Trustees and council members get life science update

By Roger Segelken

Faculty researchers working with a homely fish that grunts, a single-celled organism called the diatom and some scraggly wild rice plants are bringing basic science closer to applications that will help humankind, a gathering of Cornell trustees and university council members were told Oct. 31 in the seminar, "Accelerating Discovery," in the Biotechnology Building on campus.

Susan McCouch, associate professor of plant breeding, discusses her research into improving rice varieties, Oct. 31, in the Biotechnology Building. Robert Barker/University Photography

Professor of Neurobiology and Behavior Andrew Bass reported on his long-term studies of signaling chemicals in the brains of the midshipman fish, a species with two kinds of males and females that can't always tell the difference. Ultimately, Bass said, he hopes to answer the question: How do neuropeptides lead to changes in social behavior of fish and other animals, including humans? In the meantime, the researcher said, he has just learned how varying levels of estrogen and testosterone can affect sensitivity of the ear. And any new information about estrogen is sure to help human medicine's understanding of that steroid hormone, which has important roles in normal brain activity but also can lead to some kinds of cancer.

Ulrich Wiesner, associate professor of materials science and engineering, said he studies the silica-based diatoms to learn their secret for processing silicon dioxide, in hopes of mimicking their technique and making intricate micro-structures from silicon. The first step in biomimicry, he noted, is simplification because "some of nature's processes are far too complicated" to duplicate with present-day knowledge. Other work in Wiesner's lab is directed at understanding the mast cells that are involved in human allergies, and he reported progress in fastening smaller and smaller beads to the cells' surface receptors, where antigens become attached, to develop new medicinal strategies for interrupting the allergic response.

Susan McCouch, associate professor of plant breeding, said she aims to improve crop yields in rice, the largest single food source worldwide. But her quest starts with wild rice varieties so scraggly that they barely qualify as weeds. McCouch said she is interested in recovering some of the genetic diversity that was lost since the first wild plants were cultivated as food sources -- genes for disease and insect resistance, for example. Her development of improved rice varieties is not "genetic engineering," but rather the traditional cross-breeding to produce better hybrids, McCouch said. But her decisions about which varieties to cross are informed by her detailed, molecular knowledge of each plant's genetic makeup. And other scientists could use her freely available knowledge of rice genomes to engage in genetic engineering, she acknowledged in answer to one council member's question.

The three speakers credited the invaluable assistance they receive from Cornell students, undergraduates as well as grad students, who work side-by-side with them in their research programs.

And McCouch said she starts them even younger, with gratifying results. Two of the high school student-researchers in her lab last summer have just become national finalists for Westinghouse science scholarships, she announced proudly.