How did birds acquire feathers and why did some birds like ostriches, emus and kiwis lose the ability to fly? One way to address these questions, said Scott V. Edwards, professor of organismic and evolutionary biology at Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology, is to use comparative genomics, a mapping technology that allows scientists to map genes that code for specific traits.
Penn State and Eberly College of Science faculty, staff, and students are mourning the loss of alumnus and longtime supporter Edward “Ed” D. Bellis, who died on April 5, 2021, in State College, Pennsylvania.
Bellis was born on June 28, 1927, in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania. From 1945 to 1947, he served in the U.S. Army as part of the 88th Infantry Division in the Julian Alps of Italy, in an area now part of Slovenia. Bellis went on to earn his bachelor of science degree in zoology and entomology from Penn State in 1951. After receiving his master’s degree from the University of Oklahoma and his doctoral degree from the University of Minnesota, Bellis eventually joined Penn State s zoology and entomology department in 1957. He later served in the biology department in the College of Science.
Our kidneys are charged with the extraordinary task of filtering about 53 gallons of fluid a day, a process that depends on podocytes, tiny, highly specialized cells in the cluster of blood vessels in the kidney where waste is filtered that are highly vulnerable to damage.
Citizen scientists needed to document climate change
MOUNT DESERT ISLAND Six island nonprofits have come together to document the impacts of climate change on bird, pollinator, air and sea water temperatures. In a new project called Landscape of Change, the partners are comparing historic observations and data with modern findings to document change over time with a goal of better understanding how the island is changing.
The Mount Desert Island Historical Society cares for an important collection of historic natural history observations taken on the island by a group of students from Harvard, known as the Champlain Society. These students spent a decade in the 1880s exploring island ecosystems and documenting their findings. The historical society was curious if these records could be used as a baseline from which to measure changes seen today that could be linked to climate change.
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