Freshwater jellyfish in Wolf Lake focus of March Calumet Revisited forum
When the community has information about local scientific studies, it is better for everyone, said one professor at Wheaton College in Illinois.
Nadine Folino-Rorem, professor of biology, investigated a freshwater jellyfish — Craspedacusta — that lives in Wolf Lake, which is located in the Hammond and Hegewisch communities on the Indiana-Illinois border. She received an Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant that helped look at the invasive jellyfish that originated in China.
The Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant Foundation helps fund programs that look at biology's response to climate change and is focused on the southern Lake Michigan region, according to its website.
On March 4, Folino-Rorem is going to share her findings in a Zoom presentation with Calumet Revisited Forums, a program created by the Association for the Wolf Lake Initiative.
'The purpose is to make people aware of the fact that they have this invasive jellyfish,' Folino-Rorem said. 'When people hear the word 'invasive,' they get kind of nervous, but it's not always a harmful organism in the system.'
The study's findings were published in 2024.
Folino-Rorem's study looked at the biology of the freshwater jellyfish, allowing researchers to better predict its ecological impact in response to climate change.
In Wolf Lake, Folino-Rorem found the freshwater jellyfish in the polyp stage, which is its primary stage and present throughout the year. The polyp stage is a precursor to the medusa stage, Folino-Rorem said, when jellyfish are more visible.
Through the Indiana-Illinois Sea Grant, they had to determine where the jellyfish were found, which brought them to Wolf Lake.
Folino-Rorem believes that speaking at Calumet Revisited Forums will encourage people to keep an eye out for the freshwater jellyfish when they're on Wolf Lake, she said.
'A lot of people don't realize there are freshwater jellyfish,' Folino-Rorem said. 'That makes it fun because there's a little bit of charisma about this little beast, and then it gets people interested.'
If people find jellyfish at Wolf Lake, they could help aid Folino-Rorem in her study.
'If they're out on that body of water, they might (see) the jellyfish versus another stage of the invasive hydrozoan and help us understand some of the dynamics of the life cycle from that stage,' Folino-Rorem said.
Emiliano Aguilar, professor of history at the University of Notre Dame, was recently named head of an advisory committee to recruit future speakers for the forums.
As head of the advisory committee, Aguilar will look to find others to join and speakers that can be spotlighted during a discussion.
Since Aguilar is new to the role, he didn't help pick Folino-Rorem as the March speaker, but he's excited for her talk.
'I am very much looking forward to it,' he said. 'I'm a historian, so I don't think I've given a wealth of appreciation to the more STEM, scientific-focused material, so I'm excited to learn more.'
Calumet Revisited helps connect people who might not have crossed paths in their work, such as those who work at universities or in nonprofits, Aguilar said. He believes it can start more collaborations and discussions that can help Northwest Indiana.
Aguilar grew up in East Chicago and lived in the Whiting-Robertsdale community before moving to South Bend. He's attended the Calumet Revisited series and has been interested in studies about the region.
Aguilar is working on a manuscript titled, 'Build a Latino Machine: Caught Between Good Government Reform and Corrupt Political Machines,' which looks into how machine politics impacted East Chicago in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Calumet Revisited is an important program because it connects residents with stories that they otherwise might not have heard, such as Folino-Rorem's study, Aguilar said.
'It's all about reconnecting with the stories of so many things that have been done,' he said. 'While there might have been residents that recognized how important they were in the moment, that sort of recognition has dulled over time.'
