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Ghost sharks grow forehead teeth to help them have sex

Male “ghost sharks” — eerie deep-sea fish known as chimaeras that are related to sharks and rays — have a strange rod jutting from their foreheads, studded with sharp, retractable teeth. New research reveals these are not merely lookalikes, but real rows of teeth that grow outside the mouth. What’s more, the toothy appendage is likely used for mating. Found only in males, the forehead rod — called a tenaculum — is the ghost sharks’ only source of distinct teeth, and it seems to be used to grasp females in much the same way sharks use their toothy mouths in mating. “If these strange chimaeras are sticking teeth on the front of their head, it makes you think about the dynamism of tooth development more generally,” said Gareth Fraser, Ph.D., a professor of biology at the University of Florida and senior author of the study. “If chimaeras can make a set of teeth outside the mouth, where else might we find teeth?” The team, including scientists from the University of Washington and the University of Chicago, studied both fossils and living specimens to solve the mystery. A 315-million-year-old fossil showed the tenaculum attached to the upper jaw, bearing teeth incredibly similar to those in the mouth. Modern chimaeras collected from Puget Sound revealed the same tooth-growing process on the head, seen in modern-day shark jaws. And genetic testing confirmed they expressed the same tooth-specific genes as oral teeth. “What we found is that the teeth on this strange appendage look very much like rows of shark teeth. The ability to make teeth transferred onto that appendage, likely from the mouth,” Fraser said. “Over time, the tenaculum shortened but retained the ability to make oral teeth on this forehead appendage.” Fraser collaborated with Washington’s Karly Cohen, Ph.D., and Michael Coates, Ph.D., from Chicago on the study, which was published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. As experts in shark evolution and anatomy, the scientists were intrigued by these tooth-filled rods sprouting from the ghost shark foreheads. The central mystery: Is the tenaculum covered in true teeth related to oral teeth or more similar to the tooth-like scales plastering the skin of sharks and some ghost sharks? CT scans of the fossils and modern chimaeras gave the scientists unprecedented, detailed insights into the development of the tenaculum teeth, which looked remarkably similar to the teeth of today’s sharks. The nail in the coffin came from genetic evidence. The tenaculum teeth express genes found only in true teeth, never in shark skin denticles. "What I think is very neat about this project is that it provides a beautiful example of evolutionary tinkering or ‘bricolage,’” said Coates, a professor of biology at the University of Chicago. “We have a combination of experimental data with paleontological evidence to show how these fishes co-opted a preexisting program for manufacturing teeth to make a new device that is essential for reproduction." Cohen, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Washington’s Friday Harbor Labs and first author of the paper, said scientists had never spotted teeth outside the mouth in this way before. “The tenaculum is a developmental relic, not a bizarre one-off, and the first clear example of a toothed structure outside the jaw,” she said. The bizarre path from a mouth full of teeth to forehead teeth used for mating demonstrates the impressive flexibility of evolution, the researchers say, always ready to repurpose structures for strange and unexpected new uses. “There are still plenty of surprises down in the ocean depths that we have yet to uncover,” Fraser said.

Swimming in the deep: MSU research reveals sea lamprey travel patterns in Great Lakes waterways

