms University of Georgia researchers have discovered a new way that iron is stored in microorganisms, a finding that provides new insights into the fundamental nature of how biological systems work. The research was recently published in the journal Nature Communications. Iron, a metal that is required by all living organisms, is usually stored with oxygen inside a cell in a…

monkeys with rock tools
The Culture of Learning

A provocative new study from psychology researchers published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicates that practicing with others shapes not only what monkeys learn, but also how they learn: Culture extends biology in that the setting of development shapes the traditions that individuals learn, and over time, traditions evolve as occasional variations are learned by others. In humans,…

photo of GORILLA IN THE JUNGLE
Anthropology professor helps Hollywood get 'Apes' right

A rare story combining social science scholarship and the entertainment industry brings anthropology professor Roberta Salmi to the movies: Recordings of gorilla sounds are extremely rare, so sounds used in the entertainment industry are generally not obtained from actual gorillas. In films, they are usually portrayed as screaming, aggressive beasts, when they are actually the opposite. For this summer's blockbuster "War for the Planet of the…

man in marsh, photo
Alexander named director of Skidaway Institute of Oceanography

Marine sciences professor Clark Alexander has been named director of the University of Georgia Skidaway Institute of Oceanography: [Alexander] has served as interim director of the Skidaway Institute for the past year. As director of the Skidaway Institute, he will continue to oversee its personnel, budgets and facilities and report to the Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. "The Skidaway Institute of…

graphic with text and radar
The science of rain delays

Spatio-temporal rainfall patterns around Atlanta, Georgia and possible relationships to urban land cover. Great stuff. Baseball fans (and teams) are weather watchers comparable perhaps only to farmers. This new work builds on the urban heat island phenomenon Shepherd has published on previously, and like the best science, may help the public make sense out of a puzzling situation.  

photo of woman with olympic medals
40 Under 40: Maritza McClendon

The first African American woman to earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic swim team, on which she won a silver medal in the 2004 games in Athens, Maritza McClendon rounds the Franklin College graduates in the 2017 class of the Alumni Association 40 Under 40: Born in Puerto Rico in 1981, Maritza Correia is the first black female swimmer to break an American record, setting new records in both the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events at the Women's NCAA…

students in a classroom, macbook foreground
Psychology Summer Institute

Students in the undergraduate psychology summer institute (UPSI) engage in activities and conversations to prepare them for a future in graduate school. While participating in workshops at Spelman College, Morehouse College, and the University of Georgia, participants have the chance to meet and make lasting connections with students and faculty who will provide the support and expertise needed to be successful in the program and thereafter. "…

students in a lab
Training & Development summer course offerings

Faculty and staff in the Franklin College update procedures and guidelines for their areas of responsibility on a near-constant basis just to keep up with challenges of serving our students in and out of the classroom, marking our day-to-day activities throughout the academic year. And yet professional development of faculty and staff is also a priority, so summer can be a great time to brush up on procedures or to learn completely new skills.…

pregnant woman with trowel
Travelling (and pregnant) with trowel

Great feature on anthropology professor Suzanne Pilaar Birch in The Guardian: This bunch of smiling, pregnant scientists, evidently glowing as much from the sheer exertion of hard work as from hormones was a surprising spectacle on Twitter. It was around the time tennis champion Serena Williams announced she was having a baby and the internet was buzzing with the news that she’d won the Australian Open while pregnant – without dropping a set. We…

bacteria with marine diatom
UGA joins collaboration on Theory of Microbial Ecosystems

The Simons Foundation has established a new collaboration investigating the mysteries of the microscopic communities that produce more than half of Earth’s oxygen, form the base of the marine food web and cycle nutrients through the ecosystem. The Simons Collaboration on Theory of Microbial Ecosystems, or THE-ME, will investigate how microbial ecosystems in the oceans form and function. The new collaboration will seek answers to three main…

woman with computer server
Distinguished Research Professor Jessica Kissinger

Professor of genetics, globally recognized molecular biologist and world expert in bio-computational research, 2017 Distinguished Research Professor Jessica Kissinger's contributions to the field of eukaryotic pathogen research have helped transform how pathogen research is conducted internationally. An expert on the evolution of parasite genomes, she conducted the first systematic survey of gene transfer in the Apicomplexa, upending…

