The Animal Science Department at Oklahoma State University has research projects concerning most of the major species of farm animals in Oklahoma and the products of the animals. Most of the researchers in the Department have joint appointments and also teach or conduct extension programs. In the Animal Science Department there are nine researchers with an emphasis on beef cattle, one in dairy cattle, three in swine, one in horses, one in poultry, and three in animal products. Currently these scientists are conducting research in more than twenty different projects. Interdisciplinary research within the Department is the norm. Cooperative research projects are also conducted with scientists in other departments in the Division of Agriculture and in other Colleges in the University. In addition, researchers in the Department participate in regional research projects to seek solutions to problems that require resources and expertise that are not available in one state. The research program has balance between applied and basic studies. Applied large animal trials are conducted and the results have immediate application to herds and flocks in the state. An example of such research would be the projects designed to develop health treatments for receiving stocker cattle. Other studies concentrate on molecular mechanisms that control functions of cells and organs. These basic studies provide the information necessary to make further discoveries that will result in methods to enhance or increase the efficiency of animal agriculture in the future. Examples of such studies would be the evaluation of proteins produced by embryos to improve embryonic survival and genes that regulate marbling in beef. The research program is integrated and both the "what" and "why" of a process, function or method are studied, from molecules to cells to the whole animal. There are unique resources in the Department to conduct the needed research. Herds and flocks, facilities for the intensive study of animals and the analytical laboratories make it possible to conduct a great variety of experiments.