October 18, 2024

Lumba lab eavesdrops on the secret language of soil molecules

There is a silent conversation going on under your feet; plant roots are communicating with soil fungi through a language of small molecules. Until now, the complex genetics of these fungi made it difficult to study how they perceive small molecules directly. The Lumba lab and the McCourt lab at…

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October 15, 2024

Drosophila embryo cells align under pressure through unusual cytoskeletal arrangements

The Harris Lab has discovered that the geometry of the fruit fly embryo creates a crystal-like tissue structure. This revelation was published in the prestigious journal Development as “Confinement promotes nematic alignment of spindle-shaped cells during Drosophila embryogenesis“. Professor Tony…

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September 18, 2024

Putting a cap on the cortex in Drosophila embryo requires pull from the centrosome

The Harris lab has revealed unexpected details about the puppetmasters of the cell in a new paper from Rebecca Tam in Journal of Cell Biology. Centrosomes are organelles that send microtubule threads throughout the cell. Molecular motors pull on these threads to move cellular structures around…

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September 13, 2024

Outstanding research earns Gold Medal for Prof Daphne Goring

CSB Professor Daphne Goring has been awarded the CSPB Gold Medal, the highest honour from the Canadian Society of Plant Biologists (CSPB). Goring is being celebrated for her ground-breaking research on flowering plants that revealed fundamental aspects of biology in the molecular processes that…

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August 28, 2024

CSB supports Falling Walls Lab Toronto to reveal impressive research in three minutes

Cell & Systems Biology was proud to support Falling Walls Lab Toronto 2024 on August 15th! Our students and staff, including many members of the Harris Lab, provided the team of organizers that made this event a huge success. Falling Walls Lab is a world-class pitch competition and networking…

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July 30, 2024

Gold medal award for CSB doctoral thesis by Tatiana Ruiz-Bedoya

Dr Tatiana Ruis Bedoya’s paradigm-shifting doctoral dissertation, “Population Biology…

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July 26, 2024

Secret of plant cell wall secretion lies in labeling at the correct location

A recent paper from Dr Natalie Hoffmann and Prof Heather McFarlane has revealed unexpected discoveries into how the components of the plant cell wall are assembled. The plant cell wall makes natural fibres durable, makes wood strong, and provides energy in biofuels, all of which make the cell wall…

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May 21, 2024

The shocking way Amazonian electric fish adapted to dead zones

A major metabolic stressor to all aerobic organisms is low oxygen, or hypoxia, which can lead…

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May 14, 2024

Animal and Plant Science out on the street for Science Rendezvous with CSB

The Science Rendezvous open air festival provided CSB staff and students a chance to bring our science outside to share with the general public. Even as the sunny skies turned to rain, we stuck to our tents on St George Street and chatted with our visitors.

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May 7, 2024

Excellence and excitement at CSB Research Day 2024

The wide variety of cutting-edge science in the Department of Cell & Systems Biology was on full display in the distinguished halls of Hart House at CSB Research Day on May 3, 2024. Grad students from all three campuses shared their findings with faculty, staff and fellow students at talks and…

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