Tis the season for ... parasites and fungi?
By KJ LANG | klang@lacrossetribune.com | Posted: Wednesday, December 23, 2009 12:15 am
Heres a romantic holiday thought: Mistletoe is a parasite.
People dont often think of kissing underneath a parasite, but its true, said Greg Sandland, assistant professor of biology at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
People probably dont think much about the fig in the figgy pudding, either, or the origin of those chestnuts roasting on an open fire. But they now can.
In lieu of writing a term paper, students in an organismal biology class at UW-L created Web sites about an organism of their choice related to a Christmas theme. Students created almost 100 Web sites delving into the genetics, biochemistry, life history and more of such holiday-related fixtures as peppermint, reindeer, Christmas cactus, sugarplums and more.
UW-L biology professor Tom Volk calls the project, worth 10 percent of a students grade, a win-win-win situation that benefits students, the university and the public.
Making these things accessible to the general public is really what its about, he said. That is one reason I picked Christmas as the theme its something people can relate to.
The project is a natural extension of Volks fungi Web site at tomvolkfungi.net, where he discusses ways fungi are applicable to everyday life, including fungi that are necessary for a Merry Christmas.
Students have received feedback from doctors in California, fish-farming agencies on the West Coast and the cable channel Animal Planet, among others.
Senior biology major Rourke Decker has achieved a No. 6 Google rank on his site about the Yeti crab. Decker was attracted to the pale crabs strange, hairy quality and that it can live near temperatures up to 400 degrees.
He knew this novel species could garner some page views, as little had been written about it in depth on the Web. Decker contacted people in South American and France who discovered the species.
This project was the most time consuming, but the most intellectually gratifying of my college career, said Decker. Papers sit in a folder. This is out there.
Students not only extensively researched their organism, but designed the Web sites with the help of Saundy Solum, education and support consultant in UW-Ls Information Technology Services.
Student Erik Christianson created a site on Amanita muscaria, a mushroom with red tops and white spots perhaps most recognizable from the Mario Brothers video game. The holiday connection, he claims, might stem from the mushrooms hallucinogenic qualities.
The toys delivered to children on Christmas Eve are made by elves in the North Pole ... this alone makes me think of something a person would think of while tripping on A. muscaria, he wrote.