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Life on Mars! Living organisms exist in deep sea vents!
These are not the headlines of supermarket tabloids, they
are the focus of Madeline Vargas' research. The physiology
of organisms in extreme environments involves the study of
microscopic life deep in the sea or in very high temperatures.
She is fascinated by the possibilities of organisms existing
in immoderate places like Mars. Listeners are quickly caught
up in her enthusiasm for microbiology, sensing that Vargas
has a talent for explaining complicated
concepts.
An assistant professor of biology at Holy Cross, Vargas is co-author of a recent
article published in Nature (Sept. 3, 1998), the prestigious international
journal of science. The article focuses on the earliest organisms on earth
and posits that these
ancient forms "breathed" iron.
Vargas grew up in New York, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and, finally,
Worcester. She participated in the bilingual
program at Worcester's South High School and went on to earn her bachelor of
science degree in microbiology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She
worked as a technician at the Forsyth Dental Center and at Boston University
Hospital before entering a Ph.D. program at the University of Connecticut, Storrs.
She completed her Ph.D. in 1995, the year she began teaching at
Holy Cross.
Vargas will return to the classroom and lab in early 1999, following maternity
leave. She is eager to continue her research and to resume teaching courses in
general microbiology, including "The Unseen World of Microbes." Vargas' obvious
enthusiasm for teaching at Holy Cross and conducting important research is matched
by what she describes as the good fortune of being able to do these things in
her hometown.
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