The Keystone Project: A Cooperative In-Service Program

Since receiving a federal grant in November 1985, 25 Keystone area educators have been working with AEA 1 consultants and University of Iowa science education specialists to expand the use of investigative activities in the science studies of Iowa students. The published results of their work, 27 units adaptable to upper elementary and junior high classes, are now available to other interested teachers. The following article by the project leaders (1) explains the workshop plan and purposes employed by the project participants, (2) describes the focus and creation of their final products, a repertoire of new science units, and (3) lists the units now available and information on obtaining them

MOLECULAR AND MORPHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS SUPPORTS THE TRANSFER OF THE MONOTYPIC INDONESIAN GENUS SEPTOGARCINIA KOSTERM. TO GARCINIA (CLUSIACEAE)

Based on molecular phylogenetic analysis and an assessment of fruit and pollen characters, the transfer of Septogarcinia sumbawaensis Kosterm., endemic to Sumbawa Island, Indonesia and the sole member of the genus Septogarcinia, to Garcinia is strongly supported. The formal transfer of S. sumbawaensis to Garcinia (as G. sumbawaensis; the current name is G. septogarcinia) was based on morphological studies only. Phylogenetic analysis of nuclear internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences supports a placement of G. septogarcinia in Garcinia Section Brindonia. The distinctive dehiscent fruit, cited by Kostermans as justification for erecting Septogarcinia, is interpreted as an autapomorphy for this species in Garcinia. Pollen exine ornamentation is similar to G. griffithii, G. gummigutta var. gummi-gutta, G. mestonii, Garcinia sp. (Maluku) and Garcinia sp. (Batulanteh, Sumbawa)

Preparing the Next Generation of Science Teacher Educators: A Model for Developing PCK for Teaching Science Teachers

DOI:10.1007/s10972-008-9115-6 http://www.springerlink.com/content/a1j4p781335r2548/fulltext.pdfScience education doctoral programs often fail to address a critical piece—the explicit attention to the preparation of future science teacher educators. In this article, we argue that, in addition to developing skills and a knowledge base for research, doctoral students must be given the opportunity to observe, practice, and reflect on the pedagogical knowledge necessary to instruct science teachers. In particular, we contend that the construct of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) can be adapted to the context of knowledge for teaching science teachers. We use the PCK construct to propose a model for the development of knowledge for teaching science teachers, grounded in our experiences as doctoral students and faculty mentors. We end by recommending a vision for doctoral preparation and a new standard to be included in the ASTE Professional Knowledge Standards for Science Teacher Educators

Methods or Madness: Preparing the Next Generation of Elementary Science Teacher Educators

This conference paper was presented at the Association for Science Teacher Education in Clearwater, FL in January 2007. Contains graphs and policy guidelines.In recent surveys of doctoral students in all fields (Fagen & Niebur, 2000; Nyquist & Woodford, 2000), respondents shared concerns that an overemphasis on research led to inadequate preparation for teaching, curricular planning, collegiality, and service. In one study (Davis & Fiske, 1999), 50% of respondents felt they received inadequate preparation as teaching assistants, and 59% felt that faculty in their programs did not emphasize the importance of teaching. A 2001 survey (Golde & Dore) indicated that most current doctoral students are primarily interested in becoming faculty members, even though most will not begin their careers in the types of institutions where they received their doctoral training. We often use such evidence to criticize our colleagues in the sciences about the inadequacies of their doctoral programs in preparing the next generation of university science instructors. However, what happens when we look inward to examine doctoral programs in science education

The endangered northern bettong, Bettongia tropica, performs a unique and potentially irreplaceable dispersal role for truffle ectomycorrhizal fungi

Organisms that are highly connected in food webs often perform unique and vital functions within ecosystems. Understanding the unique ecological roles played by highly connected organisms and the consequences of their loss requires a comprehensive understanding of the functional redundancy among organisms. One important, yet poorly understood, food web is that between truffle‐forming ectomycorrhizal fungi and their mammalian consumers and dispersers. Mammalian fungal specialists rely on fungi as a food source, and they consume and disperse a higher diversity and abundance of fungi than do mycophagous mammals with generalist diets. Therefore, we hypothesise that mammalian fungal specialists are functionally distinct because they disperse a set of fungal taxa not fully nested within the set consumed by the combined generalist mammalian community (i.e. functional redundancy of fungal dispersal is limited). Using high‐throughput sequencing, we compared the fungal composition of 93 scats from the endangered fungal specialist northern bettong (Bettongia tropica) and 120 scats from nine co‐occurring generalist mammal species across three sites and three seasons. Compared with other generalist mammals, B. tropica consumed a more diverse fungal diet with more unique taxa. This aligns with our hypothesis that B. tropica performs a unique dispersal function for ectomycorrhizal truffle fungi. Additionally, modelling of mammalian extinctions predicted rapid loss of food web connections which could result in loss of gene flow for truffle taxa. Our results suggest that this system is sensitive to the extinction of highly connected specialist species like B. tropica and their loss could have consequences for ectomycorrhizal truffle fungal diversity. This suggests that the conservation of fungal specialists is imperative to maintaining ectomycorrhizal fungal diversity and healthy plant‐mycorrhizal relationships

