Triclosan is a type of antibacterial agent found in consumer products such as lotions, tooth paste, soaps, shaving gel, and acne wash treatments. Presence of Triclosan in various products contributes to substantial exposure, which people across all spectrums may experience. Continuity in Triclosan exposure has several side effects including skin irritation, endocrine disruption, bacterial and antibiotic resistance, thyroid hormone imbalances, and infertility. The purpose of this research is to detect and compare Triclosan levels in medicated versus non medicated consumer products. High Performance Liquid Chromatography UV (HPLC-UV) will be used to analyze several name brand gels, washes and lotions. The concentration of Triclosan found in each of the consumer samples will be reported.

 We will use the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans to study the process of meiosis, which is involved in the formation of gametes (sperm and eggs). Its small size, rapid life cycle, transparency and well-annotated genome allows researchers to track the effects of mutations that disrupt gametogenesis. Our preliminary data demonstrated that a genetic screen for mutations that increase the viability of embryos produced by worms lacking SPO-11, a critical factor regulating meiotic chromosomal inheritance, can identify genes required for the accurate transmission of the genome from one generation to the next. To further test this hypothesis, we will continue this screen to identify additional regulators of meiosis. Our results will be relevant to human genetics, since key regulators of gametogenesis are highly conserved in both worms and vertebrates. Thus, we can learn about the causes of human birth defects by examining worm development. Consequently, these mechanisms will be relevant to understanding gametogenesis in humans and may aide in preventing genetic instability.

In this paper, we studied the terrestrial mammalian populations through surveying both the northeastern and southwestern sides of Cocha Cashu within Manu National Park, Peru. The northeastern side of Cocha Cashu, which is an oxbow lake formed by the river meandering, is dominated by primary Amazonia rainforest while the southwestern side is mainly an early successional forest. Our study goal was to document the mammalian species diversity in Cocha Cashu by focusing on large-sized mammals. Previous studies have focused on rodents, marsupials, and bats, but the ecology of the larger mammals remains unknown. We conducted our surveying using five camera traps placed on each side of the lake at corresponding locations of projected terrestrial mammalian hotspots. We monitored these sites by checking them once daily and therefore had four nights and three full days of surveying. Through the identification of species from the photos on our camera traps we were able to find the species richness, total number of sightings at each site, and total number of sightings per species as well as comparing the number of sightings and species between night and day. The primary forest side had a total of five species (Leopardus pardalis, Dasyprocta, Cuniculus paca, Mazama americana, and Tapirus) and ten sightings, while the early successional side had a total number of four species (Dasyprocta, Tayassu pecari, Panthera onca, and Tapirus) and six sightings. Ultimately, our results show that primary forests in a tropical climate support a higher diversity of terrestrial mammals, as well as a higher number of individual mammals when compared to early successional forests. These data may assist future researchers in placing camera traps in areas of high mammalian diversity and density. Large mammals are keystone species in ecosystems and their existence affects prey populations and the composition of the surrounding flora. This research also confirmed the existence of many important keystone species such as the Tayassu pecari, Leopardus pardalis, and Panthera onca and provided records of occurrence in different types of habitat, which may help future conservation of different species and which type of habitat they prefer.