Neuroscience

Discovery of How the Brain Links Memories Could Offer Route to Trauma Therapies – Technology Networks

A woman walking down the street hears a bang. Several moments later she discovers her boyfriend, who had been walking ahead of her, has been shot. A month later, the woman checks into the emergency room. The noises made by garbage trucks, she says, are causing panic attacks. Her brain had formed a deep, lasting connection between loud sounds and the devastating sight she witnessed.This story, relayed by clinical psychiatrist and co-author of a new study Mohsin Ahmed, MD, PhD, is a powerful example of the brain's powerful ability to remember and connect events separated in time. And now, in that new study in mice published in Neuron,scientists at Columbia's Zuckerman Institute have shed light on how the brain can form such enduring links.

The scientists uncovered a surprising mechanism by which the hippocampus, a brain region critical for memory, builds bridges across time: by firing off bursts of activity that seem random, but in fact make up a complex pattern that, over time, help the brain learn associations. By revealing the underlying circuitry behind associative learning, the findings lay the foundation for a better understanding of anxiety and trauma- and stressor-related disorders, such as panic and post-traumatic stress disorders, in which a seemingly neutral event can elicit a negative response.

"We know that the hippocampus is important in forms of learning that involve linking two events that happen even up to 10 to 30 seconds apart," said Attila Losonczy, MD, PhD, a principal investigator at Columbia's Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute and the paper's co-senior author. "This ability is a key to survival, but the mechanisms behind it have proven elusive. With today's study in mice, we have mapped the complex calculations the brain undertakes in order to link distinct events that are separated in time."

The hippocampus a small, seahorse-shaped region buried deep in the brain is an important headquarters for learning and memory. Previous experiments in mice showed that disruption to the hippocampus leaves the animals with trouble learning to associate two events separated by tens of seconds.

"The prevailing view has been that cells in the hippocampus keep up a level of persistent activity to associate such events," said Dr. Ahmed, an assistant professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia's Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, and co-first author of today's study. "Turning these cells off would thus disrupt learning."

To test this traditional view, the researchers imaged parts of the hippocampus of mice as the animals were exposed to two different stimuli: a neutral sound followed by a small but unpleasant puff of air. A fifteen-second delay separated the two events. The scientists repeated this experiment across several trials. Over time, the mice learned to associate the tone with the soon-to-follow puff of air. Using advanced two-photon microscopy and functional calcium imaging, they recorded the activity of thousands of neurons, a type of brain cell, in the animals' hippocampus simultaneously over the course of each trial for many days.

"With this approach, we could mimic, albeit in a simpler way, the process our own brains undergo when we learn to connect two events," said Dr. Losonczy, who is also a professor of neuroscience at Columbia's Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.

To make sense of the information they collected, the researchers teamed up with computational neuroscientists who develop powerful mathematical tools to analyze vast amounts of experimental data.

"We expected to see repetitive, continuous neural activity that persisted during the fifteen-second gap, an indication of the hippocampus at work linking the auditory tone and the air puff," said computational neuroscientist Stefano Fusi, PhD, a principal investigator at Columbia's Zuckerman Institute and the paper's co-senior author. "But when we began to analyze the data, we saw no such activity."

Instead, the neural activity recorded during the fifteen-second time gap was sparse. Only a small number of neurons fired, and they did so seemingly at random. This sporadic activity looked distinctly different from the continuous activity that the brain displays during other learning and memory tasks, like memorizing a phone number.

"The activity appears to come in fits and bursts at intermittent and random time periods throughout the task," said James Priestley, a doctoral candidate co-mentored by Drs. Losonczy and Fusi at Columbia's Zuckerman Institute and the paper's co-first author. "To understand activity, we had to shift the way we analyzed data and use tools designed to make sense of random processes."

Ultimately, the researchers discovered a pattern in the randomness: a style of mental computing that seems to be a remarkably efficient way that neurons store information. Instead of communicating with each other constantly, the neurons save energy perhaps by encoding information in the connections between cells, called synapses, rather than through the electrical activity of the cells.

"We were happy to see that the brain doesn't maintain ongoing activity over all these seconds because, metabolically, that's not the most efficient way to store information," said Dr. Fusi, who is also a professor of neuroscience at Columbia's Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. "The brain seems to have a more efficient way to build this bridge, which we suspect may involve changing the strength of the synapses."

In addition to helping to map the circuitry involved in associative learning, these findings also provide a starting point to more deeply explore disorders involving dysfunctions in associative memory, such as panic and post-traumatic stress disorder.