Why this matters: Invasive sea lampreys prey on most species of large Great Lakes fish such as lake trout, brown trout, lake sturgeon, lake whitefish, ciscoes, burbot, walleye and catfish. These species are crucial to Great Lakes ecosystems and to the region’s fishing industry. Understanding how sea lampreys migrate can inform management and conservation strategies, such as developing methods to catch the invasive fish that don’t involve dams, which reduce river connectivity, or lampricide, a pesticide that some communities and groups prefer not to use. The Great Lakes fishing industry is worth $7 billion and provides 75,000 jobs to the region. Reducing the amount of sea lamprey in waters is crucial for the industry’s well-being and the economic vitality of the Great Lakes. How do you catch an invasive fish that’s solitary, nocturnal and doesn't feed on bait? Researchers in the Michigan State University College of Agriculture and Natural Resources are one step closer to figuring it out. In a study published in the Journal of Experimental Biology and funded by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, Kandace Griffin, a fisheries and wildlife doctoral student, and Michael Wagner, professor in the MSU Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, found that sea lampreys — a parasitic fish considered an invasive species in the Great Lakes region of the U.S. — follow a clear pattern of staying in the deepest parts of a river. These findings are important for informing sea lamprey management strategies, conservation of fish species native to the Great Lakes and protecting the region’s $7 billion fishing industry and the 75,000 jobs it provides. “We wanted to know how sea lampreys are making their movement decisions when migrating,” Griffin said. “Are they guided by certain environmental cues? Are they moving through areas that are safer? How can we potentially exploit those decisions or maybe manipulate them into going somewhere that they don’t want to go, like pushing them into a trap.” The primary methods used to control sea lamprey are dams that block them from entering waterways and lampricide, a species-specific pesticide that targets lamprey larvae. “Dams create a lot of challenges for conserving river ecosystems: They block all the other fish that are moving up and down in the system. Even though lampricide is proven to be safe and effective, there are communities that are uncomfortable with its use going into the future,” Wagner said. “Figuring out the right way to fish sea lamprey would decrease its population, lower reproduction rates and provide managers with the opportunity to match their control tactics to the community’s needs.” To track lamprey movements, Griffin and Wagner used a method called acoustic telemetry, which involved using sound emitted from a surgically implanted tag to track the movement of 56 sea lampreys in the White River near Whitehall, Michigan. Griffin likened acoustic telemetry to GPS. “There’s a tag that emits sound and has a unique transmission with a unique identification code, so I know exactly which fish is going where,” she said. “The receivers are listening for that sound and then calculating the time it reaches each receiver. We used this information to triangulate the position of the sea lamprey and analyzed it to find out how they’re using the river’s environmental traits to make decisions on where to swim.” Of the 56 lampreys studied, 26 of them (46%), consistently chose the deepest quarter of the river. “For nearly 20 years we have been discovering how sea lampreys migrate along coasts and through rivers. Now, thanks to Kandace’s work, we know where their movement paths come together near a riverbank — the perfect place to install a trap or other fishing device,” Wagner said. “That knowledge can be used to find similar sites across the Great Lakes basin.” Right now, a fishing device designed to catch bottom-swimming, solitary, nonfeeding, nocturnal sea lamprey doesn’t exist. However, Wagner notes there are places around the world — including Indigenous communities in the U.S. — where people have fished migratory lampreys of various species for hundreds of years and could help inform the creation of such a mechanism. “We have recently had a proposal funded to scour the Earth in search of knowledge, both scientific and traditional, about how to capture migrating lampreys and similar fishes,” Wagner said. “We want to talk with the communities of people who have histories fishing these animals and use this information, along with other data we’ve gathered, to conceive a device that could be used to fish sea lampreys.” Griffin views the new intel on lamprey migration patterns as a way to inform fishing practices to complement some of the existing control methods. “Hopefully, we can use this as a supplemental control method to the use of the barriers or dams,” she said. “We have societal pressure to remove barriers to enhance river connectivity, and some barriers are failing. Open water trapping is another way that we could try to still combat the invasive sea lamprey problem here but also promote river connectivity and other conservation goals for other species.” Wagner shares the same perspective. “When a community, or the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, or the governments of Canada and the U.S. come in and say, ‘We’d really rather be able to control this river with something other than lampricide,’ we want to be able to be able to provide 360-degree solutions that specify where to fish, when to fish and how to fish using fully prototyped and tested equipment,” he said. “We want our science to help solve real-world problems.”

LSU Veterinary Teams Recall Courage, Loss, and Lasting Change from Hurricane Katrina Animal Rescues

