March for Science – Genes to Genomes https://genestogenomes.org A blog from the Genetics Society of America Wed, 08 Aug 2018 03:47:46 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.2 https://genestogenomes.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/cropped-G2G_favicon-32x32.png March for Science – Genes to Genomes https://genestogenomes.org 32 32 Why do so many Nobel Prizes go to scientists working on fruit flies? https://genestogenomes.org/why-do-so-many-nobel-prizes-go-to-scientists-working-on-fruit-flies/ Tue, 10 Oct 2017 19:03:00 +0000 https://genestogenomes.org/?p=10147 As night fell, astronomer Jean Jacques d’Ortous de Mairan watched a plant’s leaves, symmetrically arranged side-by-side on a stem, clamp shut. It was 1729, and he was studying the dramatic nocturnal movement of Mimosa pudica. Strangely, he found that the plant behaved the same way even when it wasn’t exposed to natural cycles of light…]]>

As night fell, astronomer Jean Jacques d’Ortous de Mairan watched a plant’s leaves, symmetrically arranged side-by-side on a stem, clamp shut. It was 1729, and he was studying the dramatic nocturnal movement of Mimosa pudica. Strangely, he found that the plant behaved the same way even when it wasn’t exposed to natural cycles of light and dark, making his observation the first known example of a circadian rhythm that didn’t depend on external stimuli. Circadian rhythms are biological cycles that repeat daily, matching one full rotation of Earth. After this discovery in a weedy creeper, the planet would rotate tens of thousands more times before scientists studying the daily habits of a household insect exposed the mechanics of the biological clock.

This year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash, and Michael W. Young for their studies of the circadian clock in fruit flies. But their discoveries weren’t just insect idiosyncrasies—they held true across much of the living world, from animals to plants and even some bacteria. And, as many researchers building on their work have found, circadian rhythms have immense importance in human health.

This story is not an isolated example: it’s the sixth time a Nobel Prize has been awarded for the study of fruit flies. In fact, a surprising number of Nobels—along with the insights and practical outcomes of biological research—have emerged from a few seemingly insignificant species: vermin, creepy-crawlies, and microscopic blobs. Alex Cagan’s artwork below samples just a few recent examples.

Sometimes, such research has been ridiculed—notably by politicians looking for examples of wasteful spending. In some ways, this is understandable. Research with clear, immediate applications is the easiest type to justify to the public. But the type of science that instead aims to fill gaps in our understanding of the world—known as “basic” or “foundational” research—doesn’t focus on specific applications, like a disease cure or a drought-resistant crop, so no one can predict the real-world impact of any individual line of inquiry. However, understanding the world we live in and the creatures we share it with has proven an essential fuel for technological, agricultural, and medical advances.

Art by Alex Cagan, <a href="https://twitter.com/ATJCagan" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">@</a><a href="https://twitter.com/ATJCagan" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ATJCagan</a>. For more information on these Nobel prize-winning studies see: (1)<em> </em><a href="http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2000/press.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Aplysia </em>sea slugs</a>, (2) <a href="http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2002/press.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Caenorhabditis elegans</em> worms</a>,  (3)<em> </em><a href="http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2013/press.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Tetrahymena</em> </a><a href="http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2013/press.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ciliates</a>, (4) <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2011/press.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Drosophila melanogaster </em>fruit flies</a>,  (5)<em> </em><a href="http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2013/press.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</em> yeast</a> </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">


Art by Alex Cagan, @ATJCagan. Click to see a larger version. For more information on these Nobel prize-winning studies see: (1) Aplysia sea slugs, (2) Caenorhabditis elegans worms,  (3) Tetrahymena ciliates, (4) Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies,  (5) Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast

From fruit flies to cancer drugs

The most well-studied species on the planet are called model organisms, creatures chosen for intensive research because they are particularly suited to laboratory studies. Fruit flies, for example, have played a crucial role in unraveling the principles of genetics and evolution. Such fundamental insights can eventually lead to human health and other applications, but not in a predictable way.

For instance, in the late 1970s, scientists undertook an epic hunt for genes that affect the development of fruit fly larvae. This work uncovered several important biological pathways that govern how simple eggs transform into complex animals and earned Eric Wieschaus and Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard the Nobel Prize. Among the genes discovered was Hedgehog, named for the spiky embryos that result when it is mutated. Related genes were identified in mammals, and decades of work eventually revealed their connections to cancer and other diseases. 

Since 2012, two drugs that specifically inhibit tumor growth by targeting the Hedgehog pathway have been approved by the FDA to treat basal cell carcinoma, giving patients with advanced cases of this type of skin cancer a better chance of survival. Yet Wieschaus and Nüsslein-Volhard hadn’t set out to cure a disease—they were simply trying to understand how life works.

