Reasons for Optimism

1. In the Not-Too Distant Future, Biofuels Might Come from Food Waste Instead of Corn

When bakers use yeast, they're interested in how it can make dough rise. When Assistant Professor of Biology Claire Edwards considers yeast, she's thinking about a different kind of dough — money — and how developing new sources for biofuels can make it an economically attractive alternative to fossil fuels. The primary biofuel in the U.S., ethanol, is made from feed corn. It takes large quantities of this plant — which is otherwise used as livestock feed or the base of processed food ingredients such as corn starch and corn syrup — to make ethanol. Edwards and her students are studying the potential of a unique strain of a yeast organism, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, commonly known as brewer's yeast, to reduce reliance on corn for ethanol. An enzyme that it produces efficiently breaks down pectin in the cell walls of a particular chain of sugars found in abundance in peaches, apples and citrus fruits. This research has the potential to open new, economically competitive avenues for biofuel production. For example, at the end of the growing season, the ground at commercial orchards is covered with rotting fruit that was damaged by weather or simply not picked in time. Wasted food like fallen fruit would just get disposed of anyway, and Edwards' project could give that waste a second life. "The idea is trying to find ways to make the process more realistic and financially competitive."

2. Scientists Don't Fully Understand Honeybee Colony Collapse, but a St. Ed's Professor is Conducting Research to Help Beekeepers Take Action

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You've probably read the headlines over the last decade: Honeybee colonies around the world have disappeared suddenly and in alarming numbers. The Environmental Protection Agency characterized the phenomenon as posing a major long-term threat to bees. A serious problem for honeybees is a serious problem for people. A third of what we eat depends directly or indirectly on their pollinating activity, and the USDA estimates that managed honeybee colonies add at least $18 billion to the value of U.S. agriculture annually. The causes of this mysterious collapse are thought to be myriad and synergistic. Climate change, pesticides, diseases that target honeybees, and shrinking plant diversity in cultivated areas all take their toll. "When you look at it, you're like, 'Oh my gosh, this is an overwhelming problem,'" says Matt Steffenson, an associate professor of Biology and co-project director for E3. But inside this cacophony of causes is a note of hope. "When you've got all of these little factors adding up together, we don't necessarily need to solve all of them," Steffenson says. "If we can work on potentially mitigating one or two of the factors, that might be enough to give the bees a breather to bounce back." His research focuses on how honeybees allocate energy toward their immune functions. "If bees have more energy to put into fighting off disease, pathogens and pesticides in their bodies, that puts them on better footing to withstand other threats," he says. How can honeybees fortify their defenses? Steffenson's research translates into advice for beekeepers about how to promote stronger immune function within their colonies. For example, after beekeepers harvest honey, they typically return the empty honeycomb to the hive. However, Steffenson and his students have found that not returning the honeycomb is likely a better practice because it forces the bees to rebuild it. To do so, bees need to forage more for nectar, their source of food. This increased activity actually raises their energy and production levels, which equates to more proteins that can be used for immune function. "It also means these colonies need to be located in an area with adequate resources to support this level of foraging," he says. So beekeepers need to place their hives in areas with abundant flowering plants and grasses. "If bees have more energy to put into fighting off pathogens and dealing with pesticides in their bodies, then maybe that puts them on a better footing to withstand the synergistic effects that may be causing colony collapse."

3. The Old Stereotype That Only Older White Men are Scientists is Disappearing as a New, Diverse Generation Enters the Field

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"Draw a scientist." That's a simple exercise Jonathan Hodge, dean of the School of Natural Sciences, assigns in his seminar for first-year students. "Most people will draw the Einstein figure, right? The white guy in the lab coat," he says. The same is true of his students, at least at the beginning of the semester. But things change quickly. He remembers when a Latina woman spoke up in class about her all-too-typical drawing. "She said something like, 'I am here to study science, and the picture that I drew didn't look anything like me.' There was a recognition that she had internalized these stereotypes" — even at a university where more than half of science students are women. Hodge's seminar, called Science, Media and Social Justice, teaches students to examine and critique representations of scientists and science in news media and popular entertainment. If students can learn to interrogate these portrayals, they can start to reverse stereotypes about themselves, their classmates and the scientific profession more generally — stereotypes that hurt efforts to diversify scientific fields. Science thrives on diversity of thought, which leads to innovation. This is an important lesson for all students, no matter their background. "It's good for students to recognize the ways in which they've experienced privilege that they might not have named before," Hodge says. "It's good for the men in class, for example, to see the way that women scientists are sometimes objectified and sexualized even when they are featured in the media. We're using the familiar context of news and pop culture to have these really rich and meaningful discussions." The goal, he says, is that "as students move forward, they take these perspectives into the work that they do. That fits right in with the mission of the university. We want to educate scientists who are not only technically competent, but who are thinking about the social and ethical implications of their work."

4. Undergraduate Research Prepares St. Edward's Graduates to Tackle Scientific Challenges

Professor of Biological Sciences Bill Quinn is easing into retirement after a 40-year career at St. Edward's. When he had an active research program, his primary interest was photosynthetic activity in plants. In the meantime, he oversaw a wide variety of undergraduate research projects and challenged students to develop their own research questions. One student researched how the mere sound of running water influenced the way the roots of certain pea seedlings grew. Others studied topics such as soil respiration, salamanders, watershed quality and the effects of fire on plant associations. These St. Edward's graduates will address the world's agricultural challenges and develop solutions for a sustainable and just future. "Agriculture is everything between the earth and your mouth," Quinn says. "It's a very big, integrated system that needs our attention." He points to Biology graduate Gretchen Kroh '13. After St. Edward's, she went to work for the USDA Children's Nutrition Research Center and then to graduate school at Colorado State University, where she earned a doctorate in botany. She is now chair of an advisory board for the St. Edward's NextGen grant. Kroh is just one example of "incredibly accomplished, bright people working on some serious problems," Quinn says. "They fill me with optimism."

Illustrations by Matt Chinworth