Please wait...
About This Project
Ornithodoros ticks occur in the Mojave desert and frequently parasitize desert tortoises. These ticks carry the pathogen Borrelia, which is responsible for tick-borne relapsing fever. We aim to determine pathogen prevalence and species of ticks collected from tortoises to further understand infection kinetics of Borrelia in tortoises. Borrelia may cause disease in tortoises, but it's also possible there is an enzyme in tortoise blood that kills Borrelia.
Recent Lab Notes From This Project

Browse Other Projects on Experiment
Related Projects
Hot Metal Switch: Synthetic In Vitro Gene Circuit for the Detection of Metal Ions
Drinking water contaminated by metals, most notably lead, poses health risks to children and adults alike...
What's Calcium's role in heart and kidney disease?
Hardening of the arteries, or atherosclerosis, is a global problem leading to heart attacks and strokes...
Thermolyze: A Temperature Controlled Kill-Switch for Containment of Pathogenic Bacteria in Research Labs
We will engineer a temperature-controlled kill switch to be used in pathogenic or genetically modified bacteria...