Shows
iBiology Videos Without SubtitlesDecoding Brain Tumors with Extracellular Vesicles: Cumba GarcíaSolid tumors, such as those in the brain, can be deadly when they expand or spread to other parts of the body. Before they spread, tumors send out molecular messages within small membranous structures known as extracellular vesicles (EVs). The proteins and small non-coding RNAs inside EVs can help tumors evade the immune system and seed new sites of growth. In this Share Your Research talk, Dr. Luz Cumba García describes her thesis research on extracellular vesicles released by aggressive brain cancers called glioblastoma. Dr. Cumba García’s work helps scientists understand the EV profiles of different glioma subt...
2021-12-0719 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesMaternal Literacy and Brain Development: Paige GreenwoodIn order to succeed in kindergarten and beyond, children must develop language skills within their home reading environment. This environment is often influenced by the reading ability of a child’s caregivers. In this Share Your Research talk, Dr. Paige Greenwood describes her doctoral research on the association between maternal reading ability and the development of the language brain network in children. Her work showed that lower maternal reading fluency is associated with higher language network connectivity to brain regions involved in cognitive control and semantics in children. These data suggest that if there is lower frequency or quality of en...
2021-11-1722 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesBRUCE protein and liver disease: Chrystelle VilfrancChronic liver diseases affect millions of people worldwide. By understanding how liver disease progresses, we may be able to identify new therapies that can protect the liver. Dr. Chrystelle Vilfranc studied the role of BRUCE, a protein that is known to be important in several cellular processes in our bodies, in liver disease. She found that the absence of BRUCE in mouse livers led to accelerated liver disease and higher rates of liver cancer when combined with a liver damaging compound. Furthermore, hepatocellular carcinomas that develop in the absence of BRUCE in the liver appear to have increased β-catenin activity. L...
2021-11-1025 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesUsing math to understand and define life: Alyssa AdamsIs it possible to define life using math? Dr. Alyssa Adams’s research seeks to answer precisely this question. In their Share Your Research talk, Dr. Adams introduces the concept of open-ended evolution, and describes how they have developed mathematical models to help us understand how biological systems can innovate within a changing environment. These studies could help us to identify living systems beyond our planet that may be vastly different from those we recognize on Earth!
2021-10-2223 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesA Walk in the Woods: After the FlamesWhat does a redwood forest look like, and sound like, in the wake of a devastating fire? See a forest in a new way in this new cinematic short from the Science Communication Lab. Walk through a fire-ravaged redwood forest with experts Beatrix Jiménez, a Land Stewardship Associate at the Sempervirens Fund, Ian Bornarth, a Bay Area-based photographer documenting post-fire recovery, and Alex Jones, the UC Santa Cruz Campus Natural Reserve Manager. Their observations make visible the forces of destruction and regrowth throughout the redwoods ecosystem.
2021-10-2112 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesBat Vision Evolution: Alexa SadierBat species are numerous and diverse, and are found in nearly every corner of the globe. Therefore, they serve as a valuable system to study the evolution of mammalian traits. Dr. Alexa Sadier collected field and museum samples from over 50 species of bats to ask how color vision evolved in this unique group of mammals. By looking at gene expression at multiple levels - DNA, RNA, and protein - Sadier determined that different bat species have color vision capabilities adapted to their diets, and UV vision has been lost independently in multiple species through regulation of all levels of gene...
2021-10-2028 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesRestoration Ecology in Coastal Wetland Ecosystems: Alex MooreDr. Alex Moore provides an introduction to coastal wetlands, including the functional role they play in our world, as well as the many ways that these ecosystems are used for economic and recreational activities. Dr. Moore discusses the traditional approach to restoring coastal wetlands, and the ways that these efforts can fall short of restoring functional capacity in coastal salt marshes. Incorporating consumer interactions into restoration efforts may provide an opportunity to further improve wetland restoration. Moore finishes with a brief overview of work currently underway in coastal mangroves, another important wetland ecosystem.
2021-10-0614 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesThe Future of Forests: Part 1Trees are magnificent organisms that have evolved very slowly over millions of years, making it hard for them to adapt to rapid changes in the environment. With climate change imminent, scientists estimate up to 25% of US forests will decline over the next three decades. In this film, four researchers ponder the question ”What can we do to help forests adapt to our changing planet?” The answer is, of course, not so straightforward, and leaves us thinking more deeply about the future of forest landscapes and how we can make them more resilient.
2021-09-0110 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesThe Mysteries of the Methanogens Part: 2 Dipti NayakNayak describes research she has done on methanogenic archaea – microorganisms that produce the potent greenhouse gas methane. One species of methanogens, Methanosarcina acetivorans, has unique chemical modifications on the enzyme it uses to produce methane. Dr. Nayak describes how she used CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing to determine that these modifications are used to protect M. acetivorans from environmental stress to ensure that the organism can support its metabolic needs in a changing environment.
2021-08-1410 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesEducational science videos: Paper discussion and Q&A: Laci Gerhart-BarleyEducational science videos are commonly used in undergraduate biology instruction, but what do we know about the student perspective on them? In this paper discussion and live Q&A, Dr. Laci Gerhart-Barley and Dr. Brittany Anderton present findings from their open-access paper “Engaging students through online video homework assignments: A case study in a large-enrollment ecology and evolution course.” Undergraduate biology educators will find a wealth of useful information on how to effectively implement science videos in homework assignments, develop assessment questions, and use the content in educational science videos to promote student engagement and learning of the process of scie
2021-07-2155 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesSynthetic Cells Part 2: Kate AdamalaSynthetic cells can be used to teach us about the basic principles of life and evolution, and they hold promise for a range of applications including biomaterials and drug development. Dr. Kate Adamala narrates an introduction to this exciting field.
2021-07-1409 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesUnderstanding Meningioma Biology: Abrar ChoudhuryMeningioma is the most common intracranial tumor, with limited treatment options. In order to identify new therapies for meningioma, it is important to understand their underlying biology. In this Share Your Research talk, Dr. Abrar Choudhury describes his thesis research, which began by looking at DNA methylation patterns to better understand gene regulation in meningioma, leading him to identify the cell cycle proteins CDK4 and CDK6 as therapeutic targets.
2021-06-2423 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesWhat is a Peer Mentoring Group? Part 1: Joanne KamensMentors shape our careers by guiding us through difficult decisions. But, how do you find a good mentor? In this series, Dr. Joanne Kamens advocates for the use of Peer Mentoring Groups as a method to provide and receive valuable mentoring opportunities. While working towards a common goal, group mentorship allows for an organic development of valuable experiences and accountability for your personal growth as you create a circle of mentors that will help throughout your career.
