UMBC Biological Sciences Department
Browse by
With more than 30 tenured and tenure-track faculty members and lecturers, UMBC’s Department of Biological Sciences is one of the university’s largest academic departments encompassing a wide breadth of research and teaching. Research faculty in the Biological Sciences focus on:
- Cell Biology
- Computational Biology
- Developmental Biology & Immunology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Molecular Biology & Genetics
- Neuroscience
- Plant Biology
Recent Submissions
-
Functional analysis of the rlsA gene in Volvox carteri
(2019-01-01)Multicellularity is arguably one of the most important evolutionary innovations of life on Earth, however, its origins are not fully understood. The volvocine green algae, a clade of algae that includes Volvox carteri, are ... -
Structural and Molecular Analysis of Melanopsin Phototransduction Activation, Deactivation, and Re-sensitization
(2020-01-20)The visual pigment melanopsin is expressed in intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells in the mammalian retina, which regulate non-image forming visual tasks such as circadian photoentrainment and pupil constriction, ... -
THE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF FEMALE SONG IN EASTERN BLUEBIRDS (SIALIA SIALIS): INTRA-PAIR COMMUNICATION IN A TEMPERATE BREEDING SONGBIRD
(2020-01-01)Historically, birdsong was generally considered as a male trait used in the breeding season for sexually selected functions, such as male/male contests and mate attraction. However, researchers have now identified female ... -
Behavior at the species boundary: the overlooked role of male mate choice in a sexually dimorphic species
(2019-01-01)Behavioral isolation is a powerful barrier to gene flow and is often considered a major component in the maintenance of species boundaries. Empirical support for mating preferences as an isolating barrier exists across a ... -
IMPROVING HAEMATOCOCCUS PLUVIALIS GROWTH AND ASTAXANTHIN PRODUCTION THROUGH CHEMICAL MUTAGENESIS
(2019-01-01)Astaxanthin is a keto-carotenoid known for its strong antioxidant activity. It is widely used in the aquaculture and nutraceutical industries. Haematococcus pluvialis has long been used as a natural source of astaxanthin, ... -
?Functional characterization of the chitin utilization system in the saprophytic bacterium Cellvibrio japonicus?
(2020-01-01)Chitin is a linear polymer of ? (1-4)-linked N-acetylglucosamine and is the second most abundant polysaccharide on earth. It is a major source of fixed carbon and nitrogen to microorganisms, and the strategies used by ... -
Homing in the Benthos: Navigation and Orientation in a Mantis Shrimp
(2020-01-20)Stomatopods, better known as mantis shrimp, are crustaceans which commonly inhabit holes in benthic marine environments for use as burrows. Many stomatopod species forage at extended distances before returning to their ... -
ENGINEERING METABOLIC PATHWAYS IN THE GREEN ALGA Chlamydomonas reinhardtii TO ENHANCE BIOFUEL PRODUCTION
(2020-01-20)Microalgae are a diverse group of microorganisms that can synthesize a wide variety of products such. Presently, cultivating microalgae and converting it to biofuel is too costly to compete with fossil fuels. Costs could ... -
The enteric microbiome of a novel wood-digesting organism: diversity of lignocellulolytic and nitrogen fixing communities of the Amazonian catfish, Panaque nigrolineatus
(2019-01-01)The Neotropical catfish Panaque nigrolineatus imbibes large quantities of wood as part of its diet. This is an unusual feeding strategy among vertebrates as it imposes many dietary challenges. The most notable of these ... -
ADAPTIVE MORPHOLOGICAL AND FUNCTIONAL PLASTICITY IN THE MOUSE MAIN OLFACTORY EPITHELIUM AND BULB DURING CHEMICAL EXPOSURE: THE ROLE OF TRPM5-EXPRESSING MICROVILLOUS CELLS
(2020-01-20)Sensory systems enable animals to monitor environmental changes and generate adaptive behaviors. Proper structural and functional maintenance of these systems is essential for survival. The olfactory system detects thousands ... -
NESTING HABITAT, FOOD RESOURCE AVAILABILITY, AND LONG-TERM OCCUPANCY DYNAMICS IN THE ENDANGERED FLORIDA GRASSHOPPER SPARROW (AMMODRAMUS SAVANNARUM FLORIDANUS)
(2020-01-20)Determining the cues by which an organism selects habitat for nesting or territory occupancy is important for conservation of endangered or threatened species. Understanding the role of vegetation and resources in habitat ... -
Investigating the regulation of the chromatin landscape by Set4 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
(2020-01-20)The regulation of chromatin is important for transcription, DNA replication and DNA damage repair. In the presence of environmental stress, the cell mounts stress response pathways that involve changes in chromatin structure ... -
Investigating jasmonic acid reciprocal regulation of the circadian clock in Arabidopsis thaliana
(2020-01-20)Recent studies have established that jasmonic acid (JA)-mediated plant defense is regulated by the circadian clock. However, the reciprocation of this regulation is unclear. The Lu lab has set precedence by revealing that ... -
Characterization of transcription factor PAX-3 in the gene regulatory network that specifies hypodermal cell fate in C. elegans
(2020-01-20)The process of organogenesis requires the coordination of a series of cellular events that need to be tightly regulated for proper development. One of the early steps in organogenesis is cell-fate specification, and the ... -
Nanoparticle Delivery in Prostate Tumors Implanted in Mice Facilitated by Either Local or Whole-Body Heating
(MDPI, 2021-07-31)This work discusses in vivo experiments that were performed to evaluate whether local or whole-body heating to 40 °C reduced interstitial fluid pressures (IFPs) and enhanced nanoparticle delivery to subcutaneous PC3 human ... -
Next Steps in Integrative Biology: Mapping Interactive Processes Across Levels of Biological Organization
(Oxford University Press, 2021-07-14)Emergent biological processes result from complex interactions within and across levels of biological organization, ranging from molecular to environmental dynamics. Powerful theories, database tools, and modeling methods ... -
ECO-CollecTF: A Corpus of Annotated Evidence-Based Assertions in Biomedical Manuscripts
(Frontiers, 2021-07-13)Analysis of high-throughput experiments in the life sciences frequently relies upon standardized information about genes, gene products, and other biological entities. To provide this information, expert curators are ... -
Transcriptome analysis reveals the differences between cellular response to ribosomal stress and translational stress
(2017-10-14)Ribosome biogenesis is an essential metabolic process of a growing cell. Cells need to continuously synthesize new ribosomes in order to make new proteins than can support building biomass and cell division. It is obvious ... -
Co-Assembly of 40S and 60S Ribosomal Proteins in Early Steps of Eukaryotic Ribosome Assembly
(MDPI, 2019-06-08)In eukaryotes three of the four ribosomal RNA (rRNA) molecules are transcribed as a long precursor that is processed into mature rRNAs concurrently with the assembly of ribosomal subunits. However, the relative timing of ... -
Drosophila Corazonin Neurons as a Hub for Regulating Growth, Stress Responses, Ethanol-Related Behaviors, Copulation Persistence and Sexually Dimorphic Reward Pathways
(MDPI, 2021-07-05)The neuronal mechanisms by which complex behaviors are coordinated and timed often involve neuropeptidergic regulation of stress and reward pathways. Recent studies of the neuropeptide Corazonin (Crz), a homolog of the ...
RSS 1.0