The lab is gearing up for a great Summer 2011. We have a new student coming into the lab at the end of summer! The lab is planning on making more trips to summer day care centers showing off our collection of articulated skeletons, plastinated organs, dried lungs, skulls, bones, and much more!! The research is taking off with at least 2 papers to be coming out this summer. Stay tuned for more information!!
Registration for the 2009 Polar Science Project is now open! We invite teachers of grades 6-12 to register their classes. As with all YES I Can! Science projects, registration and participation is free of charge.
The third in a series of award-winning Polar Science projects developed by YES I Can! Science, this is an exciting opportunity to collaborate via blog and webcast with other classes from around the world, and learn from biologists Dr. Shane Kanatous and Dr. Thomas Hawke how marine mammals live and thrive in extreme environments.
In 2005 and 2006 we followed the Antarctic field seasons of a team of scientists from the United States and Canada. Led by Dr. Shane Kanatous, the team is trying to answer the question – how do the skeletal muscles of seals develop to work during deep dives, even when the animal is not breathing for long periods of time. The researchers believe the answers to this question may have tremendous implications for human medicine. By understanding how another mammal has successfully overcome the debilitating effects of working under low oxygen conditions, we may be able to learn new therapeutic approaches to assist humans with heart or lung disease.
While 2009 is not a field season for Dr. Kanatous and his research team, we will be working with both Dr. Kanatous and Dr. Hawke from their labs in Colorado and Ontario. They are very generously giving their time to help us investigate the physiology of the Weddell seal, and its amazing ability to exercise deep under water without the need to take a breath. Along the way, you’ll gain a better understanding of the workings of your own cardiovascular system.
The project will run for six weeks from October 15 – December 3, 2009 and is open to grades 6-12 classes anywhere in the world. Join us for this exciting online adventure at http://polar09.yesican-science.ca/
We are currently creating a new lab webpage, sit tight while we put up more pictures and content. Major changes coming over the next few weeks!