BSA Newsletter: The Telomere Times Issue 1

THE TELOMERE TIMES

2014 | ISSUE #1

THE TEL MERE TIMES IN THIS ISSUE          

Upcoming events Investing in Experience Three-Person IVF Biological Illustrations Stampede: A Research Tool Message from a Graduate Photos from Past Events Meet the Editor and Writers Contact Info And more The Concordia Galapagos Project 2012

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Meet Your President Greetings Biology enthusiasts and a warm welcome to the new academic year! So it begins again, for some a new adventure in the corridors of this great and sometimes intimidating institution, and for others an ongoing journey towards one day walking across that stage to receive your baccalaureate degree. No matter where along the journey you are, what is truly unique and worthwhile from the experience that is university, is HOW you will finish this journey, no matter where you will be headed. And although we’ve decided to take on this academic challenge to fulfill different goals and aspirations, this adventure is one of collective and shared experience. And so with great gratitude and honor for being elected as YOUR student representatives for 2014-2015, the BSA team and I will work devotedly to ensure that you are offered a balanced and complete plethora of experiences to make the most of your time here at Concordia, until the moment you walk off that stage to a better and brighter future.

As a third year student completing a Specialization in Cell and Molecular Biology with a minor in Philosophy, I’ve spent enough time here to know how multifaceted being a member of the Concordia community can be. And if I could describe my experience thus far in one word, it would be “growth.” My growth has been a direct result of the culminating experiences I’ve had at Concordia University – both academic and social - which long term have facilitated the knowledge I’ve harnessed. And my experiential knowledge shows me a serious and overlooked need to inform YOU about the power you hold as a student body; I see my mandate as informing YOU on your part in influencing the orientation of education academically, logistically and financially within the biology department. My mandate as President is essentially fueled by the inspiration I get from communicating with YOU, about YOUR needs and lack of tools and/or resources provided to help you succeed maximally. So don’t be a stranger, come by the office for a chat, email the BSA, Facebook message our page, or comment on our website and let your voice be heard to create the change you want to see.

A very warm welcome to your new home for the next few years biology lover, and thank you for enjoying this issue of the Telomere Times.

Until the next time, "Do something today, that your future self will thank you for."

— ANONYMOUS

Krutika Patel President

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Meet Your Editor Hello my fellow Biology lovers and thanks for checking out our first issue of The Telomere Times for the 2014-2015 academic year! I’m very excited for this year’s amazing opportunities and fun events that the BSA has planned for everyone! This semester was kicked off by our annual QuadFest filled with free food, beer, and live music along with the presence of many of our lovely Biology students. In addition to our bid farewell to the warmth of summer, we provided our frosh with copious amounts of tasty jello shots and cookies to introduce them to Concordia University at Frosh! We also have some exciting events coming up such as the Fall Pub Crawl and many academic workshops.

Our team of writers, editors, and graphic designers created the Telomere Times to serve as a positive platform to keep our students informed about Biology student life, advances in the scientific community, career paths, and many more topics. We highly encourage the student body to send in ideas or requests for topics they are curious about and would love to see featured in our newsletters. As growing scientists in the field of Biology, it is important for us to cultivate our knowledge and enhance our skills in the early years (as well as your entire life!) of our education. The Telomere Times newsletter team hopes to assist you in this endeavor and to make this journey through science at Concordia University the most memorable experience thus far!

In this issue of the Telomere Times, we start off featuring an article about investing in your experience as an undergraduate student for all of our new and returning students written by Katherine Levasseur. Next, Max Howard writes an article about genetic manipulation of mitochondria and its effects on genetics, followed by Zarin Arshy’s flashback to a time before the world of scientific drawing was enhanced by technology. Then we wrap up the newsletter with an interesting advance in supercomputers with Jana Hamdan’s Article on the Stampede supercomputer as well as Sabine Ajamian’s perspective on student life as a recent graduate.

I hope y’all enjoy the newsletter and good luck on your midterms!

