ISB News

USA Science & Engineering Festival

Networks are everywhere – from communications and transportation to social and biological – but we take most of them for granted. Three ISB scientists (Chris Lausted, senior research engineer; Aaron Brooks, graduate student; and Martin Shelton, postdoc) and high school intern Sarah Williams are collaborating on a project for the USA Science & Engineering Festival on April 26-27 in Washington D.C. to demonstrate just how essential networks are. The team engineered an interactive network activity involving circuit boxes that represent nodes and fiber optic cables to connect them. There will be a companion site that offers a network design game that tests your ability to build a communications network able to withstand "random connection failures." The team hopes to convey how studying networks can help scientists better understand and predict health and wellness. Learn more about the festival at usasciencefestival.org. Aaron and Martin will be attending the festival and we will report back after they return.

Recent Articles

  • Spotlight on ISB Education graphic

    2024-25 School Year ISB Education Highlights

    In the first installment of the 2024-25 academic year roundup, we highlight some of the top projects the ISB Education team is working on. In October, we welcomed new team members, developed a new format for our popular “Systems Are Everywhere!” workshop, and more.

  • 2024 ISB Virtual Microbiome Series

    Our multi-day microbiome-themed virtual course and symposium is back for the fifth year! ISB is hosting a two-day course on October 16 & 17, 2024, followed by a symposium on October 18, 2024 titled, “A gut feeling: Microbes and their impacts on our minds.” Both events are virtual and free.

  • Fluidized bed reactor

    How Microbes Evolve to Spatially Divide and Conquer an Environment 

    ISB researchers examined representative organisms of two classes of microbes whose interaction contributes to the conversion of more than 1 gigaton of carbon into methane every year. They found that gene mutations selected over a relatively short timeframe in the two microbes led to distinct functions.