PC biology professor awarded grants from National Science Foundation

PROVIDENCE COLLEGE Biology Professor John H. Costello is part of a team of scientists, including a former PC student, awarded two grants from the National Science Foundation for research in biology-related topics. / COURTESY PROVIDENCE COLLEGE
PROVIDENCE COLLEGE Biology Professor John H. Costello is part of a team of scientists, including a former PC student, awarded two grants from the National Science Foundation for research in biology-related topics. / COURTESY PROVIDENCE COLLEGE

PROVIDENCE – A biology professor at Providence College is part of a team of scientists, including a former PC student, who were awarded two grants from the National Science Foundation for research in biology-related topics.
The college, in a news release, said the awards total $351,612 and will support Biology Professor John H. Costello’s research about how prey react to predators in the ocean and the “fluid dynamic role of body bending by swimming animals.”
The first project, which totals $227,722, measures how prey react to predators, in an effort to develop models of environmental impacts by jellyfish predators. The second project, which totals $123,890, uses animal models – jellyfish, lamprey and sea butterflies – to learn about the role of body bending by swimming animals.
The news release states, “Although few man-made structures intentionally bend as they move, virtually all animals have evolved to bend while swimming or flying. By using a variety of animals, the team plans to outline the common patterns that underlie animal bending patterns. Their goal is to answer the question: ‘Why do animals bend even though human propulsive devices do not?’ ”

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