Tags: Human Nature

couple on a porch
Franklin alumni Julie and Drew Wade

Georgia Magazine features a UGA couple this month who personify the long-lasting effects of our learning environment - both on career success and on the desire to make sure more UGA students share thier opportunities: The couple and their three children live in Savannah, where Julie (AB ’96, JD ’00) leads a thriving law firm and Drew (BS ’97, AB ’97) is a radiologist with SouthCoast Health. As Julie tells it, their life together really started…

man in lab color photo
$2.78 million from NIH to study CRISPR-Cas

One of the most promising technologies in at least a generation, CRISPR-Cas is a powerful gene editing tool derived from a defense mechanism evolved in bacteria and other single-celled organisms. Progress on the tool at UGA will continue thanks to a new grant from the National Institutes of Health: CRISPR-Cas allows scientists to precisely edit sequences of DNA in everything from plants to humans, and it could one day be used to…

large group portrait
Kudos, November 2016

The Bulldog 100, a Rhodes Scholar, and the new capital campaign highlight this month's kudos to faculty, students and staff: Laura Courchesne, an Honors Program student and Foundation Fellow from Fair Haven, New Jersey, majoring in economics and religion in the Terry College of Business and the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences named a 2017 Rhodes Scholar Geology doctoral student Ny Riavo Voarintsoa was among the The Geological Society of…

blueberries and strawberries
Noted and Quoted, November 2016

Research, opinion and more put Franklin College faculty and students in print and pixels around the world in November. A sample of the great work by our colleagues: Chimps and bonobos had flings—and swapped genes—in the past (Distinguished Research Professor of Genetics Michael Arnold) – Science Magazine When does skepticism become bias in science? Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor Marshall Shepherd in his regular column in…

two men with fMRI machine
Researchers investigate how plant compounds affect brain activity

The power of technology is one thing, but novel uses of great tools to investigate complex questions is connecting researchers with new insights, like this new study from the department of psychology: The same compounds that give plants and vegetables their vibrant colors might be able to bolster brain functioning in older adults, according to a recent study from the University of Georgia. The research from the department of psychology is the…

graphic of of inlet, coast, mountains
Ripple Effect film project

The research consortium Ecosystem Impacts of Oil and Gas Inputs to the Gulf includes 29 researchers from 15 institutions and is led by ­Samantha Joye, Athletic Association Professor in Arts and Sciences in UGA's marine sciences department. In addition to cutting-edge scientific research on the Gulf of Mexico, a primary goal of the consortium is to engage with the public about the group's scientific activities and the importance of healthy ocean…

two students in front of a painting
Georgia Debate Union wins LU tournament

Congratulations to the Georgia Debate Union, which continues to perform at a very high level and represent UGA student excellence. The team won the Liberty University intercollegiate debate tournament held November 4 through 6 in Lynchburg, Virginia. Over 100 teams from across the East Coast attended the tournament, including teams from the US Military Academy, the US Naval Academy, Georgetown University, Wake Forest University, the…

man next to a window sign
SNAP helps support retail sector

The purpose of government is a much more essential question than the framing we more often use to describe it, much less the criteria we use to select our leaders. But a new study from an interdisciplinary team of UGA researchers sheds some light on the positive effects of a supplemental program as much more broad than typically considered: Increased enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in Georgia contributed to the growth…

man on left, with mitosis color diagram
New insights on regulation of mitosis could improve chemotherapy treatments

An important new study from cellular biology researchers describes a drug combination that enhances chemotherapy's cancer-killing powers: Chemotherapy's ultimate goal is to destroy a person's cancer, but one common type of the treatment known as antimicrotubule chemotherapy has the tendency to let cancer cells slip through at the exact time that it's supposed to kill them-during the cell division phase known as mitosis. These dividing cells…

man in an exam room
Amazing student: David Newton

Majoring in biology and psychology with a minor in chemistry, the senior from Augusta has put the focus of his UGA experience on research, interning and community volunteering as he prepares for medical school: My time at UGA could be characterized as a humbling yet exhilarating work in progress. I’ve had some of the most incredible experiences in my life, and the people I’ve met here have been even more incredible. Many of these friends…

four people outside
Kudos, October 2016

Congratulations to these outstanding faculty, students and alumni on their recent accomplishments: Congratulations to former PhD Student, Marcus Williams of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service, who had the 2nd of his PhD dissertation manuscripts at UGA accepted for publication in the scholarly journal, Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing Journal. The paper, “Mapping the Spatio-temporal Evolution of…

climate statistics
Noted and Quoted, October 2016

New research, stormy weather and narcissism were some of the headlines featuring Franklin faculty during October, among many others. A sampling of the many media stories: Could You Spell that for Me, Please? Psychology professor W. Keith Campbell quoted in a San Diego State University News story on unique American bay names Can familiarity build trust? A white cop moves into black Atlanta neighborhood. Geography professor Steven Holloway quoted…

colored dots representing data
$1.3m NIH grant to develop statistical tools for disease research

