Darwin Fest 2024

 

Recent Submissions

  • Evolution, Ethics, and Engineering Wild Mice to Stop Lyme Disease
    Esvelt, Kevin; Salem State Biology Department, Earth Days and the College of Arts and Sciences (2024-04-08)
    When and how should we consider editing wild organisms, and how can communities guide research intended to change our shared environment? The Mice Against Ticks project, which aims to prevent Lyme disease by editing white-footed mice so they can't infect ticks, is trying to find out.

  • Diversity Matters: From Evolution to the Workplace
    Quiñones-Soto, Semarhy; Salem State University Biology Department and ThermoFisher Scientific (2024-02-15)
    Diversity can refer to genetic variations within an evolving population or to different individuals who contribute to a productive workplace. This talk focuses on the intersection between science and art as a way to teach about diversity.

  • Prolonged Blue Light Exposure Alters Phototransduction Efficiency and One-Carbon Metabolism Processes in the Drosophila Eye
    Stanhope, Sarah; Sponsored by the Salem State University Biology Department and ThermoFisher Scientific (2024-02-15)
    Oxidative stress in the eye is associated with the development and progression of ocular diseases including cataracts, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy. This talk focuses on how blue light exposure results in oxidative stress in the Drosophila eye and will discuss proteins that are susceptible to changes in oxidation status and/or redox signaling events. Interestingly, we identified several key phototransduction and one-carbon metabolism proteins with oxidative modifications correlating with changes in enzymatic activity.

  • Strategic Growth in Social Vertebrates
    Buston, Peter; Salem State University Biology Department and ThermoFisher Scientific (2024-02-12)
    Recent evidence suggests that social vertebrates can modify their growth and size in an adaptive fashion in response to fine-grain changes in social conditions. In this talk, I will review experimental evidence for strategic growth in social vertebrates, describe conditions under which strategic growth commonly occurs, and highlight examples of convergent evolution of strategic growth across the tree of life.

  • From Air to Makeup: Addressing Environmental Justice in the U.S.
    Martinez, Micaela; Salem State University SACNAS Chapter and the Charles Albert Read Trust (2024-02-15)
    This talk will explore opportunities for centering social justice as we, as a society, address climate change and other environmental crises. We will discuss how structural racism impacts environmental exposures and health in the U.S.; then, we will go in-depth into examples of how advocates, community members, and scientists are coming together to tackle air pollution and toxic chemicals in beauty products.

  • Dear Paranthropus, WTF* Did You Eat?
    Uno, Kevin; Salem State University Geological Sciences Department and the Charles Albert Read Trust (2024-02-14)
    Animals interact the most with their environment when feeding so reconstructing diets of extinct species can provide insight into their ecology and evolution. In the case of humans, *what types of food did our ancient ancestors, like closely related Homo erectus and distantly related Paranthropus boisei, eat? In this talk, I’ll reveal what isotopes in teeth tell us about our past.

  • Science Superpowers: Not What You Think
    Romano Young, Karen; Salem State University Biological Society and the Charles Albert Read Trust (2024-02-12)
    I'm no Einstein, but I've figured out what I need to do to get ahead in science -- and to share what I've figured out with kids. Through my books, science comics, and a new project called I Was A Kid (designed to invite the next generation into STEAM), I'll fill you in, and send you out with new ideas about ways to engage kids -- and yourself!

  • Managing Present and Increased Coastal Flooding in Boston
    Kirshen, Paul; Salem State Geography and Sustainability Department and the College of Arts and Sciences (2024-02-14)
    In 2018 the City of Boston made the decision to use shore-based nature-based approaches (NBA) to manage present and increased coastal flooding. The alternative to this was to construct a massive offshore harbor-wide barrier. Effective implementation of NBA will require research into the socio-economic and biophysical performance of these systems.

  • Immunity to Tuberculosis
    Acheampong, Ellen; Salem State University Biology Department and ThermoFisher Scientific (2024-02-16)
    Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterial pathogen that causes tuberculosis, is responsible for 10 million cases and 1.5 million deaths each year. Fortunately, most infected people never develop disease. This presentation will discuss what immune components are required to contain infection and why immunity fails and permits disease in some cases.

  • Living with White Sharks
    Skomal, Greg; Salem State Scuba Club and ThermoFisher Scientific (2024-02-16)
    For more than a decade, the Division of Marine Fisheries and collaborators have been studying the ecology and behavior of white sharks off Cape Cod using state-of-the-art tagging technology. This presentation will highlight how this research is being used to mitigate potential shark and human conflicts.