Science Slams are a great way to learn about some remarkable science that is going on in Charm City! These 5-10 min science talks from local scientists are hosted by Johns Hopkins Project Bridge and BUGSS.
At our December event, 5 local scientists presented their work:
Modern neuroscience, despite being about 110 years old, is quite young compared to other fields of science. In 1906, Spanish neuroscientist, histologist, and pathologist Simon Ramón y Cajal collaborated with Italian biologist Camillo Golgi (the namesake of the Golgi Apparatus) in an attempt to study the structure of “brain cells” while making use of a technique for creating a color contrast between cellular components called Golgi staining. This effort earned the pair the 1906 Nobel Prize in Medicine, and Ramon y Cajal the title of “The Father of Modern Neuroscience”.
One major finding from the two was that the brain and what we know today as the Central and Peripheral Nervous Systems (CNS, PNS) are made up of billions of individual cells called “neurons”. Each neuron has four major parts. The dendrites receive information from other neurons. However, the dendrites themselves don’t do the receiving – that’s done by little structures called dendritic spines, which are prone to frequent change. Next up is the soma or the cell body. The axon and axon terminal pass the impulse along through a mechanism called saltatory conduction. The axon terminal transmits the signal to the next neuron’s dendrites across a gap called the synaptic cleft, and the cycle continues until the impulse reaches the desired location or is inhibited (or canceled).
The synaptic cleft is quite interesting, as it is perhaps one of the most flexible areas of neuronal growth. As we learn more and commit lessons to memory, we use some neuronal pathways (and therefore those synaptic clefts) more than others. We call this concept “synaptic plasticity”, the modification of players in the synaptic cleft under increased or decreased usage. Synaptic plasticity is so important in building memory and for a properly maturing nervous system that deficits in synaptic plasticity have been linked to Alzheimer’s disease, intellectual disabilities, autism, and schizophrenia. With such an important biological tool at its disposal, the cell has put it to use with an equally skillful operator – the AMPA receptor, or AMPAR.
To learn what role AMPA (a compound with a very long name) and its receptor play in memory-making, learning, and synaptic plasticity, we hosted a seminar on 9/19/2020 featuring Dr. Elena Lopez-Ortega. She also discussed microscopes and how we can use different types of microscopes to study neuronal cells, synapses, and receptors as they change as a result of synaptic plasticity.
Check out the recording to learn more about the evolution of microscope design, optical microscopes, confocal microscopes, fluorophores, and ways to make a sample easier to investigate. She also introduces software that you can use to try your hand at analyzing some specimen data!
In this online class led by Dr. Elena Lopez-Ortega, we learned about the brain and memory, including the structure of neurons, how information is encoded at synapses, important proteins that play a role in learning and memory , and cognitive diseases that may result when these proteins are disrupted. Along with all of that fascinating information, we learned about light microscopy, confocal, and 2-photon microscopy and tried our hands at analyzing and manipulating beautiful images of the brain!
Viruses (okay one in particular!) have become a central part of our lives, changing most aspects of our day-to-day routine. These tiny, and not so tiny, snippets of nucleic acid and protein can have profound effects. What is a virus? How do they work? Why is SARS-2 having such a profound effect compared to other viruses? And what precautions should we be taking?
We were so fortunate to have Dr. Richard Condit, Professor Emeritus from the Univerity of Florida and Host and producer of This Week in Virology, join us for a Q&A all about viruses. It was fascinating!
Covid-19 has dramatically affected all of our lives. There have been a broad range of emotional effects related to the pandemic, and certain stressors have affected a large majority of the population. On August 28, 2020, Dr. Sonia Bansal of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center at the University of Maryland School of Medicine discussed recent research showing the effects of the pandemic on mental health across the country, the enormous long-term consequences for families, communities and societies, and the necessity of addressing the mental health needs associated with the pandemic.
The number of cannabidiol (CBD) products on store shelves has exploded, with an array of supplements, oils, creams, and gummies now being available. Is this the latest snake oil or do CBD products really have tremendous healing potential? We’ll hear from experts on all sides of the issue as they give us the facts on what we can be hopeful about and what is just hype.
Featuring:
Dr. Kathleen Kennedy, RxRemedies, a company that sells “natural, plant-based products backed by medicinal science”
Dr. Leah Sera, Program Director for the Graduate Program in Medical Cannabis Science & Therapeutics at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy
Dr. Michael Lewis, M.D., MPH, MBA, US Army Colonel (Ret), founder of the Brain Health Education and Research Institute
What are asteroids? Do they hit the Earth? Has anyone ever been hit by one? Dr. Sethanne Howard is a retired astronomer and the former Chief of the Nautical Almanac Office at the US Naval Observatory. Dr. Howard answered those and other questions in her talk “Asteroids Hitting the Earth”.
