Remoras are among the most successful marine hitchhikers, thanks to powerful suction discs that allow them to stay tightly fastened to the bodies of sharks, whales and other hosts despite incredible drag forces while traveling through the ocean. But how do these suckerfish sense the exact moment when they must “stick their landing” and board their speedy hosts in the first place? 

A team of biologists at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), Friday Harbor Labs at University of Washington (FHL-UW) and The George Washington University (GWU) now offers an answer. 

New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) in collaboration with New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII), an NJIT corporation, has announced it will soon offer both a Professional Science Masters (PSM) degree program and professional graduate certificate in the rapidly expanding field of cell and gene therapy.

Where were you the night of Nov. 26th?

Anyone exiting the Summit Street parking garage that evening would have most certainly been counted among the witnesses to a brightly-lit, taped-off scene surrounding a faded-white ’98 Chevy Lumina where an investigation was underway — carried out by a special unit of NJIT’s own CSI students-in-training.

When trying to better the odds for survival, a major dilemma that many animals face is dispersal — being able to pick up and leave to occupy new lands, find fresh resources and mates, and avoid intraspecies competition in times of overpopulation. 

For birds, butterflies and other winged creatures, covering long distances may be as easy as the breeze they travel on. But for soil-dwellers of the crawling variety, the hurdle remains: How do they reach new, far-off habitats? 

Brooke Flammang, assistant professor of biological sciences at NJIT, has been named winner of the 2019 Steven Vogel Young Investigator Award by the scientific journal Bioinspiration & Biomimetics.

Flammang is the third-ever winner of the international award, started in 2017 in honor of biomechanics pioneer Steven Vogel. The honor is externally nominated by the journal to annually recognize early career excellence in the journal's field, and is open to researchers in the 10 years after completing their Ph.D. 

Equipped with shovels and spades, and tape measures and topsoil, first-year Dorman Scholars gathered behind Albert Dorman Honors College (ADHC) on a sunny weekend morning in early October to plant a variety of native species: New Jersey tea, blazing star, New England aster, lady fern, butterfly milkweed and coneflower. They were beautifying the ADHC grounds to be sure, but more importantly, they were continuing a project started by last year’s first-years to increase biodiversity on the NJIT campus.

Can ants help predict the complex dynamics of future humanitarian crises, such as when and where large populations might move during disease outbreaks or armed conflicts?

It’s a question that has been posed by Simon Garnier, assistant professor of biological sciences at NJIT, who recently joined the exclusive company of up-and-coming researchers in the nation with a prestigious 2019 Young Faculty Award from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). 

Remora fishes are famed hitchhikers of the marine world, possessing high-powered suction disks on the back of their head for attaching themselves in torpedo-like fashion to larger hosts that can provide food and safety — from whales and sharks to boats and divers.

Ants. Sure, most are harmless and inconspicuous. Though, there are always exceptions.

Army ants, bulldog ants and fire ants are a few living members of the family Formicidae that nature television viewers might recognize from any number of “World’s Deadliest” countdown shows that populate the airwaves these days. 

While Spring Commencement is on the horizon for the Class of 2019, the first wave of year-end celebrations has already begun for a special group of award-winning seniors at NJIT’s College of Science and Liberal Arts (CSLA).