Ping Ma, professor in the department of statistics, has been awarded $1.3 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health to develop statistical tools to further clarify the causes of many diseases-including cancer, heart disease and aging-related illnesses. Over four years, Ma and his team of researchers will look at something known as small RNAs, hoping to unravel their regulatory role on abnormal variations in genetic transcription…

man with plants
Focus on the Faculty: Jim Leebens-Mack

Professor of plant biology and Creative Research Medal winner Jim Leebens-Mack investigates the history of plant life on our planet while being an active member of the local community. His laboratory compares genome sequences to better understand the genetic basis of biological innovations that are of great practical importance for horticulture and agriculture: What are your favorite courses and why? I regularly co-teach three courses…

molecule diagram on red
Researchers publish new paradigm for attacking pathogens

Aggressive pathogens that infect humans can thrive in an oxygen-free environment via an ability to acquire the essential nutrient iron from heme (the cofactor that makes blood and muscle appear red). Newly published research from the department of biochemistry and molecular biology reveals how a key enzyme at the center of this survival mechanism functions, a breakthrough that will help provide an opportunity for a new class of antimicrobial…

two men in a lab with white coats
Bacterium research presents a pathway to potential new treatment

A common bacterium that more than half of people have in their gut can use hydrogen gas present in the gastrointestinal tract to inject a cancer-causing toxin into otherwise healthy cells, according to a recently published study led by Franklin College researchers: The bacterium's reliance on hydrogen presents a pathway to potential new treatment and preventive measures in fighting gastric cancers, which kill more than 700,000 people per year,…

two men in a lab
All in the family: Father-son NSF grant

The Quinns' working theory: If bio-imaging software can efficiently represent cells and their inner structures as "social networks," then biologists can gain further insight into infectious disease behavior and give public health professionals a better chance at combatting those diseases. The Quinns are a fantastic UGA family through and through, including daughters Sarah and Colleen and Mrs. Quinn, Joanne. Congratulations on this great new…

building, cupola, with blue sky
Klein receives Festschrift commemorating scholarly career

Professor of linguistics, Classics, and Germanic and Slavic languages Jared Klein has been honored with the publication of a festschrift celebrating his career and contributions to the discipline of Indo-European linguistics. The book-length volume of original, scholarly articles, Tavet Tat Satyam, was published by Beech Stave Press on the occasion of Klein’s seventieth birthday. The presentation of a festschrift is a European tradition honoring…

woman outdoors in front of building
Faculty profile: Cecilia Rodrigues

"I've always loved teaching and language, so the university was a natural path for me," Rodrigues said. "I feel a perfect connection with students that is so much more than just being in the classroom and doing research." As campus communicators, we get to spend time with the most impressive people you'd ever hope to meet. Dr. Rodrigues fits this bill and more, and her passion for the humanities makes her one of the crucial expert voices on the…

two men on Jeopardy!
Kudos, September 2016

Jeopardy! a Guggenheim Fellowship, new associate provost for international education and a festschrift... quite a month for Franklin College students, faculty and alumni: PhD theatre student Seth Noel Wilson is on Jeopardy! this week – Wilson won on Tuesday night and will return. What is fantastic news for a graduate student? The University of Georgia moved up three spots to No. 18 in the latest U.S. News & World Report ranking of Best…

ancient hand-drawn map in color
Noted and Quoted, September 2016

Research and expertise of Franklin faculty members mentioned widely in the media in September (plus a few notable examples from August): University researchers discover remains of 16th century Spanish fort associate professor of anthropology Victor Thompson mentioned in multiple outlets – R&B, Beaufort Gazette, The Atlantic, Kokomo Tribune, ABH, Ancient Origins HyperSolar names chemistry professor John Stickney as scientific advisor –…

woman i n lab with glasses
'Good as gold' at the nanoscale

"Medieval alchemists tried to create gold from other metals," she said. "That's kind of what we did with our research. It's not real alchemy, in the medieval sense, but it is a sort of 21st century version." Gold has long been a valuable resource for industry, medicine, dentistry, computers, electronics and aerospace, among others, due to unique physical and chemical properties that make it inert and resistant to oxidation. But because of its…

young woman with mountain
Remembering Ashley Block

Anthropology graduate student Ashley Block, the victim of a tragic accident earlier this week, was a conservationist, athlete and one of our best: Thursday morning, more than 200 people filled the church’s Common Room at Emmanuel, where Block became a treasured member of the church community as soon as she arrived in Athens as a University of Georgia graduate student two years ago. She was a Eucharistic minister for the church, licensed by…

man in the street with hat
'Humans of New York' creator on campus today

Taken together, these portraits and captions became the subject of a vibrant blog. HONY now has over twenty million followers on social media, and provides a worldwide audience with daily glimpses into the lives of strangers on the streets of New York City.   With a degree in history, Stanton moved to Chicago and worked in finance until he decided on a new direction. HNY is truly sui generis in the realm of social media and has had…

words on a chalkboard
The power of mnemonics

While it may not ring with the poetry of 'memory,' mnemonics represent the patterns and associations that allow us to remember - and learn - and will be the topic of what sounds like a fascinating presentation this afternoon, sponsored by the department of psychology and CTL: Henry L. Roediger III, the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor at Washington University, will provide a quick history of interest in mnemonics and then…
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