"While our study does not explicitly model the clinical syndromes of either of these disorders, it can be immensely informative," said Dr. Ahmed, who is also a member of the Losonczy lab at Columbia's Zuckerman Institute. "For example, it can help us to model some aspects of what may be happening in the brain when patients experience a fearful association between two events that would, to someone else, not elicit fright or panic."ReferenceAhmed et al. (2020). Hippocampal Network Reorganization Underlies the Formation of a Temporal Association Memory. Neuron. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2020.04.013

This article has been republished from the following materials. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.

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Neuroscience

Learning Whats Dangerous Is Costly: Unlocking Fear Response of Social Animals – SciTechDaily

What would you do if the person standing next to you would suddenly scream and run away? Would you be able to carry on calmly with what youre doing, or would you panic? Unless youre James Bond, youre most likely to go for the second option: panic.

But now imagine another scenario: while out on the street, the person walking in front of you suddenly freezes: she stops moving and becomes perfectly still. What would you do?

Here the answer becomes more tricky, says Marta Moita, head of the behavioral Neuroscience lab at the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, in Lisbon, Portugal. Even though freezing is one of the three basic instinctive defense behaviors [along with fight and flight], animals dont instinctively know that when others freeze, they are actually responding to a threat.

For social animals such as ourselves, being able to tell if a group member senses a threat, can be a matter of life and death. How does this learning happen? To find an answer to this question, Moita and her team engaged in a series of studies. Their most recent findings are presented in two scientific articles, one that was published today (May 12th) in the journal Plos Biology and another that was published a few months ago in the journalCurrent Biology. Together, their results reveal a mechanism by which animals acquire fear of freezing and outline the neural circuitry that underlies the expression of that fear.

How is it that some fear responses are innate, while others must be learned? The answer is not fully known, but a good guess would be that because the world is ever-changing, animals have to be able to flexibly adapt to their environment.

For instance, when an animal freezes, it essentially stops moving. But is lack of motion necessarily a sign of danger? The answer is no, says Moita. There are situations where an animal stops moving that are perfectly benign; it might be grooming or observing something. But then, this harmless cue can transform into a sign of danger. We wanted to find out how it happens.

In the study published in the journalCurrent Biology, Moita and her team tested various experimental scenarios with rats. They found out that first and foremost, the animal has to go through a process that is called auto-conditioning, meaning that the learning does not happen by observing others, but through first-hand experience. And more than that, it can only happen if specific criteria are fulfilled. We were a bit surprised by the results, because it turns out that the learning mechanism is quite strict, says Andreia Cruz, the first author of the study.

The team discovered that for a rat to adopt freezing as a social cue, it has to go through a learning experience that consists of two key components: pain and immobility. Either one without the other is not enough.

For instance, animals that experience a mild foot shock [which is a painful event] and then freeze as a result, learn to recognize freezing in other group members as a threat. But when we prevented the subsequent freezing response by removing the rat from the experimental box immediately after the foot shock, the learning didnt happen. Cruz explains.

It may seem harsh, but in fact, as Moita points out, this manner of learning is an enormously beneficial way for animals to avoid danger. The rat underwent a single painful experience [a mild foot shock] that taught it that freezing is a response to a negative event. As a consequence, now it doesnt need to learn first-hand the full range of scenarios that can cause painful experiences. Instead, it just needs to be attentive to how its group members behave.

Creating an association between freezing and danger means that new neural connections were formed in the brain. But before diving into the neural circuits, there was still an important question that needed to be addressed: which brain areas might be involved in the expression of this newly learned fear?

Learning happens by associating cognitive elements that were previously unrelated, Moita explains. For instance, in the famous Pavlov experiment, dogs learned that the sound of a bell meant that they were about to receive food. So two previously unrelated things bell sound and food became associated in the brain.

Moita points out that several cognitive elements may be associated with this newly acquired defensive response, among them is a special kind of auditory cue silence.

The team previously discovered that rats who learned to use freezing as an alarm cue were actually detecting the sudden onset of silence. When a rat freezes, it stops moving. Which effectively means that it stops generating sound, Moita explains. We found that this transition from sound to silence can become a social cue by which rats recognize that another group member is freezing.

Following this line of thought, the team focused on the brains fear-learning center and the auditory system. Their results describing a new neural map that spans these structures were published today in the journal Plos Biology.

The first question that comes to mind is: how can the auditory system hear silence? Moita explains that to answer this question, you have to think about it in reverse. We believe that its not silence per se that the brain is detecting, its actually the cessation of sound.

