October 23, 2026: Of Mice and Manatees

Quiz question! What do the above two animals have in common?

Yes, they are both somewhat round.  But that’s not it.

Yes, they both breathe air. But that’s not it.

Yes, they are both mammals. Still not it.

Finally – you got it!  They both featured prominently in biology presentations this week!

On Tuesday we were blessed by a visit from Dr. Gina Leinninger, coming to us from Michigan State University. Dr. Leinninger is a biomedical researcher interested in the relationship between obesity and pain. She uses mouse models of obesity to understand how neurotensin, a neuropeptide, can both suppress hunger and reduce chronic pain. This sounds like an amazing drug! But there is always a catch.  Here, the catch is that, well, it’s just not that simple. Neurotensin does other things, including regulation of the cardiovascular system, which makes its use as an anti-obesity and pain drug unlikely. Much of science is not that simple, requiring decades of work to reach some end goal.

Meanwhile, many miles away, several of our biology community have spent the week at an international conference of the Society for Marine Mammals in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Dr. Gonzalez is on the organizing committee for this conference, serving as a scientific program co-chair. Senior student Salanah Vaughan presented her research on the reproductive behavior of tucuxi in the Amazon Basin on Wednesday. We hope it went well, Salanah! Professor Moore also presented at the meeting on her evaluation of manatee hearing using bone conduction auditory brainstem response techniques.  

The joy of being a scientist is that there is always something new to learn! Biology is intrinsically interesting to humans, because we are biological. And we share the planet with lots of other biological things, so that the more we learn about them, the more we learn about ourselves.

Back here on the Andrews campus, several of our student researchers, Jimin, Megan, and Abigail, shared their Honors projects at the annual Celebration of Research and Creative Scholarship in Buller Hall just this afternoon. The room buzzed with activity as many voices joined together to share and discuss and hopefully understand a variety of projects from across the University community. I saw many of you there!

Next week in biology, we have two things to take note of, to put in your calendar:

• On Tuesday, October 27, at 11:30am, we will have an academic assembly presented by Michael Ducey, chemist from Fas Pak, a local company. He will share his work at the interface of microbiology and industrial chemistry. Remember, we share our planet with lots of other biological things, many of them being microbes!
• On Friday, October 30, at 5:30pm, we hope to see you all at our Bonfire Vespers! This will be at the fire pit between the Science Complex and the Alumni House. We will have haystacks, s’mores, music, worship, games, and co-curricular credit. Fall is in the air – a perfect time for a bonfire!

We look forward to seeing you then!  But until then, have a blessed Sabbath and a great week ahead.