Walking the talk: The responsibility of the scientific community for mitigating conference-generated waste.

An estimated 19-23 million metric tons of global plastic waste reportedly entered aquatic environments in 2016 with mounting evidence that plastic marine debris causes ecological effects across all levels of biological organization in aquatic systems. Scientific conferences generate opportunities for waste through food and beverage services, giveaways, marketing and registration materials, poster and trade exhibits, attendee travel, lodging services, and local transportation. Zero waste measures instituted at the Sixth International Marine Debris Conference resulted in the avoidance of 76,300 single-use items.

Incorporating A Structured Writing Process into Existing CLS Curricula.

Good communication and critical thinking are essential skills for all successful professionals, including Clinical Laboratory Science/Medical Laboratory Science (CLS/MLS) practitioners. Professional programs can incorporate writing assignments into their curricula to improve student written communication and critical thinking skills. Clearly defined, scenario-focused writing assignments provide student practice in clearly articulating responses to proposed problems or situations, researching and utilizing informational resources, and applying and synthesizing relevant information.

Mu-seq: sequence-based mapping and identification of transposon induced mutations.

Mutations tagged by transposon insertions can be readily mapped and identified in organisms with sequenced genomes. Collections of such mutants allow a systematic analysis of gene function, and can be sequence-indexed to build invaluable resources. Here we present Mu-seq (Mutant-seq), a high-throughput NextGen sequencing method for harnessing high-copy transposons.

Human cord blood-derived unrestricted somatic stem cells promote wound healing and have therapeutic potential for patients with recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa.

Human umbilical cord blood (CB)-derived unrestricted somatic stem cells (USSCs) have previously been demonstrated to have a broad differentiation potential and regenerative beneficial effects when administered in animal models of multiple degenerative diseases. Here we demonstrated that USSCs could be induced to express genes that hallmark keratinocyte differentiation. We also demonstrated that USSCs express type VII collagen (C7), a protein that is absent or defective in patients with an inherited skin disease, recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB).

Diverse roles of strigolactone signaling in maize architecture and the uncoupling of a branching-specific subnetwork.

Strigolactones (SLs) control lateral branching in diverse species by regulating transcription factors orthologous to Teosinte branched1 (Tb1). In maize (Zea mays), however, selection for a strong central stalk during domestication is attributed primarily to the Tb1 locus, leaving the architectural roles of SLs unclear. To determine how this signaling network is altered in maize, we first examined effects of a knockout mutation in an essential SL biosynthetic gene that encodes CAROTENOID CLEAVAGE DIOXYGENASE8 (CCD8), then tested interactions between SL signaling and Tb1.