012 - NatSci News Rewind June 2020 Transcript You're listening to NatSci News Rewind a podcast that looks back at the monthly news headlines in the world of NatSci. Let's take a look back at the news for the month of June 2020. Machine learning model finds SARS-CoV-2 growing more infectious A novel machine learning model developed by researchers at MSU suggests that mutations to the SARS-CoV-2 genome have made the virus more infectious. Knowledge about the infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 is a vital factor for preventive measurements against COVID-19 and reopening the global economy. To this end, the scientists have used a machine learning model to conduct a systematic screening of all possible 3,686 future mutations on 194 possible mutation sites along the receptor-binding domain. Disparity explored between scientists featured in biology textbooks and students who use them Researchers from four universities, including Michigan State University plant biologists Marjorie Weber and Ash Zemenick, participated in a study to explore a potential demographic mismatch in scientists featured in biology textbooks and the students that use them. MSU's Melanie Cooper, James McCusker land Royal Society of Chemistry honors Melanie Cooper, Lappan-Phillips Professor of Science Education, and James K. McCusker, MSU Foundation Professor of Chemistry, each received a prestigious award from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).Cooper received the 2020 Education Award from the RSC’s Education Division; McCusker received the 2020 Chemical Dynamics Award from the RSC’s Faraday Division. NatSci scientists pinpoint protein's supporting role in Kennedy's disease MSU scientists Cynthia Jordan, professor in the College of Natural Science Neuroscience Program, and Katherine Halievski, former Ph.D. student in Jordan’s Lab and lead author, published a benchmark study in the Journal of Physiology describing the key role of one of these proteins in Kennedy’s disease: Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, or BDNF. MSU part of multi-institutional NSF-funded project to advance nuclear physics experiments Five MSU researchers from the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, or FRIB, and the Department of Statistics and Probability are participating in a multi-institutional, five-year, $3.7 million NSF project to advance nuclear physics experiments.The effort will develop software to create more accurate models of scientific phenomena — from what happened in the microseconds after the Big Bang to how long a radioactive nucleus will live before it decays. MSU integrative biologist utilizes NEON to illuminate biodiversity Through the eyes of MSU integrative biologist Phoebe Zarnetske, the natural world contains nearly infinite potential data points that, when aggregated over time and space, reveal predictable patterns of biodiversity. Zarnetske will expand her geodiversity investigations from the smallest beetles to the nation’s largest land formations as lead investigator of a 5-year, $1.5 million NSF Macrosystems Biology and NEON-Enabled Science grant. Nature provides roadmap to potential breakthroughs in solar energy technology James McCusker, an MSU Foundation Professor in the Department of Chemistry believes that the future of solar energy lies in abundant, scalable materials designed to mimic and improve upon the energy conversion systems found in nature. In a groundbreaking new study in Nature, he and his team reveal a novel process that allows molecules to tell scientists how they should be modified to better absorb and convert solar energy. Novel statistical model pieces together biodiversity puzzle Thousands of species are in decline worldwide and thousands more are of unknown status, possibly going extinct unnoticed. But as species dwindle, data about them are on the rise. MSU's Elise Zipkin, will use a 3-year, $783,676 NSF grant to unite diverse data sources into a novel and flexible statistical modeling framework, called the Integrated Community Model, with the aim of assessing the status, trends and dynamics of biodiversity. NatSci advisor receives award to study Latinx graduates Danielle Flores Lopez, associate director of student success in the Office of Academic Student Affairs in the MSU College of Natural Science, has been selected as a NACADA Student Research Award Winner in the doctoral category. The College of Natural Science stands with the MSU Black community Along with Michigan State University President Samuel Stanley and Provost Sullivan, the College of Natural Science stands with our Black faculty, staff, students, and alumni. We must all commit to individual and collective action within our spheres of influence to address anti-Blackness and violence and dismantle structural racism within our community. NatSci holds virtual welcome event for incoming fall semester students Michigan State University College of Natural Science Dean Phil Duxbury and members of the NatSci community hosted a virtual welcome on Wed., June 10, at 7:00 p.m. to greet incoming fall semester students. Angela Wilson a finalist for American Chemical Society president-elect position Michigan State University computational chemist Angela Wilson is one of two candidates vying for the American Chemical Society’s 2021 president-elect position in this fall’s election. The winner will serve a three-year term (2021-2023) on the board as a member of the presidential succession. MSU postdoc receives grant to study Icelandic stickleback genome Whitley Lehto, a postdoctoral researcher in MSU integrative biologist Janette Boughman’s lab, was recently awarded an $8,000 Ecological, Evolutionary, and Conservation Genomics Research Award from the American Genetic Association to study epigenetics and plasticity in the Iceland stickleback. And that will wrap up the rewind for the month of June 2020. To read more about these stories, head on over to our website at natsci.msu.edu/news. You can also stay up to date by following us on social. You can find us on Twitter @msu_natsci, on Facebook @MSUCNS, and on Instagram @msunatsci. Thanks for tuning in and be sure to check us out next month.