2021-06-1712 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesPeer Mentoring Groups Logistics Part 2: Joanne KamensHow do you go about forming a Peer Mentoring Group? In her second video, Kamens explains the logistics of forming a Peer Mentoring Group. First, you need to find 5-6 peers that share a similar problem. As you prepare to meet, you need to set the ground rules and provide structure to your meetings (e.g., provide agenda, assign a leader per meeting, decide on topics of interest, and provide curricula).
2021-06-1711 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesMentoring Best Practices Part 3: Joanne KamensAs Kamens explains, the commitment of the members is crucial for the success of the Peer Mentoring Group. In her third talk, Kamens overviews what are mentorship best practices while running a Peer Mentorship Group. From setting concrete content and activities to set up goals, these best practices will allow you to create an environment that will help you get feedback and find opportunities to grow.
2021-06-1713 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesSynthetic Cells Part 1: Kate AdamalaLife on Earth evolved once - this means that all biological systems on our planet are rooted in the same fundamental framework. This framework is extremely complex and we have yet to fully understand the processes inside each living cell. One way of understanding complex systems is to break them down into simpler parts. This is the principle of engineering the synthetic cell: to use our current knowledge of biology for building a living cell with the least amount of parts and complexity. Synthetic cells can be used to teach us about the basic principles of life and evolution, and...
2021-05-1209 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesGregor Mendel’s Famous Genetics Experiment: Shirley Tilghman:Gregor Mendel’s experiments with pea plants laid the foundation for our understanding of genetic inheritance. In this video, Shirley Tilghman tells the story of Mendel’s studies and how his data led to an understanding of how the information within genes is passed from generation to generation.
2021-05-1210 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesStories of CRISPR: Rodolphe BarrangouRodolphe Barrangou studies beneficial microbes, focusing on the occurrence and diversity of lactic acid bacteria in fermented foods and as probiotics. Using functional genomics, he has focused on uncovering the genetic basis for health-promoting traits, including the ability to uptake and catabolize non-digestible carbohydrates. He spent 9 years at Danisco-DuPont, characterizing probiotics and starter cultures, and established the functional role of CRISPR-Cas as adaptive immune systems in bacteria. At NC State, he continues to study the molecular basis for their mechanism of action, as well as developing and applying CRISPR-based technologies for genotyping, building immunity and genome editing.
2021-05-1219 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesGenome Engineering with CRISPR-Cas9: Doudna, Jinek, CharpentierJennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their development of a powerful gene editing tool known as the CRISPR-Cas9 system. In this short film, Doudna, Charpentier, and Martin Jinek, who was a post-doc at the time in Doudna’s lab, describe how their famous collaboration happened and share the story behind the influential experiments that led to their discovery.
2021-05-1012 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesThe Making of a Parasitic Plant : Caitlin ConnParasitic plants are important in natural ecosystems and in agriculture. Parasitism is a successful life strategy that has convergently evolved in all kingdoms of life.
2021-01-2826 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesThe Knight Study: Clicker Questions and Peer DiscussionDo students learn more with clickers and peer-discussion?Bill Wood (University of Colorado, Boulder) describes the Knight et al. study, which looks at student learning gains in an active learning classroom that utilizes clicker questions and peer-discussion, similar to a think-pair-share.
2021-01-1703 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesThink-Pair-ShareThink-Pair-Share is an active learning technique that can be used in small or large enrollment courses to engage students and encourage them to practice scientific thinking skills. In think-pair-share, students think about their answer to a question, pair with a partner to debate their choice, and then share their answers with the class. In this video showing examples of think-pair-share in action, Kimberly Tanner (San Francisco State University) shares her experience using this method in classrooms of all sizes.
2021-01-1609 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesClickersClickers are Audience Response Systems that enable instructors to ask a multiple-choice question, poll students for an answer, and display the aggregated results to the class. In this video showing examples of active learning classroom models, Bill Wood (University of Colorado Boulder) describes how clickers can be used effectively to engage students.
2021-01-1513 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesAddressing The Problem: Active LearningHow can one shift from a teacher-centered to a student-centered classroom model? What are the benefits of active learning for students and instructors?
2021-01-1409 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesThe Problem with Traditional Undergraduate Biology EducationWhat are the issues with traditional undergraduate biology education? What is the role of an educator in a 21st century college classroom? What is missing in the way we currently teach science in college?
2021-01-1308 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesEarly Career Scientists and Preprints Q&AWe have an online Q&A (hosted on January 6th, 2021) discussing the benefits and limitations of preprints from the perspective of early-career scientists. Panelists included Jessica Polka, Elizabeth Silva (Associate Dean of Graduate Programs at UCSF and former editor at PLoS), and Kate Carbone (an industry postdoc).
2021-01-1346 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesIntroduction to the Scientific Teaching SeriesCourse Directors A. Malcolm Campbell, Kimberly Tanner, and Bill Wood talk about the reasons why we need to reform undergraduate biology education and why they got involved in the Scientific teaching Series project.
2021-01-1203 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesConversations in Science with Dan Rather and Harold Varmus: From Oncogenes to PLOSDr. Harold Varmus talks to Dan Rather about his journey from literature major to scientist, and from the discovery of oncogenes to creating PLoS. Varmus reflects on his time as a researcher, as Director of the NIH, and on the importance of open communication in science. He ends by emphasizing why good science communication is important to engage more people in conversations about science.
2021-01-1114 min
iBiology PodcastConversations in Science with Dan Rather and Shirley Tilghman: The Future of Science TrainingHow should we consider a journey through a career in science? How should we think of the future of science training? Few have given these kinds of questions more thought than Shirley Tilghman, a leading genetics researcher at Princeton University who also became president of that prestigious institution. In this far-reaching interview, Dr. Tilghman tells Dan Rather about her own path in science and how we need to rethink how we train and inspire budding scientists in a challenging career environment. This interview was filmed in 2013.
This video is a collaboration between the Lasker Foundation and iBiology.
2021-01-1022 miniBiology VideosConversations in Science with Dan Rather and Shirley Tilghman: The Future of Science TrainingHow should we consider a journey through a career in science? How should we think of the future of science training? Few have given these kinds of questions more thought than Shirley Tilghman, a leading genetics researcher at Princeton University who also became president of that prestigious institution. In this far-reaching interview, Dr. Tilghman tells Dan Rather about her own path in science and how we need to rethink how we train and inspire budding scientists in a challenging career environment. This interview was filmed in 2013.