The auditory system is made up of many thousands of neurons, each of which has a personal preference for certain features of auditory information. For example, some neurons respond to high-frequency sounds, others to the onset of sound. And then, there are offset neurons that respond to the cessation of sound. Those are the neurons the team suspects to be the ones that detect silence.

Offset neurons are abundant in a particular area within a brain region called the auditory thalamus. When we blocked the activity of this area, animals that have adapted freezing as a social cue and would normally respond to the sudden onset of silence, did not, explains Ana Perreira, the first author of the study.

Importantly, this same auditory region connects to the lateral amygdala a brain area crucial for learning to respond to threatening sounds. Could it also be involved in fearing silence? The team discovered that the answer is yes. Our results show that the lateral amygdala is not only important for associating sound and danger, but also silence and danger, says Perreira.

The team used these results together with others obtained in this study, to generate a map of how the brain expresses fear of freezing. The pathway we identified expands the network that processes auditory cues in the context of danger, says Moita. More broadly, our work sets the stage to further our understanding of how sensory stimuli and their behavioral relevance are encoded in the brain. she concludes.

Reference: 12 May 2020, Plos Biology.DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000674

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Learning Whats Dangerous Is Costly: Unlocking Fear Response of Social Animals - SciTechDaily

Neuroscience

How not to fight with your teenage son – Sydney Morning Herald

But the news isnt all good. Many parents are frightened. Their sons, often in their late teens, belligerent and angry at the restrictions, chafing to get out and meet with mates in secret.

There are many stories of fights over schoolwork and sullen and withdrawn sons not coming out of their rooms. Where relationships weren't great in pre-coronavirus times, this is a real crisis.

But if these problems are worked through, this might be a time when a lot of what we value most comes to the fore, and our kids remember the year of the virus as a special time, a reset, a reclaiming of what family is supposed to feel like.

Ahead, the parenting methods proving successful in lockdown.

Teamwork. Parents who are doing well have managed to create a family vibe similar to that of a team. They are not militantly supervising online schoolwork, at least, not to the point of conflict, but allocating at most a couple of hours for it in the flow of other things that are both fruitful and enjoyable.

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Get moving. Exercise and movement are natural needs of teenagers. In the past, many parents thought that energy in boys was naughtiness, but thankfully that has mostly changed. Morning exercise, followed by the completion of any mandatory school work first, are key to setting up a productive day ahead.

Routine. The other need boys have, according to neuroscience, is lots of structure. Successful families found that a routine made for a happy and balanced day. They differed on sleeping in or everyone waking on time, but all found their own sequence to the day.

Try new things. Many families are getting their kids to make meals in equal share with the adults. A mum on the page allocated one part of the meal to her three sons in rotation - one the protein, one the veggies, one the dessert. She is teaching them how to work from recipes, while staying nearby in a friendly supervisory way so it doesn't feel like they are being abandoned, and also to prevent disasters. Her boys were rather proud of themselves, and as a result, want to try new dishes. Several parents also found that their sons, who had previously never read much a trend that has alarmed educators for several decades had suddenly discovered the joy of books.

More screen time. Online gaming with friends is the main social outlet for boys in isolation, along with other social media, so most parents are allowing more time now than they would have in the past to ensure their sons feel connected with their peers.

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How not to fight with your teenage son - Sydney Morning Herald

Neuroscience

Memory and the brain: the key discovery of Santiago Ramn y Cajal – BBC Focus Magazine

The jelly-like matter of the brain fascinated Spanish pathologist Santiago Ramn y Cajal. In 1877, he saved up all the money he had earned as a medical officer in the Spanish army to buy an old microscope.

For several years he attempted to use the microscope to study and catalogue the tiny structures within the brain, but they were impossible to see clearly.

He wanted to solve the fierce, ongoing debate as to whether the brain was made up of individual cells, or whether these cells were all continuously interconnected.

Santiago Ramn y Cajal Getty Images

In 1873, the Italian physician, Camillo Golgi, developed a staining technique using silver nitrate that allowed a much clearer view of brain tissue. For years, Cajal worked on refining this technique.

As a passionate artist, he drew everything he saw, and in 1889, he presented his findings to the Congress of the German Anatomical Society at the University of Berlin.

Each stained brain cell stood out perfectly. Its complexity could be seen in detail, showing there was no direct physical connection between each cell, and settling the long-running debate.

Cajals intricate brain drawings are still used in neuroscience today Instituto Cajal del Consjo Superior de Investigaciones Cientficas, Madrid/CSIC

Cajals pictures are still used in neuroscience today to demonstrate the precise architecture of the brain that underlies memory, and all other aspects of human thought.

