Congenital heart defects affect nearly 40,000 births every year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Dr. Ryan Udan, associate professor of biology at Missouri State University, leads studies in his lab to understand how blood-vessel-related birth defects form. “We want to learn how the smooth muscle tissue grows to surround … [Read more...] about Vascular research as a path toward a cure
The coronavirus pandemic has affected people’s lives, especially those at a higher risk to contract the virus. Tasks, such as eating at a restaurant, going to the grocery store and mailing packages can carry some degree of risk for COVID-19 transmission. How safe is it for you to visit a post office or shipping center to mail packages if you’re high risk for COVID? … [Read more...] about Is it safe to ship packages during COVID?
Biologist Dr. Jay McEntee believes songbirds – specifically wrens – learn songs from those they are surrounded by. He is conducting research with a student about how these birds learn new and more complex songs. The research project was shared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. … [Read more...] about How a songbird expands its songbook
The California floater mussel, a native freshwater mussel, is on its way to extinction. But Dr. Chris Barnhart, distinguished professor of biology at Missouri State University, is working with ecologist Jonathan Young and a team of others, to reintroduce the California floater mussel to Mountain Lake, — a tiny 2,000-year-old natural lake located on the southern edges of San … [Read more...] about Reintroducing the California floater mussel
As a butterfly enthusiast for his entire life, Dr. Chris Barnhart remembers collecting caterpillars in a grass-filled Radio Flyer wagon as a young child. Now a distinguished professor of biology at Missouri State University, Barnhart tells how his hobby turned into an outreach program about a decade ago. Butterflies defy odds with long-distance migration He and his wife now run … [Read more...] about Biologist shares passion for butterflies through community events