Maine Perspective Front Page
Cutting Edge
University of Maine Research on the Frontiers of Science
Tanks Full of Zebras
Within the next few months, Maine scientists will have better access to one of the most important new models for biological and medical research as a result of a Marine Technology Fund grant from the Maine Science and Technology Foundation.
The $198,084 grant was announced in August, with an equivalent amount in University of Maine matching funds, for a total of $396,178. The project will involve expansion of the zebra fish culture facility in Hitchner Hall and installation of environmentally controlled chambers.
Carol Kim, assistant professor of biochemistry, microbiology and molecular biology, has already laid the groundwork for the fish facility expansion by creating a system of about 152 aquaria equipped with a recirculating water supply and ultra-violet light disinfection. When the new facility is complete, it will house 588 tanks.
The facility on the first floor of Hitchner Hall hums with the sound of pumps and water flowing through plastic pipes. Each clear plastic aquarium has a capacity of about two gallons and is set on shelves supported on a floor-to-ceiling rack. Kim's rapidly growing zebra fish stock will become the basis for research by at least 10 faculty at UMaine, as well as scientists at other institutions in the state.
In addition to the fish facility, the grant will be used to purchase approximately six walk-in environmental chambers to be located in Murray and Hitchner halls. Sara Lindsay of the School of Marine Sciences, is the co-PI on the grant and will coordinate that effort. The chambers will enable scientists to grow plants and animals, including zebra fish, under strictly controlled conditions of light, humidity and temperature.
Most of the chambers will support marine research, such as studies of the effect of UV light on marine algae, sea urchins, sea anemones and other invertebrates; reproductive biology of marine algae; behavior and sensory biology of marine invertebrates; quantitative genetics of marine invertebrates; and toxicology studies of the effects of environmental contaminants on softshell clams and other marine animals.
"Most of these research projects focus on species in the Gulf of Maine," says Lindsay. "The chambers will let us create rooms with controlled lighting and temperature to mimic conditions in the Gulf of Maine. They will also be available to support other research projects (e.g., studying fungal infections of blueberry plants), and to support teaching laboratory needs."
Zebra fish have several advantages for research and teaching, says Kim: a high reproductive rate, hardiness under laboratory conditions and, perhaps most importantly, a clear embryo in which developing cells can be easily seen through a microscope.
During her graduate work at Cornell, Kim studied retroviruses, a class of viruses that includes HIV. She focused on their interaction with cells and their ability to replicate. During post-doctoral work at Oregon State University, she specialized on viruses affecting fish.
This past summer, Kim worked in the Harvard Medical School laboratory of Len Zon, one of the world's experts in zebra fish culture and research.
Kim is currently collaborating with other UMaine researchers, including Rebecca Van Beneden, Dorothy Croall, Keith Hutchison, Michael Vayda and Robert Cashon, on developing plans for a large mutagenesis project. The aim is to create lines of fish that exhibit specific mutations, much as researchers use fruit flies and mice to study the molecular basis for diseases. Once such lines are created, researchers will need to keep them isolated.
"Zebra fish are becoming one of the hot new models for studying developmental biology and molecular genetics," says Kim. "Lots of markers (fragments of DNA) have been identified for locating specific genes, and gene sequences are now available. There is also an effort under way to sequence the entire zebra fish genome, just as there is for the human genome."
"I have been very fortunate in receiving strong support from the University and the state. I wouldn't be able to do any of this without it," she adds.
The MSTF grant will be used to purchase nine additional racks capable of holding 60 aquaria each.
The Pattern of Particles
Anybody who sews, works with wood or enjoys a walk along a beach knows patterns. Repetitive shapes and forms are everywhere, and understanding them has been a driving force for scientists for centuries.
For physicist Marty Ytreberg of Argyle, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, the search for explanations of patterns has led to magnetic fields and an unusual liquid.
Ytreberg works with ferrofluids, substances that are a hot topic in the world of high-quality audio speakers. Ferrofluids consist of tiny magnetic particles, such as magnetite, a magnetized form iron-oxide, suspended in a fluid. What Ytreberg wants to do is predict what sort of pattern the particles will form under a magnetic field.
Although the fluids have practical applications in speakers, some types of machinery and even medicine, Ytreberg's studies fall squarely into the realm of basic science. Such studies can have enormous practical benefits, but they are based in curiosity for its own sake.
Ytreberg works with groups of equations and solves them in order to understand what happens to the ferrofluid when a magnetic field is applied. He explores the mathematical consequences of one assumption after another. The data for his studies come from published reports.
Ytreberg conducts his research in collaboration with Susan McKay, department chair. His labors produced a significant milestone last spring with publication of his first paper in Physical Review E and presentation to the Centennial Meeting of the American Physical Society in Atlanta.
Ytreberg considers his work to be excellent preparation for investigating current topics in physics. "Non-linear physics or non-linear dynamics is a rapidly growing field. The systems I'm working with are highly non-linear. I think I'm preparing myself well for a broad field survey on non-linear physics or condensed matter physics," he says.
Eventually, Ytreberg would like to work in a university as a physics teacher and researcher.