Found along the west coast of North America, red sea urchins (Mesocentrotus franciscanus) call the ocean bottoms home. There, these spiky creatures feed on seaweed and kelp, and are often found in groups. While they may face predation from sea stars and crabs, the urchins, when left to their own devices, age phenomenally well. In fact, some researchers even report their lifespans as being over 100 years long.

Chloe Emerson initially came to BIOS in the fall of 2014 for the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) internship program funded by the National Science Foundation.  As a Wellesley College senior working to complete her major in Biology and minor in Philosophy, Emerson already found developmental biology and stem cell research fascinating. At BIOS, these interests crystalized as she began to study sea urchins in Andrea Bodnar’s Molecular Discovery Laboratory, leading her down a path in regenerative biology that she hardly could have imagined two years ago.

When you consider ways to study the process of aging in humans, you might not consider looking to one of the ocean’s most widely-studied invertebrates—the sea urchin—but that’s exactly what BIOS researchers Dr. Jeannette Loram and Dr. Andrea Bodnar did in a recent study published in the journal Mechanisms of Ageing and Development.

Some of our achievements in 2012 using ocean science for human good include work to:

Since its inception in the 1970s, the Canadian Associates of BIOS (CABIOS) program has provided over a hundred Canadian students and young scientists with financial assistance to pursue oceanographic research or academic coursework at BIOS. Founded by the late Dr. Earlston Doe, a former BIOS Life Trustee and Canadian oceanographer born in Bermuda, the CABIOS fund honors the memory of his youngest son Learmont “Leary” Doe.

In today’s competitive academic environment and job market, graduate and undergraduate students can benefit from internships and study abroad semesters that provide hands-on experience in marketable skills. For decades BIOS has been providing aspiring scientists with such opportunities through CABIOS (Canadian Associates of BIOS), the NSF-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program, and the Bermuda Program.

In the Molecular Discovery Lab at BIOS, a deli-style fridge with sliding glass doors houses vials and bottles of chemicals used to track proteins, stain cells, and analyze DNA – as well as a small bunch of lettuce in the corner.  It’s been picked fresh from the garden to satiate the appetites of the lab’s current visitors.

Marine science isn’t a prerequisite for medical school, but last month 13 pre-medical and health students from Furman University traveled to BIOS to spend three weeks delving into marine science for human good. They were participating in the second offering of BIOS’s interdisciplinary Oceans and Human Health course, which is co-taught by two Furman biology professors and four BIOS scientists. Through lectures, field trips, and hands-on research projects, the course covers how human health benefits from marine life, as well as the potential threats facing humans and marine organisms, and risk management and policy implications.