Knoblich describes experiments in his lab to develop 3 dimensional brain organoids from human pluripotent stem cells. While studying the development of rodent brains has proved extremely useful, there are some important developmental differences that require human tissue for investigation. In addition, some diseases such as microcephaly cannot be modeled in mice. Knoblich and his… Continue Reading
iBiology Podcasts
Jurgen Knoblich Part 1: Asymmetric Cell Division; From Drosophila to Humans
Dr. Knoblich begins his talk by explaining the key role that asymmetric cell division plays in development of the human brain. During mammalian brain development, neuronal progenitor cells initially divide symmetrically to increase their numbers. Later they divide asymmetrically to produce one progenitor cell and one (or two) cells which will terminally differentiate to become… Continue Reading
Sebastian Lourido Part 2: Genetic Approaches to Study Toxoplasma gondii
Since 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… Continue Reading
The Smith Study: Peer Discussion
In a peer-discussion, do well-prepared students simply tell other students the answer? Bill Wood (University of Colorado Boulder) describes the Smith et al. study, which examines whether students who change their mind as a result of peer-discussion have actually learned the concepts being tested. Continue Reading
Michael Alley Part 3: Attaining Confidence in Your Scientific Presentations
Michael Alley has been teaching scientists and engineers how to design presentation slides and deliver effective scientific talks for over three decades. In this three-part lecture, you will learn (a) how to design your PowerPoint or Keynote slides, (b) how to organize your talk, and (c) how to confidently deliver your research seminar. This series… Continue Reading
Michael Alley Part 2: Assertion-Evidence Slides for a Research Talk
Michael Alley has been teaching scientists and engineers how to design presentation slides and deliver effective scientific talks for over three decades. In this three-part lecture, you will learn (a) how to design your PowerPoint or Keynote slides, (b) how to organize your talk, and (c) how to confidently deliver your research seminar. This series… Continue Reading
Michael Alley Part 1: Rethinking Scientific Presentations: The Assertion-Evidence Approach
Michael Alley has been teaching scientists and engineers how to design presentation slides and deliver effective scientific talks for over three decades. In this three-part lecture, you will learn (a) how to design your PowerPoint or Keynote slides, (b) how to organize your talk, and (c) how to confidently deliver your research seminar. This series… Continue Reading
Dorothee Kern Part 1: Visualizing Protein Dynamics
Proteins such as signaling molecules, catalytic enzymes, and membrane transporters are not static but are in a state of constant motion for function. In her first talk, Dorothee Kern explains how she uses techniques such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), X ray crystallography, single molecule FRET and computational simulations to visualize rapid protein dynamics. Kern… Continue Reading
Dorothee Kern Part 2: Using Evolution to Reveal a Cancer Drug’s Mechanism
Gleevec (Imatinib) is a very effective drug for treating chronic myelogenous leukemia. It acts by binding to and inhibiting the signaling molecule Abl kinase with extreme specificity. Abl kinase is very closely related to Src kinase, and, in fact, the drug binding pocket for Gleevec is almost identical between the two proteins. Interestingly, however, Gleevec… Continue Reading
Lily Jan Part 1: Introduction to Ion Channels: A Close Look at the Role and Function of Potassium Channels
Ion channels are crucial for proper neuronal communication and cellular homeostasis. But, how do ion channels perform their work? In this seminar, Dr. Lily Jan defines the physiological role of potassium channels in the generation of an action potential and regulation of excitability in neurons. She outlines the role of voltage-gated and inward-rectifier potassium channels… Continue Reading
Lily Jan Part 2: Calcium-Activated Chloride Channel (CaCC) in the Enigmatic TMEM16 Family
Jan characterizes the Calcium-Activated Chloride Channels (CaCC) in the TMEM16 family of transmembrane proteins with unknown functions and explains experiments from her lab that aided in the understanding of the molecular role of these channels. As she explains, one family member, TMEM16A, is typically expressed in peripheral cells and is involved in the rhythmical contraction… Continue Reading
Yuh-Nung Jan Part 1: How Does a Neuron Develop its Neuronal Type Specific Dendritic Morphology?