From that tragedy came transformative change, with new animal evacuation protocols and policies, including the creation of the federal Pet Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act, which requires state and local disaster plans to include provisions for pets and service animals. LSU School of Veterinary Medicine played a pivotal role in this evolution. In the days and months after Katrina, LSU Vet Med faculty, staff, and students worked alongside state officials, military units, and volunteers from across the nation to rescue, treat, and shelter thousands of animals. Two decades later, Katrina’s scars remain, but so does the resilience of the people and animals who lived through it. Their stories serve as a reminder that in even the darkest moments, compassion can spark lasting change. Rescue in a War Zone Dr. Jenny Sones (then veterinary student): I had been working at LSU Vet Med for five years when Katrina hit. LSU Vet Med put out an ‘all hands on deck’ call to employees. All of our hospital wards were turned into an ER. We opened our homes to complete strangers who came to help. It was organized chaos. Many animals came to us looking like corpses with a heartbeat because they’d been in the flood waters so long. I worked all day at LSU Vet Med, where we saw the sickest, most injured patients, and worked at Lamar Dixon evenings and weekends. Twenty years later, the images are so vivid in my mind. I took a horse trailer on a rescue mission into New Orleans with two students and a state veterinarian escort one week after Katrina hit. The scene looked like a war zone, helicopters everywhere, buildings burning, gunshot sounds. Every area we saw was looted. The stench was awful. There were people on the overpasses who had been there for a week. We were there to rescue animals. Military, Louisiana National Guard, and police brought the animals to us where our trailer was parked on an overpass. We picked up a few strays on our way out. The animals we rescued were so scared. Some had been in the flood waters a long time and were soaking wet and foul smelling. Their skin was sloughing off and they were emaciated. Amazingly, none of the dogs, cats, or horses were aggressive—maybe because they were in shock or they were grateful. We treated them all at Lamar Dixon, washed them with Dawn dishwashing soap and applied betadine. Sick ones were transported by trailer to LSU Vet Med. They were very dark times and very good times too. We were able to get the New Orleans French Quarter mules out to Lamar Dixon. Their caretaker crew stayed with them. They hooked up the mules, still in good shape because they weren’t in the flood waters, and they gave workers short rides around the Lamar Dixon grounds. It was such rewarding work. We were exhausted but in the best way. It would have been easy to get caught up in the devastation if we didn’t focus on our purpose to help animals. You can’t fix everything, but you can fix what’s in front of you. If you can survive the devastation of Katrina, you can survive anything. From Classroom to Crisis Dr. Jenny Sones (then veterinary student): In August 2005, I was starting my second year of veterinary school at LSU. I had no idea that life was about to change so drastically. School was cancelled, and electricity was out most places except at the vet school. My colleagues set up temporary housing in our study rooms and other places throughout the vet school. We then began to learn of the effects of Katrina on our veterinary species—dogs, cats, horses, and more. These precious creatures were the reason why we studied, crammed, and signed up to endure the rigors of veterinary school. It was time to close the books and help! Although we were not licensed veterinarians yet, we were keen to provide aid in any way we could. I, along with lots of my classmates, volunteered at Parker Coliseum on the LSU campus, where displaced small animals were seeking refuge, and at Lamar Dixon, which became the shelter for large animals and small animals. We spend many hours doing anything we could, cleaning litter boxes, refilling water bowls, changing bedding, administering medications, and assisting the heroic volunteer veterinarians working tirelessly to treat the injured, sick, and rescued. Lots of important lessons were learned during Katrina. Many animals were not reunited with their owners. That's when I learned the value of microchipping to permanently identify animals, gained an appreciation for animal search and rescue, and the value of quick response. (Sones is now CSU Equine Reproduction Laboratory reproduction specialist.) Mapping Rescues by Hand Ashley Stokes (former faculty member): It was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. I was researching and teaching at LSU Vet Med in 2005. LSU Vet Med stepped up in so many ways. We started receiving calls from citizens and local authorities at the vet school almost immediately after the storm. They needed help with resources—animal rescue, food, and water. They had to leave New Orleans quickly. I particularly remember a call from someone from south of Belle Chase, La., who had left horses, cattle, and two dogs in the house and needed help. It was surreal to see the devastation, houses floating, there in the Delta. We were making real-time decisions to help their animals. They’d lost so much, and for some, their animals were all they had left. We put a paper map of Louisiana on the wall and put pins in the locations that called for assistance. We covered all of New Orleans and surrounding areas, including the north shore and extending west to Baton Rouge. We took the callers’ information and sent teams of staff, students, and volunteers to different locations with donated trailers, hay, water, and other resources for rescue. We continued rescues for months after the storm. We were there for people for the long haul. The whole experience was transformational in my life. What I learned from Katrina became part of my own career and what I continue to do. There were beautiful moments, especially seeing how resilient and helpful people could be. I saw every day how the community came together and were absolute bright lights. Positive came from tragedy. (Stokes is now dean of UC Davis College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences.) The Boxer on the Third Floor Dr. Neil Henderson (alumnus): When Katrina hit, the Louisiana Veterinary Medical Association sent out a request for help from veterinarians. I got to the Lamar Dixon Center on Day 5 after Katrina hit. St. Bernard Parish was where I spent most of my time helping. It was literally destroyed. One day, while we were making our rounds, a man came running up to me and said that he just remembered that while the storm was coming through—he was on the third story of a building looking out of the window—he noticed a dog swimming around frantically with nowhere to go. He opened a window for it with the hopes that it would swim inside the building to safety. Seven or eight days later, with the temperature well into the upper 90s, the man came up to me and asked me to go into the building to see if I could find the dog. I did not have much hope but went anyway. There, on the third floor of the building, I found the dog, a boxer, alive. She was in surprisingly good shape. The man was ecstatic to see the dog and could not believe that it made it inside the building to safety. I stayed for five days helping animals, and my late father (Dr. Robert Henderson, class of 1977) came after that for five more days. (Henderson is the owner of the Pine Ridge Veterinary Center in Stonewall, La.) Article originally posted here.

