Bidlack's Research Group

This semester, the AMAZING Fall 2019 Plant Anatomy Class came up with a new Plant Anatomy Dance, to go along with the Traditional Plant Anatomy Chant. Absolutely the BEST CLASS EVER! Everyone gets and "A" for the day!! Here is the video (also see https://youtu.be/egW0tXuoI1I):

The Oklahoma Budget for 2020 is up and it's time to celebrate! According to https://okpolicy.org/fy-2020-budget-highlights/, "next year’s appropriations will be the largest in state history, surpassing the $7.567 billion budget in FY 2019." As such, the salaries for individual Oklahoma State Representatives and Senators will be increased 35% - voted upon by themselves (https://oklahoman.com//oklahoma-legislators-to-get-35-perc). The Legislature may, indeed, deserve such ...a raise (first raise in 20 years), but I do ask that they answer phone calls and e-mails, requesting to increase funding for Education (particularly Higher Education, which brings more additional funding to Oklahoma than most other agencies). The University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) - a Leader in our State's Universities - has suffered decreased funding from the State for over a decade. It's time for UCO students to contact their State Legislators and promote funding for the university - as well as all universities in Oklahoma. According to UCO's Graduation Statistics (see https://sites.uco.edu//pub/higher-education-statistics.asp), "A student with a college degree will earn $1.1 million more in a lifetime than a high school graduate. Eighty-seven percent of Oklahoma residents who graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree remain in the state and are employed in the state one year after graduation." That should be enough revenue and justification to request more funding for Higher Education - and ask the State Regents to re-evaluate how much UCO is funded on a per student basis. Most Legislators are well-educated and have enough common sense to understand this. Many Legislators are great leaders and I admire them. We shall see if they keep their promise this year and fund Education as it should be, and get Oklahoma back to where it is meant to be. Yay! See more

BIGFOOT MOVIE! This a fun movie about a Bigfoot Encounter (August 2, 2019) in the Ouachita National Forest in the United States. It's a short movie (about 10 minutes) that features the trip to Oklahoma's Area X, where Bigfoot is known to reside. Young Charles Bidlack and his Dad practice Bigfoot calls, Bigfoot knocks, and examine Bigfoot evidence. The last part of the movie shows an ACTUAL VIDEO OF BIGFOOT near Area X - at the Ouachita Mountains in Oklahoma. Of course, this is not to be thought as an encounter with the real Bigfoot, but the movie is an educational and exciting portrayal for those who enjoy the stories. The movie is at: https://youtu.be/KFC3hYfVF-A

Very proud of Sandy Samuel, who did an excellent presentation on our Gene Transfer Research at the Tri-Center (Biomedical, Computational, and Wildlife) Symposium at the UCO STEM Building today, for the AMAZING Spring 2019 General Biology Class. Sandy (along with co-authors, Jamey Lausen, Shawna Watkins, Robin Pilcher, Chris Jester, Matt Naifeh, and others) has been continuing work we've been doing with a new, potential, multi-drug resistant gene, for almost 15 years. This wor...k was initiated with the FAMOUS Dr. Philip Silverman at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) in Oklahoma City. We've located the gene, amplified the gene, and very close to sequencing a gene locus that may, very well, be partially responsible for antibiotic resistance in bacteria. This may turn out to be an amazing discovery, that could lead to better antibiotic therapy for those suffering from resistant bacterial infections. Yay! See more

We are continuing the enthusiasm and learning with the Spring 2019 General Biology Class - and Janet L McDonald's BioL-O-Gee R.A.P. Series. Hooray for PHOTOSYNTHESIS! Hooray for Biology!! Yay!!!