12:00 - 12:30 - Walk-in with Pizza
12:30 - 12:50 Guus Haasnoot, PhD Candidate, Physics of Living Systems
Title: Environmental cues cause morphological changes in chemosensory cilia
Abstract: The nematode C. elegans relies on ciliated neurons to perceive and to respond to its chemical environment. Within the cilium, intraflagellar transport (IFT) plays a pivotal role in maintaining organelle structure and function. The regulatory mechanisms that govern this transport system and its relationship with neuronal signalling have, however, remained unknown. In this study, we investigated this interplay by employing a microfluidic chip to expose the nematode to specific solutions, while monitoring calcium concentration changes using fluorescence microscopy. We have observed distinct responses to hyper-osmotic and chemical repellents. Furthermore, upon re-exposure to the chemical repellent after a short interval, we found that neurons had adapted to the chemical repellent, while exposure to the hyperosmotic repellent continued to activate the neurons. Remarkably, we found that the cilia also responded in a very distinct manner to the different stimuli. Hyper-osmotic repellents caused a rapidly reversible accumulation of IFT particles at the tip of the cilium due to inhibition of retrograde transport. Conversely, exposure to chemical repellents resulted in the redistribution of IFT components toward the base of the cilium and subsequent collapse of the axoneme. Together, our findings suggest a connection between changes in cilia morphology and sensitivity to chemical repellents.
12:50 -13:45 - Prof. Dr. Paola Gori-Giorgi, Microsoft Research
Title: AI for Science at Microsoft Research
Abstract: She will give an overview of our AI for Science projects at Microsoft Research, explaining the vision behind this research and the connection with the quantum computer effort.