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Memory and the brain: the key discovery of Santiago Ramn y Cajal - BBC Focus Magazine

Neuroscience

Minnesota Masons give $35 million to the University of Minnesota to establish first-of-its-kind institute devoted to brain development – UMN News

The University of Minnesota has announced a $35 million gift from Minnesota Masonic Charities, an organization that is the Universitys largest single donor. This contribution will establish and name the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain, an interdisciplinary initiative focused on the early diagnosis, prevention and treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders in early childhood and adolescence.

Led by the Universitys Medical School and College of Education and Human Development (CEHD), this unique institute will bring together teams of researchers and clinicians who study how the brain grows and develops during early childhood and adolescenceformative years when the brain is most receptive to positive intervention. Working together under one roof at the site of the former Shriners Healthcare for Children campus in Minneapolis, an array of experts will tackle such disorders as autism, ADHD, cognitive delays, drug addiction and severe depression, conditions that can often be identified early and have lifelong consequences.

Our long-standing partnership with the University of Minnesota aligns with our mission to make meaningful contributions to society, said Eric Neetenbeek, president and CEO of Minnesota Masonic Charities. The Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain is another example of how we can unite the incredible expertise of the University with the capacity of Minnesota Masonry to benefit our entire state and, indeed, the world.

University of Minnesota President Joan T. A. Gabel, who has made student mental health one of her top priorities, believes the support will improve lives when it matters most. Early support of brain health sets the stage for everything to come in life, she said. Thanks to the Masons transformative gift, the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain will help ensure that children have the strongest start for a safe, happy and productive life.

In addition to the lead gift from Minnesota Masonic Charities, the University has received generous philanthropic investments in the new institute from the Lynne & Andrew Redleaf Foundation, Otto Bremer Trust, Blythe Brenden-Mann Foundation and Drs. Gail A. Bernstein and Thomas J. Davis Trust.

The institutes mission commits the Universitys world-leading expertise in neuroscience, imaging, child psychology, adolescent psychiatry, developmental disorders and related fields to study precisely how the healthy brain grows and what throws it off course. With this knowledge, doctors and other mental health providers can get young brains back on track before early stressorssuch as malnutrition, trauma and exposure to toxinslead to lifelong complications that can have huge social and economic costs.

During critical periodsparticularly a babys first 1,000 days and adolescencethe brain still has the ability to rewire its connections and make positive, lasting changes, said Dr. Jakub Tolar, dean of the Medical School and vice president for clinical affairs. Early intervention is often a key.

Access is another hurdle facing those who may suffer from symptoms of mental health conditions. Thats a challenge CEHD Dean Jean Quam believes expertise in her college can help address. Our work in interdisciplinary training, telehealth and community outreach will increase access to families and serve as a model for collaboration.

The institutes co-directors, Michael Georgieff and Damien Fair, will lead the institutes cross-disciplinary team of clinicians and researchers. Georgieff, who holds appointments in the Medical School and CEHD, is founding director of the Universitys Center for Neurobehavioral Development. Fair, a national expert in behavioral neuroscience and brain imaging, was recently recruited from Oregon Health & Science University and will join the CEHD and Medical School faculties in July.

Slated to open at its East River Parkway location in fall 2021, the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain will form a research triangle with M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Masonic Childrens Hospital and the Universitys Biomedical Discovery District. The 10.2-acre property includes a two-level building with a hospital, clinic, and support area, as well as conference space and an attached parking lot.

Minnesota Masonic Charities philanthropic legacy at the U of M:With support from Minnesota Masons, the University built the 80-bed Masonic Memorial Hospital in 1958 and the Masonic Cancer Research Building in the mid-90s. Minnesota Masonic Charities historic $65 million pledge in 2008 to name the Masonic Cancer Center continues to advance major research discoveries. A $10 million gift from the Masons built the Masonic Cancer Clinic, which provides premier cancer care in the M Health Fairview Clinics and Surgery Center on the Twin Cities campus. In addition, a $25 million gift made in 2014 to enhance pediatric research and care brought the Masons total giving to $125 million and led to the renaming of M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Masonic Childrens Hospital. Now, with its latest gift of $35 million to establish and name the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain, Minnesota Masonic Charities has contributed more than $160 million to the University of Minnesota to accelerate research discoveries in cancer and childrens health that will improve lives throughout Minnesota and beyond. Click hereto view a timeline of giving and the relationship between MMC and the U of M.

