Microbiology

Videos: Meet the Scientist – Cynthia Haseltine and microbiology research on Archaea

Our DNA suffers damage all the time-from cosmic rays, exposure to chemicals, simple wear & tear-and is constantly being repaired. But when something goes wrong in the repair process, says WSU microbiologist Cynthia Haseltine, “bad things happen.” Among the worst of those bad things is lymphoma, a cancer of white blood cells.

In a series of four brief video clips produced by Adam Ratliff and Cherie Winner for Washington State Magazine Online, Haseltine describes how she’s working to understand the process of DNA repair and the causes of lymphoma, with the help of a microbe that has an unusual lifestyle and an uncanny resemblance to … » More …

Winter 2007

Creatures from the Dark Lagoons

Cynthia Haseltine wants everyone to know that the microbes she works with are not bacteria.

They look like bacteria; each Sulfolobus is a single cell that has one circular chromosome and lacks a nucleus. But in their genes and the way they read and repair their DNA, these organisms bear a closer resemblance to us than to bacteria—and those similarities make Sulfolobus an excellent model system for learning about how our cells handle DNA, and how the process sometimes goes wrong.

Haseltine’s microbes belong to the group of organisms known as Archaea (ar-KAY-uh). Most Archaea are extremophiles, living in hot, saline, acidic, or other extreme … » More …