Cancer is an elusive disease, starting within one’s body and then slowly growing until the body cannot keep it under control. Over the years, we have identified many patterns in cancer cells that we may use to eliminate them, but some factors obstruct a certain path of treatment. Two aspects of cancer cells that made it difficult for the body to exterminate them without external intervention are their ability to “trick” and overwhelm immune cells.
On the biological deception side, we use four terms to refer to reason the immune system does not deal with cancer effectively. “Ignorance” is defined as the immune cells’ lack of “knowledge” that the tumor is a tumor; the tumor can achieve immune ignorance through a variety of methods. Next is “deletion”, in which the tumor sends out signals for the immune cells to undergo apoptosis. “Anergy” is defined as an incomplete activation of the immune system, be it due to an allergy or antigen, which causes an inadequate immune response to the tumor. Lastly, “suppression” is simply a weakening of the immune system, with similar effects to anergy.
Immunoediting is the term we use to describe the relationship between immune and cancer cells, the “overwhelming” process. This relationship has three phases. The first, “elimination”, describes an entire removal of the tumor by immune cells. The second stage, “equilibrium”, is when the cancer returns (due to its internal origin), and the population of tumor cells is kept constant. The final stage is “escape”, where the tumor outnumbers the immune system’s capacity and grows uncontrollably.
Despite these challenges, many scientists and researchers have been investigating a technique called immunotherapy, which is developing and “training” the immune system to effectively recognize and eliminate the tumor cells. To know more about this technique and current research, we hosted a seminar featuring:
Dr. Tonya J. Webb, Ph.D., Associate Professor at Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine
Dr. Steve Lu, MD/Ph.D., Student at Ludwig Center for Cancer Genetics and Therapeutics, The Johns Hopkins Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center
Dr. Annie Wu, MD/Ph.D. Student at Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, The Johns Hopkins Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center
Check out the recording to find out more!
With over ten million people worldwide estimated to be suffering from Parkinson’s disease (PD), sadly, all of us know someone whose life has been touched by PD. One in 100 people over 60 are diagnosed with Parkinson’s, and this does not even account for the tens of thousands of younger adults and children.
PD is a neurodegenerative disorder, meaning the symptoms we see are caused by the death of neurons in a part of the nervous system. In the case of PD, this area includes the substantia nigra, a section in the brain stem known for its darkened color caused by the presence of neurons that mainly produce dopamine, a neurotransmitter, and hormone known for giving a feeling of happiness, joy, and satisfaction.
In Parkinson’s, the degeneration of these nerve cells, in combination with those in the cerebellum, causes a variety of symptoms, including (but not limited to) shuffling gait, depression, hallucinations, tremors, and muscle stiffness. Though the disease begins in the brainstem and cerebellum, late-stage Parkinson’s has been shown to spread to the rest of the brain.
To learn more about this disease, we had the opportunity and honor to attend a seminar on August 9, 2020, featuring:
Dr. Leire Abalde-Atristain, Postdoctoral Fellow at Oregon Health & Science University (Vollum Inst), and
Dr. Aparna Shah, Postdoctoral Fellow at Johns Hopkins University (Neuroscience Dept)
After reviewing the functions of neurons and the effects and symptoms of PD, Dr. Abalde and Dr. Shah discussed the investigation, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease. On the research front, scientists have used methods such as stem cell cultures and model organisms to explore the progression and possible treatment paths for PD. The diagnostic process is one of elimination, ruling out other diseases from observing symptoms and behavior through a neurological exam. Methods such as the use of biomarkers are being used to make the diagnostic process more effective. Treatment includes numerous therapies to address different symptoms, as well as ways to introduce cells cultured from the patient’s cells which have been modified.
The last part of the seminar was an activity where the attendees teamed up in pairs to read about different studies regarding Parkinson’s disease. These studies entailed inquiry into various fundamental elements of the disease, and how treatments could be made to prevent these root causes. We then shared out our findings and opinions on their contributions to finding a cure or prevention measure for PD.
Thank you to Dr. Abalde and Dr. Shah, for coming to teach us and answer our questions about Parkinson’s, Dr. Scheifele, for organizing this session, and everyone who came to learn and ask questions!