Cheers, Kateland Simmons Co-Editor and Vice President of Communications

NEWSLETTER DESIGN: KA BO LEE

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Table of Contents Investing in Experience………………………………………………………………4—5 Three-Person IVF……………………..………………………………………………6—7 Biological Illustrations—A Beautiful World Forgotten……………….…8—10 Stampede: A Research Tool…………………………………………………………11 A Message from a Concordia University Biology Graduate………………12 Photos from Past Events…………………………………………………….…..13—17 Concordia Shuffle……………………………………………………………………….18 Puzzles………………………………………………………………............………19—21 Meet our Writers………………………………………………………………………...22 Volunteering for BSA, Ideas, Contact Info and More!.........................23

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progressed. Being in university was nothing like high-school or even cégep, and I had no one to share my feelings and fears with. I found this very stressful but little did I know, university would present me with exciting new opportunities and long-lasting friendships, that would greatly enhance my experience.

Investing in Experience Katherine Levasseur University—the stepping-stone from the academic world to the proverbial real world. Many students see the university process as just another stop along the way to beginning their careers —and undoubtedly university is a great way to get there. What many students do not realize is that university can be much more than an educational experience; it can also be a fulfilling one.

It can be one of the best and most exciting times of your life, presenting you with opportunities you could only dream of—if you are willing to find them! It however, can also be very intimidating, stressful and sometimes even lonely.

There was a time in my life, where I never thought that I would be able to attend university, but here I sit— a second year Ecology student. As exciting as it was my first semester to have finally made it to Concordia, I didn’t know anyone; the true importance of this seemingly insignificant fact became glaringly obvious to me as the semester

I know there are many students out there, who can relate to the feeling of being overwhelmed and frightened— the idea of responsibility, large classes and endless hallways. Luckily for me, a good friend gave me some great advice early on; a remedy that helped me put all those fears to rest: getting involved!

volunteering or attending events, whether held by the Biology Student Association (BSA), the Arts and Science Federation of Associations (ASFA) or any other student association, all helped me network, meet professors and best of all, make new friends. I felt much more at ease and at home at Concordia—this sense of security lessened my stress, which improved my grades and my overall experiences. I am much better with time management now, even with less free time than I ever had before…who knew!

Continued on next page Investing in my experience at Concordia took the fear of the unknown away. I had no idea at the time how much more there was to school than the (seemingly never ending) lectures!

Becoming involved by attending free scientific seminars, joining study groups,

QuadFest 2013

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There are so many different resources available to new students at Concordia. Everything you could possibly need to be successful, both academically and in your personal life,

Counselling and Development provides many is available.

different services to students; anything from academic and personal counselling, to career aid and learning support. They even offer a variety of different workshops free of charge to Concordia students.

If you are looking to take a break from the books and participate in some student activities, try getting involved with the BSA or ASFA! The BSA and ASFA are great venues to become active in your university faculty, make new friends, and improve your academic portfolio; they are always looking for volunteers to help with events—so take the initiative to get involved! Another great resource available to Concordia students

is

the

Concordia

Student Union (CSU). This is an amazing group run by the students, for the students. They have unbelievable resources available for undergraduates, including legal aid, housing and job bank services at the

Housing and Job Office (HOJO) and so much more.

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There are also many different clubs and student associations open to students that cater to many different personal interests, hobbies, sexual orientations, and religions, just to name a few! These clubs and societies are a great place to start off if you are looking to make new friends who share similar passions or interests. You can find a comprehensive list of these clubs by going to the following link: http://www.concordia.ca/students/clu bs/list.html.

Taking part in the current events of Concordia have given me a sense of pride about my experience—a pride I would have never found just attending my classes. Being an introvert myself, making the effort to put myself out there was sometimes just as scary as trying to stay on track with my classes. Despite all this, it was always well worth it in the end! Every semester I look forward to new opportunities, meeting new people, having fun and enriching my Concordia spirit.

Here are some links to useful departments to check out!

Counselling and Development | https://www.concordia.ca/offices/ cdev.html CAPS Concordia | http://www.concordia.ca/students /careers/planning.html/ HOJO | http://hojo.csu.qc.ca/ The Biology Department website | http://biology.concordia.ca/ CSU | http://www.csu.qc.ca/

With all the hours we students spend here cramming and stressing, we might as well enjoy it while we can!

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Max Howard

Three-Person IVF In June earlier this year, the United Kingdom's parliament set the wheels in motion to allow a new procedure known as "three-parent invitro fertilization" following a detailed report by the country's Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HFEA). The controversial treatment seeks to reduce the incidence of maternally-inherited mitochondrial diseases by replacing the mother's abnormal mitochondria with those of a healthy donor woman.

