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Benefits Of Liberal Arts Requirements

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Like many young people, I had very little idea about what I wanted to pursue for a career when I enrolled at Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM). One of the benefits of liberal arts requirements is that you have the opportunity to take classes that you might otherwise overlook. For me it was a course in human biology. Taught by a charismatic and enthusiastic professor, the course I took only to fulfill my liberal arts requirements became the course that started me down a career path in science. To figure out where I wanted to take my new biology major, I became involved in undergraduate research with Dr. Ellen Brisch. Dr. Brisch’s research focused on the sexual development of fish embryos in estrogenic waters downstream of a wastewater treatment plant. Estrogenic activity from chemical pollutants can negatively effect the sexual development of many aquatic species, leading to male infertility and population decline1, 2. To study the extent of this phenomenon in Moorhead, MN, we collected water from multiple sites along the Red River of the North and reared medaka (Oryzias latipes) embryos in these samples. Embryonic development as well as hatching time were examined and compared to estrogenic and non-estrogenic control waters. We found that embryos hatched in estrogenic water and water sampled downstream of the wastewater treatment plant hatched significantly earlier than those in non-estrogenic control water, as well as water samples from other areas of the river.

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