Professor Spotlight: Dr. Barbara Zilinskas

My interviewee, Barbara Zilinskas, is a scientist in the Plant Biology and Pathology department at Rutgers University. I met her many years ago when I first declared my major in biotechnology. Although Zilinskas is responsible for creating the biotechnology program at the University, her research lies more in the following two fields:

Her first area of research focuses on a plant's response to environmental stress. A plant is said to be undergoing oxidative stress when its levels of ROS (reactive oxygen species) are particularly high. These ROS must be removed before they inflict damage on the cell. Zilinskas concerns herself with the process by which plants restore the damage from ROS.

Zilinskas also conducts research in turfgrass improvement by means of genetic modification. The bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens is used to introduce genes into the grass that would improve its survival, increasing disease resistance and stress tolerance. The goal of this research is to produce cultivars that can be used commercially. In addition to working with turfgrass, Zilinskas has also begun to examine switchgrass, which could serve as a biofuel crop.

In addition to her heavy involvement in research and curriculum development, Zilinskas has served as a valuable mentor for her students. Upon stopping by her office, students are almost always greeted with a fresh cup of coffee (or piece of seasonal chocolate if a holiday is approaching). I had the pleasure of taking one of Zilinskas' classes before she stopped teaching this year.

Could drinking viruses make us healthier?

If someone told you to drink a cocktail of viruses, would you do it? What if that someone wasn’t just anyone, but your doctor? Although these questions appear hypothetical, they are quickly becoming a reality. Healthcare is on the verge of a new era: the post-antibiotic era. An article from Bloomberg Business describes this current state as a “drug drought,” since no new major class of antibiotics has been developed in the last 30 years. This lack of innovation would not be so problematic if our old antibiotics were still working. However, the overuse of antibiotics has placed selective pressure on bacteria to evolve resistance strategies, making our antibiotics ineffective. In the face of this drug drought, we are left with two choices: to create novel antibiotics, or to abandon antibiotics altogether.

As an alternative to antibiotics, certain desperate patients are ordering vials of viruses from the Republic of Georgia and Russia, where a treatment known as “phage therapy” is federally approved. Bacteriophages, or phages for short, are viruses that infect specific bacteria and take over their cellular machinery, eventually killing the bacterium. These viruses are highly specialized; introducing them into human systems would not jeopardize nonbacterial cells. Additionally, since there are more viruses on Earth than any living creature, it is likely that phage therapy would be an affordable treatment. However, the cost of research might not be as low as it would seem: the specificity of phage infection demands that a unique virus be paired up with each bacterial infection. While considering the feasibility of using phage therapy in place of antibiotics, we must analyze this tradeoff between accessibility and specificity.

“Bats Jam Each Other’s Sonar” and Other Stories

Ed Yong may very well be the poster child for science writing. He has earned his position as the face (and brains) behind the blog “Not Exactly Rocket Science,” which is currently being hosted by National Geographic. Before becoming a science writer, Yong worked at Cancer Research UK. He now administers this knowledge to readers in small doses, watered down with just the right amount of conversation.

What distinguishes Yong’s work from a sea of science blogs is the individuality of his selections. Each topic is hand-picked with the awareness of a curator; many of the issues he discusses cannot be encountered elsewhere. When asked how Yong chooses his next topic, he responded with a universal theme: personal interest. Yong taps into our curiosity with his quirky selections. We want to believe him because of his underlying passion. And we do end up believing him because of his candid word choice. For instance, in one of Yong’s recent articles, titled “Bats Jam Each Other’s Sonar,” Yong discusses the “acoustic warfare” in which bats engage to beat out fellow bats chasing after the same bug. The topic is unusual, the language accessible, the impression memorable.

But Yong’s blog does not exclusively promote his own pieces. Every week, he produces a list of hand-picked science pieces from around the internet. In so doing, Yong encourages readers to spread the word, not just his own. Sign up for Yong's weekly science newsletter, or visit his blog for a healthy dose of science!