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January 26, 2015
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Date:25SundayJanuary 201529ThursdayJanuary 2015Conference
Weizmann-U Michigan-Technion Partnership Conference on Biomedical and Bioengineering Research
More information Time All dayLocation David Lopatie Conference Centre
Kimmel AuditoriumChairperson Zvi LivnehHomepage Contact -
Date:25SundayJanuary 2015Lecture
Engineering biomaterials for regenerative medicine
More information Time 11:00Location Perlman Chemical Sciences Building
Room 404Lecturer Prof. Smadar Cohen
Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell (RMSC) Research Center and Avram and Stella Goldstein-Goren Department of Biotechnology Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the NegevOrganizer Department of Molecular Chemistry and Materials Science
Soft Matter and BiomaterialsContact Details Show full text description of Enhancing tissue self-repair via the application of instruct...» Enhancing tissue self-repair via the application of instructive biomaterials is a main goal in regenerative medicine. I will describe the features of bio-inspired materials designed to instruct tissue repair by presenting the regeneration-inducing factors in a manner mimicking their natural presentation, i.e., via affinity binding to the matrix. As affinity attached to the matrix, the factors maintained activity in the damaged tissue and promote regeneration and repair. In a severe murine hindlimb ischemia model, the sequential delivery of multiple angiogenic factors improved tissue blood perfusion and induced mature blood vessel network formation. In another model of osteochondral defect, we developed a hydrogel system to simultaneously induce the endogenous regeneration of hyaline cartilage and subchondral bone. The system was designed as two hydrogel layers, spatially presenting the chondro-inductive transforming growth factor-1 (TGF1) in one layer and the osteo-inductive bone morphogenetic protein-4 (BMP-4) in a second layer, via affinity binding to the matrix. Injection of the bilayer system (with no cells) into a subchondral defect in rabbits induced the endogenous regeneration of articular cartilage and the subchondral bone underneath within 4 weeks. In a pig model, a 6-month follow-up demonstrated the stability of the regenerated hyaline cartilage. The results indicate that stem cells migrating into the defect are able to sense the biological cues spatially presented in the hydrogel and respond by differentiation into the appropriate cell lineage. The therapeutic efficacy of the instructive biomaterials as well as their ease of formulation and delivery by non-invasive method indicates that this strategy would have a real translational potential in regenerative medicine. -
Date:25SundayJanuary 2015Lecture
Gaia - The Billion-Star Survey
More information Time 11:00Location Sussman Family Building for Environmental Sciences
M. Magaritz Seminar RoomLecturer Shay Zucker
Department of Geosciences Tel Aviv UniversityOrganizer Department of Earth and Planetary SciencesContact Abstract Show full text abstract about Gaia is a space observatory which ESA has launched in Decemb...» Gaia is a space observatory which ESA has launched in December 2013. Its proclaimed mission is to study the origins and subsequent evolution of our Galaxy, the Milky Way. In order to attain its goals it is performing a survey of about a billion stars, allowing the construction of the most accurate three-dimensional map to date of the Galaxy. The talk will describe the Gaia space mission, its scientific context, and its expected impact, beyond its proclaimed mission. Specifically, it will look deeper into the prospects of detecting extrasolar transiting planets -
Date:25SundayJanuary 2015Lecture
"Pump" - the movie - Mr. Yossie Hollander - Alternative sustainable Energy Research Initiative (AERI) Seminar Series
More information Time 12:30Title "Pump"- the movie followed by Q&A with Mr. Hollander, Producer of the movieLocation Dolfi and Lola Ebner AuditoriumLecturer Mr. Yossie Hollander
Entrepreneur, Investor and PhilanthropistOrganizer Feinberg Graduate School
Alternative Sustainable Energy Research Initiative (AERI)Contact Details Show full text description of SPECIAL EVENT Gathering & light lunch at 12:00...» SPECIAL EVENT
Gathering & light lunch at 12:00Abstract Show full text abstract about PUMP is an eye-opening documentary that tells the story of A...» PUMP is an eye-opening documentary that tells the story of America’s oil addiction. The movie explains how we can end it and finally win choice at the pump. *The movie lasts 84 min
Host: Prof. Ron Milo -
Date:25SundayJanuary 2015Lecture
To be announced
More information Time 13:00Location Arthur and Rochelle Belfer Building for Biomedical Research
Botnar AuditoriumLecturer Ofir Avidan
Shmuel Pietrokovski's group, Dept. of Molecular GeneticsOrganizer Life SciencesContact -
Date:25SundayJanuary 2015Lecture
"Characterizing viscoelastic properties of the cortex in mitotic cells"
More information Time 13:15Location Edna and K.B. Weissman Building of Physical Sciences
Drory AuditoriumLecturer Dr. Elisabeth Fischer FriedrichOrganizer Clore Center for Biological PhysicsContact Details Show full text description of Cell stiffness is a key parameter for our understanding of c...» Cell stiffness is a key parameter for our understanding of cell shape, cell migration and tissue organization. However, as the cell consists of several components, it is challenging to extract the force contribution and the elastic modulus of a specific component upon cell deformation. Here, we probe the stiffness of round, mitotic HeLa cells in a parallel plate compression setup, where we measure the force necessary to compress cells in between plates. An earlier study showed that in steady state, this force is due to cell surface tension. Here, we apply step strains and sinusoidal modulation of the plate distance at various frequencies allowing us to probe differential cell stiffness. We find strong indications that cell stiffness in mitosis is dominated by actomyosin and therefore by the mitotic cortex and extract an associated frequency-dependent area extension modulus. We show that myosin activity at the same time fluidizes and stiffens cells, where differential cell stiffness increases linearly in dependence of active prestress. On the other hand, the passive cross-linker α-actinin solidifies and stiffens mitotic cells. Our study shows how active and passive cross-linkers influence rheological properties of the cortical actin-network in vivo.
