Diversity helps populations thrive. This is true of the people and plants involved in natural resource management. The Conservation Foundation of Missouri Charitable Trust (CFMCT) established the Minority Natural Resource Scholarship to encourage and assist minority students in the field. Vanessa Morales, biology senior at Missouri State University, is the 2021 … [Read more...] about Supporting diversity and management of natural resources
Learning is key to success, even for bees. Bees’ capacity to learn could be influenced by internal factors, including their gut health. Biology graduate student Parker Campbell studies how gut health relates to bee behavior and survival. She recently received a grant from the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB) to aid in her research … [Read more...] about Linking bees’ health and behavior
What does it mean for a department to be comprehensive? In the case of the biology department at Missouri State University, it means students receive access to more resources and research opportunities and broader perspectives than they would find in specialized programs. Dr. Alicia Mathis serves as the department head of biology at Missouri State. She shares how the … [Read more...] about Comprehensive program shapes students into scientists
Grants lead to greater research capabilities. This is why Sigma Xi uses their Sigma Xi Grants in Aid of Research program to provide student researchers with grant funding annually. Biology students Indigo Tran and Hannah Whaley are the recipients of the award this year. Both are advisees of Dr. LaToya Kissoon-Charles, assistant professor of biology. Investigating … [Read more...] about Biology students awarded Sigma Xi grant
Across North America, including Missouri, bats of certain species are dying in worrisome numbers from a disease called white nose syndrome, a fungal disease. This disease kills the bats while they are in hibernation. Dr. Tom Tomasi, Missouri State University biology professor and his colleague, Dr. Christopher Lupfer, Missouri State biology assistant professor, are working … [Read more...] about Why are some bats species dying from a disease?