Games for Science Education

[Past Projects]

Dr. Joel Duff and Thomas R Beatman

Research focus:

I focus on how the intrinsic characteristics of games can be leveraged to aid in learning. Students will have an opportunity to engage in tabletop game testing and design, and exploring how biological concepts can be conveyed through formal and informal gaming experiences.

Despite its presence in the literature for decades, the idea of using games and gameful experiences for learning in both formal and informal environments has been rarely explored from the perspective of content experts or game designers. This explains why for in most cases educational games and gamelike content in the past few decades have frequently failed at being both fun and educational. By not only assessing the underlying educational and design frameworks, we can not only make games that both educate and entertain, but also lay out a cohesive philosophy on how others may do so.

This project involves:

  • Aiding and assisting in the design and development of tabletop gameful experiences for learning about biology.
  • Transposing gameful experiences into into full fledged games for science communication.
  • Surveying the game design, cognitive science, and education literature for key theories and concepts for application, as well as biological topics that can be used in production of games and gameful experiences, as part of a larger synthesis project.

Click here for more information about Dr. Duff’s lab.

It’s a rough world! Adhesion of geckos and anoles on rough surfaces

[Past Projects]

Dr. Peter H. Niewiarowski (Biology), Dr. Ali Dhinojwala (Polymer Science), and Austin M. Garner

Research Description

Geckos and anoles are two groups of lizards which possess adhesive toe pads composed of thousands of microscopic hair-like structures (setae) that generate adhesion when placed against a surface. These lizards can be found in a wide variety of habitats, and move about on surfaces with varying levels of roughness. Thus, our labs are interested in understanding how these lizards adhere to rough surfaces, and if the shape/configuration of setae influence adhesion under these conditions. With this, we hope to gain knowledge that can be applied to the design of synthetic adhesives that can stick under a wide array of conditions. Here are some potential projects in development:

  • How does setal shape vary across anoles and geckos?

In this project, the setae of various anole and gecko species will be viewed under a scanning electron microscope and physical measurements taken to better understand the variation in setal shape and configuration.

  • How does the adhesion of anoles and geckos differ on surfaces of varying roughness?

Here, the adhesion of live geckos and anoles will be measured on surfaces with different degrees of roughness to obtain data on how roughness affects lizard adhesion.

  • How does setal shape impact adhesion of lizard-inspired synthetic adhesives?

Synthetic adhesives will be generated with geometries that mimic the setal shape/configuration found in geckos and anoles. The resulting synthetic adhesives will be tested on surfaces with varying roughness to understand how geometry impacts adhesion on rough surfaces.

 

Benefits of this Research Experience

Undergraduate students in the Niewiarowski and Dhinojwala labs will gain an array of critical research skills including: reptile care and handling, live animal performance measurements, experimental design, statistics, microscopy, use of museum collections, surface characterization methods, scientific writing, and more. Additionally, many of the undergraduate students in our labs have been co-authors on several papers published in peer-reviewed journals (see below)!

 

 

 

 

*Denotes undergraduate student

Niewiarowski, P. H., Lopez, S., Ge, L., Hagan, E.* and Dhinojwala, A. (2008). Sticky gecko feet: the role of temperature and humidity. PLoS. ONE 3, e2192.

Niewiarowski, P. H., Stark, A., McClung, B.*, Chambers, B.* and Sullivan, T.* (2012). Faster but Not Stickier: Invasive House Geckos Can Out-Sprint Resident Mournful Geckos in Moorea, French Polynesia. J. Herpetol. 46, 194-197.

Stark, A. Y., Sullivan, T. W.* and Niewiarowski, P. H. (2012). The effect of surface water and wetting on gecko adhesion. J. Exp. Biol. 215, 3080-6.

Stark, A. Y., Badge, I., Wucinich, N. A.*, Sullivan, T. W.*, Niewiarowski, P. H. and Dhinojwala, A. (2013). Surface wettability plays a significant role in gecko adhesion underwater. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 110, 6340-5.

Stark, A. Y., Wucinich, N. A.*, Paoloni, E. L.*, Niewiarowski, P. H. and Dhinojwala, A. (2014). Self-drying: a gecko’s innate ability to remove water from wet toe pads. PLoS ONE 9, e101885.

Stark, A. Y., McClung, B.*, Niewiarowski, P. H. and Dhinojwala, A. (2014). Reduction of water surface tension significantly impacts gecko adhesion underwater. Integr. Comp. Biol 54, 1026-33.

Badge, I., Stark, A. Y., Paoloni, E. L.*, Niewiarowski, P. H. and Dhinojwala, A. (2014). The role of surface chemistry in adhesion and wetting of gecko toe pads. Scientific Reports 4, 6643.

Stark, A. Y., Ohlemacher, J.*, Knight, A.* and Niewiarowski, P. H. (2015). Run don’t walk: locomotor performance of geckos on wet substrates. J. Exp. Biol. 218, 2435-41.