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Minnesota Masons give $35 million to the University of Minnesota to establish first-of-its-kind institute devoted to brain development - UMN News

Embryology

How can diagnostic fertility testing labs help in the battle against COVID-19? – BioNews

11 May 2020

Dr Alan Thornhill, Igenomix UK and School of Biosciences, University of Kent and Professor Darren Griffin, Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies of Reproduction School of Biosciences, University of Kent

As we head into a new phase of theCOVID-19pandemic,there are still many questions unanswered.

FollowingGovernment hints,new guidance from the HFEA, the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology and the Association of Reproductive and Clinical ScientistsandBritish Fertility Society,there is understandable relief for fertility professionals and patients that we can gradually begin to restart treatments. Alongside triaging, distancing at work, personal protective equipment (PPE) and other measures as part of a comprehensive risk assessment, there is still a need for testing.

Despite callsfrom the outsetto'test, test, test'from many experts(particularlythe World Health Organisation),we now learn thatthe UK,despite beingone of the world's most advanced and developed nations, has struggled to make it into the'top 40nations',when measuringthe number oftests per million population.

In case it's not entirely clear, there are two types of test:firstly,the antibody test,whichreveals whethera patient hasalreadybeen infected withthe disease and may-though this is not yet certain -be immune. In the absence of a vaccine and safe, effective, accessible therapies, a reliable antibody test will help us to understand the epidemiology of this disease and discover whether we have achieved a level ofpotential'herd immunity'.

Secondly, the PCR, (also known as the diagnostic or antigen)test,uncovers whether you are infected with SARS-CoV-2the virus that causes COVID-19. In both cases, as in most areas of diagnostics, a bad test is worse than no test at all, but this is trueparticularlyfor the PCR test, as false negatives (the testfailing tocorrectlyidentifyinfected people) can lead to infectious individuals further spreading the disease.Combined, these tests could prove a vital'back to work/treatment'strategy for clinic staff and patients alike.

There has been much talk about this so-called immunity passportin the press.It is widelybelieved that,witha combination of accurate, reliable antibody and PCR testing,individuals can be effectively triagedinto work or treatment at low risk, carefully monitored and routinely tested orsent home to self-isolate and recover. Either test alonemay not provide the most comprehensive picture.

As those countries worst affected begin to come out of lockdown and we await a second wave of infection, the PCR testremainskey. PCR is a routine test that allows small amounts of DNAto be replicated in sufficient quantity to analyse. Unfortunately, coronaviruses contain RNA, not DNA, and this is harder to work with, more dangerous and unstable. That's why it is understandable that the UK initially tried torestrictthe testing to Public Health England(PHE)labs,who routinely do this type of work. Surely,therefore, they are the only labs who can do this work properly?

Not necessarily. While no one should dismiss the great work PHE has already done in trying to tackle the coronavirus crisis, there has been a problem from the outset. Right from the beginning, PHE alone never had the required capacity to test all suspected patients, healthcare and care workers; let alone large swathes of the population, in order to isolate infected individuals and reduce disease transmission.

The frustrating thing is that thereis, and alwayshasbeen,a solution.

A UK network of private accredited medical laboratoriesalready exists;manylabsalready offering genetic tests for NHS and private patients. Despite repeated offers to assist,sadly,many have been overlooked. Apart from some notable exceptions like theFrancis Crick Institute, the real success stories outside of PHE are the growing number of laboratories who have joined the COVID-19 testing volunteer network, which, independent of the Government's effort, has steadfastly provided free tests to GPs, care homes and other key workers for many weeks now.

On 2April, Sir Paul Nurse, headof the Crick, indicated that labs like his, not usually involved in viral testing (but nonetheless highly professional andwith sufficient expertisetoperform diagnostictesting) could work alongside the NHS/PHE effort to set up a network of fully functional labs locally. He even evoked the spirit of Dunkirk; small butfunctionaland availableboats ready to assist a mammoth effort inourcountry's hour of need.

Despite this inspirationaland very public'call to arms', many offers to help have gone unheard.Indeed, ourISO 15189-accredited laboratory(normally providing genetic tests toclinicstohelp fertility patientshave a better chanceof havinghealthy children) registered earlywith the various Government agencies involved in tackling theCOVID-19crisis,offeringbothequipment and staff. From day one, we have always been willing to help with testingand believed that a risk-managed approach to mass testing should always include a network of high quality (ideally accredited) laboratories to provide local testingincase ofthecatastrophic failure at a so-called 'megalab'.

Without officialrecognition orsupport, however,we have faced significant challenges of reagent and equipment shortage or national requisitioning and have had to'go it alone'.At many stages we have even reached out to IVF clinics to source equipment and have been genuinely moved bytheirwillingness towork together to solve problems the Dunkirk spirit in action!

