astronomy

Sharon R. Long

Sharon R. Long is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Sharon R. Long rather than just read about it. In short: Sharon Rugel Long (born March 2, 1951) is an American plant biologist. She is the Steere-Pfizer Professor of Biological Science in the Department of Biology at Stanford University, and the Principal Investigator of the Long Laboratory at Stanford.

Key takeaways

Sharon R. Long belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Sharon R. Long to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Sharon R. Long from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Sharon Rugel Long (born March 2, 1951) is an American plant biologist. She is the Steere-Pfizer Professor of Biological Science in the Department of Biology at Stanford University, and the Principal Investigator of the Long Laboratory at Stanford. Long studies the symbiosis between bacteria and plants, in particular the relationship of nitrogen-fixing bacteria to legumes. Her work has applications for energy conservation and sustainable agriculture. She is a 1992 MacArthur Fellows Program recipient, and became a Member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1993.

Early life and education Sharon Rugel Long was born on (1951-03-02)March 2, 1951 to Harold Eugene and Florence Jean (Rugel) Long. She attended George Washington High School in Denver, Colorado. Long spent a year at Harvey Mudd College before becoming one of the first women to attend Caltech in September 1970. She completed a double major in biochemistry and French literature in the Independent Studies Program, and obtained her B.S. in 1973. Long went on to study biochemistry and genetics at Yale, receiving her Ph.D. in 1979. She began her research on plants and symbiosis while a postdoc at Frederick M Ausubel's lab at Harvard University.

Career and research Long joined the Stanford University faculty in 1982 as an assistant professor, rising to associate professor in 1987, and full professor in 1992. From 1994 to 2001, she was also an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. She currently holds the Steere-Pfizer chair in Biological Sciences at Stanford. She serves on the Board of Directors of Annual Reviews. From 1993 to 1996, she was part of the National Research Council's Committee on Undergraduate Science Education. She served as Dean of Humanities and Sciences at Stanford University from 2001 to 2007. In September 2008 she was identified as one of 5 science advisors for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. In 2011, she was appointed to the President's Committee on the National Medal of Science by President Obama.

Long identified and cloned genes that allow bacteria to find and enter certain plants in which they live symbiotically. She has examined the interactions of Rhizobium bacteria with legumes such as alfalfa, soybeans and peas, in which they enhance nitrogen production. She has genetically modified bacteria to make them more effective at entering host plants and producing nitrogen. Such initiatives may enable farmers to reduce nitrogen fertilizer use and runoff of fertilizer into local water supplies. Her current research uses molecular, genetic, and biochemical techniques to study the early stages of symbiosis between Sinorhizobium meliloti and its host plants in the genus Medicago. Rhizobium cells recognize and form nodules on their plant hosts. Her group discovered that a flavone (luteolin) derived from alfalfa seed extracts is necessary for activation of nodulation genes (nod ABC) in Sinorhizobium meliloti. They proved that some nod genes encode enzymes that synthesize Nod Factor. They discovered that plant root hair cells show rapid ionic changes including calcium spiking in response to specific Nod Factors. With colleagues, they have identified plant genes for symbiosis, and correlated these with specific stages in nodule development.

Selected publications Peters, NK; Frost, JW; Long, SR (29 August 1986). "A plant flavone, luteolin, induces expression of Rhizobium meliloti nodulation genes". Science. 233 (4767): 977–80. Bibcode:1986Sci...233..977P. doi:10.1126/science.3738520. PMID 3738520. Long, SR (27 January 1989). "Rhizobium-legume nodulation: life together in the underground". Cell. 56 (2): 203–14. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(89)90893-3. PMID 2643474. S2CID 1055437. Schwedock, J; Long, SR (13 December 1990). "ATP sulphurylase activity of the nodP and nodQ gene products of Rhizobium meliloti". Nature. 348 (6302): 644–7. Bibcode:1990Natur.348..644S. doi:10.1038/348644a0. PMID 2250719. S2CID 4318180.

Awards and honors 1984–1989, Presidential Young Investigator Award, National Science Foundation 1985, Shell Research Foundation Award 1989, Charles Albert Shull Award, American Society of Plant Physiology 1992, MacArthur Foundation Fellowship 1993, member, National Academy of Sciences 1994, fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences 2000, member, American Philosophical Society 2002, Wilbur Cross Medal in Biology, Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (highest alumni honor) 2007, fellow, American Society of Plant Biologists 2019 Selman A. Waksman Award in Microbiology Recognized as a Pioneer Member of the American Society of Plant Biologists.

Personal life Long married Harold James McGee on July 7, 1979, and divorced in 2004. They had two children.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sharon R. Long

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Sharon R. Long claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Sharon R. Long before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Sharon R. Long ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Sharon R. Long

In research: Sharon R. Long appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Sharon R. Long in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Sharon R. Long is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1951 births, American women biologists, California Institute of Technology alumni, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Sharon R. Long outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Sharon R. Long in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Sharon R. Long means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Sharon R. Long out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sharon R. Long in simple terms?

Why does Sharon R. Long matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Sharon R. Long?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Sharon R. Long.