Mitochondria are important organelles, consuming over 80% of our oxygen and producing nearly all of the ATP required for physiological processes. When they function abnormally, the heart, brain, muscles, liver, and other energy-demanding organs are hit the hardest, resulting in often debilitating illness. These faulty mitochondria are the result of mutations in mitochondrial DNA, or mtDNA, which makes up less than 1% of the total DNA in our cells.

There are currently two procedures. In the first technique, called maternal spindle transfer (MST), the mother's chromosomes (nuclear DNA) are removed from an unfertilized egg and transferred into the donor egg which has had its chromosomes removed. The second technique, called pronuclear transfer (PNT), involves the transplantation of the parental pronuclei (postfertilization) into a donor embryo with

its pronuclei removed. In both methods the maternal egg (which contains the abnormal mtDNA) is replaced with a healthy donor.

future arguments against genetic enhancement, leading to a world where "designer babies" are the norm.

The decision to allow this treatment in the U.K. has been met with considerable opposition from political, scientific, and religious groups. On the fourth of October, 34 politicians from the Council of Europe, a human rights and ethics organization unaffiliated with the EU, drafted a declaration calling it a "eugenic practice" that is "incompatible with human dignity."

Much of this opposition stems from the fact that mitochondrial replacement is a germ-line therapy, meaning that the donor's mtDNA will be passed down maternally for all future generations. Some opponents fear that green-lighting the permanent and inheritable meddling with our genetic code may weaken

In an interview with Wired magazine, Prof. Doug Turnbull, professor of Neurology at Newcastle University, rejected this idea, stating that "mitochondrial genes only help produce mitochondria" and that they "have absolutely no role in any other characteristics." Hugh Whittall, director of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, has also said that the "social and biological aspects which typically imply a 'parent' do not apply to mitochondrial donation."

The unique specificity of mitochondrial replacement therapies may mark a clear ethical delineation between it and the techniques used to produce "designer babies" which require the manipulation of nuclear DNA, as

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these genes only function in a restricted set of physiological processes unimportant to characteristics like personality.

Other scientists, however, are opposing the treatment on the basis that we do not yet know enough about our genetic environment to approve the procedure.

Dr. David King, director of the UK watchdog group Human Genetics Alert, released a detailed analysis of the HFEA report, stating that it "virtually ignores the issue of epigenetics," and citing evidence of nuclear epigenetic modifications as a result of abnormal mitochondria. He and others have also criticized the objectivity of the report, claiming that it manipulates data on public opinion polling and "massively misframes the ethical issues" so as to "minimize the ethical concerns."

Those in favor of legalizing the procedure still have a while to wait. Britain's department of health is set to hold another public forum followed by a parliamentary debate, pushing voting back into next year. Should the vote pass, approximately ten women will qualify for the MST or PNT procedure each year.

In a debate on the proposition "prohibit genetically engineered babies" as a part of NPR's Intelligence Squared series, Lord Robert Winston (director of the Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology) cited the same concerns as Dr. King, and suggests that there is not enough evidence showing adequate safety for human trials.

"At the moment, the safest treatment is not meddling with the genome," Winston states in his closing remarks," but adds that "bans can always be lifted if there's more research to show its worth doing."

Currently, women at high risk of passing on mtDNA diseases can undergo pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, where the embryo is screened for presence of abnormal mtDNA, and only healthy embryos are selected for implantation. Other options include adoption or traditional IVF, though this means that mother will not be the child's genetic parent.

Sources: http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-06/28/mitochondria-transfer-ruling http://www.assembly.coe.int/ASP/Doc/XrefViewPDF.asp?FileID=20204&Language=EN http://www.npr.org/2013/02/15/172137776/should-we-prohibit-genetically-engineered-babies%20 http://www.hgalert.org/Report%20on%20the%20safety%20of%20mitochondrial%20transfer.pdf http://biochemgen.ucsd.edu/mmdc/brochure.htm http://www.hfea.gov.uk/docs/2011-04-18_Mitochondria_review_-_final_report.PDF http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v493/n7434/full/nature11647.html#ref5

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Biological Illustrations — A Beautiful World Forgotten Before the gift of photography and video graced the scientific world, and before the public could be mesmerized by the natural realm through the open arena of the internet, there were biological illustrations; drawings, paintings, and lithographs of the microscopic to the grand.

