Turn your epigenetics on

Craig Oberg, microbiology professor in the College of Science, gave his last lecture on Thursday. Oberg was the honorary lecturer chosen to highlight Weber State University’s Sixth Annual Faculty Forum.
Oberg’s last lecture, the lecture he would give if he never lectured again, kicked off the event in the Shepherd Union Building, followed by a forum featuring 16 oral presentations and 11 poster presentations.
Through 30 years of “picking up rocks,” Oberg presented to over 100 students, faculty and staff his life’s findings through historical facts, picture slides and diagrams, while displaying his favorite collection of rocks acquired since childhood.
In an hour-long lecture, Oberg entertained the audience with what he said was the new field of “epigenetics,” or “the gene that causes people to have a fascination for the world and which can get inactivated over time. My metaphor is to encourage you, if this gene is off, to turn it back on.”
According to Oberg, microbes rule the world, and have been a determining causal factor of historical events, from dinosaur extinction or the fall of civilizations to current issues, such as cheese fabrication or the H1N1 virus.
“Microbes rule and astronomers drool,” joked Oberg, as he showed slides of microbes that looked very similar to nebula from outer space.
In Oberg’s presentation, he entertained the audience with multiple stories from past experiments in the lab or the outdoors.
“It was nice to take your mistakes home, grow them on some toast and eat it,” he said, referring to cheese fabrication.
He also told of a time when he tried smearing on toadfish mucus ointment to see if it was anti-microbial, but to no avail.
Philip Burnett, a senior in the microbiology department who aims to become a dentist and continue oral microbial research, attended the lecture to honor one of his favorite teachers.
“Dr. Oberg is one of Weber State’s best lecturers,” Burnett said. “He is able to communicate and engage students with humor to great effect.”
Most of the lecture focused on Oberg’s tour through Yellowstone Park, where he went to further microbial research. With snapshots of differently colored microbes growing by lakes or hot springs, to microbes simulating cotton candy, Oberg explained how Yellowstone is home to some of the most unique microbes found on the planet.
“The difference between microbes found on each one of the different platforms at Mammoth Hot Springs, for example, is greater than the difference found in a desert, a jungle and the Arctic,” he said.
After the lecture, attendees were invited to visit the different displays and oral presentations held by campus faculty, who wished to share their research and scholarship with students, colleagues and the public.
Thom Priest and Kendra Johnson from the music department, bassoon and oboe instructors respectively, showcased “The Art and Science of Making Double Reeds” for their instruments, and explained why they choose to make their own reeds over buying them at the store.
“A lot of people make their own reeds,” Johnson said. “It gives you a lot more control over your sound, especially when the (Utah) altitude can make such a difference.”
Priest and Johnson entertained the public by playing their instruments, while displaying some of the different types of canes used for making reeds.
“The reeds I use are imported from France,” Johnson said, “although some reeds are made from canes considered to be noxious weeds in America.”
Next year, WSU’s Teaching & Learning Forum will accept new nominations for professors that inspire, entertain or challenge their students. For more information, contact Adam Johnston, chair of the Teaching, Learning & Assessment Committee at 801-626-7711.