This video is a collaboration between the Lasker Foundation and iBiology.
2021-01-1022 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesConversations in Science with Dan Rather and Shirley Tilghman: The Future of Science TrainingHow should we consider a journey through a career in science? How should we think of the future of science training? Few have given these kinds of questions more thought than Shirley Tilghman, a leading genetics researcher at Princeton University who also became president of that prestigious institution. In this far-reaching interview, Dr. Tilghman tells Dan Rather about her own path in science and how we need to rethink how we train and inspire budding scientists in a challenging career environment. This interview was filmed in 2013.This video is a collaboration between the Lasker Foundation and iBiology.
2021-01-1022 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesConversations in Science with Dan Rather and George Shultz: Climate Change and Renewable EnergySecretary Shultz has been addressing global crises inside and outside of government for decades. He now has his attention firmly focused on concerns over climate change and renewable energy. In a candid and provocative conversation, he explains to veteran journalist Dan Rather why this has become his cause and why he thinks his fellow Republicans need to take it seriously or risk being “mugged by reality.” Secretary Shultz is not looking to point fingers but instead create a framework by which elected leaders across the political spectrum can come together and work on solutions. Funding for this video was provided by t...
2021-01-0919 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesConversations in Science with Dan Rather and Paul Nurse: The State of SciencePaul Nurse and Dan Rather have both spent their lives looking at the world and how it works, albeit from very different perspectives. Now the Nobel Prize winning geneticist and esteemed journalist come together for a frank and thoughtful conversation on the state of science and its role in society. Topics include climate change, GMOs, science education, how research spurs economic development, and Dr. Nurse’s own remarkably inspiring and surprising personal history. Funding for this interview was provided by the Lasker Foundation.
2021-01-0846 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesConversations in Science with Dan Rather and Eric Kandel: NeuroplasticityEric Kandel won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2000 for his work on the nervous system. Here, he discusses the mind, the brain, and his journey into a life of science.This interview was filmed in 2008 for a series on the mind and the brain. This video is a collaboration between the Lasker Foundation and iBiology.
2021-01-0717 miniBiology VideosConversations in Science with Dan Rather and Eric Kandel: NeuroplasticityEric Kandel won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2000 for his work on the nervous system. Here, he discusses the mind, the brain, and his journey into a life of science.
This interview was filmed in 2008 for a series on the mind and the brain. This video is a collaboration between the Lasker Foundation and iBiology.
2021-01-0717 miniBiology PodcastConversations in Science with Dan Rather and Eric Kandel: NeuroplasticityEric Kandel won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2000 for his work on the nervous system. Here, he discusses the mind, the brain, and his journey into a life of science.
This interview was filmed in 2008 for a series on the mind and the brain. This video is a collaboration between the Lasker Foundation and iBiology.
2021-01-0717 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesConversations in Science with Dan Rather and Chris Field: Climate ChangeThere are many challenges when it comes to addressing the destructive effects of climate change, and few people are better suited to address these challenges than Chris Field. A world-renowned researcher, Dr. Field understands the nuances and implications of the science. And as a gifted and trusted communicator who has the ear of the world’s diplomats, he can explain the urgency of action to policy makers and the general public. In this wide-ranging and thoughtful interview with Dan Rather, Dr. Field calmly but firmly explains what we know about climate change, what the stakes are, and what can be do...
2021-01-0715 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesThe Tools: Active Learning MethodsHow can instructors get started with active learning? What simple and effective active learning methods can easily be implemented in a course? Hear from instructors about their experience and see classroom demonstrations using think-pair-share and clickers.
2021-01-0607 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesClassroom ModelsCompare different pedagogical approaches and undergraduate biology classrooms. Reflect on how your teaching fits within the spectrum of educational models.
2021-01-0616 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesConversations in Science with Dan Rather and Jennifer Doudna: The Discovery of a Gene Editing TechnologyIn the last few years, the term CRISPR has exploded on the global scene, and with it UC Berkeley professor Jennifer Doudna, one of the pioneers in the field, has emerged into the spotlight. From magazine covers, to news broadcasts, to social media, CRISPR is the rare scientific breakthrough that has captivated the interest of the general public. But what is CRISPR really? What are its implications now and into the future? What profound ethical questions are raised by this ability to so precisely and easily edit the genome? In a candid and far-ranging conversation with Dan Rather, Doudna leads...
2021-01-0637 miniBiology VideosConversations in Science with Dan Rather and Dalai Lama: Meditation and the BrainThe Dalai Lama has always had a keen interest in science. In this interview from 2008, Dan Rather and His Holiness talk science and what we can learn from the practice of meditation.
This interview was filmed in 2008 for a series on the mind and the brain. This video is a collaboration between the Lasker Foundation and iBiology.
2021-01-0505 miniBiology PodcastConversations in Science with Dan Rather and Dalai Lama: Meditation and the BrainThe Dalai Lama has always had a keen interest in science. In this interview from 2008, Dan Rather and His Holiness talk science and what we can learn from the practice of meditation.
This interview was filmed in 2008 for a series on the mind and the brain. This video is a collaboration between the Lasker Foundation and iBiology.
2021-01-0504 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesConversations in Science with Dan Rather and Dalai Lama: Meditation and the BrainThe Dalai Lama has always had a keen interest in science. In this interview from 2008, Dan Rather and His Holiness talk science and what we can learn from the practice of meditation.This interview was filmed in 2008 for a series on the mind and the brain. This video is a collaboration between the Lasker Foundation and iBiology.
2021-01-0505 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesConversations in Science with Dan Rather and Daniel Colón-Ramos: Encouraging Scientific ExplorationDaniel Colón-Ramos began his life in science by being fascinated as a young boy by the unique environment of his native Puerto Rico. But in formal schooling, he found the excitement of discovery too often absent. Now a respected researcher at Yale University, Dr. Colón-Ramos keeps his boyhood enthusiasm for the awe and wonder of the natural world. He is eager to encourage scientific exploration and share his infectious spirit with his students and the larger world, as he does in this inspiring conversation with Dan Rather.
2021-01-0423 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesJennifer Doudna: Genome Engineering with CRISPR-Cas9: Birth of a Breakthrough TechnologyJennifer Doudna tells the story of how studying the way bacteria fight viral infection turned into a genomic engineering technology that has transformed molecular biology research. In 2013, Doudna and her colleagues developed the CRISPR-Cas9 gene expression system that, when introduced into animal cells, makes site-specific changes to intact genomes. CRISPR-Cas9 is more precise, more efficient, and less expensive than other genome editing tools and, as a result, has facilitated a wide range of studies that were previously unachievable.