Written by

Zarin Arshy

Various biologists, explorers, artists, naturalists and more relied on their own artistic skill to convey the beauty and actuality of their findings. That may seem like a heavy burden. Nevertheless, imagine the feeling of knowing your every pen mark could answer the question of a scientific community hundreds of miles away, or feed the curiosities of a world that was not yet privileged with air travel, the World Wide Web, and television. Imagine being a child in this era opening a book of illustrations to realize the expansiveness and diversity of Earth for the first time.

Please take a moment to enjoy the works of a few such artists below.

Maria Sibylla Merian (1647 - 1717)

Blue Butterflies and Pomegranate

Born in Frankfurt, Maria Sibylla Merian was a botanical illustrator, entomologist and naturalist whose endeavors were both unusual and audacious for her time, especially as a woman. She was fascinated with insects since youth, despite the social stigma attached to them as manifestations of the devil. As a result, very little was known about them, so her continued study and depictions shattered many false beliefs (such as spontaneous generation). Maria revealed life cycles of 186 insects including the metamorphosis of the butterfly, which was not quite understood before. She was funded for travel to Suriname with her daughter by the city of Amsterdam, a grant not commonly given to women. From there she assembled her greatest work, Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium.

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John James Audubon (1785 - 1851) American birds were the subject of study for this French American ornithologist and naturalist. He was an outdoorsman who was deeply dedicated to his craft spending 15-hour days, and often scrapping his work in order to capture fully, the finer details.

His greatest body of work was The Birds of America, containing 497 species of birds, 25 of which were new species, all handcolored. Sadly, six of these species are now extinct, but his compositions bring them well to life again.

Zenaida macroura as illustrated in The Birds of America

Falco peregrinus as captured in The Birds of America

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Ernst Haeckel (1834 - 1919) Another great German illustrator was Ernst Haeckel. You may know him for his vivid and at times, psychedelic creations, and for first classifying protists—but did you also know that he was a physician before getting his PhD in Zoology? A truly renaissance man, he was at the forefront of biology for identifying multitudes of new species, developing several biological concepts, and of course, these fine depictions.

Discomedusae from Kunstformen der Natur (1908), print 8

Ascidiacea from Kunstformen der Natur (1904), plate 85

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Jana Hamdan

Stampede: A Research Tool The achievements in artificial intelligence make it possible for finding new discoveries in science. Artificial intelligence tools have revolutionized the way research is done in laboratories worldwide. Now, supercomputers are being engaged in research, to allow more discoveries in both science and engineering. They differ from ordinary computers by their enhanced computing speed that can process data within nanoseconds. Stampede, for example, is one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world, used for open research. Its applications vary from DNA sequencing to neuroscience and much more.

Stampede is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) for open research. It is located at the Texas Advanced Computer Center (TACC) in Austin, Texas. Stampede can solve about 1 quadrillion math operations per second, or 1 petaflop. To broaden the horizon of scientific research, it can analyze things that are too large (like planets), too small (like chemical molecules), or too expensive to be tested in laboratories. By creating models with initial conditions of a physical phenomenon, researchers can imitate in laboratories what happens in real life and rely on supercomputers to catch the phenomenon within nanoseconds. This greatly increases the potential for higher rates of research to be completed in smaller amounts of time.

A professor of physics at the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign, Aleksei Aksimentiev, was able to sequence DNA using Stampede.

The procedure involved "measuring the change of ionic current as the DNA strands move through the pore of the membrane" (Dubrow). As the DNA strand moves through a nanopore, Stampede can read each base pair.

Also, he used heat to stretch the DNA for more accuracy in the process of reading each base pair with Stampede.

There were also researchers from Aksimentiev’s university who utilized Stampede as a computational microscope to analyze “newborn” protein folds and “how to design novel enzymes to produce second-generation biofuels.” (Schulten).

Another application of Stampede is in neuroscience. The interaction between a neurotransmitter and its binding site is significant in studying the effect of drugs on our body. For example, cocaine and dopamine have similar binding sites in the dopamine transporter. Normally, this transporter pumps the dopamine back into the cytosol. But when cocaine is consumed, it binds to the dopamine transporter, blocking dopamine in the synapses. This results in what is called "euphoria” and can lead to drug addiction.