Those interested in tuning into the Zoom presentation should email booscommunications@gmail.com for a link.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
14 hours ago
- Fox News
Common menopause medication might prevent breast cancer while treating hot flashes
A drug intended to treat menopause symptoms could double as breast cancer prevention. New research from Northwestern University in Illinois found that Duavee, a Pfizer-made drug, "significantly reduced" breast tissue cell growth, which is a major indicator of cancer progression. A phase 2 clinical trial included 141 post-menopausal women who had been diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), also known as stage 0 breast cancer, according to a press release from Northwestern. This non-invasive breast cancer affects more than 60,000 American women each year, often leading to an outcome of invasive breast cancer. The women were separated into two groups — one received Duavee and the other took a placebo for a month before undergoing breast surgery. Duavee is a conjugated estrogen/bazedoxifene (CE/BZA) drug, which combines estrogen with another medication that minimizes the potential harmful side effects of the hormone. "The key takeaway from the study is that CE/BZA slows the growth (proliferation) of cells in milk ducts of DCIS that expressed the estrogen receptor significantly more than placebo," Dr. Swati Kulkarni, lead investigator and professor of breast surgery at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, told Fox News Digital. Another major finding is that the quality of life did not differ significantly between the two groups, but patients who took the CE/BZA reported fewer hot flashes during the study, she noted. "This would be expected, as the drug is FDA-approved to treat hot flashes." "What excites me most is that a medication designed to help women feel better during menopause may also reduce their risk of invasive breast cancer." Kulkarni presented the study last week at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago. The findings are preliminary and have not yet been published in a medical journal. "What excites me most is that a medication designed to help women feel better during menopause may also reduce their risk of invasive breast cancer," said the doctor, who is also a Northwestern Medicine breast surgeon. Women who face a higher risk of breast cancer — including those who have experienced "high-risk lesions" — and who also have menopausal symptoms are most likely to benefit from the drug, according to Kulkarni. "These women are typically advised against standard hormone therapies, leaving them with few menopausal treatment options," the release stated. The researchers said they are "encouraged" by these early results, but more research is required before the medication can be considered for approval as a breast cancer prevention mechanism. "Our findings suggest that CE/BZA may prevent breast cancer, but larger studies with several years of follow-up are needed before we would know this for sure," Kulkarni told Fox News Digital. Dr. Sheheryar Kabraji, chief of breast medicine at the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, New York, was not involved in the study but commented on the findings. "While intriguing, this study is highly preliminary, and more research will be needed before we can conclude that conjugated estrogen/bazedoxifene (CD/BZA), a form of the hormone estrogen commonly prescribed to address symptoms of menopause, prevents invasive breast cancer or is effective at reducing cancer risk," she told Fox News Digital. Kabraji also noted that the study focused on reducing levels of one specific protein, "which does not always predict reduced recurrence of breast cancer." "This study did not directly show that CE/BZA treatment reduces the risk of DCIS recurrence or development of invasive cancer," she noted. "While intriguing, this study is highly preliminary." "Importantly, however, patients who received this therapy experienced no worsening of quality of life, and saw improvement in vasomotor symptoms, such as hot flashes. If found to be effective in preventing breast cancer, CE/BZA is likely to have fewer side effects than current medications used for breast cancer prevention." For more Health articles, visit Lead researcher Kulkarni emphasized that this medication is not for the treatment of invasive breast cancer or DCIS. "Right now, we can say that women who are concerned about their risk of developing breast cancer can consider this medication to treat their menopausal symptoms," she added.
Washington Post
17 hours ago
- Washington Post
Planet-warming emissions dropped when companies had to report them. EPA wants to end that
LEOPOLD, Ind. — On the ceiling of Abbie Brockman's middle school English classroom in Perry County, the fluorescent lights are covered with images of a bright blue sky, a few clouds floating by. Outside, the real sky isn't always blue. Sometimes it's hazy, with pollution drifting from coal-fired power plants in this part of southwest Indiana. Knowing exactly how much, and what it may be doing to the people who live there, is why Brockman got involved with a local environmental organization that's installing air and water quality monitors in her community.