2021-01-0216 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesKevin Eliceiri: ImageJSince 1987, different versions of ImageJ have been used by scientists to analyze biological images. In this talk, Dr. Kevin Eliceiri provides an overview of ImageJ, explains how ImageJ has evolved through time, and demonstrates major functionalities of this open-source software.
2021-01-0108 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesKevin Eliceiri & Anne Carpenter: The Scientific Community Image ForumThe Scientific Community Image Forum is an online resource that helps scientists answer their bioimage analysis questions. In this talk, Dr. Anne Carpenter and Dr. Kevin Eliceiri encourage scientists to use the Scientific Community Image Forum when they have image analysis difficulties, and to familiarize themselves with the different tools that they can use to answer their questions.
2021-01-0102 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesKevin Eliceiri & Anne Carpenter Part 5: Measurement and Phenotype ClassificationIn this series, Dr. Anne Carpenter and Dr. Kevin Eliceiri provide an overview of bioimage analysis. Pre-processing is the first step that follows image acquisition and will prepare your image by reducing the signal-to-noise ratio, applying appropriate filters to the image, and color extraction. Once you perform pre-processing, you’re ready for segmentation, the process of identifying individual cells or structures within an image. If appropriate for your dataset, you can use tracking to be able to link objects in space and time and measure speed, directionality, and cell division. The last step of bioimage analysis is to analyze the da...
2020-12-3111 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesKevin Eliceiri & Anne Carpenter Part 4: TrackingIn this series, Dr. Anne Carpenter and Dr. Kevin Eliceiri provide an overview of bioimage analysis. Pre-processing is the first step that follows image acquisition and will prepare your image by reducing the signal-to-noise ratio, applying appropriate filters to the image, and color extraction. Once you perform pre-processing, you’re ready for segmentation, the process of identifying individual cells or structures within an image. If appropriate for your dataset, you can use tracking to be able to link objects in space and time and measure speed, directionality, and cell division. The last step of bioimage analysis is to analyze the da...
2020-12-3103 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesKevin Eliceiri & Anne Carpenter Part 3: SegmentationIn this series, Dr. Anne Carpenter and Dr. Kevin Eliceiri provide an overview of bioimage analysis. Pre-processing is the first step that follows image acquisition and will prepare your image by reducing the signal-to-noise ratio, applying appropriate filters to the image, and color extraction. Once you perform pre-processing, you’re ready for segmentation, the process of identifying individual cells or structures within an image. If appropriate for your dataset, you can use tracking to be able to link objects in space and time and measure speed, directionality, and cell division. The last step of bioimage analysis is to analyze the da...
2020-12-3110 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesKevin Eliceiri & Anne Carpenter Part 2: Pre-ProcessingIn this series, Dr. Anne Carpenter and Dr. Kevin Eliceiri provide an overview of bioimage analysis. Pre-processing is the first step that follows image acquisition and will prepare your image by reducing the signal-to-noise ratio, applying appropriate filters to the image, and color extraction. Once you perform pre-processing, you’re ready for segmentation, the process of identifying individual cells or structures within an image. If appropriate for your dataset, you can use tracking to be able to link objects in space and time and measure speed, directionality, and cell division. The last step of bioimage analysis is to analyze the da...
2020-12-3112 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesKevin Eliceiri & Anne Carpenter Part 1: The Basics of Bioimage Analysis: Getting StartedIn this series, Dr. Anne Carpenter and Dr. Kevin Eliceiri provide an overview of bioimage analysis. Pre-processing is the first step that follows image acquisition and will prepare your image by reducing the signal-to-noise ratio, applying appropriate filters to the image, and color extraction. Once you perform pre-processing, you’re ready for segmentation, the process of identifying individual cells or structures within an image. If appropriate for your dataset, you can use tracking to be able to link objects in space and time and measure speed, directionality, and cell division. The last step of bioimage analysis is to analyze the da...
2020-12-3104 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesKevin Eliceiri & Anne Carpenter Part 6: Tips and Best PracticesIn this series, Dr. Anne Carpenter and Dr. Kevin Eliceiri provide an overview of bioimage analysis. Pre-processing is the first step that follows image acquisition and will prepare your image by reducing the signal-to-noise ratio, applying appropriate filters to the image, and color extraction. Once you perform pre-processing, you’re ready for segmentation, the process of identifying individual cells or structures within an image. If appropriate for your dataset, you can use tracking to be able to link objects in space and time and measure speed, directionality, and cell division. The last step of bioimage analysis is to analyze the da...
2020-12-3102 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesAnne Carpenter: CellProfilerIn this talk, Dr. Anne Carpenter provides an overview of CellProfiler, a free, open-source software program for image analysis. CellProfiler helps scientists to identify and measure biological entities, process images, and export data for further analysis. Carpenter provides examples on how to use CellProfiler, and explains how CellProfiler can aid scientists in their bioimage analysis.
2020-12-3005 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesLoic Royer: Multi-Dimensional Microscopy Datasets: Storing, Processing, and VisualizingModern microscopy produces large multi-dimensional datasets, which creates new challenges for data storage, processing and visualization. In this talk, Dr. Loic Royer uses a developing drosophila melanogaster embryo to explain how to solve some of the challenges produced by multi-dimensional microscopy datasets.
2020-12-2819 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesJason Swedlow: Metadata in BioImaging: Management, Organization, and Sharing BioImaging DataIn order to understand an image of a biological sample and what it represents, one needs to understand its metadata. Metadata is the information behind the image that shows the experimental procedure, image acquisition settings, and the analysis performed on the data in order to obtain the represented image. Dr. Jason Swedlow explains what constitutes image metadata, and provides examples on how to catalog, organize, analyze, and share the metadata of biological images.
2020-12-2822 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesChristian Tischer: Introduction to Bioimage AnalysisMicroscopy is a key technology driving biological discovery. Nowadays, microscopy based scientific findings must be substantiated by quantitative image analysis. The discipline concerned with such quantification of biological microscopy images is called bioimage analysis. Dr. Christian Tischer walks us through the main concepts of a typical bioimage analysis workflow. He explains how to quantitatively interpret the content of microscopy images and how to automatically detect objects in images and derive object based measurements. He also emphasizes the importance of visual inspection and quality control of automated image analysis. Finally, he presents an overview of current bioimage analysis tools and communities.
