In autoimmune diseases, the human body’s own defense system turns against itself, attacking healthy cells and their protein components. Junior Christine Ausherman spent her summer at the Van Andel Research Institute as part of their Frederik and Lena Meijer Summer Internship Program, where she worked on a new method to pinpoint which proteins are being...
The father of wildlife conservation, Aldo Leopold, quit his high-ranking job with the U.S. Forest Service after four years, following his belief that conservation should come from the private sector. He then became the first professor of wildlife management in the country at the University of Wisconsin. His career culminated with the publication of “A...
More than 18 million Americans are gluten-sensitive, according to a study published in Digestion magazine. These Americans are forced to avoid foods containing the proteins found in grains such as breads and pastas. Senior biochemistry major Trey VanAken spent his summer researching a process which would remove gluten from the beer, so that those with...
It’s a morning ritual for many: boil some water, grab a favorite mug, and puzzle over the tea box — is this a morning for black tea or green? Or what about chamomile? Tazo or Twinings? The search for the perfect cup of tea was the fuel for — and the focus of —...
While slogging through a glacial lake in his one-person raft, Professor of Biology David Houghton spotted a tiny waterfall. The water fell clear, harboring just the kinds of insects for which Houghton had been looking. One of them, he thinks, was an undiscovered species. “An untrained eye would say, ‘That’s a stick,’ or ‘That’s a...