Lorditch, Kyle

Mr. Lorditch's Website
Room 305

 
a mouse embryo immunolabeled with anti-PECAM-1
About the Website
Welcome to Biology everyone!  I am constructing this website with the aim of creating a place where parents and students, both present and former, can navigate the coursework for the year and explore the complex and ever-changing world of modern biology.  I encourage you to explore the page often to receive updates on important dates, download study companion files for your personal use, read some of the latest headlines on modern biology (coming soon), visit the interactive links on the various topics we will be learning about this year and relax with the occasional science movie or podcast (coming soon).  Some of this material will be used in our coursework over the year and the rest is for wandering minds to discover at leisure. 

Announcements

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  • Apply today for a possible summer internship: http://seap.asee.org/
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  • The Penn State Hershey Eye Center is hosting its 3rd annual Eye School, a community education event for students of all ages, on Saturday, November 5, 2011 from 8:00 am-Noon in the University Conference Center.  This year’s focus will be on the eye exam itself – the tools used for adult as well as pediatric patients and what it’s like to provide eye care in underserved countries.  There is no fee for this event but registration is required due to limited seating.  To register and/or access the event brochure, please visit the Eye Center’s website:

    http://www.pennstatehershey.org/web/eyecenter/community

    A light continental breakfast will be provided as well as mid-morning break refreshments.
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Upcoming Events

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About Me
My name is Mr. Lorditch and I am a biology teacher at Susquehanna Township High School.  My goal to make this webpage a place where you can learn some of the latest discoveries in biology and to create a community where current and past students can interact and learn new things about biology.  I have spent some time working in a tumor immunology laboratory before teaching, but lately I've returned back to my roots - evolutionary biology. 
 
About the Photo
The image is of a mouse embryo that is in the process of organizing parts of its nervous system, circulatory system, digestive system and probably elements of its immune system.  Biologists are able to detect the presence and position of cells found in these parts of a body using information about the unique proteins the cells of this mouse express at this time of development.   This perspective aids cancer researchers and developmental biologists in studying how tumors form and how the mouse builds its body.  These particular cells are stained fluorescent green because they have a particular protein on the surface of their membranes called CD31/PECAM-1.  CD31 has been associated with the biology of the immune system and nervous system, but is also a very common protein used to join cells together into a tissue to make blood vessels.   In effect, what you are looking at is a mouse quite literally bolting itself together at the cellular level so that it will form tubes where blood cells and nutrients can transit.  CD31 has a particular shape that enables a molecule called an antibody (a common protein you use to fight off disease) that has a complimentary fit (anti-PECAM) to attach and stick to it.  Antibodies can now be engineered so that they have a portion that is fluorescent when excited by a certain wavelength of light. This "lock-and-key" like fit enables a biologist to cover the surface of these cells and reveal their location so we can better understand how our bodies develop and unfortunately form tumors.