Expert Perspective: The Hidden Costs of Cultural Appropriation

In our interconnected world, cultural borrowing is everywhere. But why do some instances earn applause while others provoke outrage? This question is becoming increasingly crucial for business leaders who must carefully navigate cultural boundaries. Take the backlash the Kardashian-Jenner family faced for adopting styles from minority cultures or the controversy over non-Indigenous designers using Native American patterns in fashion. These examples highlight the issue of cultural appropriation, where borrowing elements from another culture without genuine understanding or respect can lead to accusations of exploitation. Abraham Oshotse, an assistant professor of organization and management at Goizueta Business School, along with Assistant Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at Hebrew University Yael Berda and Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Stanford Graduate School of Business Amir Goldberg, explores this in their research on “cultural tariffing.” They shed light on why high-status individuals, such as celebrities or industry leaders, often come under fire when crossing cultural boundaries. The Concept of Cultural Tariffing Oshotse and coauthors define cultural tariffing as “the act of imposing a social cost on cultural boundary crossing. It is levied on high-status actors crossing into low-status culture, in order to mitigate the reproduction of the status inequality.” This notion suggests that the acceptance or rejection of cultural boundary-crossing is influenced by the perceived costs and benefits. Cultural appropriation involves taking elements from a culture that one does not belong to, without permission or authority. For example, when Elvis Presley brought African-American music into the mainstream, it was initially seen as elevating the genre. However, in today’s context, such acts might be criticized as appropriation rather than celebration. This research seeks to analyze people’s modern reactions to different examples of cultural boundary-crossing and which conditions induce cultural tariffing. The Hypotheses The researchers make four hypotheses about participants’ reactions to cultural appropriation: People will disapprove of cultural borrowing if there’s a clear power imbalance, with the borrowing group having more status or privilege than the group they are borrowing from. Cultural borrowing is more likely to be criticized if the person doing it has a higher socioeconomic status within their social group. Cultural borrowing is more likely to be criticized if the person doing it has only a shallow connection to the culture they’re borrowing from. Cultural borrowing is more likely to be criticized if the person doing it benefits more from it than the people from the culture they are borrowing from. Put to the Test Oshotse et al exposed respondents to four scenarios per hypothesis (16 total) with a permissible and a transgressive condition. In the permissible condition, subjects exhibit lower status or socioeconomic standing or a stronger connection to the target culture. Subjects in the transgressive condition exhibit a higher status or socioeconomic standing and less of an authentic connection to the target culture. Insights from the Study Oshotse’s study offers four key insights: Status Matters: Cultural boundary-crossing is more likely to generate disapproval if there’s a clear status difference favoring the adopter. Superficial Connections: The less authentic the adopter’s connection to the target culture, the more likely they are to face backlash. Socioeconomic Influence: Higher socioeconomic status within the adopter’s social group increases the likelihood of disapproval. Value Extraction: The more value the adopter gains relative to the culture they’re borrowing from, the higher the disapproval. These insights are crucial for leaders who want to navigate cultural boundaries successfully, ensuring their actions are seen as respectful and inclusive rather than exploitative. Real-World Implications for Business Leaders Why does this matter for business leaders? Understanding cultural tariffing is crucial when expanding into new markets, launching multicultural campaigns, or even managing diverse teams. The research suggests that crossing cultural boundaries without deep understanding or respect can backfire. That’s especially true when the adopter holds a higher socioeconomic status. Consider the example of a luxury brand adopting traditional African patterns without engaging with the communities behind them. In this case, it risks being seen as exploitative rather than innovative. The consequences aren’t just reputational; they can also impact the brand’s bottom line. This research isn’t just about isolated incidents; it mirrors sweeping societal shifts. Over the past 50 years, Western views have evolved to embrace ethnic diversity and multicultural exchange. But with this newfound appreciation comes a fresh set of challenges. Today’s leaders must navigate cultural interactions with greater care, fully aware of the historical and social contexts that shape perceptions of appropriation. In today’s global and interconnected business landscape, mastering the subtleties of cultural appropriation and tariffing is crucial. Leaders who tread thoughtfully can boost their reputation and success, while those who falter may face serious backlash. By understanding the hidden costs of crossing cultural boundaries, business leaders can cultivate authentic exchanges and steer clear of the pitfalls of appropriation. Abraham Oshotse is an assistant professor of organization & management. He is available speak to media regarding  this important topic - simply click on his icon now to arrange an interview today.

