Genetic Annotation of Bacteriophages MScarn, Knocker, and Neos5

We annotated the genomes of three recently discovered bacteriophages to learn more about their genetic composition. MScarn is a lytic bacteriophage that infects Gordonia terrae 3612. It was discovered and purified from soil collected in Iroquois, SD. MScarn is a cluster CT phage, one of only 37 discovered to date. Its genome is 45,677 base pairs long and has 10-nucleotide 3’ sticky overhanging ends. Its GC content is 60.3% which is typical of CT cluster members. Knocker is a cluster B9 phage that was isolated on the host Mycobacterium smegmatis mc²155 from soil collected in Watertown, SD. Its circularly permuted genome contains 71,459 base pairs, and it has a high GC content of 69.7%. Similar to the other three members of the B9 cluster, it exhibits a lytic life cycle. Neos5, a lytic bacteriophage, was also isolated on Mycobacterium smegmatis mc²155 from soil collected in Baltimore, MD. It is a cluster B3 phage with a circularly permuted genome of 68,886 base-pairs and a 67.5% GC content, synonymous to the other 37 members of the cluster. All three phages were discovered, purified, and annotated by Northwestern College students

Understanding Abstract Artistic Process Through Active Engagement

This research project is a collection of work from the students enrolled in this semester\u27s Art Since 1940 course. As a collection, students propose that the art of the 1940s & 50s is best understood, researched, and disseminated as an actively engaged, artistic process. It attempts to establish a learning-as-making space in which makers, or in this case, art history students, can embody what abstract expressionism meant in historical terms, but also as a very individual and personal endeavor. This research intends to show--through student-created videos, short essays, and artwork--how the intertwined lives of artists, past and present, can help lend insight into the Why? of historical art movements and also the How of human creative development in present times