I am fascinated by turtles, and I suspect that I am not the only one. Turtles are often associated with very positive qualities in media, history and art. I think that the longevity of their lifespans, as well as their peaceful and docile nature and intricately formed shells have inspired the imagination of countless individuals. They have often sparked my own imagination, so learning about the complex experiments and knowledge that Dr. Powers works with was a real treat!

Learning about turtle experiments and biology was quite interesting. First, Dr. Powers described knowledge about turtles that previous researchers in the field have gathered over many years, and the types of experiments she and her colleagues now perform. She even mentioned that someone working within her lab has been experimenting to see whether turtles can smell outside the water (initial results suggest they have a very poor sense of smell outside of the water). Dr. Powers then spoke of the differences between the human brain and the reptile brain, specifically turtles. Dr. Powers spoke about her work and how it related to turtle neurogenesis, and that it is more widespread in non-mammals than in mammals. Neurogenesis may be the key to recovery from brain injuries, so the implications of this work may one day be applicable to human situations. Dr. Powers is also attempting to determine whether these neurogenesis pathways are related to memory and learning.

Overall I learned a lot from Dr. Powers’ Presentation. I am actually currently involved with clinical trial dental research, but one day I think I would like to work on animal studies if the opportunity becomes available to me. Also, I thought I would attach an image of a turtle related piece of art that I have created. I titled this piece “Astral Voyage”, and to me it represents our amazing home, planet earth. We fly through the stars as a living ecosystem, a great and ancient being that has slowly become cluttered and filled with garbage.