We are now in astrongposition toprovide PCR (and antibody) testing to clinics and their patientsand tohelp the wider community,aswe gradually come out of lockdown and are braced for second and subsequent waves of infection.We further hope thatthis huge effort, investment and risk is worth it in the longer term,as we try to better understand the impact ofviral infection generally (and SARS-CoV-2 specifically) on fertility and pregnancy,as this is still not well understood.

As we all try to find our 'new normal', we need to continue to be flexible, dynamic and supportive in our collective efforts to help patients. Despite the Government's assurance that we now have national capacity of 100,000 PCR tests per day with a new 'target' set of 200,000 tests per day by the end of May, we urge fertility clinic staff especially to ensure that they truly have free and easy access to these tests especially if asymptomatic.

Many may have heard about the key worker testing website crashing on day one, the long queues at drive-through test centres only to have a self-administered swab kit launched through the hastily opened car window, testing kits being sent out with no return address and there are, no doubt, many other such troubling stories.

What the Government and PHE have finally achieved is incredible, but the new challenge may not be testing capacity intrinsically, but easy access to high-quality tests, timely reporting and focused customer support for asymptomatic individuals. This is where smaller, private laboratories may show their true worth. It's time we considered them. To use the Dunkirk metaphor - let's launch those boats! With daily declining fatality rates and the peak of infections behind us, the battle may be over for now. But the war is certainly not yet won.

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How can diagnostic fertility testing labs help in the battle against COVID-19? - BioNews

Cell Biology

MSc virologists explore infections and cell biology in new virtual laboratory | Imperial News – Imperial College London

As part of the College's move to remote learning, XX MSc Molecular Biology & Virology students are trialling remote research in a 'virtual lab'.

Students and staff in the Department of Infectious Disease are exploring the new format of teaching and learning over the course of the summer, while laboratory access continues to be limited.

The 'virtual, remote research projects' will now take the place of the remaining five months of the 'Laboratory Based Research Project', the final module on the programme.

From the outset the Department wanted to create an experience, at pace, that contrasted to the less interactive learning experience offered by a literature review.

Reflecting on the shift to virtual labs, Martin Lupton,Vice-Dean (Education) in the Faculty of Medicine, said:"Now more than ever the world needs experts in the medical field to tackle current and future global challenges. This means that lab work cannot simply 'pause', but needs to continue in a format that works well for our students.

"We are making plans to deliver programmes in a number of ways, dependent on progress in the fight against COVID-19. Through our campuses and our remote and online offerings we look forward to providing current and new students freshperspective in their chosendisciplines."

Delivering engaging and impactful research projects without easy access to a laboratory is a challenge, but oneembraced by the Department. Students' projects would always have taken place through conversation and supervision, including technical training, application of techniques in the lab, proper construction and design of experiments, and students' interpretation and presentation of data.

This practical experience of learning in a physical lab setting is a 'gold standard', according Mr Lupton and colleagues. Yet, it is possible in a virtual lab to create an environment where students gain the skills needed for working in a real lab.

XXX XXXX, an MSc student who is taking part in the virtual lab, said: ""

After being provided with direct, online training from research group leaders, and setting their key objectives, students are expected to:

Chair in Virology, and the originator of the idea of a 'virtual lab' for the programme, Professor Peter O'Hare, said: "Until we have a clearer sense of when and how it may be possible to return to on-campus labs, it's important that our students can tackle a range of research projects even if we must continue to be creative with a remote format.

"By offering a 'virtual lab' the team hope to equip students withpractical techniques and skills in data handling, interpretation, and critical evaluation. Bringing this all together as Remote Research Reports will prove to be an unexpected but hopefully interesting challenge.

"Just like any normal lab meeting or interaction, support and guidance will be on-hand for all students."

Complementary to this supportive environment research group leaders do also want to emphasise the benefits of independent learning, and participants having confidence in their own abilities. Students will still be expected to investigate research techniques independently and work closely with staff to recognise when they should move onto their next assignment.

All postgraduate programmes in the Faculty of Medicine are available to browse online. Application and enrolment dates remain unchanged by the COVID-19 outbreak.

The College's Graduate School is at the centre of the postgraduate community and provides details on what studying at Imperial is like.

Current and prospective students can view a wide selection of answers to frequently asked questions on the College's regularly updated COVID-19 webpages.

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MSc virologists explore infections and cell biology in new virtual laboratory | Imperial News - Imperial College London

Cell Biology

Proteins of cells change their structure and role if they are warm – FREE NEWS

Proteins of cells change their structure and role if they are warm. This became known to scientists from the Center for Biotechnology Dresden and the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Germany.

