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Research

At the College of Biological Sciences we learn biology by doing biology, and our faculty are on the cutting edge of research and discovery in the field. Here you will find a collection of news, features and opportunities concerning research at CBS.

Getting an EDGE on new way to engineer function into microbes

Imagine if you were editing an email and every time you tried to change a word, three other words would randomly change as well. That probably sounds like a frustrating and time-consuming way to compose anything useful. And it’s equally frustrating and time-consuming for biologists trying to study adaptation or edit the genes of organisms. Conventional approaches to mutation offer little opportunity to target individual genes without altering others as well.

Research Brief: Glimpse Into Ancient Hunting Strategies of Dragonflies and Damselflies

Damselfly

Dragonflies and damselflies are animals that may appear gentle, but are — in fact — ancient hunters. The closely related insects shared an ancestor over 250 million years ago — long before dinosaurs — and provide a glimpse into how an ancient neural system controlled precise and swift aerial assaults.

Research Brief: 3D Movies Reveal How Cuttlefish Determine Distance When Striking at Prey

Cuttlefish

While cuttlefish wearing glasses is an unexpected sight, a University of Minnesota-led research team built an underwater theater and equipped the cephalopods with specialized 3D glasses to investigate how cuttlefish determine the best distance to strike moving prey. Their research revealed cuttlefish use stereopsis to perceive depth when hunting a moving target.

Checking in With Dean Forbes - April 2020

It would be difficult to overstate the impact of this pandemic on how we fulfill each part of our mission including education, research and outreach. Feelings of dislocation and disappointment are to be expected, but despite personal and professional challenges, this community has risen to the occasion in ways large and small. We have demonstrated great resilience and adapted to dramatically changed circumstances with creativity. I want to share a few of the many examples.

Works in Progress

Four years ago, the College launched a program designed to spark cross-disciplinary collaboration around biology-based, socially relevant problems. Here’s the story so far.

Grand challenges postdocs

Laying a Path to Policy

CBS alumna Katherine Himes hopes to inspire students to explore the possibilities at the intersection of science and policy.

Katherine Himes

Despite seeing few examples of careers to pursue outside of academia, healthcare or industry while in graduate school, Katherine Himes (B.S. Neuroscience, ’99; Ph.D. Neuroscience, ’07) decided to forge her own path.