Experts in the News

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.

Chemists say they have solved a crucial problem in a theory of life’s beginnings, by demonstrating that RNA molecules can link short chains of amino acids together. The findings, published in Nature, support a variation on the ‘RNA world’ hypothesis, which proposes that before the evolution of DNA and the proteins it encodes, the first organisms were based on strands of RNA, a molecule that can both store genetic information — as sequences of the nucleosides A, C, G and U — and act as a catalyst for chemical reactions. “If the origins of RNA and the origins of protein are linked, and their emergence is not independent, then the math shifts radically in favor of an RNA–protein world and away from an RNA world,” says Loren Williams, professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry who was not involved in the study. 

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.

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.

One name was heard repeatedly during Georgia Tech’s commencement ceremony Saturday. It’s Kashlan — as in Adam, Rommi and Zane Kashlan. The fraternal triplets, who will turn 19 later in May, graduated from the College of Sciences. Three years ago, they shared valedictorian honors from West Forsyth High School. Now, they’re graduating from college a year early, each with a B.S. in Neuroscience. “They’ve earned every bit of it,” their father, Dean Kashlan, said of their success. He graduated from Georgia Tech in 1985. (This story was also covered on 11Alive News.)

RNA has long been thought to be a key molecule in the primordial soup that was Earth a few billion years ago, because it can not only store genetic information but also act as an enzyme — two key functions needed for the development of life. But whether RNA-based life really existed, what it looked like, and how it evolved into the DNA-, RNA-, and protein-based organisms of today have remained open questions. Now, a study published in Nature points to the possibility that RNAs may have played a role in building early proteins by simply linking amino acids together. Loren Williams, professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, did not participate in the study but says if the origins of RNA "and the origins of protein are linked, and their emergence is not independent, then the math shifts radically in favor of an RNA–protein world and away from an RNA world.”

Young Jang, an associate professor in the School of Biological Sciences, has received a five year, $2.2 million award from the National Institutes of Health to study heterochronic parabiosis and identify anti-aging factors in blood. The study will be done under the auspices of the NIH's National Institute on Aging.

What major challenges will higher education face in 2018? In addition to funding, free speech, and student safety issues, the authors of this story wonder about university presidents "using their bully pulpits, and their voices, to advance their principles and institutions." They include College of Sciences alumnus Angel Cabrera, president of Georgia Mason University, among a new breed of thought leaders. The authors cite this November 2016 Cabrera message to the George Mason community as an example. Cabrera received his M.S. from the School of Psychology in 1993, and a Ph.D. in psychology from Tech in 1995.

Annalisa Bracco, professor and Associate Chair in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, is interviewed on Fox Weather about what can be expected from the 2023-24 winter version of El Niño, the climate pattern that can mean heavier rains/snow for the southern U.S., and dryer, warmer-than-usual weather in eastern states and Canada.