Visiting biochemist to speak
on origin of eukaryotic cells

KINGSTON, R. I. -- October 22, 1999 -- On November 1, Dr. Miklos Muller, MD, associate professor and head of the laboratory of biochemical parasitology at the Rockefeller University New York City, will speak at the University of Rhode Island. His lecture, " Energy Metabolism of Eukaryotes: Diversity, Organelles and Origins," is sponsored by the University of Rhode Island Honors Program and Visiting Scholars Committee, and the Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics. It will be held at noon, in Room 215 Morrill Life Science Building.

Dr. Muller's lecture will address the origin of the eukaryotic cell (the type of cell found in our own bodies), based on clues from its metabolism. Dr. Muller is the co-author of a new hypothesis for the origin of the eukaryotic cell. His "Hydrogen Hypothesis" made international news headlines by proposing that clues to the identity of the common ancestor of all eukaryotic cells can be found in the energy metabolism of microbes living today. Dr. Muller is an internationally recognized parasitologist, whose research has focused on the physiology of Giardia, Entamoeba and other human pathogens. He will explain how clues found in diverse microbial species have led to his highly-acclaimed hypothesis.

-xxx-

For More Information: Jan Sawyer, 874-2116