Events
2011
Identification of Novel Pathways Underlying Brain Development and Function
WHEN: Sept. 21 at 4 p.m.
WHERE: Psychology 1101, room 101, East 10th St., IU Bloomington
WHAT: Joe LoTurco, a professor of physiology and neurobiology at the University of Connecticut, will present recent progress made in his lab toward understanding the functions of genes associated with both a rare developmental disorder, primary microcephaly, and a very common learning disorder, reading disability.
COST: Free and open to the public
INFORMATION: 812-856-1930 or mtheodor@indiana.edu
"Known and Knowable in Neutrino Physics"
WHEN: Sept. 21 at 4 p.m.
WHERE: Swain West 117, IU Bloomington
WHAT: Extremely light and only weakly interacting, neutrinos have fired the imagination of scientists and non-scientists alike since their discovery. The recent detections of the phenomenon of neutrino oscillations seem almost as if from a science fiction novel, with massive underground detectors, intense beams transported through the earth undisturbed and subtle effects that could have a big impact on physics and our understanding of the universe. In this talk, IU Bloomington physicist Jon Urheim will give some examples of what we know about neutrinos and how we know; what our current level of understanding is, based in part on recent experiments with significant IU participation; and what we can hope for from experiments now in the construction and planning stages. This lecture is part of the The Joseph and Sophia Konopinski Colloquia Series.
COST: Free and open to the public
INFORMATION: Contact Anne-Marie Foley at anfoley@indiana.edu
"From Soil to Cytosol: The Pathogenic Transition of the Environmental Bacterium Listeria monocytogenes"
WHEN: Sept. 27 at 4 p.m.
WHERE: Myers Hall 009, IU Bloomington
WHAT: This lecture will explore environmental pathogens, which are microorganisms that normally spend a substantial part of their lifecycle outside human hosts. However, when introduced to humans environmental pathogens are capable of causing disease. They exist in the water, soil, air and food, and they affect almost every individual on the planet. Listeria monocytogenes is a ubiquitous bacterium that lives in the environment as a saprophyte but transitions into a pathogen upon ingestion by susceptible individuals.
COST: Free and open to the public
INFORMATION:
tduzan@indiana.edu
"Genogeography and the Micropolitics of Difference. On Soviet Human Genetics at the End of the Cold War"
WHEN: Sept. 30 at 1:30 p.m.
WHERE: Ballantine Hall 204, IU Bloomington
WHAT: In this talk, Susanne Bauer and Max Planck will follow the technique of genogeographic mapmaking and examine the ways in which they generate, reify or challenge group categories in population genetics, human ecology and public health in the Soviet and post-Soviet context. Since the 1970s, Soviet human biologists took up early Soviet traditions of genogeography (as introduced by Serebrovsky in 1928). Two strands of research set the conditions for this reimplementation of human genetics after the Lysenko era -- first, radiation biology and, second, biological anthropology. These contexts also co-shaped the distinct developments of late Soviet genetic epidemiology and ecological genetics. At the end of the Cold War, genogeographic maps kept surfacing in a range of contexts -- including human geography, medical genetics and environmental health -- and entered renegotiations of identity and citizenship in the transition period. Sponsored by the IU Department of History and Philosophy of Science.
COST: Free and open to the public
INFORMATION: Peggy Roberts, staff, IU Department of History and Philosophy of Science, parobert@indiana.edu
"New Insights into Helicobacter Pylori-Mediated Gastric Diseases"
WHEN: Oct. 4 at 4 p.m.
WHERE: Myers Hall 130, IU Bloomington
WHAT:
H. pylori infection causes chronic gastritis and peptic ulceration and is the strongest risk factor for the development of gastric cancer. H. pylori virulence factor CagA has long been indicated to be critical for the H. pylori-mediated gastric diseases. CagA is injected into epithelial cells via the type 4 secretion system and elicits its various functions by interacting with different host signaling molecules. In this seminar, Lin Feng-Chen, a biochemistry professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, will discuss his recent studies on understanding the role of CagA in the pathogenesis of H. pylori. He will discuss how H. pylori CagA targets different cellular molecules to activate NF-kappaB signaling and NF-kappaB-mediated inflammatory responses or to down-regulate gastric tumor suppressor RUNX3 and RUNX3-mediated cell proliferation. Since CagA elicits its functions by directly hijacking different host signaling molecules, modulation of the interaction between CagA and its cellular targets might be a potential approach for the prevention and treatment of gastric diseases.
COST: Free and open to the public
INFORMATION: The event is hosted by IU's Pranav Danthi. For more information, contact Tammi Duzan, tduzan@indiana.edu
