In Memoriam…
The department is sad to report that Professor Bill DeWitt died at home on May 3rd. A member of the Class of 1961, Bill was a part of the biology department and the college since his return to Williams in 1967. The many students who knew and admired him include the large number he taught in Biology 101 and in his very popular Clocks senior seminar.
If you would like to share a memory or offer condolences, you may visit his memorial site.
Experimental Biology 2013 Conference
Christine Schindler ’13, Uttara Partap ’13, and Becca Maher ’13 won the David Bruce Award at the American Physiological Society’s Experimental Biology 2013 Conference!! See the full story.
2013 Registration Advising Hours
Click for this years Registration Advising Hours. Don’t forget…there will be a PIZZA LUNCH in TBL 211 at noon on the first day of registration so you can hear have an opportunity to talk with faculty about what they are teaching next fall.
Poster Presentation Guidelines and Thesis Deadlines
Click for important information regarding your poster and deadlines.
Winter Study Program in the Schools
BioEyes Program introduces 4th Graders to Science
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Each year hundreds of thousands of students in thousands of classrooms learn about biology by studying animals that have died. Read more…
Honors and Summer Research Deadline, February 1st
The deadline to apply to the honors program and/or the summer research program is February 1st. Information and applications can be found here.
There will be an open house for those students interested in doing a thesis as well as students considering summer research.
Information Session:
Tuesday, January 15th
@ 7pm in TBL 112
Lab Open House:
Wednesday, January 16th
from 2-4 pm,
meet in Thompson Biology Lobby
Heather Williams Publishes Article in Animal Behaviour
Williams, H., Levin, I.I., Norris, D.R., Newman, A.E.M., Wheelwright, N.T. (2013) Three decades of cultural evolution in Savannah sparrow songs. Animal Behaviour. 85:213-223.
Rob Savage publishes in Nature
Insights into bilaterian evolution from three spiralian genomes.
Source
1] European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Meyerhofstraße 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany [2] Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
Abstract
Current genomic perspectives on animal diversity neglect two prominent phyla, the molluscs and annelids, that together account for nearly one-third of known marine species and are important both ecologically and as experimental systems in classical embryology. Here we describe the draft genomes of the owl limpet (Lottia gigantea), a marine polychaete (Capitella teleta) and a freshwater leech (Helobdella robusta), and compare them with other animal genomes to investigate the origin and diversification of bilaterians from a genomic perspective. We find that the genome organization, gene structure and functional content of these species are more similar to those of some invertebrate deuterostome genomes (for example, amphioxus and sea urchin) than those of other protostomes that have been sequenced to date (flies, nematodes and flatworms). The conservation of these genomic features enables us to expand the inventory of genes present in the last common bilaterian ancestor, establish the tripartite diversification of bilaterians using multiple genomic characteristics and identify ancient conserved long- and short-range genetic linkages across metazoans. Superimposed on this broadly conserved pan-bilaterian background we find examples of lineage-specific genome evolution, including varying rates of rearrangement, intron gain and loss, expansions and contractions of gene families, and the evolution of clade-specific genes that produce the unique content of each genome.
Molecular Biologist / Biochemist Position
2-year Visiting Faculty Position
Biology Department
Williams College
The Biology Department at Williams College, a premier liberal arts college with a long-standing tradition of excellence in the sciences, invites applications for a 2-year visiting assistant professor to begin July 2013. We are seeking a broadly trained MOLECULAR BIOLOGIST / BIOCHEMIST who will teach immunology and other upper-level courses in his/her area of specialty. Normally, faculty members teach one course and two laboratory sections (or the equivalent) each semester.
A research program that involves talented undergraduates is expected, and a limited amount of internal funds for research are available. A Ph.D. and postdoctoral experience are required. All offers of employment are contingent upon completion of a background check. Applicants should submit curriculum vitae, brief statements of teaching and research interests, and arrange for three letters of recommendation to be sent by January 31, 2013 to: biochemsearch@williams.edu, care of Steven Swoap, Chair, Department of Biology, Williams College.
Williams College is a coeducational liberal arts institution located in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts with easy access to the culturally rich cities of Albany, Boston, and New York City. The College is committed to building and supporting a diverse population of approximately 2,000 students, and to fostering an inclusive faculty, staff and curriculum. Williams has built its reputation on outstanding teaching and scholarship and on the academic excellence of its students. Please visit the Williams College website (http://www.williams.edu). Beyond meeting fully its legal obligations for non-discrimination, Williams College is committed to building a diverse and inclusive community where members from all backgrounds can live, learn, and thrive.
James Carlton Quoted in NYT Article About Jellyfish and Immortality
Full Article: Can a Jellyfish Unlock the Secret of Immortality?
(continued from page 1) But we still don’t understand how it ages in reverse. There are several reasons for our ignorance, all of them maddeningly unsatisfying. There are, to begin with, very few specialists in the world committed to conducting the necessary experiments. “Finding really good hydroid experts is very difficult,” says James Carlton, a professor of marine sciences at Williams College and the director of the Williams-Mystic Maritime Studies Program. “You’re lucky to have one or two people in a country.” He cited this as an example of a phenomenon he calls the Small’s Rule: small-bodied organisms are poorly studied relative to larger-bodied organisms. There are significantly more crab experts, for instance, than hydroid experts.