Podcast: Research into household chores reveals fascinating home truths

The notion of ‘women’s work’ still deeply embedded in today’s society Men’s choice of housework centred around machinery and perceived physical strength Some household tasks have ‘shifted’ over the years A fascinating study by an academic at Aston University has revealed that women still do certain traditional tasks within the home. The research by Dr Emily Christopher, a lecturer in sociology and policy, found that ‘woman-type’ tasks often involve multi-tasking while men’s roles often include solo duties such as mowing the lawn. Dr Christopher, whose research focuses on the reproduction of gender inequalities in paid and unpaid work, spoke about her study in the latest episode of the 'Society matters' podcast series, presented by journalist Steve Dyson. The episode is sub-titled 'Did you iron my shirt? Why household work, and who does it, matters'. Dr Christopher explained that men are doing much more household work than they did 50 years ago, and that there was “general agreement” among the couples she interviewed that household work should be shared. The lecturer, who invited couples to assign ‘task cards’ during interviews in their homes, said past research found that women still perform the ‘lion’s share’ of household work. This, she said, followed on from the “age old idea” of women being more caring and nurturing which was “deeply embedded in the way society thinks”. While some tasks were still more likely to be done by women, some had shifted over time. Tasks still “overwhelmingly gendered” today include women remembering birthdays, organising presents, and remembering whether a child needs PE kit or money for a cake sale, all the cognitive labour of household management. She said: “The problem is it’s invisible, so it isn’t recognised as work.” Dr Christopher said that men tend to do the ironing if they find it “enjoyable”, often while listening to football or music, or if they have “particular standards”, such as creases in their sleeves. However, some women choose ironing as a “form of protest”, doing their own and their children’s clothes but refusing to iron men’s shirts. Dr Christopher pointed out that some other tasks traditionally seen as women’s, which had ‘shifted’, included cooking. She said: “Men are more likely to do this now, arguably this might be because they are less likely to be seen as less masculine for doing so, this helped by the rise of celebrity chefs like Gordon Ramsay, Rick Stein and Jamie Oliver.” Her research also revealed that men are more likely to wash up and stack the dishwasher but, like ironing, men doing these tasks was often driven by standards such as liking them stacked a particular way. They are also more likely to hoover than to clean, which fell mostly to women, with Dr Christopher suggesting: “I wonder whether sometimes this is something to do with the fact that hoovering involves technology and machinery, so it conceptualises more as a masculine form of housework.” Similarly, Dr Christopher said men are more likely to do outside jobs such as DIY, washing the car and mowing the lawn, with the emphasis again on physical strength. Significantly, tasks which men are more likely to be responsible for, such as DIY, are less likely to “interfere” with paid work, whereas those done by women often involve a reduction in their hours with “very wide implications” such as a gender pay gap, restrictions in career progression, and restricted access to pensions in later life. As a result, she said the state needs to do more, particularly around parental leave and the lack of affordable childcare provision. Dr Christopher said: “If you take maternity leave, it’s 12 months maximum in comparison to one or two weeks’ paternity leave, so straight away we are sending a message about who’s the natural carer. Parental leave needs to change to challenge this reinforcing of gender roles.” She added that childcare provision needs to be seen as integral to the way society and the economy works, so needs funding. Increasingly, Dr Christopher said couples are relying on their parents for help with childcare, and “interestingly, it tends to be the grandmothers who take on this work”. Individuals wanting to put a monetary value on household work can complete the Office for National Statistics’ domestic labour calculator, although she said it was a crude measure and only gives a rough idea. “Using this measure, my household work, on top of a full-time job at Aston University, is worth £18,000 a year,” she said. Listen to all episodes of the 'Society matters' podcast

