{"111361":{"#nid":"111361","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Blast from the past: resurrecting ancient life (with confidence)","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIf we were able to resurrect a dinosaur in the laboratory today how could we be certain that the particular dinosaur actually existed in the distant past and does not simply represent some mutant frankensaurus?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOngoing research at Georgia Tech aims to answer this question in an experimental approach by adding rigor to the methods and protocols used to resurrect components of ancient life.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr. Eric Gaucher, Associate Professor in the School of Biology, was recently awarded $700K from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to, for the first time, benchmark ancestral sequence reconstruction methods. Prof. Gaucher\u2019s approach involves generating a known experimental phylogeny in the lab using fluorescent proteins cloned into bacteria. Generating such a \u201cknown\u201d phylogeny with evolved sequences will, in turn, allow the group to test resurrection predictions since the true ancestral proteins are generated in the laboratory and are thus known.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAn important component of the funding involves integrating evolutionary and molecular biology research into the greater Atlanta community. In collaboration with Dunwoody High school, Dr. Gaucher and Ryan Randall have developed a new Biotechnology curriculum whereby students are introduced to the connections between genotype and phenotype by evolving fluorescent proteins at the high school. In addition, The Gaucher Group annually hosts a team of Dekalb county high school students competing in the National Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology, that involves bioengineering of fluorescent proteins.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor his efforts, Prof. Gaucher is also a recent recipient of Georgia Tech\u2019s Class of 1934 Teaching Award. This award is based on student evaluations and presented to faculty with the highest ratings in overall effectiveness in teaching.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIf we were able to resurrect a dinosaur in the laboratory today how could we be certain that the particular dinosaur actually existed in the distant past and does not simply represent some mutant frankensaurus?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOngoing research at Georgia Tech aims to answer this question in an experimental approach by adding rigor to the methods and protocols used to resurrect components of ancient life.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"If we were able to resurrect a dinosaur in the laboratory today how could we be certain that the particular dinosaur actually existed in the distant past and does not simply represent some mutant frankensaurus?"}],"uid":"27245","created_gmt":"2012-02-22 10:15:14","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:11:44","author":"Troy Hilley","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-02-22T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2012-02-22T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"111341":{"id":"111341","type":"image","title":"Eric Gaucher and Ryan Randall","body":null,"created":"1449178213","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:30:13","changed":"1475894731","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:31","alt":"Eric Gaucher and Ryan Randall","file":{"fid":"194096","name":"gaucherimage1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gaucherimage1_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gaucherimage1_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":59010,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/gaucherimage1_0.jpg?itok=qRxO0wuv"}},"111351":{"id":"111351","type":"image","title":"Siemens competition","body":null,"created":"1449178213","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:30:13","changed":"1475894731","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:31","alt":"Siemens competition","file":{"fid":"194097","name":"gaucherimage2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gaucherimage2_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gaucherimage2_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":48435,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/gaucherimage2_0.jpg?itok=odeDIH52"}}},"media_ids":["111341","111351"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Biology"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/people\/eric-gaucher","title":"Eric Gaucher"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.gauchergroup.biology.gatech.edu\/","title":"Gaucher Group"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.siemens-foundation.org\/en\/competition.htm","title":"Siemens Competition"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.cetl.gatech.edu\/","title":"Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning (CETL)"}],"groups":[{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"5079","name":"Eric Gaucher"},{"id":"24721","name":"Gaucher Group"},{"id":"169462","name":"Siemens Competition"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":["david.terraso@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}