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Skip to Search Results- 2Miyashita, Tetsuto
- 1Adams, Emily
- 1Aguirre Monroy, Angelica M
- 1Alam, Kazi, MM
- 1Baleja, James D.
- 1Bird, Heather M
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Gene expression and sensory structures in sponges: Explorations of sensory-neural origins in a non-bilaterian context
DownloadFall 2017
The nervous system is present in all but two animal phyla – one of them being Porifera, sponges. Sponges have no neurons and yet have organized behavior and finely tuned sensation. Furthermore, sponges have genes involved in the nervous system of other animals (informally called ‘neural’ genes)....
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Genetic diversity and selection in North American red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus): A Hamiltonian perspective into the processes and mechanisms of evolution
DownloadFall 2013
The theory of natural selection has advanced our understanding in every aspect of biological sciences, yet despite this seeming ubiquity, there remain some components that are not fully resolved. Natural selection predicts the “selfish” advancement of genes that are optimally suited for their...
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Hsp90 and its co-chaperones regulate the activity of human Argonaute2 in RNA-mediated silencing pathways
DownloadFall 2011
The potent ability of small, double-stranded RNAs to silence gene expression was initially reported 1998, sparking revolutions in molecular biology and genetics. Since then, intensive research into the mechanism of RNA-mediated silencing has implicated the machinery of this pathway in the...
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Impact of Farming Practices on Soil Bacterial Community Composition, Diversity, and Interactions in the Main Agricultural Regions of Alberta
DownloadSpring 2022
Soil health refers to “the capacity of soil to function as a vital living system”, implying not only the capacity of soil to providing services of human interest, but also its capacity to provide ecological services, which makes ecosystems sustainable for the long term. The assessment of soil...
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Insights from Sponge Transcriptomes & Physiology about the Early Evolution of Nervous Systems
DownloadFall 2014
The origin of neurons and neural systems is a research area that has begun to experience increased progress with the growing availability of genomic data from a range of basal metazoans and closely related outgroups. This has allowed a reevaluation of previous models of neural evolution....
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Fall 2019
Cilia are microtubule-based structures that project from nearly every cell in the vertebrate body. While cilia in different contexts can have either sensory or motile functions, all cilia rely upon a core set of genes. When these genes are mutated either singly or in various combinations, a...
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Modular Design and Directed Evolution for the Development of Genetically Encodable Fluorescent Sensors
DownloadSpring 2019
The development of genetically encodable sensors for optical imaging has revolutionized the way researchers investigate cellular phenomena. Illuminating the molecular dynamics of the cell has become nearly routine with countless improvements in sensor design and directed evolution efforts to...
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Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Polyethylenimine Mediated Nucleic Acid Complexation with Implications for Non-viral Gene Delivery
DownloadSpring 2013
Gene therapy is a promising therapeutic technique that involves delivering nucleic acids into cells. Polycations have evolved into a major category of gene carriers. Polyethylenimine (PEI) is one of the most effective polycationic carriers. Furthermore, modifying PEI with certain lipophilic...
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Spring 2016
Hybrids formed by biological entities and human-made nano-structures have been intensively studied in recent years due to their very interesting properties and applications. DNA-carbon nanotube (CNT) hybrid is one such material and the motivation of this PhD study. The interaction of DNA building...