From dung gnats to developmental disorders

Different model organisms cater to different scientific needs. For example, mice and rats are mammals, like humans, which means we share much of our biology. The stripy zebrafish has a transparent embryo that allows scientists to watch development happen in real time. The nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans can be rapidly grown in dishes, and because its cell divisions can be individually tracked through a precisely defined ballet, it’s another good choice for studying development. The mustard cress Arabidopsis thaliana is a fast-growing weed with a tiny genome that is much easier to study than the massive genomes of key crops like wheat and corn.

Without knowing why scientists choose particular species, model organism research can appear frivolous—and some creatures scientists choose to study may even seem disgusting. Take, for example, the dung gnat Sciara coprophila. Studies on this poop-loving insect revealed the phenomenon of genomic imprinting, in which genes are turned on or off depending on whether they were inherited from the father or the mother.

As it turns out, imprinting exists in humans—and has important consequences. For example, there is a stretch of chromosome 15 that is turned off in the copy inherited from the mother but turned on in the paternal copy. If the paternal copy of chromosome 15 is missing or has a mutation in the imprinted region, the result is Prader-Willi syndrome. This serious disease is characterized by cognitive disabilities and constant hunger, often leading to obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Another nearby region of the chromosome shows the opposite pattern: the maternal genes are normally activated while the paternal ones are turned off. Individuals missing the maternal copy of these genes have Angelman syndrome, which causes developmental delays, seizures, and frequent smiling and laughing.

Insights from model organisms have long helped scientists understand the biology behind such genetic diseases, but in recent years model organism researchers have become even more directly involved in diagnosing the millions of people affected—and in searching for treatments.

Lessons from microbes

Some model organisms differ even more from us than insects do. For example, humans and the yeast cells we use to make bread and beer last shared a common ancestor a billion years ago. Yet brewer’s yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is one of the most thoroughly studied organisms on the planet. These single-celled microbes share many characteristics with human cells, but they can be rapidly grown in great numbers in a flask or petri dish, and they have a life cycle and genome that make their genetics easier to study.

Several Nobel Prizes have been awarded for research on yeast, including the 2016 Nobel Prize for Medicine or Physiology, awarded to Yoshimori Ohsumi. The prize was for his work on autophagy, a kind of cellular housekeeping that helps clear the cell of damaged proteins and other potentially toxic debris. The role of this recycling and disposal system in human disease was not appreciated until Ohsumi and his colleagues’ work in the 1990s revealed the yeast genes that orchestrate the process. Thanks to the knowledge and tools made possible by this basic research, studies of autophagy in animals have exploded since the 2000s, revealing its complex roles in embryonic development, cell starvation, infection defense, neurodegenerative disease, and cancer.

The road from a discovery to its impact on society is rarely straight. Few of the scientists in these stories could have predicted how their work might one day be applied. Every day in labs across the country, scientists start down new paths that could eventually lead to the next cancer drug or technique for controlling disease-carrying pests. But it will only be possible to follow these new paths if we, as a society, continue to support the pursuit of knowledge—with or without clear applications.

This post was co-authored by Nicole Haloupek and Cristy Gelling based on an article we wrote for the March for Science blog. The text has been revised and updated to include the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

]]> GSA Marches! https://genestogenomes.org/gsa-marches/ Sun, 23 Apr 2017 04:15:22 +0000 https://genestogenomes.org/?p=8808 Yesterday, hundreds of thousands of scientists and science enthusiasts came out in force, rallying at more than 600 locations around the world to support robustly funded and publicly communicated science as a pillar of human freedom and prosperity. Many in the GSA community joined the March for Science, including a group at the Washington DC event, led by GSA President…]]>

Yesterday, hundreds of thousands of scientists and science enthusiasts came out in force, rallying at more than 600 locations around the world to support robustly funded and publicly communicated science as a pillar of human freedom and prosperity. Many in the GSA community joined the March for Science, including a group at the Washington DC event, led by GSA President Lynn Cooley, Immediate Past President Stan Fields, and GENETICS Editor-in-Chief Mark Johnston. Catch up below on some of the GSA community’s photos and tweets of the events! And stay tuned for more from GSA on what we can all do to keep up the momentum from the March.