Why pollen season arrives earlier each year: Q&A with Georgia Southern biology professor Alan Harvey

As a seasonal allergy sufferer, Alan Harvey, Ph.D., biology professor in Georgia Southern University's College of Science and Mathematics, was curious what types of pollen were causing his sniffles and sneezes. As a scholar and educator, Harvey did what any curious mind would do — he began exploring the types of pollen in the region while trying to narrow down the culprit of his symptoms. What he didn’t expect to find was an interesting narrative that led to a collaborative art-science project and soon a full exhibit on pollen at the Georgia Southern Museum. Read on to learn more about Harvey’s research on pollen, upcoming exhibit, “Pollen Nation,” and why pollen season begins earlier each year. Q: Tell us about yourself — Who are you? What do you teach? How long have you been a professor here? A: I’m a professor and faculty member at Georgia Southern. This is my 23rd year here and I teach a variety of biology courses including field biology, invasive species and evolutionary ecology. Q: How long have you studied pollen and what interested you in studying this? A: I’ve not actually studied pollen for that long. I really wanted to figure out how to deal with my own severe allergies to it. Q: What is the most common pollen in our region? A: The most common pollen depends on the time of year. Any plant that produces flowers will produce pollen. But if you’re looking at a plant with nice, pretty flowers, that pollen is not going to be what you’d normally encounter or notice causing your allergies because that pollen is being transmitted by insects or other pollinators who are specifically being attracted by the pretty flowers. The kind of pollen that you do encounter is from plants that you wouldn’t even notice have flowers like pine, oak, maple and birch trees. Those are all wind-pollinated, so they don’t need pretty flowers. They’re not trying to attract anybody, they just have to produce a lot of pollen for the wind to blow around. This time of year, pine and oak are going to be the two common pollens. Q: When does pollen season usually begin in our region? A: It starts in the early spring and ends in late fall. And again, it’s different plants blooming during the course of that year. So this time of year, as I mentioned, is going to be pines and oaks. In the middle of the year, it will be more grasses, and toward the end of the year, it’s going to be things like ragweed. What scientists have discovered is that every year the pollen season starts earlier and lasts longer. Q: Why will it begin early this year? A: This is where we get into a sort of controversial subject, but basically, climate change issues are the main culprit in a couple of ways. First of all, plant growth is tied to temperature. So the earlier temperatures get warmer, the earlier in the year the plant is going to start actively growing and producing pollen. So, warmer temperatures are leading to earlier seasonal starts. Temperatures are warmer than they were at this time a few decades or 100 years ago. Q: Why is pollen important? A: It’s an essential component of sexual reproduction in plants, so in the absence of pollen, we would lose many, if not virtually all of the plants around us that we depend upon. It’s fundamentally important to life on Earth that those plants are able to continue to reproduce. In terms of its impact on known pollinators, when a bee visits a flower, it is, of course, looking for nectar that the plants produce, but they also are looking for pollen. So it’s a food source for a lot of animals as well. Q: What is an interesting fact or little-known fact about pollen? A: Pollen plays a role in some various religious ceremonies of other cultures. The one I’m most familiar with is in the Navajo Nation. In particular, corn pollen is at the core of a great many, if not virtually all, of the Navajo religious ceremonies. It’s also been used to solve crimes and there is a whole field of forensic pollen analysis. It’s also an important tool for paleontologists, anthropologists and archaeologists who are trying to understand past civilizations. Because pollen is incredibly resilient, it may be small, but it is darn near indestructible. You would need a pretty powerful microscope to see any of these, but with that tool, you can study pollen grains that are hundreds of millions of years old. They will last that long. They’re so, so tough. Q: Tell us about the new mural in the Biological Sciences Building — What inspired it? Who helped work on it? A: A number of years ago, a colleague in the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art, Jeff Shmucki, and his wife Wendy Deschene and I came together and started collaborating on art-science projects because we realized we both are observers of the natural world, we just approach it from somewhat different ways. One of those projects was creating a mural of ecologically or environmentally important organisms surrounding students that they may not be aware of. For the first mural, we looked at salamanders of Georgia. We got a bunch of photographs of the salamanders and we cut them away from the background, blew them up and installed the murals. It was a big community project and students got involved in all phases of it. So I thought, ‘Well, that was really successful.’ What can we do next? And because I was in the middle of allergy attacks, I thought, ‘Well, what about pollen?’ Q: Tell us how the mural inspired your upcoming exhibit, “Pollen Nation,” at the Georgia Southern Museum. A: There are a lot of interesting layers to this basic idea of pollen that can’t really be shown in a mural, and the Georgia Southern Museum is a perfect place to explore those kinds of ideas in one common theme. Q: What can people expect to see at the “Pollen Nation” exhibit? A: There’ll be a lot of big, spectacular images of pollen and the plants that produce them. It’s going to be a mix of striking imagery and some interactive sort of game-like activities. You’ll also have the opportunity to look at some of the pollen in a microscope. Interested in learning more? Let us help. Allan Harvey, Ph.D., is available to answer your questions - simply reach out to Georgia Southern Director of Communications Jennifer Wise at jwise@georgiasouthern.edu to arrange an interview today.

