News – Page 79 – College of Arts & Sciences

Fruit-Fly Diet Impacts Descendants, UA Researcher Finds

October 11, 2016

From the October 2016 Desktop News | For a fruit fly, what its grandparents ate may affect how much it weighs. And, according to Dr. Laura Reed, an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, similar relationships between generational diet and obesity may hold true for humans as well. To study obesity, Reed and her team experiment with the diets of fruit flies. They feed some of the larvae a high-fat diet while they give the control group a regular diet. Then, […]

Student Represents Team USA in Paralympic Games

October 11, 2016

From the October 2016 Desktop News | Shelby Baron was helping unload cars during freshman move-in day at The University of Alabama when she got a call from Team USA wheelchair tennis coach Dan James. It was Aug. 12, her 22nd birthday, so Baron thought James was calling to wish her a happy birthday. “He said, ‘You want the good news or bad news?’” Baron said. “I was confused, but I took the bad news first. He said, ‘We didn’t order […]

Three Brothers Cheer Together for First Time at UA

October 10, 2016

Elijah Vaughn supports a cheerleader by her leg as he lifts her into the air.

From the October 2016 Desktop News | In January 2015, The University of Alabama’s cheerleading team made history when it became the first division 1A team to win first place in both the coed and all-girl categories at the College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championship put on by the Universal Cheerleaders Association and the Universal Dance Association. Orlando-native Jed “Trey” Vaughn was part of UA’s winning coed cheer squad that year, helping to blaze a trail at UA and in his […]

A&S in the News – Sept. 30-October 6

October 7, 2016

Goldie 1971 – The Fallen Robot Atlas Obscura – Sept. 30 When the Sloss Blast Furnaces closed in 1971 the site had been an anchor of Birmingham’s industrial life for nine decades. As one of the South’s largest manufacturers of pig iron, the obsolete hulk that was left behind was an inspiration for then-graduate student Joe McCreary, who created a rusting giant for the University of Alabama campus. Called “Goldie 1971,” the creature has stopped to rest in the sculpture […]

A&S Lecture Roundup

October 5, 2016

The College of Arts & Sciences has so many incredible guest speakers and presentations. But you’re covered. Here’s a list of (regularly updated) lectures happening. Looking for the cost information? Unless otherwise noted, they are all free and open to the public! November 10 Who: Dr. Joseph Graves, biologist & geneticist When: 7:30 p.m. Where: North Lawn Hall Auditorium Dr. Joseph Graves, Jr., an evolutionary biologist and geneticist, will be unpacking the social construction of race for the second Alabama Lectures on Life’s Evolution (ALLELE) […]

UA Researcher Helps Unlock Biodiversity Mystery

September 12, 2016

A sample of green algae collected from the Gulf of Mexico.

From the September 2016 Desktop News | The discovery of a deep-water seaweed that evolved into a multicellular plant more than 540 million years ago has added a new branch to the tree of life, according to a biologist at The University of Alabama. Dr. Juan Lopez-Bautista, professor of biological sciences at UA, co-wrote a study of algae collected from the Gulf of Mexico that revealed a significantly different cellular structure than first believed. The finding, published in Scientific Reports, details the […]

Researchers Bring HIV Education to Parolees and Probationers

September 12, 2016

From the September 2016 Desktop News | Due to overcrowding in Alabama prisons, the state recently began diverting felons with lesser charges into parole and probation programs. One unexpected outcome, however, was that these convicted offenders, who fall in a higher risk bracket for HIV, no longer had access to the HIV education classes routinely offered in prison. Wanting to close this educational gap and bring free HIV testing to those willing to participate, Dr. Bronwen Lichtenstein, UA professor of criminal justice, […]

UA Appoints New Summersell Chair and Director of Hudson Strode Program

September 12, 2016

From the September 2016 Desktop News | The College of Arts and Sciences welcomes the new Charles Grayson Summersell Endowed Chair of Southern History and the new director of the Hudson Strode Program in Renaissance Studies. Charles Grayson Summersell Endowed Chair of Southern History Dr. Lesley Jill Gordon, former professor of history at the University of Akron, is the new Charles Grayson Summersell Endowed Chair of Southern History at The University of Alabama. The Summersell Chair endowment was established in 1997 by […]

Recent Graduate Bikes across America for Culmination of Senior Project

September 12, 2016

Map tracking Gyurgyik's trip from Virginia to Oregon.

From the September 2016 Desktop News | After 76 days and 4,505 miles, recent New College graduate Julie Gyurgyik finally arrived in Astoria, Oregon—completing one of the longest coast-to-coast trails in the United States. Her trek across the TransAmerica trail was planned as a part of her holistic health and wellness senior project, with the intent to raise money for Tuscaloosa’s Good Samaritan Clinic, which gives free primary health and dental care to those who do not have health insurance. Together with […]

Traveling to the Ocean Floor: Professor Studies Deep-Sea Mollusks

September 12, 2016

Aplacophora are worm-like mollusks characterized by their lack of shells and tiny units called calcareous spicules.

From the September 2016 Desktop News | While the unique environment of the deep ocean would likely prove nightmarish and panic-inducing for many people, it’s just another day of fieldwork for Department of Biological Sciences’ assistant professor Dr. Kevin Kocot. This July, Kocot submerged to oceanic depths for the ninth time, joining 21 other marine scientists from universities across the nation who were selected to participate in this year’s Chief Scientist Training Cruise put on by the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System. In […]