Progress reports by Nav06 (Fyodor) & Neu01 (Julia)

Chair: Max

Progress reports of Neu01 (Oda) & Sig06 (Bahareh)

Chair: Georg

SciLifeLab, Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden

Mapping cellular redox metabolism with quantum-based sensing and spatial proteomics

Chemical reactions that involve reduction and oxidation of biological molecules lie at the heart of cell metabolism. Redox reactions are often associated with generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and free radicals, which can both participate in cellular signaling and cause oxidative damage to biomolecules. To better understand these effects, we need to know exactly when, where and in what quantities ROS and radicals are produced in the cell, as well as prerequisites, consequences and control mechanisms for their generation. During my PhD at University Medical Center Groningen, I have been developing a new all-optical quantum-based sensing system for the detection of free radicals, using diamond nanoparticles. With this new technology, we could record the changes in free radical load on the micrometer scale in a wide range of samples, from yeast to tissue slices. Surprisingly, we observed large variations in seemingly identical cells kept under the same experimental conditions. Similar heterogeneity can also be seen in the levels and spatial patterns of expression of metabolic proteins. Our hypothesis is that cells, both in culture and in tissues, can exist in distinct metabolic states. These metabolic states, similarly to the cell cycle, are maintained by intrinsic mechanisms. As part of my current research at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, I use imaging-based spatial proteomics to understand how metabolic states are established, maintained, and connected to the cell’s redox status. The goal of my research is to pinpoint the metabolic requirements for and the consequences of the controlled production of ROS and radicals by cells.

Host: Karin Dedek

tba. 

Cancelled due to SFB meeting the same week

The Rules of Collective Locust Marching

A voracious appetite combined with a high reproductive rate creates a recipe for explosive growth, destined to result in eventual population collapse once local resources are depleted. Desert locusts escape this Malthusian trap through infamous plagues—a migratory behavior characterized by juvenile marching and adult flying swarms. Until now, "self-propelled particle" models from theoretical physics have been used to explain locust collective behavior, and these models have been crucial in validating our understanding of the phenomenon. However, through a combination of field experiments in East Africa, the use of panoramic VR to explore focal locust behavior within virtual swarms, and large-scale behavioral experiments that simultaneously recorded 2,000 locusts in the laboratory, my recent postdoctoral work has rewritten the interaction rules underlying locust migrations. Locusts do not rely on widefield motion cues or reflexively follow the average local velocity vector, as described in classical models. Instead, locust behavior can be explained by a minimal cognitive framework that employs ring-attractor dynamics to achieve consensus among the representations of neighboring individuals to dictate motion. These findings challenge long-held beliefs about how order can emerge from disorder in animal collectives and serve as a keystone for future molecular and physiological studies of locust migrations under repeatable and tightly controlled conditions.

https://www.neurobiology-konstanz.com/team/sercan-sayin

Host: Basil el Jundi

Cancelled due to Easter break

Progress reports of Neu02 (Max) & Sig02 (Laura)

Chair: Jeremy

Cancelled due to public holiday

Progress reports of Nav05 (Georg) & Sig04 (Srdan)

Chair: Oda

Progress reports of Nav07 (María Jesús) & Neu04 (Marie)

Chair: Sonam

Cancelled due to the announcement regarding the outcome of the Cluster of Excellence "Navisense" application

Cancelled due to public holiday

TBD

Progress report by Sig06 (Alisha)

Progress report by Sig04 (Gül)

Chair: TBD

TBD

Progress report from Sig06 (Maryam)

Guest talk from Humberto Fernandez from the International centre for translational eye research (https://icter.pl/people/humberto-fernandes-phd/)

Host: Karl Koch

Excursion to Wilhelmshaven + Picnic

Host: Nathalie

Excursion to Wilhelmshaven

Host: Nathalie