Stark, A. Y., Palecek, A. M.*, Argenbright, C. W., Bernard, C.*, Brennan, A. B., Niewiarowski, P. H. and Dhinojwala, A. (2015). Gecko adhesion on wet and dry patterned substrates. PLoS. ONE 10, e0145756.

Stark, A. Y., Dryden, D. M., Olderman, J.*, Peterson, K. A., Niewiarowski, P. H., French, R. H. and Dhinojwala, A. (2015). Adhesive interactions of geckos with wet and dry fluoropolymer substrates. J. R. Soc. Interface 12, 20150464.

Stark, A. Y., Subarajan, S.*, Jain, D., Niewiarowski, P. H. and Dhinojwala, A. (2016). Superhydrophobicity of the gecko toe pad: biological optimization versus laboratory maximization. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 374, 20160184.

Klittich, M. R., Wilson, M. C., Bernard, C.*, Rodrigo, R. M.*, Keith, A. J.*, Niewiarowski, P. H. and Dhinojwala, A. (2017). Influence of substrate modulus on gecko adhesion. Scientific Reports 7, 43647.

Garner, A. M.*, Stark, A. Y., Thomas, S. A. and Niewiarowski, P. H. (2017). Geckos go the Distance: Water’s Effect on the Speed of Adhesive Locomotion in Geckos. J. Herpetol. 51, 240-244.

Vaping and Cardiovascular Development

[Past Project]

Dr. Brian Bagatto and Jen Piechowski

Electronic cigarettes have been in use for slightly longer than a decade and little is currently known about their potential health implications, particularly on embryonic development.  We are looking to understand the impact vaping has on cardiovascular development using zebrafish embryos as a model for human embryonic vapor exposure.  Zebrafish are a common model organism used in vertebrate developmental research.  They are easily maintained, have short developmental time frames, and typically produce large numbers of offspring from a single breeding event.  In addition, zebrafish offer the ability to view the developing heart noninvasively, via microscope, due to their lack of body pigmentation during early developmental stages.  Videos of the beating heart and vasculature can then be recorded and cardiovascular measurements obtained.  We are currently seeking one undergraduate student to assist in the preliminary stages of this project as part of the Tiered Mentoring Program in Biology.

Click here for more information on Dr. Bagatto’s lab.

Fishing for Data

[Past Projects]

Dr. Richard Londraville and Carrie Buo

Project one

Combine behavioral biology and engineering by joining the fish maze team! We are creating a maze that will measure associate learning capacity in both wild type and mutant zebrafish. Duties include:

  • Assisting with the design and construction of the maze
  • Collecting data
  • Analyzing data / fish behavior
  • Fish care

If you are interested in studying the way diabetic-like mutations affect intelligence, this is the lab for you!

Project two

Learn molecular biology techniques by participating in an ongoing genotyping project. Student(s) will learn PCR and gel electrophoresis to genotype zebrafish from fin clips. Earn credit while gaining valuable experience in lab procedures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click here for more information on Dr. Londraville’s lab.

Underground Revolution – Fighting Antibiotic Resistance with Cave Bacteria

[Past Projects]

Dr. Hazel Barton and Katey Bender

Research Description:

Antibiotic resistance is an important modern medical issue, and to better fight it we need to understand how resistance develops. Antibiotics and antibiotic resistance are both natural, but antibiotic resistance is a growing threat because of the widespread use of antibiotics in medicine and agriculture. To understand the natural dynamics between antibiotics and antibiotic resistance we need to study an environment that has not been impacted by mass-produced antibiotics. Lechuguilla Cave, New Mexico has been geologically isolated for 4-7 million years, so its bacterial communities have only been exposed to antibiotics produced by bacteria within the cave. We are using this environment to investigate bacterial communities that may be producing compounds blocking antibiotic resistance.

Specific current research projects:

  • Screening for antibiotic resistance blocking in bacterial samples from Lechuguilla Cave
  • Improving methods of separating cells from rock samples for improved DNA extraction yields

Click here for more information about Dr. Barton’s lab

Ultra-Small Life: The Microbial Dark Matter of the Wind Cave Lakes

[Past Projects]

Dr. Hazel Barton and Olivia Hershey

The lakes of Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota, are located 200 m under the surface of the Earth, and are more than 3 km from the nearest cave entrance. One defining feature of a deep cave environment is that it is aphotic- no sunlight is present in the subsurface, limiting the amount of energy input in the system. This limited energy input restricts the types of life that are able to grow in the environment, as most organisms rely on the sun and the products of photosynthesis for energy and nutrition. Despite this energy limitation, a diverse microbial community can be found in the lakes, including bacteria, archaea, and even viruses!