Will e-cigarettes and vaping be the next addictions epidemic to sweep across America?

In a recent op-ed, David T. Courtwright, Ph.D., an author and addiction specialist opined that there’s a market to getting people hooked on substances and that e-cigarettes are the next big problem facing America. "I had just finished a new book on addiction when the vaping crisis erupted. The gist of the book is that that globalization, industrialization, mass marketing, digitization, and social media have turned the ancient human preoccupation with disreputable, potentially addictive pleasures into lucrative, commercially normal enterprises. Bad habits have been McDonaldized. Vaping couldn’t have been a more perfect example of this. I call those who help make bad habits routine “limbic capitalists,” a reference to their products’ neural common denominator. Whether they sell junk food, porn, slots, computer games, alcohol, or drugs, they target the limbic system, the brain networks responsible for pleasure, motivation, long-term memory, and other survival functions linked to emotions. Biological evolution shaped the limbic system, which is indispensable for life and reproduction. But cultural evolution and technological change created a trapdoor. The same neural pathways can be exploited — lethally — by entrepreneurs of brain-rewarding products that foster excessive consumption and addictive behavior."  October 28, 2019 – STAT There has been growing concern, awareness and news coverage about e-cigarettes and the dangers they present. As well, industry spin-doctors and public health advocates have been in overdrive trying to convince politicians about the pros and cons of legislation and regulation for these products. Are you a journalist covering this emerging issue? Then let the experts from Cedarville help with your coverage. Dr. Marc Sweeney is an expert specializing in drug abuse, prescription drug abuse, Opioid addiction, medical marijuana & related issues. Justin Cole is an expert in clinical pharmacy, Pharmacogenomics, and the pharmacy industry.  Both experts are available to speak to media regarding this issue – simply click on either gentlemen’s icon to arrange an interview.

Same Ole’ Song, Different Chorus

Within the President’s 2020 education budget request, Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos gave testimony to a House appropriations subcommittee last week in Washington DC. Within a short back and forth between Devos and Katherine Clark, United States Representative for Massachusetts's 5th congressional district, DeVos unapologetically stood behind non-black research used within a recent report justifying the removal of Obama-era school discipline guidance. The Obama guidance was beseeched to not only inhibit the national disproportionate Black v. White suspension rate, but it also attempted to curtail the school-to-prison pipeline countless education researchers, such as myself, have studied. The report DeVos submitted is nothing but a product that essentially is a reproduction of systemic racism. In order for a reproduction of systemic racism to transpire, and “subsequent measures of control to be not only in place but legitimized, an entrenchment of inferiority directed toward the marginalized is needed.” The use of systemic reproduction of racism is what created and maintains the establishment of two separate worlds—one White and one deemed Black. DeVos and the research she used as the foundation for her misguided justification for the removal of said guidance dates back much further than DeVos can count. During the late 19th and early 20th century, White so-called intellectuals William Shockley to Charles Murray have attempted to depict Blacks as less intelligent, more violent, immoral, sexual monsters, and on and on. DeVos and her findings are nothing but 21st-century scientific racism. https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2019-04-01/rep-katherine-clark-calls-for-betsy-devos-to-resign-citing-racist-research