Michelle Sahai, a postdoctoral associate at the Weill Cornell Medical College, used

Stampede, supercomputer Photo: National Science Foundation Stampede to observe the binding affinity of dopamine and several drugs to a 3D model of the dopamine transporter, which happens in a fraction of a second. According to Sahai, understanding how drugs bind to the dopamine transporter plays a major role in facing drug addiction (Science Daily).

The enriched ability of Stampede to conduct such a wide variety of experiments on a grand scale within nanoseconds, is significant to scientific research. This new tool in scientific laboratories gives future researchers a great opportunity to become light-years ahead of their time in research and make new discoveries that may change the world as we know it.

Aaron Dubrow, NSF http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_su mm.jsp?cntn_id=131800

Stampede can solve about 10 quadrillion math operations per second.

University of Texas at Austin, Texas Advanced Computing Center. “Dopamine transporter: Stampede supercomputer used to study common link between addiction, neurological disease.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 22 July 2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/07/140722164357.htm>.

Klaus Schulten <https://www.tacc.utexas.edu/news/feature-stories/2013/texas-unleashes-stampede/biology>

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A Message from a Concordia University Biology Graduate As a recent Concordia University Graduate holding a Bachelor of Science with a specialization in Biology, I welcome you to your new home for the next few years.

I remember my first day at Loyola. I felt completely lost, yet amazed by this beautiful campus and excited for the next few years I would be spending here. My first thoughts were “Will I get used to this place? Am I going to fit in? Will I make new friends?” As time went by however, I became familiarized with the buildings, the classrooms and the faces around me. After my first month, I met my first friend and it has been a rollercoaster ride for me ever since. I can’t believe how fast time went by. Within these walls, you will study, laugh, cry, thrive and simply live your life becoming the person you want to be.

My favourite place to hangout with friends was the th G-lounge on the 4 floor in the AD building. It’s a great place to relax, talk to friends and enjoy the precious few minutes of break time you have in between your classes. The Glounge is complete with a cafeteria that offers great and affordable food, snacks and most importantly, coffee!

During your time here at Concordia you will undoubtedly meet new friends, in your classes, tutorials, or BSA/school events. Quadfest is one of the first events BSA hosts to welcome new and returning students to the academic year. I understand as some of you might be too shy to go to these types of events—I didn’t go during my first year either—but you will regret missing the opportunity to bond with your Concordia community. What better way to start off the year with live music, free food, free beer, and that green green grass one last time before the snow claims it for the long Montreal winter?

Later during the term, you will receive announcements from the BSA team during classes, via email or on their Facebook page (yes, they’re on Facebook!). Pay close attention to these because they’ll let you know about upcoming events.

From trips to the botanical gardens, to wine and cheese events, and pubcrawls, these events will be the best way for you to meet new people and further bond with the

Sabine Ajamian ones you’ve already connected with. Last year’s pubcrawl was so successful, they decided to have another one a few months later! I definitely don’t regret attending these epic events, because these were the moments I will always cherish and remember.

My degree is not the only thing that I took home with me. Concordia also helped me shape my identity into an ambitious and confident person, which is a powerful weapon that I can use to pave my way to success in my future career.

Throughout my academic life at Concordia University, I have been surrounded by professors, faculty members and friends who believed in me and provided me with needed assistance, guidance and advice. Going to the BSA executives’ office hours for advice, volunteer opportunities, or just to chit-chat can be a great starting point to build such a support system.

Within these walls, you will study, laugh, cry, thrive and simply live your life.

Now it’s your turn. Go out there and make new friends, study hard, but most importantly enjoy this amazing place we can proudly call our school.

Pubcrawl 2013

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FROSH ASFA's Frosh Orientation BBQ was held August 25th in the Loyola Quad. This event gave member associations (including BSA!) the opportunity to meet the new Concordia students attending ASFA Frosh. We lured Froshees into talking to us by offering shortbread cookies and jolly rancher shots. There was no question about who the coolest association was that day.

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QUADFEST

Quadfest 2014. The juggernaut of all orientation events. On September 4th the orientation BBQ was put together by 14 ASFA MAs and spearheaded by the BSA. If you didn't bring your own mug, a super rad $5 Quadfest mug was supplied to you; the rest of the day was all about free food, free beer, good tunes and great company.