3-D printer photo
UGA named as NSF Innovation Corps Site

Turning research and discoveries by our faculty into new products and services that serve the public is a goal that touches several university priorities at once. And while this tranfer has been a reality at UGA for decades, the process has recently been enhanced by a National Science Foundation program that designates campuses as Innovation Corps Sites: The I-Corps award will enable UGA to serve up to 30 new startup projects a year, adding to…

man and woman in lab
Progress against infectious diseases continues

Scientists' fight against cryptosporidiosis recently reached a major milestone: Infectious disease scientists from research institutions including the University of Georgia have reported the discovery and early validation of a drug that shows promise for treating cryptosporidiosis, a diarrheal disease that is a major cause of child mortality and for which there is no vaccine or effective treatment. "Cryptosporidiosis is largely a disease of…

woman at sea on research vessel
Gulf of Mexico monitoring continues

Seven years after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, UGA researchers will embark on a new expedition to the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico: The 2010 Deepwater Horizon accident in the Gulf of Mexico resulted in the deaths of 11 oil rig workers and ultimately the largest marine oil spill in history. As this environmental disaster recedes into history, researchers from institutions across the U.S. continue to study its enduring ecological…

man juggling in space craft
Psychology professor will study astronaut health for NASA

Dorothy Carter, assistant professor of psychology, is the principal investigator on one of only seven proposals accepted by NASA's Human Research Program to support astronaut health on missions to Mars: NASA's Human Research Program will fund seven proposals to help answer questions about astronaut health and performance during future long duration missions beyond low-Earth orbit. The selected proposals will investigate the impact of the space…

photo of hot springs
Researchers model cues guiding cell behavior

A diverse set of physical and chemical cues act upon individual cells to ensure coordinated multicellular behavior. Using the bacterium Myxococcus xanthus, a team led by University of Georgia and Rice University researchers has devised a data-driven model of the mechanisms that guide elaborate self-organization at the cellular level. The research, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, provides a blueprint for…

field of sunflowers
First sunflower genome sequence

They follow the sun's path throughout the day - hence their name in the Romance languages - and this news about the sunflower genome turns our attention to a new paper in Nature: [UGA] researchers are part of an international team that has published the first sunflower genome sequence. This new resource will assist future research programs using genetic tools to improve crop resilience and oil production. They published their findings today in…


Researchers publish breakthrough in reversing leukemia

Today in the journal Nature, a UGA research team led by Takahiro Ito published important new work that identifies a new drug target for the two most common types of myeloid leukemia, including a way to turn back the most aggressive form of the disease: By blocking a protein called BCAT1, the researchers were able to stop cancer cell growth in mice and human blood samples from leukemia patients. The BCAT1 protein activates the metabolism of a…

man, headshot photo
Foster named UGA’s first Beinecke Scholar

Shawn Foster, an Honors student majoring in cognitive science and linguistics, was one of 20 students nationwide selected as a Beinecke Scholar: He is the first UGA student to receive the honor, which awards $34,000 to third-year students with demonstrated financial need who will pursue graduate studies in the arts, humanities or social sciences. Foster plans to earn a doctorate in linguistics. A first-generation college student, he is from the…

7 people with award plaques
Staff Awards, Staff Appreciation

The Franklin College celebrated staff and presented Staff Excellence in Service Awards at a reception in the Miller Learning Center on May 9: Franklin College Staff Excellence in Service Awards are designed to honor staff members for their excellent performance outstanding contributions to units in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. Nominees are evaluated and selected based on five criteria: their excellence in fulfilling job…

man and student in lab with petri dish
Strand elected to National Academy of Sciences

University of Georgia Regents' Professor Michael R. Strand has received one of the highest honors a scientist can receive-election to the National Academy of Sciences: Strand, who holds an appointment in the entomology department of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and an affiliated appointment in the genetics department of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, is UGA's eighth member of the National Academies, which…
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