https://twitter.com/glenernstrom/status/855636469511319552

https://twitter.com/dougfowler42/status/855515683869806592

https://twitter.com/mjohn1251/status/855765777957474304

https://twitter.com/mjohn1251/status/855778062289563649

https://twitter.com/AlexisNagengast/status/855780956585828352

https://twitter.com/AGloriaSoria/status/855790929327923200

https://twitter.com/narhol/status/855797221132046336

https://twitter.com/narhol/status/855801272859058177

https://twitter.com/bplazzaro/status/855814768963309570

https://twitter.com/CristyGelling/status/855815555814752256

https://twitter.com/bplazzaro/status/855817866725273603

https://twitter.com/bplazzaro/status/855826897472811009

https://twitter.com/CristyGelling/status/855828163607359488

https://twitter.com/bfmcallister/status/855836504815542277

https://twitter.com/kpeeps111/status/855848927563833344

https://twitter.com/bplazzaro/status/855853191782649856

https://twitter.com/bplazzaro/status/855858534340341761

https://twitter.com/bplazzaro/status/855865761948106752

https://twitter.com/sandi_clement/status/855889459346161664

https://twitter.com/foodskop/status/855918662934564866

https://twitter.com/mjohn1251/status/855928659277991938

 

]]> At the March for Science blog: Why scientists care so much about gnats, weeds, and brewer’s yeast https://genestogenomes.org/at-the-march-for-science-blog-why-scientists-care-so-much-about-gnats-weeds-and-brewers-yeast/ Fri, 21 Apr 2017 18:56:21 +0000 https://genestogenomes.org/?p=8796 Why are scientists so interested in the health of seemingly insignificant creepy crawlies, vermin, microscopic blobs, and spindly weeds? This question is considered in a guest post up today on the March for Science blog by GSA Communications Director Cristy Gelling and University of California, Berkeley grad student Nicole Haloupek. Artist and Sanger Institute postdoc Alex…]]>

Why are scientists so interested in the health of seemingly insignificant creepy crawlies, vermin, microscopic blobs, and spindly weeds? This question is considered in a guest post up today on the March for Science blog by GSA Communications Director Cristy Gelling and University of California, Berkeley grad student Nicole Haloupek. Artist and Sanger Institute postdoc Alex Cagan has also created a stunning graphic to complement the post. Check it out and learn more about the basic research that fuels innovation!

We hope you will join us tomorrow in marching for science. Please share your pictures of the march (and your preparations) using the hashtag #GSAMarches! If you plan to meet the GSA group at the Washington, DC march, please register here.

 

 

]]> Why March for Science? https://genestogenomes.org/why-march-for-science/ https://genestogenomes.org/why-march-for-science/#comments Wed, 19 Apr 2017 17:44:28 +0000 https://genestogenomes.org/?p=8779 Three weeks into my term as GSA’s President I went to the Women’s March in New York with my daughters. The experience was energizing and uplifting on many levels—it was completely peaceful, attended by women and men of all ages, and focused entirely on affirming civil rights. The magic of the day came from the…]]>

Frameshifts LogoThree weeks into my term as GSA’s President I went to the Women’s March in New York with my daughters. The experience was energizing and uplifting on many levels—it was completely peaceful, attended by women and men of all ages, and focused entirely on affirming civil rights. The magic of the day came from the surprisingly massive participation around the world and the realization that people with all kinds of backgrounds and beliefs can be roused to action in the face of threats to basic civil liberties. As for many, many people, this was my first march, and it brought the realization that we do have the power to influence our political leaders.

When I heard about the March for Science shortly after the Women’s March, I worried about the risk of being labeled as a “special interest” group complaining about funding. Would we be able to capture the attention of a similarly broad swath of our population? I and our Executive Committee quickly became convinced our Society must support this movement as an official partner of March for Science. Although the GSA is nonpartisan, we cannot be apolitical; our responsibilities to our community and the public who fund our research are too important. As custodians of public funds and a research enterprise that ultimately serves society, we have a responsibility to communicate to the policymakers and the public our deep concern about the future of science and the status of scientific evidence under the current administration.

Political acts are of course not new for GSA and other scientific societies. We have long represented genetic researchers in advocacy efforts—whether aimed at federal agencies, policymakers, or the public. What may seem new about our support for the March for Science is that this movement started as a response to the current administration. And although the March for Science organization itself is nonpartisan, it’s clear that most of the people marching will be protesting against actions of the current administration.

Anti-science actions and rhetoric are not exclusive to one political party. But the first actions of the new administration signal both a disturbing attitude about the merits of scientific evidence in making policy decisions, as well as an intention to dismantle this country’s research capacity. President Trump has appointed an EPA Administrator who does not believe the overwhelming scientific evidence that carbon dioxide emissions cause climate change. Trump is pushing to appoint a “vaccine safety commission” that would legitimize the discredited anti-vaccination movement that costs lives. The President’s budget proposal would decimate funding for science research, including disastrous cuts to the EPA and the NIH.

