To request a media interview, please reach out to School of Biological Sciences experts using our faculty directory, or contact Jess Hunt-Ralston, College of Sciences communications director. A list of faculty experts and research areas across the College of Sciences at Georgia Tech is also available to journalists upon request.
A Georgia Tech alumnus, and School of Biological Sciences Professor and Associate Chair of Research Joel Kostka, are working to restore seven acres of degraded salt marsh in historic Ashleyville, S.C. Albert George, who received an M.S. from Georgia Tech, is a former conservation director with the South Carolina Aquarium who is credited with spearheading work to restore the marsh. A group led by Kostka, who has a joint appointment in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and is researching coastal wetlands, received a grant from the National Coastal Resilience Fund for the marsh restoration project. Ashleyville was formerly known as Maryville, once a self-sustaining Black community, chartered and settled in 1886. It offered formerly enslaved people safe places to buy land, raise families, and work in the Jim Crow era. South Carolina's Department of Natural Resources will work with Georgia Tech to monitor the restoration efforts.
Historic Maryville marsh damaged by drought getting new life with volunteers in the muck | 2022-10-10T00:00:00-04:00
It used to be that people had to worry about not getting enough water during the course of their day. But this All Things Considered segment busts some dehydration myths to include the risks of drinking too much water, which could throw your water-sodium balance out of whack. Mindy Millard-Stafford, professor in the School of Biological Sciences and director of the Exercise Physiology Laboratory at Georgia Tech, comments on the effects of mild dehydration on higher-level mental functions.
How much water do you actually need? Here's the science | 2022-09-22T00:00:00-04:00
It used to be that people had to worry about not getting enough water during the course of their day. But this All Things Considered segment busts some dehydration myths to include the risks of drinking too much water, which could throw your water-sodium balance out of whack. Mindy Millard-Stafford, professor in the School of Biological Sciences and director of the Exercise Physiology Laboratory at Georgia Tech, comments on the effects of mild dehydration on higher-level mental functions.
How much water do you actually need? Here's the science | 2022-09-22T00:00:00-04:00
From bears to moose to lynx, and even squirrels and frogs, animals are leaving their homes in search of cooler climates as the planet warms. In fact, roughly half of the world’s 4,000 species are on the move, with many migrating northwards towards higher latitudes. For ecologists and conservationists, understanding how these species’ viable habitats expand and contract in the context of a rapidly shifting climate is critical. But current models can produce inaccurate, and overly optimistic results, because they fail to consider a key question: can a species realistically reach a suitable climate before it’s too late? A new computer modeling tool, MegaSDM, may help. It includes research from Jenny McGuire, assistant professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and the School of Biological Sciences, and Ben Shipley, Ph.D. candidate in the School of Biological Sciences, and it's the first modeling tool that considers dispersal limits for many species, climate models, and time periods at once.
In a Warmer World, Half of all Species Are on the Move. Where Are They Going? | 2022-09-08T00:00:00-04:00
Patch.com in Smyrna/Vinings focuses on one of Smyrna's city council representatives, Lewis Wheaton, who is also an associate professor in the School of Biological Sciences, and a member of Georgia Tech's neuroscience program. The prosthetics that Wheaton's team researches in his Cognitive Motor Control Lab would provide improved motor rehabilitation training for individuals with upper limb amputation. Patch.com also links to a longer Georgia Tech feature on the interdisciplinary neuroscience program.
Computational Neuroscience Digging Deep At Georgia Tech | 2022-08-25T00:00:00-04:00
How do we know what lands – or how much – to protect to maintain the current level of biodiversity? Jenny McGuire, an assistant professor with joint appointments in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and School of Biological Sciences, and Benjamin Shipley, a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Biological Sciences, share a byline for a Perspectives editorial in Science on that topic. In late 2021, McGuire received National Science Foundation and National Environment Research Council (NERC) funding to study the long-term relationships between Africa's large animals, their traits, and how they respond to changes in their environments. The goal is to use the data to forecast future changes and help inform conservation biology decisions for the continent.
Dynamic priorities for conserving species | 2022-06-06T00:00:00-04:00
Dolphins may rub on specific corals and sponges to treat their skin, researchers reported Thursday in the journal iScience. These stationary sea creatures may serve as drive-by pharmacies, dispensing a chemical cocktail that could treat bacterial or fungal infections or support skin health. The scientists said that cetaceans have not been observed self-medicating before. Some of these molecules may serve as immune boosters or sunscreens, said Julia Kubanek, professor in the School of Biological Sciences and School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and vice president of Interdisciplinary Research, who wasn’t part of the work. People have known about corals’ and sponges’ medicinal properties for around 50 years, Kubanek said. “But dolphins may have known about how to use marine organisms as medicines much longer than we have,” she added.
Dolphin Skincare: How These Sea Mammals Seem to Self-Medicate Their Skin | 2022-05-19T00:00:00-04:00
The Faces of Resiliency video series highlights how communities are increasing their resilience to sea level rise, storm surge and flooding. The series, developed by Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant at the University of Georgia, features interviews with coastal residents and researchers who share stories of adapting to coastal hazards through community engagement and collaboration with scientists, nonprofits, or government agencies. The video "Conserving Georgia's Salt Water Marshes" features Joel Kostka, professor and associate chair of Research in the School of Biological Sciences, highlighting his studies on helping salt water marshes stabilize shorelines while providing space for marshes to migrate in the future.
Faces of Resiliency | 2022-05-18T00:00:00-04:00
Once upon a time, all life on Earth was alien. But eventually, strange single-celled organisms thriving on a harsh planet gave way to complex, multicellular organisms made up of the basic building blocks we associate with life today, including carbon, oxygen and nitrogen. NASA announced this week that a new collaboration of astrobiology researchers across the country, working together under a Research Coordination Network called LIFE, will spend the next five years dedicating their efforts to understanding this journey from alien to familiar. Frank Rosenzweig, professor in the School of Biological Sciences, will co-lead the effort, along with former College of Sciences postdoctoral fellow Betül Kaçar, now an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The Search For How Life On Earth Transformed From Simple To Complex | 2022-05-17T00:00:00-04:00
Those who are allergic to yeast but still crave a pizza every now and then may get a rise out of this report: A materials scientist at the University of Naples Federico II has led a team of researchers to develop a yeast-free pizza dough. The results of the study were published in the Physics of Fluids journal. David Hu, a professor in the School of Biological Sciences and the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, and an adjunct professor in the School of Physics, was not involved in the study, but weighs in on the function of yeast in pizza dough, .
Roll over sourdough. Italian scientists develop a new way to rise pizza crust | 2022-03-22T00:00:00-04:00