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Date:25SundayJanuary 2015Lecture
Rock and Roll – How flies control their flight
More information Time 14:30Location Edna and K.B. Weissman Building of Physical Sciences
AuditoriumLecturer Tsevi Beatus
Cornell UniversityOrganizer Department of Physics of Complex SystemsContact Abstract Show full text abstract about Flying insects can perform a wide array of extreme aerial ma...» Flying insects can perform a wide array of extreme aerial maneuvers with exquisite accuracy and robustness, outmaneuvering any man-made flying device. As a physical system, a flapping insect is strongly nonlinear with fast-growing mechanical instabilities that must be controlled to allow flight. Hence, similar to balancing a stick on one's fingertip, flapping flight is a delicate balancing act made possible only by ever-present, fast corrective actions. Understanding the underlying mechanisms of insect flight is a major challenge, since this graceful behavior is highly coupled to complex fluid flows and arises from the concerted operation of physiological functions across multiple length and time scales. As such, Insect flight research involves basic concepts from nonlinear dynamics, fluid mechanics, neurobiology and control theory, and has direct application to the development of small flapping robots.
Here we show how flies control their rotational degrees of freedom: yaw, pitch and roll. We focus on their body roll angle, which is unstable and most sensitive degree of freedom. We glue a magnet to each fly and apply a short magnetic pulse that rolls it in mid-air. Fast video shows that flies fully correct for perturbations of up to 100o within 30±7ms. The roll correction maneuver consists of a stroke-amplitude asymmetry that is well described by a linear PI controller. For more aggressive perturbations, we show evidence for nonlinear and hierarchical control mechanisms. Flies respond to roll perturbations within a single wing-beat, or 5ms, making this correction reflex one of the fastest in the animal kingdom.
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Date:25SundayJanuary 2015Lecture
Incomplete metabolic pathway: a new principle in cancer metabolism
More information Time 15:00 - 16:00Location Arthur and Rochelle Belfer Building for Biomedical Research
Botnar AuditoriumLecturer Dr. Yoav Shaul
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research,MA,USAOrganizer Life Sciences
Metabollic Research ForumContact -
Date:26MondayJanuary 2015Colloquia
"Twisted Crystals"
More information Time 11:00 - 12:30Location Gerhard M.J. Schmidt Lecture HallLecturer Prof. Bart Kahr
Department of Chemistry, NYU/USAOrganizer Faculty of ChemistryContact -
Date:26MondayJanuary 2015Lecture
Feedforward semantic segmentation with zoom-out features
More information Time 14:00Location Jacob Ziskind Building
Room 141Lecturer Greg Shakhnarovich
Toyota Technological Institute, ChicagoOrganizer Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science
Vision and Robotics SeminarContact -
Date:26MondayJanuary 2015Lecture
Gapped excitations in a quantum solid
More information Time 14:15Location Edna and K.B. Weissman Building of Physical Sciences
Room ALecturer Daniel Podolsky
TechnionOrganizer Department of Physics of Complex Systems
Statistical Physics SeminarContact Abstract Show full text abstract about The BCC phase of solid helium-4 has a gapped excitation mode...» The BCC phase of solid helium-4 has a gapped excitation mode, as revealed by inelastic neutron scattering experiments. This mode is unexpected, since BCC is a Bravais lattice and therefore acoustic modes are the only low-lying excitations expected in the harmonic solid. I will give a simple model for this new collective excitation based on the amplitude fluctuations of a quantum solid -
Date:26MondayJanuary 2015Lecture
Random Assignment games
More information Time 14:30Location Jacob Ziskind Building
Room 261Lecturer Avinatan Hassidim
Bar Ilan University and GoogleOrganizer Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science
Foundations of Computer Science SeminarContact -
Date:26MondayJanuary 2015Cultural Events
Cinderalla
More information Time 17:30 - 19:00Title Children's TheatreLocation Michael and Anna Wix AuditoriumContact -
Date:27TuesdayJanuary 2015Lecture
Lily flowering: a cool story
More information Time 11:15Location Ullmann Building of Life Sciences
Aharon Katzir HallLecturer Dr. Michele Zaccai
Life Sciences Dept., Faculty of Natural Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the NegevOrganizer Department of Plant and Environmental SciencesContact -
Date:27TuesdayJanuary 2015Lecture
Special Magnetic Resonance Seminar
More information Time 12:00Title Probing Molecular Dances in the Cell Membrane by NMR SpectroscopyLocation Perlman Chemical Sciences Building
Room 404Lecturer Ayyalusamy Ramamoorthy