DJ Puggy www.moogaudio.com

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QUADFEST2014

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Quadfest—Afterword Krutika Patel—BSA President In the brief moment I had looked up from working to absorb the surroundings at Quadfest 2014, I realized that the BSA team and I had done justice to the rightful welcome our fellow biology students deserved. Seeing smiles of old and new faces bustling on that green grass, jamming to the air of new beginnings and live music, and indulging in the variety of free food and copious amounts of free beer, made all the countless sleepless nights of organizing and laboring, worthwhile. Quadfest has earned a reputation of being the best welcome orientation event held at the Loyola Campus, and my team and I took the responsibility very seriously. Tradition, especially one that brings a mass of people together in times of nervousness and new beginnings, is one that should be upheld devotedly. I can with confidence say that Quadfest will appear again next year, and hopefully for years to come, to connect you with those that will nurture the best years you will have as an undergraduate student at Concordia University. Thank you for letting us spearhead this event and work for you, and a very warm welcome to your new home for the next few years.

Alex Baird—BSA VP Social It was important to the BSA to welcome our students back to Concordia in the best way we could think of; free BBQ, free beer, live music and plenty of sunshine. The Loyola Quad was packed with students the day of, and as far as I could tell from my vantage point under the beer tent, Quadfest was a smashing success. Everyone I encountered had an amazing time. It was great to interact with so many students, especially meeting some biology people! It was a lot of hard work, but Quadfest was definitely worth it. I hope everyone enjoyed themselves!

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Behind the Scenes of Quadfest

Spray painting the T-Shirts Washing the Quadfest Mugs

TAKE 1

TAKE 2

TAKE 3

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TEAM

Supporting our students to facilitate their maximum success has always been the Biology Students Associations’ mandate; but this year, we talked the talk and walked the walk at the Concordia Shuffle 25. Aimed to raise funds for bursaries and scholarships awarded to students like YOU, the BSA banded together to raise money to support this great cause. Our goal of $240.00 has still not been met yet, but that’s where YOU come in! No matter how small the contribution, support the community you hope to thrive in, and donate under the BSA team with the link attached. Let’s show the administration of Concordia University just how passionate the student body of the biology department can be, so that we open new venues to increasing scholarships and bursaries targeted to Biology, Cell and Molecular Biology and Ecology students alike.

Contribute to the change you want to see, and give now!

Visit https://www.concordiashuffle.ca/team?id=31 to support the BSA team!

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20 (http://waynesword.palomar.edu/croswrd1.htm, n.d.)

Crossword â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Plant & Animal Life Cycles

ACROSS CLUES 2. Sexually transmitted disease affecting anthers of flowers.

6. An embryonic root.

7. Vascular photosynthetic organ.

9. Complete female part of a flower.

11. The undisputed world's smallest flowering plant.

12. Anthers release pollen before stigma is receptive.

16. Originates from the zygote.

17. Four sets of chromosomes (4n).

21. Sporangia clusters on the underside of fern leaves.

22. Develops into a seed.

26. Male spores each producing two sperm inside elongated tube.

27. Organism able to synthesize its own food.

28. Complete male part of a flower.

29. Only one set of chromosomes (1n).

33. Organism unable to synthesize its own food.

34. Ten sets of chromosomes (10n).

36. Male reproductive cell.

37. Outer layer of ovule that becomes the seed coat around seed.

38. Colorful modified leaf in a flower.

40. Name of 2 nuclei inside endosperm mother cell that fuse with a sperm.

43. Fleshy halves of a bean or pea embryo.

44. Non-flowering vascular plant studied in lab.

45. Water-conducting vascular tissue in a plant.

47. Haploid gamete-producing plant.

50. Embryonic shoot and leaves in a seed.

51. Plant adapted to dry soil (LM-176).

52. Opening in seed coat where pollen tube penetrated the ovule.

53. Nonvascular root-like structures.

54. Pollination between flowers on two different plants.

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DOWN CLUES: 1. Stalk of a moss sporangium.