While we have learned a lot about this microbe-only ecosystem, there is still a lot left to discover: up to 40% of the bacteria we see remain unidentified (microbial dark matter); nearly half of the unidentified bacteria are smaller than the theoretical size limitation for life; and we have found bacteriophage (bacterial viruses) where none have been found before. I am seeking a student interested in helping me unravel the interaction of all of these elements that keep life in the lakes going. Potential projects include culturing (growing) microbes from the lakes, working with bacteriophage to determine how they affect the microbes around them, and working with data through bioinformatics techniques, including whole genome analysis and metagenomics.

Click here for more information about Dr. Barton’s lab.

A quick meal: Exploring the biomechanics of the praying mantis strike

[Past Projects]

Dr. Henry Astley, Dr. Gavin Svenson (CMNH), Colleen Unsworth

 

Research:

Praying mantises (Mantodea) catch a meal by rapidly propelling specialized forelegs at their prey. Sharp spines lining the forelegs allow them to hold onto their meal as they feast. Although mostly comprised of insect invertebrates, a praying mantis’s diet can include rodents, amphibians, or even small birds. Research surrounding the mantis’s powerful strike has exciting potential for investigation, including exploration of the systematics and phylogenetics of mantises, the biomechanics of the strike, and the potential for power-amplification as a means to generate ultra-high strike speeds. Join Colleen Unsworth, a Biomimicry Ph.D. Fellow, in working with Dr. Henry Astley and Dr. Gavin Svenson of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History to explore the biomechanics of the praying mantis strike.

Watch the strike here! https://youtu.be/cGLBUCPv3Iw

Benefits:

  • Learn principles of biomechanics & invertebrate zoology
  • Learn about insect systematics & phylogenetics
  • Learn new research skills and technologies such as high-speed videography
  • Work with live animals
  • Independent and collaborative research experience
  • Scientific reading/writing experience
  • Mentoring experience

Learn more about the Astley Lab

Field Botany in Northeast Ohio

[Past Projects]

Dr. Randy Mitchell and Andrea Kornbluh

Research:

One focus of our research is the effect of plant species distribution on pollinator behavior and diversity. There are many factors which determine where a plant species will live.  Abiotic factors include climate, soil type, and amount and frequency of disturbance.  Biotic factors include interactions with other species; for example, pollinators such as bees and moths, herbivores such as deer, other nearby plants, and microbes that can increase plant growth or cause disease.

 

Student Research Opportunities:

We are currently investigating the natural history and distribution of wetland habitats in northeast Ohio with the goal of understanding how land use change and natural events have shaped plant communities.  This research will involve both field work and searching historical documents (maps, field trip descriptions, and herbarium records).  The student researcher will:  gain an understanding of the different types of wetlands in northeast Ohio, learn to identify common wetland plants, and develop methods to assess the extent of disturbance using indicator plant species.  There will be additional opportunities to learn about pollinators and pollination ecology through ongoing research projects in the lab.

Click here for more about Dr. Mitchell’s lab

A sticky situation: Understanding adhesive performance of spider silk on insect cuticles

[Past Projects]

Dr. Todd Blackledge and Angela Alicea-Serrano

Research Interests

  • Spider Biology
  • Biological Materials

My research focus on the mechanisms of adhesion of spider webs, to explore how environmental conditions affect its performance when trapping insects.

Research on the performance of sticky glue in webs has focused on testing its adhesiveness in controlled lab settings. This approach fails to understand the complexity of this natural system, and what this means to the ecology of orb-weaving spiders.

Research Questions

1) How does spider’s gluey silk sticks to insects?

2) Have spiders evolve cool and unique mechanisms to stick to the great variety of insect cuticles, like a less viscous glue to adhere to a hairy bee?

Research Approach

Biomechanics:
To use High speed video to quantify the behavior of glue droplets when interacting with different insect cuticles under a variety of ecological
relevant conditions.

Adhesive properties:
To use mechanical properties to understand performance of sticky silk when interacting with insect/prey cuticle by quantifying the work of
adhesion of the system.

Click here for more information about Dr. Blackledge’s research.

Vertical Undulation in Snakes: Can they do the Wave?

[Past Project]

Dr. Henry Astley and Derek Jurestovsky

 

 

 

 

 

 

Limbs are generally considered essential for movement, and yet despite this apparent limitation, snakes are extremely successful, with well over 3,000 speciesacross a huge range of habitats. Using their elongate bodies, snakes have evolved  multiple different modes of locomotion to exploit a variety of environments. Snakes employ up to four different locomotor types: lateral undulation (aka. “slithering”, rectilinear, concertina, and sidewinding, with numerous variations within those types. In some of these types, snakes will vertically lift the body to control ground contact forces, but propulsion is due to horizontal waves.  The goal of this research project is to determine whether snakes can use vertical motions to generate propulsion against uneven terrain.

Benefits

  • Learn Physics of Locomotion
  • Research Experience
  • Work with Live Animals (snakes yay!)
  • Learn New Skills/Technologies
  • Mentor Incoming Students
  • Resume Builder!

Click here for other information about Dr. Astley’s lab.