Our brave Daniel passed the DQE exam with flying colors today, also his birthday. His exam was scheduled 3 months earlier than the regular exam set by the department. This sets the record in his class and in our lab. Congratulations and HAPPY BIRTHDAY Daniel! Now go print a cake!
We marked the end of Spring 2023 semester by attending Junjie’s talk given at Center for Cell Dynamics (CCD), entitled “Quantum Actuation in Cells with Recombinant Magneto-sensitive Protein”. We are very excited about this work and its applicational potential in precise control of specific biochemical reactions by shaping the local electromagnetic energy landscape and modulating proton and electron spins of enzymes. More cool examples about the emerging field of quantum biology can be found in the recently concluded Gordon Research Conference “Emerging Methodologies to Investigate Quantum Effects in Biology“.
We celebrated Junjie’s and his team’s (Samantha, Ryan, Rebecca and Yang) hard work by having loads of crabs. What a memorable Friday in an unusually chilled April! We look forward to more exciting results to come soon.
We thank Junjie for organizing and directing the photoshoot. Please see what we are up to at the page.
We are very happy to announce that Matt’s review paper “How sticky? How Tight? How Hot? Imaging probes for fluid viscosity, membrane tension and temperature measurements at the cellular level” is published in The International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology. In the paper we review the progress made in imaging probes for three important physical parameters: viscosity, membrane tension, and temperature, all of which play important roles in many cellular processes. We discuss the techniques implementing imaging-based probes to measure viscosity, membrane tension, and temperature at subcellular resolution dynamically. The merits and shortcomings of each technique are examined, and the future applications of the recently developed techniques are also explored. We thank Dr. Tony Kanchanawong’s invitation for this opportunity to write a review paper on this underexplored topic. Congratulations to Matt, the leading author and our wonderful second author/illustrator at large Abdulla!
The theme of this year’s Halloween costume meeting was pirates. Nobody could see very well during the photoshoot because the eyepatch really blocked the view of one of the eyes. No wonder we never meet any former pirate who later became a microscopist, who would need good eyesight to study cells. Not being able to see well really restricts the career transition choices for pirates, especially in the field of cell biology. We are grateful that we only occasionally play pirates, but are given the privilege to toil over the microscope instead of the ship. We don’t have to say aye, aye Captain to a murderous man. Rather, when we see a good image to be acquired, we say aye, aye, CAPTURE!
We learned the good news that Junjie is selected to receive one of the three Bioluminsecence Diversity Travel Scholarships to attend the Laboratory of Fluorescence Dynamics (LFD) workshop 2022 in Irvine, California. Funded by the Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group, the scholarship awards researchers not only with outstanding scientific accomplishment but also strong commitment to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Junjie is a dedicated advocate for DEI values. We are very proud that his belief and his actions are recognized with this honor. Congratulations!
At MEOW lab we are hungry for scientific discoveries but hungrier for good food. Thanks to Jen’s organization we were very lucky to satiate our appetites for both by having dinner with our collaborators whom we usually see via Zoom only. We had a great time dining with Drs. Malcom Brock, Franck Housseau and Denis Wirtz and their group members.
Food (Italian) was delicious, and the conversations were enlightening. Thank you everyone for making it a unforgettable night!
We are very happy to learn that Daniel is selected for the Dean Robert H. Roy Fellowship for the 2022-2023 academic year by the Dean’s office of Whiting School of Engineering. Starting his PhD training only weeks ago, Daniel has already been recognized as an exceptional scholar above his peers, thus nominated by the Department of Mechanical Engineering to receive this prestigious award. We can only imagine the honors, the extraordinary scientific discoveries, the high-impact papers and the grants that will follow soon after. Way to go Daniel!
Jen’s review paper “Mechanical regulation of signal transduction in angiogenesis” is accepted and published at Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology. We review how variation in the mechanical microenvironment can modulate the angiogenesis process. Jen combed through the literatures and presented an integrated view on how mechanical perturbations, such as stretching and fluid shearing, alter angiogenesis-related signal transduction and gene expression. Congratulations to this comprehensive work, Jen! Shahad contributed to the signal transduction session and the illustration. Good job Shahad!
Our paper “Membrane ruffling is a mechanosensor of extracellular fluid viscosity (PDF version: https://go.nature.com/3oyIXXB)” published today is also highlighted at the Nature Physics News and Views article “Ruffled in water, smooth in honey” . We thank Drs. Laura M. Faure and Pere Roca-Cusachs for their beautiful summary and discussion.
In the following movie, a human cell flattens itself as the viscosity changes so that it can migrate faster in honey-like fluids than in water-like fluids.
More information can also be found at the JHU Hub.