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Three Hamilton College science students are spending the summer conducting diabetes research on area snapping turtles with Biology Professor David Gapp. Hannah Stahle '03, Nichola Meserve '03 and Milagros Gordillo-Guffanti  '05 are tracking snapping turtle and painted turtle populations in Utica Marsh, Westmoreland and in Stone Mill Pond. A collectors permit was granted to Gapp by the DEC and the Marsh Council to trap turtles in the Utica Marsh, which is a wildlife interpretive center. 

Several years ago Gapp found turtles in Utica Marsh that had unusually high blood sugar, which in humans is indicative of the disease diabetes.  Every year Gapp and his students set up netted wire-ring traps in the three locations.  Once turtles are caught they are brought back to the lab where blood samples are taken. The turtles are then re-released in the area where they were caught.  This summer has been very productive, with six snapping turtles and one painted turtle caught.  Neither of the two turtles caught in the Utica Marsh had high blood sugar levels.  Besides collecting turtles each student is conducting an individual research project. 

Stahle is looking at the presence or absence of different peptides, hormones and nerutransmitters in the epithelial tissue of the gut at different stages of metamorphosis in frogs.  Once she is able to determine what is present at different stages of development, she plans to try an induce change by exposing the frogs to the chemical that comes later in the developmental process.

Meserve is examining the contractile effects of the peptide bradykinnin on the gut of painted turtles.  Bradykinnin is a peptide, that in humans, is produced when the body is healing.  Meserve also plans to try to establish is a peptide that counteracts bradykinnin and ceases contractions.

Gordillo-Guttanti is looking at regional sensitivity in the gut of the painted turtle. She will be experimenting with a variety of peptides, hormones and neurotransmitters to identify where sensitivity is highest and which chemicals are most reactive in different regions.  

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