2020-12-2824 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesNico Stuurman: Introduction to Image Acquisition for Quantitative AnalysisHow do we visualize biological samples? In this talk, Dr. Nico Stuurman provides an overview of the different tools, equipment, and software available to acquire an image of a biological sample using a light microscope, and the considerations one needs to take when using these tools. This lecture will allow scientists to understand the principles behind image acquisition in order to improve and optimize the analysis of their sample.
2020-12-2729 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesTed Yednock Part 2: Response to the Emergence of Progressive Multifocal LeukoencephalopathyJust a few months after Tysabri was approved for MS treatment, two patients developed progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a fatal or seriously debilitating disease. In his second talk, Yednock describes the response of medical and regulatory groups and researchers to this discovery and its impact on the treatment of MS patients with Natalizumab/Tysabri.
2020-12-2629 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesTed Yednock Part 1: Immune Cell Migration to the CNSYednock relates the discovery and development, over 15 years, of the drug Tysabri, an alpha4 integrin antibody, as a treatment for multiple sclerosis.In the first of his two talks, Ted Yednock begins with an overview of multiple sclerosis. He describes how, in MS, immune cells are able to transverse the wall of blood vessels and infiltrate the brain and central nervous system resulting in damage to the myelin surrounding neurons. Yednock and his colleagues hypothesized that by blocking the infiltration of immune cells into the brain, the progression of the disease might be slowed. They went on to identify alpha4 inte...
2020-12-2634 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesTejal Desai & Robert Bhisitkul: Advancing the Treatment of Retinal DiseasesRobert Bhisitkul and Tejal Desai describe how treatment for retinal diseases leading to vision loss, such as age related macular degeneration, may be much improved by efforts to develop implantable devices for drug delivery.Age related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of several retinal diseases that can lead to vision loss and, ultimately, blindness. Dr. Bhisitkul explains that the class of anti-VEGF biologic drugs (Lucentis, Avastin, Eylea) can treat AMD, however, ongoing, monthly injections into the eye are required for the drugs to be fully effective. There are a number of drawbacks to this treatment regime, many of which could...
2020-12-2535 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesRicardo Dolmetsch: Neurodevelopmental disease: Drug Discovery in NeuroscienceDrug discovery for diseases of the nervous system is difficult. Although mouse models are helpful to study many human diseases, they have serious limitations for understanding neurological and psychiatric disease. Dolmetsch describes a method developed by his group to produce induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neurons from patients. Using these iPSC neurons, they can identify molecular defects associated with a neurodevelopmental disease and then identify medicines to treat those diseases.
2020-12-2444 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesChristine Stadelmann & Mikael Simons Part 2: Neuropathology of Multiple SclerosisMS begins as a disease of intermittent episodes with recovery in between. With time, however, MS changes to a progressive disease with increasing disability. In her talk, Dr. Stadelmann explains that studies of MS brain lesions have identified specific changes that occur with disease progression. For example, chronic MS lesions contain many fewer oligodendrocytes than do early lesions. Since oligodendrocytes produce the myelin sheath that surrounds axons, drugs that stimulate the migration and establishment of oligodendrocytes in lesions may increase axonal remyelination and improve the prognosis of MS patients. Stadelmann also explains that brain lesions can be caused by conditions ot...
2020-12-2325 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesChristine Stadelmann & Mikael Simons Part 1: Myelination, Remyelination and Multiple SclerosisMultiple sclerosis (MS) is a debilitating autoimmune disease in which immune cells infiltrate the central nervous system and attack the myelin sheath surrounding axons. Dr. Simons explains that myelin is necessary for signal conduction by nerve cells and for the metabolic support of axons. Demyelination results in axonal loss and formation of lesions in the brain. A small percentage of MS lesions are capable of remyelination following steps similar to axonal myelination during normal development. Since lesion remyelination correlates with reduced neurodegeneration, Simons and his colleagues strive to understand why remyelination occurs in only a small number of MS patients an...
2020-12-2318 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesTom Gadek Part 3: Discovery and development of Lifitegrast: Clinical StudyIn his third lecture, Gadek outlines Lifitegrast clinical trials, from Phase 1 to Phase 3, and presents evidence of Lifitegrast’s safety profile in normal individuals as well as the efficacy of the drug in treating dry eye syndrome. Lifitegrast’s story shows the different layers of drug development and the steps that companies go through to take a drug from the laboratory to the patient’s bedside and ultimately to the market.
2020-12-2238 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesTom Gadek Part 2: Discovery and development of Lifitegrast to treat dry eye syndrome: PharmacologyIn his second lecture, Gadek reviews the molecular mechanism of dry eye syndrome, focusing on the role of inflammation and T-cells in this disorder. By analyzing clinical trial data from other drugs developed to treat dry eye, Gadek and colleagues confirmed the importance of LFA-1 as a possible target. LFA-1 is a surface protein on T-cells that binds to ICAM-1 on antigen presenting cells, T-cells, and epithelial cells and causes inflammation. Gadek and his colleagues developed Lifitegrast, a small molecule that serves as an ICAM-1 mimetic. By binding to LFA-1 on T-cells, Lifitegrast inhibits the binding of ICAM-1 and therefore inhi...
2020-12-2233 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesTom Gadek Part 1: The SARcode Story: How to build a biotech companyUsing the company he co-founded, SARcode, as an example, Dr. Tom Gadek tells us how one converts a novel idea into a successful company. He walks us through the discovery of Lifitegrast to treat dry eye syndrome, the founding of SARcode in 2006, and the subsequent clinical trials. In his first talk, Gadek highlights the financial challenges a company faces during its development and stresses the importance of presenting the company as a valuable investment to venture capital groups. While describing the process of developing a company, Gadek offers three main points of advice: surround yourself with people that work well wit...
2020-12-2249 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesDeepak Srivastava Part 2: A Change of Heart: In vivo Cellular ReprogrammingAbout half of the cells in an adult heart are cardiac myocytes, or muscle cells, and about half are cardiac fibroblasts or support cells. Following a heart attack, muscle is lost and fibroblasts form scar tissue. In his second talk, Srivastava asks whether our understanding of embryonic heart development can be used to reprogram fibroblasts to myocytes to repair damaged adult hearts. His lab showed that introducing the genes for 3 transcription factors important for embryonic cardiac development resulted in an increase in the number of myocytes in a mouse heart after an induced heart attack. Similar results were obtained in vi...