2. Pollination involving one or more flowers on the same plant.

3. Tree pollinated by a minute wasp.

4. Attachment scar on a seed.

5. A fertilized egg.

6. A scaly, underground vascular stem.

8. Belt of hygroscopic cells around a fern sporangium.

10. Haploid nonvascular plant producing embryo within its female sex organ.

13. A typically-green, modified leaf in a flower.

14. A diploid spore-producing plant.

15. A sexually complete flower with pistil and stamens.

16. Triploid food storage tissue in a seed.

18. Haploid female sex organ of a moss and a fern.

19. Having two sets of chromosomes.

20. Plant family with undisputed largest fruits in the world.

23. Flower part that ripens into a fruit.

24. Species with separate male and female flowers on the same plant.

25. Stigma is receptive before the anthers are mature.

27. Haploid male sex organ of a moss and a fern.

30. A flower that has either a pistil or stamens, but not both sex organs.

31. Term for a species with male and female flowers on separate plants.

32. Part of your anatomy analogous to the hilum on a bean seed.

35. A multicellular (or unicellular) structure that produces spores.

39. The stalk of an ovule within the ovary.

41. A mature, ripened ovule inside a mature, ripened ovary.

42. Type of sperm of moss and fern that needs free water to reach the egg.

44. An angiosperm reproductive organ.

46. Name applied to diploid cell that undergoes meiosis.

48. A female haploid cell.

49. Reproduction resulting in genetic variation within species populations

ANSWERS ON NEXT PAGE

Spot the 5 Differences

( http://www.curiositiesbydickens.com/wp-content/uploads/chimpanzee-differences-5.jpg, n.d.)

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Crossword Answers

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Meet Our Writers Max Howard is a recent Concordia graduate with a degree in Honors Biology and a Minor in Creative Writing. He is originally from Toronto, and spends his summers in Muskoka canoe tripping and enjoying the outdoors. As a mainly prose fiction writer, Max is seeking to learn more about journalistic style by combining two of his interests: writing and science. He hopes to apply this knowledge in his academic writing, or to potentially explore a career in scientific journalism.

Sabine Ajamian is a recent Concordia graduate with a Specialization degree in Biology. Born in Montreal, but raised in Lebanon, she decided to move back to Montreal in order to pursue her studies. She is fascinated with biology, and also enjoys writing, dancing and volunteering.

Zarin Arshy is a Concordia Biology graduate to-be whose fascination of the sciences has not fully masked her love of the arts including the literary and fine arts. She believes writing for the BSA newsletter will serve as a nice liaison between these different things. She hopes to draw a sense of patriotism and community among Concordia Biology students, as she thinks they truly have much to take pride in.

Katherine Levasseur is in her second year at Concordia completing a specialization degree in Ecology. She has a passion for conservation and hopes to one day contribute directly to the preservation of natural habitats and wildlife. She is a scuba diver and nature lover who through her writing with the Telomere Times hopes to take greater pride in Concordia and to connect with other students to do the same.

Jana Hamdan is a second year Cell and Molecular Biology major. She has a great interest in genomics, cell biology and human nutrition.

She takes immense pride in writing for the Telomere Times and hopes this opportunity allows for her to make connections with the scientific and student community.

THE TELOMERE TIMES | ISSUE #1

Contact Information

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Office Hours Mondays

E-mail bsa.concordia@gmail.com Room Number SP-375.21 Phone +1 (514) 848-2424 Ext. 5499

12:00 - 1:00 pm (VP Comms Kateland Simmons) 1:00 - 2:00 pm (VP Internal Laura Bergeron) Tuesdays 2:30 - 3:30 pm (VP Social Alex Baird) Wednesdays 1:30 - 2:30 pm (President Krutika Patel) Thursdays 2:00 - 3:00 pm (VP Finance JP Maillet) Fridays 10:30 - 11:30 am (VP Academics Braeden Donaldson)

See us at: www.bsaconcordia.com

The BSA Team Free Rental of Lab Coat and Goggles

Image: UNC Environment, Health and Safety

Biology students are eligible to free rental of CLEAN lab coat and goggles if you catch us in our office or during hours.

Just provide name and I.D.

From left to right: VP Academics Braeden Donaldson, VP Comms Kateland Simmons, VP Social Alex Baird, VP Internal Laura Bergeron, President Krutika Patel, and VP Finance JP Maillet.

Volunteering for the BSA makes you 100% more involved.

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You will enjoy your experience 100% of the time.

Looking for Writers If you are interested in writing for the newsletter, please email us at bsa.concordia@gmail.com!

COFFEE

Volunteer for us COME AND VOLUNTEER WITH THE BSA! - Become involved in your department - Looks great on your CV - Have fun and meet new people!

- Get a reference letter from the BSA president

Stop by for some FREE coffee during our office hours posted on the left or anytime you see us in the office.

It grows on you.