Decades of research have shown that different organisms react similarly to temperature changes. For example, when they are too warm, their cells stop growing and stop the production of proteins necessary for growth and reproduction.

Instead, they begin to produce proteins that protect cells from damage. But researchers do not know how cells recognize heat stress and what mechanisms cause a change in their production.

For research, scientists used yeast. So they were able to determine the protein Ded1p, which changes its structure with temperature and reprograms the entire cell. They modeled his behavior in the laboratory without other components and saw that the protein is evenly distributed in the cytoplasm of the cell, but with increasing temperature it is collected in dense structures using the phase separation process. This allowed them to conclude that Ded1p is able to sense temperature and acts as a thermometer inside the cell.

This tells us that evolution endowed cells with high thermal sensitivity so that organisms can adapt to temperature fluctuations. This gives us hope that organisms can cope with global warming, explained Professor Simon Alberti, who led the study. He also added that the discovery has a more general meaning: the researchers discovered a mechanism inside the cell that helps the body cope with environmental changes and not just heat stress.

Scientists have suggested that cells can cope with a wide variety of alarms using proteins that are phase-separated to trigger different gene expression programs. In further studies, they want to determine whether this mechanism can help determine a persons disease in advance for example, age-related neurodegenerative diseases.

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Proteins of cells change their structure and role if they are warm - FREE NEWS

Cell Biology

Global Cell Biology Cloud Computing Market’s Growth Trajectory Disrupted by COVID-19 Pandemic; Growth to be Restored Post Crisis Science Market…

Analysis of the Global Cell Biology Cloud Computing Market

The report on the global Cell Biology Cloud Computing market reveals that the market is expected to grow at a CAGR of ~XX% during the considered forecast period (2019-2029) and estimated to reach a value of ~US$XX by the end of 2029. The latest report is a valuable tool for stakeholders, established market players, emerging players, and other entities to devise effective strategies to combat the impact of COVID-19

Further, by leveraging the insights enclosed in the report, market players can devise concise, impactful, and highly effective growth strategies to solidify their position in the Cell Biology Cloud Computing market.

Research on the Cell Biology Cloud Computing Market Addresses the Following Queries

Get Free Sample PDF (including COVID19 Impact Analysis, full TOC, Tables and Figures) of Market Report @ https://www.marketresearchhub.com/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=2655551&source=atm

Competitive Landscape

The competitive landscape section offers valuable insights related to the business prospects of leading market players operating in the Cell Biology Cloud Computing market. The market share, product portfolio, pricing strategy, and growth strategies adopted by each market player is included in the report. The major steps taken by key players to address the business challenges put forward by the novel COVID-19 pandemic is discussed in the report.

Regional Landscape

The regional landscape section provides a deep understanding of the regulatory framework, current market trends, opportunities, and challenges faced by market players in each regional market. The various regions covered in the report include:

End-User Assessment

The report bifurcates the Cell Biology Cloud Computing market based on different end users. The supply-demand ratio and consumption volume of each end-user is accurately depicted in the report.

Regional and Country-level AnalysisThe report offers an exhaustive geographical analysis of the global Cell Biology Cloud Computing market, covering important regions, viz, North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, India and Central & South America. It also covers key countries (regions), viz, U.S., Canada, Germany, France, U.K., Italy, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Mexico, Brazil, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, etc.The report includes country-wise and region-wise market size for the period 2015-2026. It also includes market size and forecast by each application segment in terms of revenue for the period 2015-2026.Competition AnalysisIn the competitive analysis section of the report, leading as well as prominent players of the global Cell Biology Cloud Computing market are broadly studied on the basis of key factors. The report offers comprehensive analysis and accurate statistics on revenue by the player for the period 2015-2020. It also offers detailed analysis supported by reliable statistics on price and revenue (global level) by player for the period 2015-2020.On the whole, the report proves to be an effective tool that players can use to gain a competitive edge over their competitors and ensure lasting success in the global Cell Biology Cloud Computing market. All of the findings, data, and information provided in the report are validated and revalidated with the help of trustworthy sources. The analysts who have authored the report took a unique and industry-best research and analysis approach for an in-depth study of the global Cell Biology Cloud Computing market.The following players are covered in this report:AccentureAmazon Web ServicesBenchlingCisco SystemsDell EmcIBMDXC TechnologyOracleScaleMatrixIPERIONNovelBioCell Biology Cloud Computing Breakdown Data by TypePublic Cloud ComputingPrivate Cloud ComputingHybrid Cloud ComputingCell Biology Cloud Computing Breakdown Data by ApplicationGenomicsDiagnosticsClinical TrialsPharma ManufacturingOthers