2020-12-2119 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesDeepak Srivastava Part 1: A Change of Heart: Embryonic Heart DevelopmentDuring embryogenesis, the heart needs to form a specific three-dimensional shape or a child will be born with a defective heart. Srivastava and his colleagues hope that by better understanding the molecular pathways involved in normal heart development, it will possible to improve treatments for both congenital and adult onset heart disease. In his first talk, Srivastava describes studies from his lab and others which use animal models and induced pluripotent stem cells to elucidate many of the gene networks that determine cardiac cell fate. iPS cells have been particularly important for identifying a mutation in the human transcription factor...
2020-12-2130 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesLouis Ptáček & Ying-Hui Fu Part 2: Understanding our Sleep BehaviorsBy studying families with sleep/wake disorders, Fu and Ptáček have shown that mutations that cause changes in the phosphorylation or acylation of the PER2 protein are responsible for regulating circadian rhythms.In Part 2 of the talk, Dr. Fu explains that studies of families with sleep disorders have shown that post-translational modifications of the PER2 protein are involved in regulating circadian rhythms. Casein kinase 1 phosphorylates PER2 and mutations in either CK1 or specific serine residues in PER2 result in an advanced sleep phase phenotype. O-GlcNAcylation of PER2 also participates in regulating circadian rhythms because O-GlcNAcylation blocks the sites usually ph...
2020-12-2024 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesLouis Ptáček & Ying-Hui Fu Part 1: Connections between Clock and other PhenotypesBy studying families with sleep/wake disorders, Fu and Ptáček have shown that mutations that cause changes in the phosphorylation or acylation of the PER2 protein are responsible for regulating circadian rhythms.Ptáček introduces the circadian clock and its relationship to sleep. He describes different sleep-wake behaviors including people who go to sleep and awaken exceptionally early or late. By studying families with an advanced sleep phase (ASP) phenotype, he and his colleagues showed that these individuals had a shortened circadian period. Further studies of families with similar sleep-wake behaviors have identified a number of mutations responsible for circa...
2020-12-2033 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesWallace Marshall & Jacque Duncan Part 2: Ciliopathies and Retinal DegenerationIn the second video, Dr. Duncan explains that the inner segment of photoreceptor cells, where proteins are made, and the outer segment, where light is transduced into a chemical signal, are joined by connecting cilia. Mutations in proteins that localize to the connecting cilia can lead to photoreceptor cell death and vision loss. In a number of syndromic diseases, such as Bardet-Biedl Syndrome, retinal degeneration is just one of several symptoms all of which are caused by mutations in cilia throughout the body. By identifying specific gene mutations causing retinal degeneration, Duncan hopes that better treatments for patients with these sy...
2020-12-1926 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesWallace Marshall & Jacque Duncan Part 1: Ciliopathies and Retinal DegenerationCilia and flagella are complex, but highly conserved, structures found on most cells of the human body. Mutations in proteins localized to cilia can cause a collection of human diseases including renal failure and retinal degeneration. Dr. Marshall begins with an overview of the complex internal structure of cilia and flagella and the machinery, called intraflagellar transport (IFT), required to build and maintain these structures. Mutations in motile cilia were known to cause several human diseases but it wasn’t until scientists began studying IFT in the green algae Chlamydomonas, that the key role of non-motile cilia in human health and...
2020-12-1923 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesBryan King & Matthew State Part 2: From Genes to Pathology in Autism Spectrum DisordersIn the second lecture, Dr. Matthew State overviews the hunt for genes associated with autism and explains how studying de-novo rare mutations in the germline has advanced the understanding of the genetics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Studying a cohort of families with one affected individual and one unaffected sibling, they were able to map multiple genes involved in ASD. Because of the complexity of the developing brain, the same gene could act upon different regions of the brain at different times during development. Therefore, after identifying genes associated with ASD, they characterized the region and time during development where...
2020-12-1834 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesBryan King & Matthew State Part 1: Developing Autism Spectrum Disorder Therapeutics: Treatment Targets and Tools from 30,000 FeetIn the first lecture, Dr. Bryan King introduces the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and defines the clinical criteria that characterizes ASD. Although there is no universal drug that is used to treat ASD, there are multiple medications used in the setting of autism. King outlines the different drugs used to treat the core behavioral features of autism as well as psychiatric disorders associated with autism (e.g. ADHD and anxiety), and discusses the challenges and problems with designing clinical trials to study drugs to treat ASD, specifically with the heterogeneity of the ASD population.
2020-12-1834 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesPrescott Woodruff & Joseph Arron Part 2: Asthma heterogeneity: biomarkers and drug developmentAsthma is a heterogeneous disease with varying degrees of airway inflammation and variable response to treatment with inhaled corticosteroids. Woodruff and Arron describe experiments to develop a biomarker to detect asthma subtypes and determine which patients are likely to benefit from anti-inflammatory treatments.In the second lecture, Joe Arron reiterates the fact that asthma patients present with varying degrees of airway inflammation. Characterizing this heterogeneity objectively and consistently can be challenging. Arron describes how he and Woodruff, together with their collaborators, were able to determine that the serum level of a protein called periostin was a candidate predictive diagnostic biomarker...
2020-12-1742 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesPrescott Woodruff & Joseph Arron Part 1: Molecular Phenotyping of AsthmaAsthma is a heterogeneous disease with varying degrees of airway inflammation and variable response to treatment with inhaled corticosteroids. Woodruff and Arron describe experiments to develop a biomarker to detect asthma subtypes and determine which patients are likely to benefit from anti-inflammatory treatments.In the first of these lectures, Prescott Woodruff explains that while asthma may be episodic in nature, it is a chronic disorder characterized by airway hypersensitivity and bronchial inflammation. Although asthma is a heterogeneous disease, treatment is typically based upon clinical severity rather than the underlying molecular phenotype. Woodruff describes how he and Dr. Arron and their...
2020-12-1732 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesCarolyn Calfee & Michael Matthay Part 1: Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome: An OverviewAcute respiratory distress syndrome is a life threatening condition with few effective treatment options. Preliminary studies using mesenchymal stem cells, or stromal cells, to treat ARDS have shown promise with decreased levels of bacteria in the lungs, reduced pulmonary edema and improved oxygenation. In Part 1, Dr. Calfee begins by explaining that acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is pulmonary edema, or fluid in the lungs, not due to heart failure. It is a condition that affects 200,000 people/year in the USA with a 30-40% mortality rate. During ARDS, there are many cellular changes with complex pathophysiology making it extremely difficult to...