Diversity and structure of Bettongia tropica: using population genetics to guide reintroduction and help prevent the extinction of an endangered Australian marsupial

Conservation translocations can restore populations and prevent extinction of threatened species. Sourcing adequate genetic diversity is an essential consideration when planning reintroductions, because it influences individual fitness and long-term persistence of populations, yet available populations of threatened species may lack diversity. We estimated population genetic parameters for one of Australia’s most threatened mammals, the northern bettong, Bettongia tropica, to select source populations for reintroduction. Individuals from sites across the species’ extant range in the Wet Tropics of north Queensland were genotyped, using 6,133 informative SNPs. We found that samples clustered into four populations: an isolated northern population at Mt Spurgeon and three connected southern populations in the Lamb Range. Most of the species’ genetic diversity was dispersed across the Lamb Range populations in approximately equal proportions. Populations showed an isolation-by-distance effect, even over short distances within continuous habitat. Admixture of populations was high at distances 11 km, and there was asymmetrical gene flow between the two closest neighboring populations. All populations had small effective sizes and experienced drift, but connectivity appears to have mitigated drift and stabilized population sizes within the Lamb Range. The Mt Spurgeon population had a very small effective population size and low genetic diversity. We use our findings to weigh up the risks and benefits of mixing sources for reintroduction, and we recommend a mixed source approach. We do not currently recommend sourcing individuals from Mt Spurgeon and conservation efforts to preserve this population are urgently required

Inhibiting Mycobacterium tuberculosis CoaBC by targeting an allosteric site.

Coenzyme A (CoA) is a fundamental co-factor for all life, involved in numerous metabolic pathways and cellular processes, and its biosynthetic pathway has raised substantial interest as a drug target against multiple pathogens including Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The biosynthesis of CoA is performed in five steps, with the second and third steps being catalysed in the vast majority of prokaryotes, including M. tuberculosis, by a single bifunctional protein, CoaBC. Depletion of CoaBC was found to be bactericidal in M. tuberculosis. Here we report the first structure of a full-length CoaBC, from the model organism Mycobacterium smegmatis, describe how it is organised as a dodecamer and regulated by CoA thioesters. A high-throughput biochemical screen focusing on CoaB identified two inhibitors with different chemical scaffolds. Hit expansion led to the discovery of potent and selective inhibitors of M. tuberculosis CoaB, which we show to bind to a cryptic allosteric site within CoaB

Genetic effects on gene expression across human tissues

Characterization of the molecular function of the human genome and its variation across individuals is essential for identifying the cellular mechanisms that underlie human genetic traits and diseases. The Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) project aims to characterize variation in gene expression levels across individuals and diverse tissues of the human body, many of which are not easily accessible. Here we describe genetic effects on gene expression levels across 44 human tissues. We find that local genetic variation affects gene expression levels for the majority of genes, and we further identify inter-chromosomal genetic effects for 93 genes and 112 loci. On the basis of the identified genetic effects, we characterize patterns of tissue specificity, compare local and distal effects, and evaluate the functional properties of the genetic effects. We also demonstrate that multi-tissue, multi-individual data can be used to identify genes and pathways affected by human disease-associated variation, enabling a mechanistic interpretation of gene regulation and the genetic basis of diseas

The Science Performance of JWST as Characterized in Commissioning

This paper characterizes the actual science performance of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), as determined from the six month commissioning period. We summarize the performance of the spacecraft, telescope, science instruments, and ground system, with an emphasis on differences from pre-launch expectations. Commissioning has made clear that JWST is fully capable of achieving the discoveries for which it was built. Moreover, almost across the board, the science performance of JWST is better than expected; in most cases, JWST will go deeper faster than expected. The telescope and instrument suite have demonstrated the sensitivity, stability, image quality, and spectral range that are necessary to transform our understanding of the cosmos through observations spanning from near-earth asteroids to the most distant galaxies.Comment: 5th version as accepted to PASP; 31 pages, 18 figures; https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1538-3873/acb29