A dendrite is a tree-like structure in neurons, which receives the incoming signal from adjacent neurons or from sensory stimuli. Dr. Yuh-Nung Jan is interested in understanding the molecular underpinnings that drive dendrite morphogenesis. His laboratory uses the fruit fly larvae as a model organism to study the development of dendritic arborization (da) neurons. Using… Continue Reading
Yuh-Nung Jan Part 2: Dendrite Morphology and Function: Cellular and Molecular Basis of Dendrite
Jan explains how dendrite morphology relates to the function of neurons. For example, class IV da neurons are photoreceptors and their dendrites form a regular array in the fruit fly larvae to enable the avoidance of noxious signals, like light. On the other hand, class III da neurons are mechanosensors, and they use no mechanoreceptor… Continue Reading
Sheng-Yang He Part 1: Introduction to Plant-Pathogen Interactions
What mechanisms do plants have to fight pathogens? In this seminar, Dr. Sheng-Yang He explores plant-pathogen interactions and provides an overview of a plant’s basic immunological responses. As He explains, plants have “resistant” genes, which trigger the immune response after pathogenic infections (effector-triggered immunity). Also, plants immune system can be activated by the recognition of… Continue Reading
Sheng-Yang He Part 2: Arabidopsis thaliana-Pseudomonas syringae interaction: The effect of climate in plant disease
He provides evidence on the effect of environmental factors (e.g. humidity) in the development of disease in plants. In order to understand disease susceptibility, He’s laboratory studies the interaction that Arabidopsis has with the bacteria Pseudomonas syringae. He’s laboratory showed that an increase in temperature and humidity increase bacterial disease severity. By genetically creating a plant… Continue Reading
David Bikard: Engineering bacteria with CRISPR
Dr. David Bikard’s lab focuses on engineering bacteria with CRISPR to combat microbial pathogens. In this video, he introduces the historical context for using CRISPR in bacteria and then delves into two CRISPR technologies being developed by his lab. Part of his lab is using CRISPR/Cas9 to eliminate antibiotic resistance in bacterial populations. His group… Continue Reading
Beth Stevens Part 1: Microglia States in Health and Disease
Microglia are the primary immune cells in the central nervous system. In the brain, they play central roles in proper development and function, as well as dysfunction and disease. In her first talk, Dr. Beth Stevens provides an overview of the many ways microglia cells operate, and how they can both harm and protect the… Continue Reading
Beth Stevens Part 2: How Microglia Sculpt Brain Circuitry in Health and Disease
Dr. Stevens dives deeper into the mechanisms that allow microglia to shape the network of connections between neurons in the brain. She provides an introduction to the role of microglia in synaptic pruning, the process of eliminating extra synapses in healthy developing brains. She then goes on to explain how the reactivation of this process… Continue Reading
Single Cell Sequencing: Eric Chow
Single cell sequencing, as the name implies, allows researchers to examine the genomic information for individual cells. This provides an opportunity to examine cell-to-cell differences and identify cell subtypes, which provides insight into how specific cells function within and respond to their environment. Dr. Eric Chow begins his talk with an overview of single cell… Continue Reading
Discovery of the Structure of the Nucleosome: Karolin Luger
The nucleosome is the central organizing structure of the eukaryotic genome. It consists of DNA wrapped around histone proteins. Dr. Karolin Luger shares her discovery of the three-dimensional structure of the nucleosome using X-ray crystallography, which provided a deeper understanding of chromatin organization. Continue Reading
Ruslan Medzhitov: The Role of Toll-Like Receptors in the Control of Adaptive Immunity
When he was a graduate student, Dr. Ruslan Medzhitov read a theory written by Dr. Charles Janeway that foresaw the existence of a set of receptors that would directly detect pathogens and signal to T- and B-cells to generate an immune response (adaptive immunity). Medzhitov was determined to find such receptors! In this discovery talk,… Continue Reading
Sebastian Lourido Part 1: Toxoplasma gondii: A Model Apicomplexan
Apicomplexa are evolutionarily distinct eukaryotes that play an important role in human diseases such as toxoplasmosis and malaria. So how do scientists study their unique biology? Dr. Sebastian Lourido explains that his lab uses Toxoplasma gondii as a model to study the phylum Apicomplexa. In part one of his talk, he explains the complex life… Continue Reading
Elaine Ostrander Part 2: Genomics of Dogs disease: Dog Genes Tell Surprising Tales
Ostrander explains that canine genetics can be used to understand disease susceptibility and cancer risk. By analyzing the pedigree of dogs, her laboratory identified a series of genes involved in the elevated cancer risk of particular dog breeds. Specifically, her laboratory studied invasive transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder, a disease for which breeds like… Continue Reading
Elaine Ostrander Part 1: Canine Genetics: Dog Genes Tell Surprising Tales
Although all domestic dogs belong to the same species, different breeds display unique morphological traits and different disease susceptibility. Dr. Elaine Ostrander provides an overview of canine genetics, and explains how scientists are using genetics to decipher the molecular basis of different traits such as height and cancer risk. Continue Reading