2020-12-1611 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesCarolyn Calfee & Michael Matthay Part 2: Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy for ARDSIn Part 2, Dr. Matthay provides the rationale behind treating ARDS patients with MSC. Initial studies in a mouse model of ARDS, showed that treatment with MSCs increased levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines and antimicrobial peptides in the lung, and increased phagocytosis of bacteria by monocytes. Further studies in ex vivo perfused human lungs and in sheep with severe lung injury showed that treatment with MSCs improved oxygenation and reduced pulmonary edema. An NIH/NHLBI supported phase 1 clinical trial for safety has been completed and a randomized, blinded phase 2 trial has now been initiated to test the safety and efficacy of MSC...
2020-12-1634 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesManu Prakash: Scientific Curiosity: Finding Sublime in the MundaneManu Prakash always yearned to know the why and the how of things. As a boy in India, he spent endless hours playing outside with animals and making flammable artifacts in an abandoned lab in the basement of his home. Having the chance to explore his surroundings with open-ended curiosity, he learned to find the sublime in the mundane. Today, as a world-renowned researcher and inventor at Stanford University, he continues to be inspired by these childhood lessons, and is creating low-cost tools to empower people around the globe to go on their own journey of science and discovery.
2020-12-1508 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesRebecca Calisi Rodríguez: Charting an Original PathRebecca Calisi Rodríguez’s research on pigeons, like her life, is one of charting an original path. Her experiences as a Mexican-Italian-American woman, professor, artist and mother have provided her with fascinating and unusual perspectives to study the biology of parental behavior. And in so doing, she is redefining what it means to be a scientist.
2020-12-1410 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesEsteban Burchard Part 3: Inclusion of Minorities in Science and Medicine: An Inclusive FutureThere is ample evidence that race can be a major factor in health outcomes. But racial and ethnic minorities are underrepresented in clinical and biomedical research. In this series, Dr. Esteban Burchard talks about the consequences of this underrepresentation and what does it mean for equity in research and medicine. He also explains how race is used by your doctor to make critical decisions about your health, and discusses what happens if you don’t fit neatly in one racial box, and how does this impact the medical treatment. Finally, Burchard discusses how scientific breakthroughs often come when problems are ap...
2020-12-1306 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesEsteban Burchard Part 2: The Impact of Race and Genetic Ancestry on Medicine: Which Box Do I Check?There is ample evidence that race can be a major factor in health outcomes. But racial and ethnic minorities are underrepresented in clinical and biomedical research. In this series, Dr. Esteban Burchard talks about the consequences of this underrepresentation and what does it mean for equity in research and medicine. He also explains how race is used by your doctor to make critical decisions about your health, and discusses what happens if you don’t fit neatly in one racial box, and how does this impact the medical treatment. Finally, Burchard discusses how scientific breakthroughs often come when problems are ap...
2020-12-1304 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesEsteban Burchard Part 1: Racial Bias in Science and Medicine: Who’s Included?There is ample evidence that race can be a major factor in health outcomes. But racial and ethnic minorities are underrepresented in clinical and biomedical research. In this series, Dr. Esteban Burchard talks about the consequences of this underrepresentation and what does it mean for equity in research and medicine. He also explains how race is used by your doctor to make critical decisions about your health, and discusses what happens if you don’t fit neatly in one racial box, and how does this impact the medical treatment. Finally, Burchard discusses how scientific breakthroughs often come when problems are ap...
2020-12-1304 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesHuda Zoghbi Part 3: Possible Future Therapies for Rett SyndromeIn her third lecture, Zoghbi explores possible therapies for MECP2 disorders. First, using Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), Zoghbi’s team together with collaborator Dr. Jianrong Tang were able to rescue learning and memory deficits, enhance neurogenesis, correct abnormal neural network activity, and improve MeCP2-linked gene expression changes in a mouse model of Rett Syndrome. Then, she discusses two approaches to normalize the MeCP2 protein in MECP2 duplication mice: by deleting the duplicated MECP2 gene in the genome, or by decreasing MECP2 mRNA levels using antisense-oligonucleotides. Even though these two approaches seem to rescue developmental issues caused by MECP2 duplication, ti...
2020-12-1227 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesHuda Zoghbi Part 2: Pathogenesis of MeCP2 DisordersIn her second lecture, Zoghbi explains how MeCP2 molecularly modulates neuronal function. Their studies uncovered a critical link between cytosine methylation, MeCP2, and the methylating enzyme Dnmt3a, in Rett Syndrome. They hypothesized that MeCP2 partially causes Rett-Syndrome symptoms by failure of reading methylated DNA marked by Dnmt3 and indeed showed that Dnmt3-dependent mCH plays a central role in Rett pathogenesis.
2020-12-1226 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesHuda Zoghbi Part 1: Rett Syndrome: Genomes, Epigenomes and Neuropsychiatric conditionsDr. Huda Zoghbi’s work has provided insight into Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) by focusing on Rett Syndrome, a postnatal progressive neurological disorder. By studying the genetics of Rett Syndrome, her group made the seminal discovery of X-linked Methyl CpG-binding protein 2 (MECP2) as the gene that causes Rett Syndrome. Zoghbi’s group showed that the severity of the disease was highly dependent on the amount of functional MeCP2 protein expressed. Females, who carry one normal and mutant MECP2 allele typically suffer from Rett syndrome, but the amount of functional protein is influenced by X-chromosome inactivation, and girls with more cells expr...
2020-12-1233 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesEvelyn Witkin: The SOS Response in BacteriaWitkin provides a historical perspective on how working at Cold Spring Harbor (CSH) shaped her scientific career and led to the discovery of the SOS DNA damage response in bacteria. At CSH she worked with the pioneers of bacterial genetics, at a time when there was a major discovery every other week. As a PhD student Witkin observed that some bacteria were able to survive high doses of UV radiation. She speculated that these bacteria may have a mechanism to repair DNA making them UV resistant. These revolutionary ideas gave birth to the discovery that cells have a mechanism to...
2020-12-1116 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesChris Voigt: Genetic Circuits: Programming Living BacteriaDr. Chris Voigt explains that, for synthetic biologists to engineer cells that can make complex chemicals or perform complex functions, they must be able to tell the cell which genes to turn on and at what time. To do this they build genetic circuits composed of a series of gates that respond to a specific input with a specific output. Voigt’s lab has developed a library of gates that can be interconnected, will function robustly and will not interfere with each other. In addition, they have developed software that lets users arrange the gates to form a circuit of th...
2020-12-1030 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesRon Vale: Discovering KinesinVale explains how doing science often follows a winding path with unexpected, sometimes wonderful surprises, and uses his own story to illustrate his point. When Vale was a graduate student, he initially hoped to show that myosin was involved in axonal transport, but ended up discovering a new molecule which he called kinesin.
