The Amazing Neuron: 神経細胞に魅せられて Tony De Falco 広海研究室 国立遺伝学研究所 磐田南高校 １１月１３日２００６年
Where am I from? USA Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C. ホワイトハウス 国会議事堂 キャピトル
Washington, D.C. の 桜 1912年の東京の プレセント
What is research like in America? Research is almost the same in America and Japan but people are different everywhere in the world
What kind of organisms can you study in your research? Bacteria! 黴菌 Yeast! 酵母 Fruit flies! ショウジョウバエ Worms! 線虫 Mice! ねずみ Medaka! めだか And many other MODEL ORGANISMS! モデル生物
Why do we need model organisms? Because we can t do experiments on people!!
What can we study with model organisms? Almost anything!! Many things are the same in different organisms -Cell division -DNA replication -Transcription (DNA to RNA) -Translation (RNA to protein) -Gene expression -Cell movement -Cell death -Embryo development -Behavior
What can we study with model organisms? Cell division Embryo Development Fighting/ Aggressive Behavior (movie) (movie) (movie)
Why am I interested in the nervous system ( )? The nervous system is very important We need our nervous system to study, play sports, and live every day It affects our behavior (human and fly), makes us unique, and affects how we see the world Do you see a young woman or an old woman?
Sometimes our nervous system can trick us Are the lines straight or not?
Sometimes our nervous system can trick us Which center dot is bigger?
What do I study? Central nervous system Neurons Neurons
Why do we use fruit flies to study the nervous system? Fruit flies are cheap, easy to keep, small, well-studied, and reproduce quickly! Also Mouse neuron Drosophila neuron Because neurons in different animals are very similar!
The neuron Flow of information
What happens if neurons die? Parkinson s disease -Loss of neurons that control movement Alzheimer s disease -Loss of neurons that control language and memory Brain activity Brain activity
Things we eat every day can affect our neurons! Caffeine *Caffeine affects nervous system by blocking action of adenine and Adenine *Adenine slows down nerve signals, but caffeine increases adrenaline, which makes your heart beat faster and keeps you awake *Caffeine increases dopamine, which makes you feel alert and happy!
Neurons are amazing! Neurons can send signals very quickly! But HOW quickly?
How fast are neurons? 新幹線 こだま = 220 km/h ひかり = 270-285 km/h 松坂大輔選手 155 km/h のぞみ = 285-300 km/h AMAZING!!!! 神経細胞 = 320 km/h
How can neurons send signals so quickly? Similar to electricity lines!! Myelin sheath= Makes the signal go faster! Multiple sclerosis (MS)
Proteins are important for myelin sheath function Proteins need to be in the proper location in the cell! Or else the cell can t function! (cell membrane)
I study proteins in the neuron cell membrane Location of proteins is important for myelin sheath and neuron function!
Fly neurons have protein compartments in their cell membranes Compartment Pocky Boundary Compartment Strawberry compartment Cookie compartment Boundary region Compartment Derailed Boundary ROBO3 Compartment Boundary
Compartments in the neuron are necessary for neurons to work! Compartment Compartment Boundary Derailed ROBO3 But how do we make compartments in the cell?
Neuron cell membrane proteins Cell membrane Cytoplasm
Cell membrane proteins have OUTSIDE and INSIDE parts OUTSIDE of cell Cell membrane INSIDE of cell Cytoplasm
Which part of the protein sends it to the compartment? INSIDE or OUTSIDE? OUTSIDE of cell Cell membrane INSIDE of cell We can make proteins with only the OUTSIDE part OR Cytoplasm We can make proteins with only the INSIDE part
Which part of the protein sends it to the compartment? OUTSIDE part? OUTSIDE of cell OUTSIDE+INSIDE Cell membrane INSIDE of cell OUTSIDE only Cytoplasm
Which part of the protein sends it to the compartment? INSIDE part? OUTSIDE of cell OUTSIDE+INSIDE Cell membrane INSIDE of cell INSIDE only Cytoplasm
The INSIDE part of the protein sends the protein to the compartment OUTSIDE of cell Cell membrane INSIDE of cell Cytoplasm
Why is this research important? *It helps us understand how neurons are special, unique cells and how they work *We need to know how neurons work so that we can cure diseases that affect many people in the world *Hopefully you have learned how neurons are AMAZING! THANK YOU!!
Acknowledgments Iwata Minami High School Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Science Dialogue Program National Institute of Genetics Hiromi Laboratory Takeo Katsuki AND all of you!