Writing in Biology

Fibroblasts are cells responsible for synthesizing the stroma of animal tissue including the extracellular matrix and collagen.  In cancer, these cells can be reprogrammed to aid in tumor growth and progression. In the cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs) of epithelial ovarian cancer, miR-31 and miR-214 were downregulated, while miR-155 was upregulated (Mitra et al 2012).  The authors also found that mimicking this induced a functional conversion of normal fibroblasts into CAFs, and reversal caused reversion of CAFs to normal fibroblasts. When miR-214 is downregulated in CAFs, the CAFs secrete high levels of the chemokine CCL5 into the tumor microenvironment.  The authors found that miR-214 is a target of CCL5. Therefore, due to the downregulation of miR-214 in CAFs, it can no longer silence the CCL5 mRNA, so it gets translated at a much higher level. CCL5 secreted by CAFs is known to be a tumor promoting factor. It is higher and involved in cisplatin resistance because it is secreted from the CAFs and signals through STAT3/PI3K/AKT on ovarian cancer cells.

Domestic horses also known for their biological name, Equus caballus, display multiple behaviors based on the conditions they are exposed to. Horses tend to graze for long periods of time throughout the day. (Goodwin 2010), and the environment has a major impact on the way the horses tend to graze (Lewis 1989). In warmer weather the horses tend to graze in various spots on the field in comparison to colder weather where the horses huddle up and graze in a couple of selected spots. It's estimated they graze about 15-17 hours a day (Sharon 1986). Horses tend to “stick together” and live in groups (Lansberg 2018).  In groups settings, horses feel more protected cause their are extra eyes that are looking out for predators and food. This results to a greater chance of survival. Groups also allow a source of protection for one's resources such as: food, water, and territory. A common behavior that has been among young “colts” or male horses, is that they tend to follow the older horses within the pack (Hill 2010), demonstrating the previously stated behavior. This will allow the colts to learn and understand the ways of life while at an early age. “Fouls” or female horses, tend to nurture their foals for about 11 months. (Crowell-Davis and Houpt 1986). Younger fouls tend to display a numerous variety of behaviors, this is known as mammalian. Horses behave depending on their surroundings and also the environment they are exposed to.

Archaeologists and development have a complicated relationship. Because of development, archaeologists are presented with fantastic opportunities to document and recover sites that they otherwise would have left untouched. It provides them with a greater understanding of certain areas as well as a more vast lexicon of knowledge that may be applied to other archaeological projects or even another area of study. Then there is the tourism aspect. This can mean both good and bad for a community, which reflects upon the archaeologists since they are usually at the forefront of the development process. This is the downside of development. It can sometimes give archaeologists a bad name. Development of dams, pipelines or commercial housing is usually received badly by most communities. They do not want largely disruptive developments on their communities. In some cases, it even destroys indigenous peoples’ sacred sites, which can be seen in the movie “Standing on Sacred Ground: Pilgrims and Tourists”. The Wintu people of California are opposed to the building of a dam because it would destroy places they hold sacred.

Game theory is the study of strategic interaction between two separate decision makers. Evolutionary game theory is communicated in the context of biology and the interaction between two animals for a valuable resource. This particular game theory is used to determine which behavioral strategy, among a series, is likely to evolve in a species. To understand the behavior of the two separate species it is important to ask when individuals should cooperate or not and when should an individual be dominant versus submissive. An example of evolutionary game theory can be seen when hawks and doves compete for food. Each animal has to decide how they should behave to maximize their fitness; should they share the resource or should they fight? A hawk will first show aggression and escalate until it wins or is injured. A dove will first show aggression and then retreat if faced with escalation. This relationship can be communicated mathematically. First, the variables must be defined. V = value of resources, C = cost of losing a fight, and a value of 0 represents no reward. If a hawk and dove are in competition, the dove will leave the interaction with a value of zero. If a hawk competes with another hawk, the interaction can be represented with the equation: (V-C)/2. The value of resources minus the cost of losing the fight is divided by two because half of the time one hawk will win and half of the time the other hawk will win. If a dove is in competition with a dove, it will be represented as V/2, because they will share the resource.

Cost benefit analysis is a concept encapsulating the idea that animals’ traits all have benefits and costs. If the costs of a trait outweigh the benefits, that trait will decrease in the population. If the benefits of a trait outweigh the costs, that trait will decrease in the population. For example, group hunting in lions is a trait essential to their survival. A few benefits of this behavior are that the lions may hunt bigger prey, conserve energy, and decrease risk of being killed. Some costs of this trait might include the lions being more easily spotted by prey, having to share the food with the pride, and the spread of disease is more likely if hunting with diseased lions. For this behavior trait to remain, it must mean that the benefits of group hunting outweigh the costs.

Natural selection is a process by which organisms are selected for based on deleterious or advantageous traits propagated by intraspecies variations in the genome. Selection pressure is a concept defined by an impact on a trait from a population’s environment, from human activity, or from other organisms. For example, if there is a population of beetles whose variations in genetics translate to a variation in color, then there are various selective pressures that might impact which color beetle is more frequent in the population. Darker beetles may benefit from increased heat absorption, which would lead to better thermoregulation and better metabolism. Beetles may also benefit from being a certain color because that is what mates are looking for. Additionally, a lighter beetle may fare better in an environment with a lighter backdrop so as to avoid predation. While there are many selective pressures, there are not as many traits. One trait can be acted upon by many selective pressures and the direction of that selection can be different for different traits.

    There was a blind study that was done in order to test whether or not employers are being too harsh with their evaluations in terms of hiring new members via their resumes. The study was performed by gathering a sample size of 10 CEOs/presidents/or managers from various companies, and each one of these people were given 10 different resumes. Each resume had the name, birthdays, schools, and years attended changed without the 10 subjects knowing. Each subject was to evaluate each resume and decide whether or not the applicant would have a shot at a job in their company, without knowing what the other subjects’ decisions were. Out of the 100 total evaluations, only 12% of the resumes were passed as a possible candidate for their companies. The real resumes of each applicant were then revealed, and each resume was the first resume each subject had used in real life in order to start working at their respective companies. The study clearly demonstrated that the expectations for new workers have significantly increased, and that the subjects were possibly “not giving people enough of a chance”. In the end, the study demonstrated the failure of resumes, and how they are a very inaccurate method of representing someone’s ability to work, as well as how the expectations of current society has increased significantly for new workers.

One of the greatest aspects of genetics is that it relates to every single person. To spread genetic literacy at Umass Amherst, I would organize a ‘DNA Day’. My goal would be to teach students some fundamental basics of genetics which they could relate to personally in order to optimize their interest. 3D models of the double helix and chromosomes would be made for students to physically hold and visualize from all aspects. I would also explain modern day uses of genetics such as DNA sequencing to demonstrate how these revolutionary tests have allowed scientists to provide evidence for ancient evolutionary relationships to mammals today. I would envision to organize more than one ‘DNA Day’ at Umass over time with a different topic each time so that students can choose to attend a variety of events that interest them. Other topics that I think would interest students and most importantly catch their attention for are gene editing, cancer genetics, and evolutionary genetics.  

Mutual assessment of prospective partners is a vital aspect of the early stages of courtship and pair formation. The ornaments and displays favored and maintained by sexual selection are those that reliably reflect the superior condition of certain males, enabling females to select the best possible mates.​ For example, House Finch females prefer brightly colored males, which have better survival rates and are better family providers.