Forbes
2 days ago
- Forbes
Rescue Dog Inspires STEM Teacher's Doghouse Project
Bronco, a 7-year-old pit bull mix, inspired adopter and STEM teacher Luc Sproles to pilot a doghouse ... More project in an 8th grade class at William Penn Middle School in Indianapolis, Indiana. An innovative STEM project in an 8th grade classroom is inspiring students to learn new skills while helping their local community — all thanks to a shelter dog named Bronco. When Indianapolis teacher Luc Sproles adopted Bronco from the Humane Society for Hamilton County, he was impressed not only by the charming pit bull mix, but by how much the shelter staff genuinely cared about the dog. STEM teacher Luc Sproles smiles with his rescue dog, Bronco. 'When I adopted Bronco, people were crying. That's how much they cared for him,' he recalls. 'Ever since then I've just been wondering, 'What are some ways that I can give back?'' So this year in his green architecture STEM course at William Penn Middle School, he launched a pilot program for the class to build a doghouse. It was essentially a culminating task of everything the students had learned about architecture, from the elements of design to structure, stability, drafting, modeling and reading blueprints. Sproles also taught them how to use power tools, the names of different hand tools, tool maintenance and how to change saw blades — with an obvious emphasis on safety. Students learned to safely use power tools to build a doghouse in a STEM class at William Penn ... More Middle School in Indianapolis, Indiana. 'As long as we set the bar high for our students, they will reach that,' he says. 'I wanted to show my students there was a way that they could give back to their community and apply what they've learned and really just connect their learning more to the real world and give them some authentic experiences.' Many of the 8th graders were English as a New Language students, and Sproles enjoyed watching them become more confident about speaking in class as the project progressed. In fact, all of his students seemed to open up while talking about what kind of dog they'd like to have in the future since 'the great unifier is pets.' Watching his students have fun while growing as leaders during a rigorous learning opportunity was immensely rewarding, he says. In fact, the doghouse project proved so popular that students would come up to him in the hallway and ask to transfer into his class — even when there were only two weeks left in the school year. Luc Sproles teaches his green architecture STEM class about building a doghouse. 'It reminds me of why I got into teaching — why everyone wants to be teachers: that spark that they see in their students. That excitement they have for building and creating and making,' he says. 'Kids are naturally good at creating things, and we just have to find a way to channel that.' The doghouse was on display for the 8th grade promotion after each student left a handprint and signed it. While the class donated the doghouse to a member of the staff, Sproles plans to partner with local animal shelters and other nonprofit organizations next year to give back to the community. In addition to building more doghouses, the project will likely expand so students can create dog beds, toys and other pet supplies from recycled materials. He says finding innovative ways to support animal shelters continues to be a goal since adopting Bronco from the Humane Society for Hamilton County. 'It's just trying to help out them or any other shelters that provide such critical work in communities,' he says. Thanks to the success of the pilot program, future STEM classes will build more doghouses and pet ... More supplies to donate to animal shelters. During the doghouse project, students learned the importance of community, teamwork and collaboration, and they could envision different career possibilities, according to Sproles. 'Your education can be whatever you make of it, but if you invest in it and you really put in the effort, you can actually use it as something that can change your community,' he says. His passion for teaching is one reason why Sproles was named the Indianapolis Public Schools Secondary School Teacher of the Year last month. Indianapolis Public Schools named Luc Sproles, right, Secondary School Teacher of the Year in May of ... More 2025. Marc Ransford, media relations manager for Indianapolis Public Schools, said the school system has poured 'a heck of a lot of money' into STEM education as part of its Building Stronger initiative. Even in a district with many strong schools, William Penn Middle School is at the forefront of STEM education, according to Ransford. 'I think everybody knows that the next level of education in this country has to be STEM, and visiting Luc's class, I was mesmerized by how these kids were doing everything,' he says. 'They built a doghouse, but they didn't just build a doghouse: they designed it, engineered it. They're middle-school kids, but they're thinking way beyond their years.' Naturally, Sproles is proud of his students, too. 'They are the reason why I show up every day and do what I do,' he says. 'I have a sign that says, 'The future is yours to create,' and I think they're going to create a pretty cool future.'
