Heavy Metal Pollution Impacts Soil Bacterial Community Structure and Antimicrobial Resistance at the Birmingham 35th Avenue Superfund Site.

Heavy metals (HMs) are known to modify bacterial communities both in the laboratory and . Consequently, soils in HM-contaminated sites such as the U.S.

Expert-Led Module Improves Non-STEM Undergraduate Perception of and Willingness to Receive COVID-19 Vaccines.

As evidence mounted that existing prevention methods would be insufficient to end the COVID-19 pandemic, it became clear that vaccines would be critical to achieve and maintain reduced rates of infection. However, vaccine-hesitant sentiments have become widespread, particularly in populations with lower scientific literacy. The non-STEM major (called non-major) college students represent one such population who rely on one or more science classes to develop their scientific literacy and thus, become candidates of interest for the success of the COVID-19 vaccine campaign.

Agar Art: a CURE for the Microbiology Laboratory.

We previously developed and assessed "The Art of Microbiology," a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) which uses agar art to spur student experimentation, where we found student outcomes related to science persistence. However, these outcomes were not correlated with specific activities and gains were not reported from more than one class. In this study, we explored which of the three major activities in this CURE-agar art, experimental design, or poster presentations-affected student engagement and outcomes associated with improved understanding of the nature of science (NOS).

Market forces determine the distribution of a leaky function in a simple microbial community.

Many biological functions are leaky, and organisms that perform them contribute some of their products to a community "marketplace" in which nonperforming individuals may compete for them. Leaky functions are partitioned unequally in microbial communities, and the evolutionary forces determining which species perform them and which become beneficiaries are poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that the market principle of comparative advantage determines the distribution of a leaky antibiotic resistance gene in an environment occupied by two "species"-strains of growing on mutually exclusive resources and thus occupying separate niches.

Leveraging Virtual Experiences for International Professional Development Opportunities during the Pandemic and Beyond.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all spheres of life, including the world of education. Within no time, once-bustling university classrooms were compelled to move online, leaving educators to rely on virtual engagement tools. This in turn heightened the impact of virtual professional development in higher education, not just nationally but also internationally.

A Tale of Two Institutions: Analyzing the Impact of Gamified Student Response Systems on Student Anxiety in Two Different Introductory Biology Courses.

Anxiety can impact overall performance and persistence in college. Student response systems (SRSs), real-time active-learning technologies used to engage students and gauge their understanding, have been shown to elicit anxiety for some students. Kahoot! is an SRS technology that differs from others in that it involves gamification, the use of gamelike elements.

Is Community Relevance Enough? Civic and Science Identity Impact of Microbiology CUREs Focused on Community Environmental Justice.

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) often involve a component where the outcomes of student research are broadly relevant to outside stakeholders. We wanted to see if building courses around an environmental justice issue relevant to the local community would impact students' sense of civic engagement and appreciation of the relevance of scientific research to the community. In this quasi-experimental study, we assessed civic engagement and scientific identity gains ( = 98) using pre- and post-semester surveys and open-ended interview responses in three different CUREs taught simultaneously at three different universities.