2020-12-0919 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesJessica Polka Publishing in a Pandemic: The Preprint RevolutionAs the COVID-19 pandemic escalated in the beginning of 2020, there was a need for the rapid dissemination of scientific information to understand everything from how the virus spreads, to how it affects the human body, to how the disease can be treated and prevented. Jessica Polka, Executive Director of ASAPbio, explains that, for this reason, the pandemic has inspired an increasing number of scientists to post their research papers on preprint servers. Publishing papers in traditional journals with formal peer review can take a lot of time. Posting manuscripts on preprint servers, on the other hand, can happen quite fast...
2020-12-0808 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesJan van der Meer: Synthetic Biology: Principles and ApplicationsDr. Jan van der Meer begins by giving an introduction to synthetic biology. Through this introduction to synthetic biology, he explains that DNA and protein “parts” can be put together to form biological circuits in a manner analogous to making electrical circuits from transformers, capacitors, and the like. These circuits can be designed for many applications in health and agriculture etc. van der Meer concludes his talk by describing work from his lab to engineer biosensor bacteria that can measure toxic compounds in the environment. For example, a simple system of a bacterial cell, which glows in the presence of arse...
2020-12-0831 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesSven Truckenbrodt: X10 Expansion MicroscopyIn the cytoplasm of cells, thousands of tightly packed molecules and structures execute the numerous processes necessary to maintain life. Although there are many ways to study cellular processes, one of the simplest ways to understand the different parts of a cell is to visualize them. Dr. Sven Truckenbrodt sought to better understand the machinery of the neuronal synapse using fluorescence microscopy, yet he was limited by the physical properties of light. To circumvent the 250-nm resolution limit imposed by the photophysics of light waves, Truckenbrodt developed X10 expansion microscopy, based on the original concept of expansion microscopy invented in...
2020-12-0735 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesRobert Singer Part 3: Imaging Translation and Degradation of Single mRNAs in Living CellsIn his last lecture, Singer continues the story of the life and death of RNA. His lab has developed several more fluorescence microscopy techniques that let them study, in real time, the translation and degradation of mRNA. These techniques allow them to track when and where translation begins, how quickly a ribosome binds to a mRNA once it has reached its destination, how long the ribosome stays bound and how rapidly it adds amino acids to a growing protein chain. In addition, these techniques can be used to unveil the dynamics of RNA degradation. In an interesting twist, it turns o...
2020-12-0626 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesRobert Singer Part 2: RNA Localization: Following Single mRNAs from Birth to Death in Living CellsTo understand the relationship between RNA localization and translation, it is necessary to visualize the movement of the RNA in real time. In his second lecture, Singer explains how his lab found an ingenious way to label RNAs in live cells and follow their movement. In the nucleus, RNA moves by diffusion and stochastically finds a nuclear pore to exit. In the cytoplasm, however, it is a different story. RNA, in a translationally repressed state, undergoes directed movement along the cytoskeleton. Once it reaches its destination, translation is activated. Singer’s lab showed that neuronal stimulation leads to ß-actin mRNA loc...
2020-12-0640 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesRobert Singer Part 1: Seeing is Believing: Imaging the Expression of Genes within Single CellsIn this series of lectures, Dr. Robert Singer explains how it is possible to follow a single mRNA molecule from its birth to its death. Singer begins by explaining that cell cultures are heterogeneous and analyzing single cells provides spatial and temporal information not available from bulk analysis. He outlines how his lab developed techniques such as fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) that have allowed them to measure gene expression in single cells. Using these techniques, they discovered that some RNAs localize to specific areas in the cell and RNA localization is linked to its regulation and function. For example, ß...
2020-12-0634 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesSebastian Lourido Part 2: Genetic Approaches to Study Toxoplasma gondiiSince little is known about the Toxoplasma gondii genome, in his second iBiology seminar, Lourido explains how his lab developed CRISPR tools to study apicomplexan biology. His lab designed a strain of T. gondii constitutively expressing Cas9 that can be used in conjunction with guide libraries to identify biologically significant genes. Lourido explains how his lab used this system to identify genes encoding proteins necessary for apicomplexan invasion. These include a claudin-like protein, that they are calling CLAMP, that is conserved across apicomplexa and is necessary for invasion by both toxoplasma and the parasites that cause malaria.
2020-09-2728 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesFlorian Engert Part 1: Fish in the Matrix: Neuronal Activity and Animal Behavior in Virtual EnvironmentsHow does the brain translate sensory stimuli into a behavior? In his first iBiology talk, Dr. Florian Engert explains that larval zebrafish are an excellent model to tackle this question. Larval zebrafish are tiny, translucent, and genetically tractable vertebrates. By making transgenic fish with labelled neurons, it is possible to visualize neuronal activity in the entire brain of a living and awake fish. Engert introduces the virtual behavior simulators that his lab members use to trigger and measure neuronal activity in the fish.
2019-08-0827 miniBiology Videos Without SubtitlesDavid Drubin Part 1: Introduction: Actin, Endocytosis and the Early Days of Yeast Cell BiologyActin forms many cellular structures and regulates a variety of critical biological processes. Dr. David Drubin’s lab focuses on studying actin in the context of membrane trafficking. In his first iBiology seminar, Drubin recounts seminal research done using the intracellular pathogen Listeria that uncovered how the bacteria harnesses phagocytosis and actin polymerization to facilitate motility. These initial studies led to the discovery of key regulators of actin filament formation including Arp2/3 and N-WASP. Advances in yeast genetics, biochemistry and imaging then allowed Drubin and others to expand their studies to actin dynamics and endocytosis in yeast.
2019-08-0825 min
Tecnologia, Innovacion, Ciencia y Ambiente – Atenea Americana by Stanford Hispanic BroadcastingCiencia Puerto Rico y iBiology, Comunicando Ciencias para el MundoEsta semana estamos hablando con la Doctora Mónica Feliú-Mójer,PhD, neuro-biólogo puertorriqueña graduada de la Universidad de Puerto Rico in Bayamón, de el Instituto Tecnológico de Masachuset (MIT) y de la universidad de Harvard. Feliú-Mójer esta hoy trabajando para la universidad de California en San Francisco como gerente de proyecto en educación de las ciencias. Es parte del proyecto iBiology y de Ciencia Puerto Rico. ambos proyectos se especializan en la comunicación y divulgación de las ciencias, y en la educación al publico en este campo de la ciencia, matemáticas...
2016-01-0933 min