Auburn biologist rediscovers forgotten activity of plant hormones

“I tell people to think of my research on this project like studying chocolate,” said Aaron Rashotte.

The professor in the Department of Biological Sciences shares this analogy to explain this new direction in his work as a plant biologist.

"For years, my lab at Auburn has worked to better understand the plant hormone cytokinin in terms of how it regulates plant growth and response to stresses. This has been done using molecular, genetics and physiological approaches. Most of that work has been focused on one type of cytokinin or 'chocolate' -- say milk chocolate.  However, cytokinin is really a blanket term for a class of about 30 chemically related hormone compounds.”  So, there are actually many different cytokinins, or "chocolate" types.  “If I asked several people to go to the store and bring back chocolate, I could get a variety of types including milk, dark, white, or maybe even mint, but myself and the scientific community have largely focused on the role of just one 'chocolate' flavor in plants.”

White coat ceremony welcomes new Rural Medicine Program students

 “Welcoming a new class of Rural Medicine Program students directly impacts the state of Alabama and future healthcare for our residents in smaller communities that may not be able to receive medical care,” said the College of Sciences and Mathematics' Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Robert Boyd. 

College of Sciences and Mathematics hosting open house on Aug. 25

To celebrate the start of the 2021 fall semester COSAM is hosting an open house for students, faculty and staff from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 25. 

Student Research Spotlight - Roman Vasquez

This Student Research Spotlight is on Roman Vasquez, whose research, “Bipartite Graphs and Line Segments Defined by Sets,” won third place in the oral presentation category, University-Wide Graduate Student Winners in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, during the virtual 2021 Auburn Research: Student Symposium. The metric used in the project has applications in machine learning and is even used in visual recognition by robots and in computer-aided surgery. The spotlight series recognizes great research by Auburn students, both at the graduate and undergraduate levels.

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