Madison PalmieroJunior BIOSC major and pre-PA student By definition, an invasive plant species is any plant that 1) is non-native to an ecosystem and 2) spreads rapidly from its point of introduction, causing environmental harm. A healthy ecosystem is home to a wide variety of plants and animals that interact with each other and maintain a state of balance. Invasive plants disrupt this balance, which can lead to negative impacts on biodiversity, water quality, wildlife habitats, and tree establishment. Invasive species can also have negative economic impacts, due to the high cost of removal and management. Invasive species are an issue for ecosystems all over the world, including Pittsburgh. Some of the most common “invaders” here in the Burgh include Japanese knotweed, Garlic mustard, Bush Honeysuckle (middle picture), Mile-a-minute (left), Porcelainberry (right), and grapevines. Invasive plants can be difficult to remove, especially when they grow on such a large scale. Removing plants manually is time consuming, and herbicides can have more consequences than benefits. However, Allegheny GoatScape provides a promising (and cute) alternative. If an area of land is overgrown, especially with invasive species, a team of goats can offer an efficient and environmentally friendly solution. The goats are brought to a temporary fenced-in habitat, where they can eat to their heart’s content. If you aren’t convinced yet, here are some benefits offered by the goats:
Teams of goats are currently stationed in Frick Park and along the GAP trail at the Waterfront. You can pay them a visit in person or get to know them on the “about us” page of their website. For more info, be sure to check out https://www.alleghenygoatscape.org/.
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Hope MartinComputational Biology Senior This year has been a very different experience for everyone. From online classes to job changes, things have been a lot to handle. One really exciting experience I got to try during all of this was becoming a proud pet owner! I figured since I will be remote and at home so much it was the perfect time to welcome someone new to my apartment! I did a lot of research and decided on getting a pet land snail. This made a lot of sense for me because my favorite part of biology classes was always learning about plants and animals, and snails are a pretty unique pet to have and observe. Now I’m not recommending everyone just go out and adopt a pet because a lot of care and commitment goes into that of course! Never become a pet owner just for fun; you have to be ready for it. That being said I thought it would be nice to share some interesting facts I’ve learned about snails and share some cute photos of my snail to hopefully brighten up this post as well as your day. My snail’s name is Poyo and they were mailed to me from a snail breeder online! I was a bit worried about them getting here safely, but they were awake and healthy as soon as I opened my package. Snails are actually hermaphrodites, which means that they have both female and male reproductive organs. This means that they can reproduce with any other snail, so I only got one snail because I am not ready to be a mother of many baby snails just yet. When mating, the kind of snail I have actually produces calcium deposits called “love darts” that are sharp and pointy and they stab the snail they are mating with. There is not a consensus on what this does, but it is thought to possibly make it more likely that the snail being stabbed will be the mother and have to lay the eggs. The mating is really a competition of which snail has the better sperm. Beyond snaily sex, snails are also interesting because they can survive pretty harsh environmental changes and can go without food for extended periods of time. Snails are also born with their shells and require calcium supplement to keep them strong just like we do for our bone health. My snail specifically loves to sleep upside down which is cute but concerning because sometimes I feel like they are going to fall after the 10th hour of slumber. Poyo also has a favorite food! They love to eat cucumber and their antenna make a funny face when they are eating it because it is so tasty. I also give them kale to eat because it has more vitamins than cucumber but Poyo really prefers the cucumber.
For more information about Poyo, or biological sciences advising please stop by my office hours on Tuesdays from 1-2pm! Maybe I’ll let Poyo say hello on Zoom. Kayla DownsSenior MOLBIO major If you’re like me, quarantine has been a rough patch as far as getting up, out, and away from your laptop. Getting back into the swing of classes, without the walking around campus to get to them, has been a strange adjustment for a lot of us. I like the fast-pace of navigating my daily schedule, and while I’m no gym-rat, every semester I try to take at least one of Pitt’s group exercise classes. That’s why I was so excited to see BeFit Pitt offering so many great virtual exercise options this year! Unfortunately, the webinar-type classes weren’t working on my laptop, but I wanted to share with y’all some recommendations from the extensive repertoire of the BeFit Pitt YouTube channel that kind of went along with the schedule on their website. Morning Restore
I chose a 30 minute “Go with the flow yoga” to do before class and kickoff my day. I really liked the chill nature of this video and the instructor so early in the morning. None of the poses were very difficult or required yogi-like flexibility or balance (which I don’t have so that was good). Followed it up with breakfast and a lecture on primates and I was ready to go! Mid-Morning Mashup I went with a 25 minute “Cardio Dance” workout and I’ll let my calves speak for themselves: I was pumped. If you are scared off by the “dance” part, DON’T BE. This is not a Zumba class and it was really just a very adaptable cardio option. The instructors offer lots of modifications, which I love to have the options for, and it really got my heart rate up when that first cup of coffee wore off. For a shorter between-class option, check out this 5 minute kickboxing energizer. Lunch With a Punch Energizer This 15 minute “4 Rounds of Fun” total body circuit covers all your bases for a mid-day Power [quarter] Hour. The instructors offered modifications for almost every exercise, and were friendly and motivating. If you’re looking for a shorter but still full-body option, this 7-minute AMRAP workout is done completely at your own pace. Both of these can be extended with extra time/rounds if you are up for the challenge, or cut shorter if you’re just barely squeezing it in. (BTW: AMRAP = As Many Rounds As Possible! Who knew?) Finish Strong Coming off a long afternoon at work? Wishing that zoom call could have been an email? End your day with a “Pilates Mat Medley” to center your focus and take your mind off of everything else. I personally love Pilates and barre-type workouts because they are always very calm and controlled but SO effective. No need to get your heart-rate up, this will stretch, strengthen, and tone anything you’ve got. These are just a few options for y’all but there are SO MANY more on the BeFit Pitt YouTube channel so head on over and check them out for a bit more movement in your day What's your favorite virtual exercise class? Dara CzernikowskiBIOSC senior and member of the Pittsburgh iGEM team
Hello from the Pittsburgh iGEM team!
For those who are unfamiliar with us, we are a team of undergraduates from the University of Pittsburgh participating in the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) 2020 competition. This competition challenges high school and college students around the world to come up with and develop a unique and innovative research project involving synthetic biology. The Pitt 2020 team consists of five students who are led by faculty in the departments of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering, and Biomedicine. A new team is formed every year during the spring semester to develop a new project during the summer and compete in the following fall semester! You can check out the 2019 team which included a number of bio majors also!
This year, our team project is called Bluetooth Bacteria and you can check out the concept here:
In order to fulfill a requirement for a medal in this year's competition, our team wanted to reach out and communicate with the general public in a way that has been trending lately as our lifestyles have shifted online: a podcast! What we call the Bluetooth Bacteria Podcast (inspired by our research project this year) consists of conversational style episodes that discuss stimulating and controversial topics in synthetic biology. These topics include: animal organ donation, bioweapons, SynBio dating, and aging. In addition, we have had several other global iGEM teams as guests on our podcast to discuss their projects with us!
We invite you to come listen to our podcast (on spotify or Apple Podcast) - learn about our team, our project, synthetic biology, and iGEM. This is a great organization to explore if you are passionate about biology and making the world a better place. In addition, it emphasizes collaboration, problem solving, and communication - all translatable skills for just about every career! Be on the look out in the spring for sign ups for the 2021 team! We hope you will give our episodes a listen and tell us what you think. Enjoy! |
Pitt Bio BlogThe Pitt Bio Blog is maintained by the Department of Biological Sciences Advising Office. Posts are authored by our students Archives
January 2022
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