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Cell Biology

Atara Biotherapeutics Announces Appointment of Cell & Gene Therapy Expert Maria Grazia Roncarolo, MD to Board of Directors – Business Wire

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATRA), a pioneer in T-cell immunotherapy leveraging its novel allogeneic EBV T-cell platform to develop transformative therapies for patients with severe diseases including solid tumors, hematologic cancers and autoimmune diseases, today announced the appointment of immunology and cell & gene therapy expert Maria Grazia Roncarolo, MD, to the Board of Directors.

Dr. Roncarolo is the George D. Smith Professor in Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine, Director of the Center for Definitive and Curative Medicine, and Co-Director of the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at Stanford University.

In 2014, Dr. Roncarolo established the Stanford Center for Definitive and Curative Medicine. The center, which is dedicated to the development of innovative stem cell and gene therapies for patients with currently incurable diseases, spans a wide range of bench and clinical research activities from basic biology through translational research and features its own GMP cell processing and Phase 1 study units.

I am thrilled to have one of the worlds leading experts in immunology and T cells, Dr. Roncarolo, bringing to our Board her experience and strategic vision in cell therapy and gene editing as well as her passion for transformative immunotherapies, said Pascal Touchon, President and Chief Executive Officer of Atara. She has dedicated her life to caring for patients with severe immunological and hematological diseases and has an impressive record in translating scientific discoveries in cell and gene therapy into novel treatments which aligns very well with Ataras mission.

Dr. Roncarolo has served as the primary investigator in several landmark trials involving the development of innovative stem cell- and gene-based therapies. She worked at DNAX Research Institute for Molecular and Cellular Biology in Palo Alto for several years, where she contributed to the discovery of novel cytokines, cell-signaling molecules that are part of the immune response. She studied the role of these cytokines in inducing immunological tolerance and in promoting stem cell growth and differentiation. As Director of the Telethon Institute for Cell and Gene Therapy and the San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Milan, Dr. Roncarolo was the principal investigator leading the successful gene therapy trial in SCID, a severe life threatening disorder in which patients lack an enzyme critical to DNA synthesis.

Beyond studying new therapies, Dr. Roncarolo has also helped elucidate drivers of disease at the molecular and cellular level, as she has investigated the mechanisms of immune-mediated diseases throughout her career and helped advance the understanding of immunological tolerance. Dr. Roncarolo was the recipient of the outstanding achievement award from the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT) in 2010 and from the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT) in 2017. She is currently the president of the Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies.

About Atara Biotherapeutics

Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (@Atarabio) is a pioneer in T-cell immunotherapy leveraging its novel allogeneic EBV T-cell platform to develop transformative therapies for patients with severe diseases including solid tumors, hematologic cancers and autoimmune disease. With our lead program in Phase 3 clinical development, Atara is the most advanced allogeneic T-cell immunotherapy company and intends to rapidly deliver off-the-shelf treatments to patients with high unmet medical need. Our platform leverages the unique biology of EBV T cells and has the capability to treat a wide range of EBV-associated diseases, or other severe diseases through incorporation of engineered CARs (chimeric antigen receptors) or TCRs (T-cell receptors). Atara is applying this one platform to create a robust pipeline including: tab-cel (tabelecleucel) in Phase 3 development for Epstein-Barr virus-driven post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (EBV+ PTLD); ATA188, a T-cell immunotherapy targeting EBV antigens as a potential treatment for multiple sclerosis; and multiple next-generation chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T) immunotherapies for both solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. Improving patients lives is our mission and we will never stop working to bring transformative therapies to those in need. Atara is headquartered in South San Francisco and our leading-edge research, development and manufacturing facility is based in Thousand Oaks, California. For additional information about the company, please visit atarabio.com and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains or may imply "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Because such statements deal with future events and are based on Atara Biotherapeutics' current expectations, they are subject to various risks and uncertainties and actual results, performance or achievements of Atara Biotherapeutics could differ materially from those described in or implied by the statements in this press release. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including those discussed in Atara Biotherapeutics' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including in the Risk Factors and Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations sections of the Companys most recently filed periodic reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q and subsequent filings and in the documents incorporated by reference therein. Except as otherwise required by law, Atara Biotherapeutics disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise.

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Atara Biotherapeutics Announces Appointment of Cell & Gene Therapy Expert Maria Grazia Roncarolo, MD to Board of Directors - Business Wire