Latest news with #StOlafCollege
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
This parasitic fly gives birth inside of crickets
It's pretty rare, but just like us mammals, some flies actually give live birth. One of them is a parasitic fly species Ormia ochracea (O. ochracea). A new study published this week in the Annals of the Entomological Society of America details how female O. ochracea flies develops its young and give live birth–while feeding on its host. 'The findings also lay the groundwork for future genetic and developmental research in Ormia, a species already well-known in neuroethology for its miniature, highly directional auditory system and precise host-seeking behavior,' said Norman Lee, a study co-author and neuroscientist at St. Olaf College in Minnesota. Mammals are not the only members of the animal kingdom that reproduce through live birth. Many shark species including porbeagles, hammerheads, makos, and great whites give birth to live pups instead of laying eggs like other fish. Some frog species have young that burst out of their backs instead of in eggs. Three lizard species are known to perform the evolutionary magic trick of laying eggs and giving live birth: Lerista bougainvillii, Zootoca vivipara, and Saiphos equalis. To study this phenomenon in insects, a team of scientists looked at O. ochracea. These parasitic flies latch onto crickets and can use incredibly accurate directional hearing to locate singing crickets. [ Related: Which animals reproduce at the oldest age? ] Biologist and former St. Olaf College undergraduate Parker Henderson used a combination of dissection, fluorescence staining, and microscopy, to observe and document how female O. ochracea carry their developing embryos in a uterus-like structure. The embryos are completely nourished internally until they hatch as fully formed larvae. The O. ochracea larvae are then deposited directly onto a host cricket, where the flies burrow inside, and complete their development within the cricket's body. They ultimately kill their cricket host, in somewhere between 10 to 14 days. The study shows how the embryos grow substantially in utero. They are likely receiving nourishment from their mothers during development, which is a reproductive mode known as adenotrophic viviparity. These flies also have some capacity for partial parthenogenesis, or when an embryo develops from an unfertilized egg. In O. ochracea, unfertilized eggs from virgin females undergo the early stages of development, including nuclear division and rudimentary patterning. However, these embryos did not complete larval formation. This internal embryonic development also poses technical challenges for genetic manipulation, so any future tools to study this species' genes may need to target sperm instead of eggs. 'This work highlights an extraordinary and underappreciated side of Ormia biology,' said study co-author and St. Olaf College biologist Eric Cole. 'The complexity of their reproductive strategy raises fascinating questions about insect development and host-parasite evolution.' For scientists, understanding how parasites like O. ochracea reproduce and interact with their hosts helps explain some of the broader ecological and evolutionary dynamics at play. Understanding how these dynamics work can be relevant in agriculture and disease and pest control. Insights gained from this fly-cricket parasitic relationship could also inform more bio-inspired technologies. Ormia's hyperaccurate directional hearing has already influenced the development of new hearing aid designs and acoustic sensor development. Additionally, engaging undergraduates students in this kind of research strengthens scientific literacy and the public understanding of how science works. Henderson completed this project as part of his undergraduate research training, which led him to fully pursue a career in scientific research. [ Related: Flies with shorter eye-stalks act aggressively because females are less attracted to them. ] 'This kind of hands-on work is what brings science to life. It's how you learn to think like a scientist and contribute to new knowledge,' Henderson said in a statement. Henderson is also a co-author on a companion paper that investigates how resource competition among larvae affects the eventual developmental outcomes in O. ochracea. 'Undergraduate research doesn't just produce meaningful discoveries. It cultivates future scientists,' Lee concluded. 'Continued investment in student research is essential to both the scientific enterprise and to building a more capable STEM workforce.'
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
1988 Bemidji grad Marc Baer to lead Hazelden Betty Ford clinical operations
May 10—Marc Baer says growing up in Bemidji prepared him for a career of service, and he will take those experiences into his new job as chief operating officer of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. Baer, a 1988 graduate of Bemidji High School, will oversee Hazelden Betty Ford's clinical operations and join the executive leadership team for the nation's largest and oldest nonprofit organization dedicated to substance use disorders, mental health and recovery. "One of the many things I am grateful for is the opportunity I had to participate in and try out many different activities while growing up in Bemidji," Baer said. "That instilled in me a desire to really contribute to and give back to the community in a variety of different ways. That's because of the amazing experiences that I had growing up right there and doing all of the different things I had the chance to do." Those things included sports (swimming, cross country and tennis), band (wind ensemble, jazz, marching and pep bands), the student newspaper, theater, and Key Club. He was also chosen by the American Legion to attend Boys State in St. Paul and Boys Nation in Washington, D.C. He also worked at Bemidji's Dairy Queen as a teenager, about the time the DQ Blizzard was introduced. Baer met his wife, Elizabeth, when they were undergraduate students at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn. Marc earned a degree in psychology, then went on to law school at the University of Minnesota. He was a student attorney in the Hennepin County Attorney's office, working in the mental health division on cases involving people with substance abuse issues. "That was really the first time when I had the opportunity to marry my interest in psychology and law," Baer said. Baer entered private practice in the south metro, where he was able to specialize in representing people in the mental health and chemical dependency commitment process. "I just absolutely loved that part of my work," he said, "You could see the impact of trying to have an immediate effect on helping people who needed significant assistance at a point in their life where they were in a very difficult spot. So I was focused on health and healing, and getting people to the right place where they could meaningfully change their lives." He enjoyed that work so much that after practicing law for several years, "I just really felt like I needed to jump into health care. I love trying new things. I love jumping in and learning." Baer has spent the last 25 years in leadership roles in the health care industry. He most recently served as an officer and corporate vice president of enterprise partnerships at Centene Corporation. Before that, he was an officer at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota working in population health, pharmacy, health and wellness, clinical product innovation and provider operations. He also held leadership roles in the health care division of Target Corporation, where he led its pharmacy managed care network and its clinic and optical divisions, and spent several years at UnitedHealth Group. "For me, coming to Hazelden now, which was a very unexpected opportunity to do this, is like a career serendipity moment," Baer said. "It has brought me to an amazing place that's at the forefront of really trying to change lives. I'm still pinching myself and trying to put my head around how fortunate and honored I am to just even be in this place." Hazelden Betty Ford celebrated its 75th anniversary last year, and in his new role, Baer hopes to help shape the organization's next 75 years. "It is the preeminent provider of care in this space," he said. "It's the oldest and largest nonprofit dedicated to addiction and mental health. It's really considered the gold standard of care in the industry. People may not realize we also have a graduate school, we have a center for research, we have a publishing arm. We are incredibly well-positioned to really make huge impacts in the lives of those who need that help and who are affected by addiction and alcohol and other drugs."