I cannot stand idly on the sidelines as the legitimacy of scientific evidence is undermined as a foundation for sound governance. I cannot stand by as our capacity to understand the world—and therefore to make it better—is crippled. Neither can the scientific community. Neither can the GSA.

So why march? Here are some of the reasons why we’re marching:

  • Communicate to public and policymakers the extent of our concern.
  • Shatter the illusion that nobody cares about research. In fact, the March for Science has gathered a lot of interest from the public.
  • Show solidarity with the public who will be marching for science.
  • Galvanize opposition and find common cause with other groups, even where we disagree on other issues.
  • Affirm the need for greater inclusivity and diversity in science and research.
  • Foster unity and inspire people to act rather than to despair.

Whether your vision for the future of this country is conservative or liberal or libertarian or progressive or none of the above—there’s a good chance you want science to make the world a better place. I hope you will join me in marching on April 22, whether in DC or in a location near you, to ensure science and scientists can continue to serve you.

Please share your reason for marching on Twitter and FaceBook using the hashtag #GSAmarches. For those joining the march in Washington DC this Saturday April 22, please register here to receive updates on the GSA meet-up point.

]]> https://genestogenomes.org/why-march-for-science/feed/ 1 GSA / March for Science T-shirts now available! https://genestogenomes.org/gsa-march-for-science-t-shirts-now-available/ https://genestogenomes.org/gsa-march-for-science-t-shirts-now-available/#comments Wed, 29 Mar 2017 15:24:01 +0000 https://genestogenomes.org/?p=8662 GSA is an official partner of the March for Science—we hope you will join us in marching on Earth Day, April 22! You can now wear one of our fantastic new GSA March for Science T-shirts, available in two designs. All proceeds go to the non-profit, volunteer-run March for Science organization, supporting the major logistics costs…]]>

GSA is an official partner of the March for Science—we hope you will join us in marching on Earth Day, April 22! You can now wear one of our fantastic new GSA March for Science T-shirts, available in two designs. All proceeds go to the non-profit, volunteer-run March for Science organization, supporting the major logistics costs of such an event.

To ensure you receive your T-shirt before April 22, you must PLACE YOUR ORDER BY APRIL 9. If you place your order after that date you will still receive the shirt but may not be able to wear it for the march. Please ignore the automated estimates of shipping dates provided after you purchase a shirt. As long as you place your order by April 9, shipment by April 22 is guaranteed. Note that the pictured designs are on the back of the shirt.

 

Evolution is in our genes shirt

button-6

 

 

 

We decode life shirt

button-4

]]> https://genestogenomes.org/gsa-march-for-science-t-shirts-now-available/feed/ 2 GSA partners with March for Science https://genestogenomes.org/gsa-partners-with-march-for-science/ https://genestogenomes.org/gsa-partners-with-march-for-science/#comments Tue, 28 Feb 2017 20:40:09 +0000 https://genestogenomes.org/?p=8487 On Earth Day, April 22, 2017, scientists and other community members across the world will be assembling in a public display of support for science. The March for Science is a non-partisan rally and teach-in to be held in Washington, DC, along with a network of affiliated events taking place at more than 300 locations worldwide.…]]>

On Earth Day, April 22, 2017, scientists and other community members across the world will be assembling in a public display of support for science. The March for Science is a non-partisan rally and teach-in to be held in Washington, DC, along with a network of affiliated events taking place at more than 300 locations worldwide.

The Genetics Society of America (GSA) is pleased to announce it is now an official partner of March for Science, which aims to champion robustly funded and publicly communicated science as a pillar of human freedom and prosperity.

We encourage members to show their support for science and its critical role in improving lives and informing public policy by taking part in one of the March for Science events. And most importantly, we encourage you to continue to speak up after the March, to call on policymakers to invest in scientific advances, to enact policies that build on scientific evidence, and to encourage communication and engagement between scientists and the public they serve. GSA works year-round to pursue these goals, but we depend on your input, energy, and support to make a difference.

For those who can’t make it to DC, find a March near you using this map. You can learn more about the goals and principles of the March for Science at their webpage.

We hope to see you at the March! Help us amplify your participation by posting photos and using the hashtag #gsamarches. Stay tuned for more information from GSA.

 

Lynn Cooley

President

 

Tracey DePellegrin

Executive Director

 

Genetics Society of America

 

UPDATE: You can now buy official GSA March for Science T-shirts! Be sure to place your order before April 9.

]]> https://genestogenomes.org/gsa-partners-with-march-for-science/feed/ 1