The Weekly Beaker
Volume 14 Number 3
September 30th, 2009
North Dakota State University Graduate Visitation Day
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Any student who is considering graduate school in the areas of chemistry, biochemistry and molecular biology is invited to attend NDSU’s Graduate Visitation Day. You will learn about their graduate program, find out what research is going on in the department, and tour their state of the art research facilities. The schedule for the day is:
- 9:00 a.m.
Introduction and description of NDSU graduate programs. - 11:00 a.m.
Tour of the chemistry and biochemistry facilities. - 12:00 p.m.
Lunch with faculty and graduate students. - 2:30 p.m.
Visit with faculty individually and learn about their research programs. You will be able to select faculty in your area of interest to meet with. - 4:30 p.m.
Department science poster session. - 6:00 p.m.
Dinner with graduate students.
The NDSU Chemistry, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department will cover local hotel charges for your stay up to two nights and provide up to $100 towards your transportation expenses. Please RSVP by Monday, October 19, to Wendy Leach at 701-231-8751 or Wendy.Leach@ndsu.edu.
Seminar Announcement
Friday, October 2, 2009
3:30 p.m.
Olin 04
Tamara Hendrickson
Wayne State University
Indirect Biosynthesis of Gln-tRNA(Gln) in the Human Pathogen Helicobacter Pylori
Helicobacter pylori, the pathogenic bacterium that causes stomach ulcers and cancer, was the first bacterium whose genome sequence showed genes for only 18 unique aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, the enzymes that attach amino acids to their corresponding transfer RNAs. This organism is missing both glutaminyl- and asparaginyl-tRNA synthetases (GlnRS and AsnRS, respectively), despite utilizing both amino acids in proteins. Instead, H. pylori (and most other microorganisms) generates Gln-tRNA(Gln) and Asn-tRNA(Asn) via an indirect, two-step process. H. pylori is fairly unique, however, in that it has two glutamyl-tRNA synthetases - GluRS1 and GluRS2. We’ve shown that GluRS1 is a canonical GluRS that only aminoacylates tRNA(Glu). In contrast, GluRS2 is a unique tRNA(Gln)-specific GluRS that only misacylates tRNA(Gln) to generate Glu-tRNA(Gln), a key intermediate in indirect aminoacylation. The differences between GluRS1 and GluRS2, in terms of specificity and evolution, will be discussed.
Journal Club Meets This Week
Journal Club meets this Thursday at noon in Mudd 171 to discuss a paper relating to this week’s seminar. Go to the following for information about what to read beforehand: http://apps.carleton.edu/curricular/chem/events/?category=171005&no_search=1.
Cornell University Field Program in Earth and Environmental Systems, Spring 2010 - Hawai'i Island
Cornell University invites you to participate in our spring semester program of environmental and Earth systems field study on the Big Island of Hawai'i. Applications are currently being accepted for Spring 2010 and may be downloaded from http://www.geo.cornell.edu/hawaii/application.html.
Island inhabitants have long known that they must live sustainably, or not live. The Hawaiian Islands are an exceptionally dynamic natural laboratory, where we explore an active volcano and the ecosystems that have colonized and evolved there. We examine the development of terrestrial and marine systems over time, consider human impacts on plant and animal communities, think about our role as stewards, and experience geologic processes such as active volcanism and seismicity. Because the islands in the Hawaiian chain were sequentially created by volcanic eruptions, each island is of a different age, and we can use the islands as a time machine in which we examine the past, present, and future. Participants gain hands-on experience as we probe the interaction between earth, ocean, atmosphere and biosphere. Honoring the traditions of the original island inhabitants, we practice sustainable living and strive for a zero-carbon footprint. Courses include Earth systems science, biogeochemistry, marine ecology, Hawaiian history and culture, and an internship experience in the local community. The courses are field-based and taught by Cornell faculty from the Departments of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Nineteen semester credit hours are earned during the 16-week program, which begins January 23, 2010.
The program is designed for any student majoring in science with a strong interest in Earth and environmental studies. Additional information is available on the project web site, http://www.geo.cornell.edu//hawaii/. Interested students should contact Dr. Alexandra Moore, the program director, at afm113@gmail.com.
Green Corps 2011-2012 Field School for Environmental Organizing
Green Corps is looking for college graduates who are ready to take on the biggest environmental challenges of our day. In Green Corps’ year-long paid program, you’ll get intensive training in the skills you’ll need to make a difference in the world. You’ll get hands-on experience fighting to solve urgent environmental problems — global warming, deforestation, water pollution and many others — with groups such as Sierra Club and Greenpeace. And, when you graduate from Green Corps, they’ll help you find a career with one of the nation’s leading environmental and social change groups.
For more information, visit www.greencorps.org or contact Adam Macon, Green Corps Field Organizer, at adamm@greencorps.org or (828) 713-0047.
Meg Sedlak ('84) Visit
The Geology Department welcomes Meg (David) Sedlak ’84 to campus on October 5, 2009. Meg is a Senior Project Manager at the San Francisco Estuary Institute (http://www.sfei.org/index.html), where she works closely with the SFEI’s regional monitoring program. The program systematically measures water quality parameters, including biota, and provides information for decision-makers in the SF Bay watershed area.
Since graduating from Carleton, Meg earned a masters’ degree in water chemistry from UW-Madison. She has worked as a forest ranger in Chugach National Forest, at Resources for the Future, and at the Swiss Federal Institute of Environmental Science and Technology.
From 2:00-3:00 p.m. in the Geology Lounge (Mudd 71), Meg will be available to talk informally with students interested in environmental science and environmental studies. At 3:10 p.m. in Mudd 66, Meg will speak about the SFEI and the estuary monitoring program.
Scholars Info Session
Thursday, October 1, 7:00-8:00 p.m., Boliou 104, pizza provided
This year there is a Scholars trip in December focused on Clean/Green Technology in the San Francisco Bay Area.
What’s a Scholars trip? This is the Career Center’s highest-visibility program: “taste-of-industry” tours introduce 15-20 students to a variety of organizations in a particular field of interest (e.g., public policy, green tech, business, film/television and media, public health/medicine), including site visits, panel discussions, receptions, and social activities with alumni in the area. This is an amazing opportunity for students to get a glimpse of the industry and to make connections with the alumni community in a specific area of work.
The info session will go over all of the nuts and bolts of the program from the application and travel logistics all the way through the follow-up expectations. Questions? Call (5503) or email (jmueller@carleton.edu) Jessica Mueller in the Career Center.