Biophysics and Department of Chemistry University of MichiganOrganizer Department of Chemical and Biological PhysicsContact Abstract Show full text abstract about Membrane proteins are an exciting class of biomacromolecules...» Membrane proteins are an exciting class of biomacromolecules and play important roles in a variety of biological processes that are directly linked to major diseases including cancer, aging-related diseases, and infectious diseases. A complete understanding of their function can only be accomplished using high-resolution structures. In spite of recent developments in structural biology, membrane proteins continue to pose tremendous challenges to most biophysical techniques. A major area of research in my group is focused on the development of NMR techniques to study the dynamic structures of membrane bound proteins such as cytochrome b5, cytochrome P450 and cytochrome P450-reductase. In the first-half of my talk, I will present strategies to study the structure and dynamics of these challenging systems and also on the electron transfer mechanism that enables the enzymatic
function of P450. The accumulation of misfolded proteins is a hallmark feature in numerous human disorders such as blood diseases like sickle cell anemia, neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, and metabolic diseases such as type II diabetes. Misfolded protein aggregates may deposit in tissues, can be intracellular, extracellular, or both. The conformational changes accompanying misfolding can result in disruption of the regular function of the protein or may result in a gain of function that is often associated with toxicity. Amyloid peptides represent a subset of misfolded proteins whose misfolded state shares unique characteristics. Our research group has been investigating the high-resolution structures of early amyloid intermediates, amyloid-membrane interaction and membrane disruption, and the interaction of polyphenols with amyloid proteins. In the second-half of my presentation, NMR structures of early intermediates of amyloid peptides, mechanisms of amyloid-induced membrane disruption, and amyloid inhibition by polyphenolic compounds will be discussed. Solid-state NMR results on the interaction of amyloid fibers with lipid bilayers, and novel NMR approaches to investigate amyloid formation will also be presented.
1. BBA Biomembranes 1768 (2007) 3235.
2. Acc. Chem. Res. 116 (2012) 3650.
3. Chem. Soc. Rev. 41 (2012) 608.
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Date:27TuesdayJanuary 2015Lecture
"Protein-DNA binding in the absence of specific base-pair recognition"
More information Time 14:00Location Helen and Milton A. Kimmelman Building
Dov Elad RoomLecturer Dr. David Lukatsky
BGUOrganizer Department of Chemical and Structural BiologyContact -
Date:28WednesdayJanuary 2015Lecture
Proteasome lid assembly and processing of mixed-linkage polyubiquitin conjugates
More information Time 10:00 - 11:00Location Gerhard M.J. Schmidt Lecture Hall
Lecture HallLecturer Prof. Michael Glickman
Technion Israel Institute of TechnologyOrganizer Department of Biomolecular SciencesContact -
Date:28WednesdayJanuary 2015Lecture
Chasing the role of LKB1 in sensory axons
More information Time 10:00Location Arthur and Rochelle Belfer Building for Biomedical Research
Botnar AuditoriumLecturer Avraham Yaron
Department of Biological Chemistry, WISOrganizer Life SciencesContact -
Date:28WednesdayJanuary 2015Lecture
TBD
More information Time 11:15 - 12:00Location Nella and Leon Benoziyo Physics Building
Benoziyo Center for Astrophysics Seminar RoomLecturer Takashi MoriaOrganizer Faculty of PhysicsContact -
Date:28WednesdayJanuary 2015Lecture
Pair-instability supernova progenitors with large mass loss
More information Time 11:15 - 12:00Location Nella and Leon Benoziyo Physics Building
Benoziyo Center for Astrophysics Seminar RoomLecturer Takashi MoriaOrganizer Nella and Leon Benoziyo Center for AstrophysicsContact Abstract Show full text abstract about Pair-instability supernovae (PISNe) are thermonuclear explos...» Pair-instability supernovae (PISNe) are thermonuclear explosions of very massive stars. The stellar core needs to be heavier than about 60 Msun for stars to be PISNe. Mass loss prevents massive stars from making large enough cores to be PISNe, and PISNe are presumed to exist in metal-free or metal-poor environment where radiation-driven mass loss is small. Stellar evolution models show that such PISN progenitors evolve to red supergiants (RSGs) shortly before their explosions. However, RSGs are suggested to be pulsationally unstable, and they can experience huge mass loss driven by the pulsation. We investigate the effect of the pulsation-driven mass loss on PISN progenitors. We find that hydrogen-rich layers of PISN progenitors are significantly reduced by the pulsation-driven mass loss, even if they are initially metal-free. Because the pulsation-driven mass loss terminates when the hydrogen-rich envelope is lost, the core mass is not affected by the pulsation-driven mass loss and they still explode as PISNe. However, the large pulsation-driven mass loss can significantly alter observational properties of PISNe.