In The News: School of Life Sciences
For a half-century, scientists have debated whether animals can hibernate for as little as a day
Scientists study how animals hibernate and how doing so might benefit people
In dry, disturbed soil throughout the West, a weedy invader from Eurasia has gained a tenacious foothold. Kochia scoparia, also called poor man’s alfalfa, has slender, gray-green leaves that turn an ornamental orange in autumn. Despite control efforts, this weed springs back relentlessly thanks to its bountiful seed bank.
Armed with shovels, the group turned enough dirt to plant 630 trees and grasses along the Las Vegas Wash, an area that was once submerged and served as a docking area for boats. “This area was 50 feet below Lake Mead,” said Dr. Scott Abella, assistant professor in the School of Life Sciences at UNLV.
During the summer months, everyone can hear the buzz. The sound seems to fill the air from June through August. It's the sound of cicadas.
Frank Van Breukelen is a UNLV researcher who studies Pupfish. He said the fish help scientists understand humans and evolution.
It was 34 years ago, in 1981, that the first patients of HIV were identified. Even now, there remain more than 36 million people worldwide living with HIV. In 2014, 1.2 million people died from AIDS-related illnesses. Three UNLV research professors, each manning a different front — from educational memoirs to life-saving baby showers to a possible cure — continue to make headway in this worldwide battle.
In the dark recesses of a tiny cave two hours northwest of Las Vegas, about 100 fish the size of your thumb live a very tough life.
Here’s a fish story for you: Five years ago, researchers at UNLV launched what they expected to be a simple, one-week study of the endangered Devil’s Hole pupfish. What they netted instead was a metabolic mystery that seems to defy the rules of biology.
Dr. Frank van Breukelen is an Associate Professor in the School of Life Sciences at the ҳ| 鶹ýӳ. He was invited to tell us about a new research project in this laboratory about some really cool mammals called tenrecs.
Once bathing in the waters of the southwestern United States, a fish, Cyprinodon macularius , found in the Death Valley basement, has surprisingly adapted after the drastic change in its aquatic environment. The adaptation of its metabolism to new conditions is an astonishing example of physiological plasticity.
Tiny pupfish have adapted their respiration to go without oxygen for long stretches.