The three rats snoozing in Cage 57 don’t know it, but they could someday help save thousands of human lives. Snuggled in their EcoFresh bedding, the rodents are digesting a meal that may hold clues to preventing colon cancer, the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. On their cage, equipped with HEPA [...]
Archive » October, 2012
October 12, 2012
The Ethic of Care
Respect for animals guides their treatment in teaching and research
October 12, 2012
High Grades for Animal Care
Accreditation panel praised Oregon State's laboratory-animal standards and practices
In awarding full accreditation to Oregon State University in March, AAALAC offered the following remarks to Rick Spinrad, vice president for research. “The Council commends you and your staff for providing and maintaining an excellent program of laboratory animal care and use.” Especially noteworthy, the council said, was the high level of administrative commitment to [...]
October 12, 2012
Doctor at the Top
How lambs, preemies, “death cap” mushrooms and research pigs steered a stellar career
A human life can pivot on the quirkiest of convergences. In the life of Helen Diggs, it was the accidental nexus of five unfortunate hikers, a bagful of poisonous mushrooms and a few heroic pigs that set change in motion. It all started early one morning in 1988 when Diggs, then a young veterinarian, heard [...]
October 12, 2012
A Whole Lot of Seriousness
With lives on the line, there’s no room for nonchalance
“Nothing is more important in an animal study than the animal itself,” says Steve Durkee. His tone is reminiscent of Moses handing down the stone tablets. Just like Moses, Durkee is not kidding around. The righteous idealism that fed Durkee’s Greenpeace activism in his “younger, wilder days” still beats in his chest as administrator of [...]
October 12, 2012
Ten Discoveries at Oregon State
With the help of animals, Oregon State scientists have made important discoveries in human health (see The Ethic of Care). “These findings would not have been possible relying only on cell cultures or experimenting with yeast and bacteria,” says pharmacy researcher Mark Leid. His lab created and used genetically modified mice to discover important roles [...]
October 12, 2012
Drug Test
Chemists' prototype fingers fake medicines
By some estimates, a third to half of the artesunate, an anti-malarial drug, in some countries is counterfeit. The World Health Organization has called for faster, more accurate tests, and now a team of Oregon State University chemists has stepped up with an innovative approach.
October 12, 2012
Staph Attack
Vitamin therapy shows promise in treating "superbug"
Deadly staph infections may have a potent new foe: Vitamin B3. Megadoses of the vitamin can help the immune system fight the superbug MRSA (methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus), researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, OSU’s Linus Pauling Institute and other institutions have found. The findings could lead to new treatment options for health officials who have [...]
October 12, 2012
After Fukushima
Nuclear power's future remains strong
As concern about climate change has grown, nuclear energy — long a polarizing subject — has gained increasing favorability. Its low carbon footprint, reliable power supply and strong safety record convinced many critics that nuclear power should be a bigger part of our energy mix. That newfound favorability suffered a setback on March 11, 2011, [...]
October 12, 2012
Far and Away
Oregon State students make discoveries from French Polynesia to the African savannah
When you play fetch with a killer whale, it makes an impression. When you play fetch with a killer whale and you’re only 7 years old, it can change your life. For Renee Albertson, the change was a long time in the making. But as she tried first one career and then another, she never [...]
October 11, 2012
Business Partnerships Lead Research Growth
Private support, technology licenses lead increase in Oregon State research revenues
Oregon State University recorded its second-best year ever in research funding and achieved a new milestone in research support from the private sector in the fiscal year that ended June 30. In all, Oregon State research totaled almost $281 million last year, just shy of OSU’s top research performance achieved in 2010. Meanwhile, private sector [...]
October 10, 2012
Spinrad to Lead Ocean-Observing Group
Committee advises federal policymakers
Oregon State’s vice president for research, Rick Spinrad, has been tapped to chair a federal committee on ocean observing systems. The 13 marine scientists, conservationists and industry stakeholders will advise the Integrated Ocean Observation System, as well as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), on data collection, management and technological innovation. As a former [...]
October 10, 2012
The Biscuit Fire 10 Years Later
What will the long-term data show?
