CSUN biologists hit the stride of the spring semester this week, with a full schedule of lectures and labs. Prospective Master’s students applying to labs in the Ecology and Evolution and Marine Biology sections are visiting the department on Friday, and a CSUN Biology graduate returns to campus to talk about her career in forensics.
The Biology Colloquium seminar series continues Friday with Dr. Cassandra Williams, a CSUN Biology alumna now working at the New York City Coroner’s office, presenting “From crime scene to lab bench: Forensic biology at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.” Colloquium seminars are held at 2:30pm in Chaparral Hall room 5125.
Applications are due Friday for students to present research at the 2026 CSUNPosium, the campus-wide showcase of student projects on Friday, April 10. Student applicants will need to provide a 100-word project abstract and choose their preferred format — a 3-minute or 10-minute talk, or a poster — and submit to the CSUNPosium website. (Faculty advisors will have to verify student applications within two days.)
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Click through for more of what’s going on across the Biology Department:
Abdelsayed Lab reports new “RNA thermometer”
In a new paper in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, a team led by Master’s student Madelyn Mills and Prof. Michael Abdelsayed describe a new RNA molecule similar to ROSE-G, a regulatory RNA structure that controls gene expression in response to temperature. Analyzing the structure of the new “ROSE-G motif”, they conclude that it also functions as an RNA thermometer. The full paper is available Open Access on the journal website.
Mackelprang cools down worries about permafrost pathogens
Viruses released by thawing permafrost are not likely to threaten human health, Prof. Rachel Mackelprang said in a new interview with SCVNews. Prof. Mackelprang, who studies microbial diversity in extreme environments like Arctic soils, led a comprehensive assessment of risks from viruses or other infectious organisms released when permafrost thaws, published last year in mSphere. Mackleprang and her coauthors found that human pathogens generally do not survive freezing.
Yoder Lab study tracking Joshua trees’ early bloom makes the news
Prof. Jeremy Yoder and Master’s student Kirsten Zornado have been rallying iNaturalist users to help observe an anomalous early Joshua tree bloom — with help this week from news coverage in SFGATE, the LA Daily News, Smithsonian Magazine, and the New York Post.