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2022-23 Biology News Stories

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Experiential Learning Hits the Road!

Over winter break, 14 students and two Biology faculty explored human-wildlife conflicts in the Anthropocene on a six-day camping trip at 10 sites throughout Florida.

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Rodent: Friend or foe? ‘Pests’ explores how some animals become villains.

With its modest title, “Pests” might be mistakenly shelved with mouse-proofing guides. But Bethany Brookshire’s new book is something far more ambitious. A lively and fascinating work of science writing, “Pests” explores, as its subtitle promises, “how humans create animal villains” — including, naturally, mice.

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Former W&M Alumna & New faculty member plumbs the depths of fast-track evolution

Congratulations! Lamia Wahba is a former honors student in the Shakes Lab in Biology and a Beckman Scholar! She is the newest addition to The Rockefeller University faculty, discovered a key mechanism of non-genetic inheritance in the nematode C. elegans, and has since launched a deeper investigation into the mysteries of non-genetic inheritance. Wahba will join Rockefeller January 1, 2023, as a tenure-track assistant professor and head of laboratory.

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W&M Biology Alumnus Publishes Book

W&M Biology Alumnus Dr. Joseph J. Torres, Professor Emeritus at the College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, recently published a text/reference book.

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Cleve Francis’s heartwarming Legacy

Cleve Francis was a graduate student of G. R. "Jack" Brooks in the Department of Biology during the late 60s. He was a huge talent as a singer, self-taught guitar player and folk songwriter. After he finished his master's degree, he went on to medical school, then specialized in cardiology. The Washington Post lead article in the Style section C1-2 on 7 July 2022 tells his story.

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Summer 2022 Research in Mexico

The IIC-sponsored project is teaming scientists with Indigenous people to preserve and monitor the vegetation of their bio-rich ancestral lands and share knowledge with each other.  The project is centered in the trans-Mexican volcanic belt surrounding the southern end of Mexico City.