The 2002 Biscuit Fire not only torched a half-million acres in Southern Oregon, it became a poster child for the debate over post-fire management and forest recovery. When the journal Science accepted a paper on the fire’s aftermath by then-graduate student Daniel Donato, it ignited a long-smoldering debate over what, if anything, should be done [...]
October 10, 2012
Eco-roofs and Earthquakes
Research will guide new structural standards
Growing greenery on roofs brings many benefits. Buildings stay cooler, saving energy. Roofs last longer, saving money and materials. Birds and insects find new habitat, helping ecosystems. And green roofs make urban spaces more aesthetically and spiritually pleasing, as well as reducing heat-island effects for city dwellers. But there are some costs that need to [...]
October 10, 2012
Contributing to the Mars Mission
NASA's quest for signs of life on Mars got a boost when Curiosity landed on the Red Planet
NASA’s quest for signs of life on Mars got a huge boost in August when Curiosity landed on the Red Planet.
October 9, 2012
Forms from the Sea
Oregon artists reveal hidden worlds in plankton science
During a Pacific Ocean research cruise, Angel White peers into her microscope. The ship rides gentle swells and sways side to side. In her field of view, organisms the size of dust motes rise and fall through their own watery world. “It can be disorienting and enthralling at the same time. The microbes are dying [...]
October 9, 2012
Drifters
Artist statement — Sara McCormick. My work is a form of digital art know as fractals: mathematical and natural forms that exhibit what’s known as self-similarity. Using a computer I render mathematical formulas into art of infinite depth and detail. More than anything else for me, my [...]
October 9, 2012
The Collection
Artist statement — Chi Meredith. I am a professional artist and also a retired oceanography research assistant. When asked to contribute to the da Vinci Days project, I anticipated making a two-dimensional oil painting of the beautiful photographs Dr. Angelicque White took of plankton gathered from the ocean. However, while in North Carolina last winter, [...]
October 9, 2012
Emiliania coccolithophore
Artist statement — Ella Rhoades. I went literal in my interpretation of Angelicque White’s photographs. The imagery of life beneath the microscope lends itself so beautifully to mosaic form. Optical filters are remnants from the oceanographic industry and generated the color palette for this piece [...]
October 9, 2012
Parum Aqua Flora
Artist statement — Sidnee Snell. I was originally attracted to the lacy quality of sections of Angelicque White’s photograph. However, as I began to work with it, a floral image began to appear. Although I have no idea whether the plankton should be considered flora or fauna, I decided to follow that theme. The [...]
October 9, 2012
Leviathan
Artist statement — Rakar West. All of Dr. White’s images of plankton are very beautiful and interesting to me. The one I chose as my main inspiration is the composite image of the cyanobacteria, protozoans and metazoans. My painting, Leviathan, refers to the food chain (or web), but is not a literal depiction. The word [...]
October 9, 2012
Tondos
Artist statement — Jenny Gray. My work Titled “Tondos” is based on looking at the Plankton rather than the Plankton itself, I just keep thinking of these scientists looking and looking through the microscope. My work is a mixed media piece, collage and paint and drawing. Eugene, Oregon 2012 For other works submitted to the [...]
October 9, 2012
Drifters 1
Artist statement — Leah Wilson. My paintings are created in the intersections of science, philosophy and art. Years ago, I created paintings in response to the natural river environment — the effect of light, movement and rhythms of its elements. The elements, especially water, provide a framework, a reference to return to in the [...]
October 9, 2012
Benthos
Artist statement — Jerri Bartholomew I am not a formally trained artist. Instead, my education is in science, having received degrees in fisheries and microbiology at Oregon State. This background informs and influences my art. I enjoy the anticipation of opening the kiln [...]
October 9, 2012
Blue Button
Artist statement – Sandra Schock-Houtman There are infinite possibilities when one uses the Earth and its progeny as sparks for creativity. I found Dr. White’s photographs of plankton engaging at first sight. The biggest problem I encountered in creating work for this show was choosing one photo to focus on! For several years, I have [...]
October 8, 2012
Robots Learn to Walk
An era of walking robots that can help people with physical disabilities, take on dangerous missions or aid in disaster response is about to begin. One of the leaders in this emerging field, Oregon State University engineer Jonathan Hurst, was recognized in October by Popular Mechanics with one of its “Breakthrough Innovator” awards of 2012. [...]
