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April 30, 2015
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Date:23SundayDecember 2018Lecture
The interaction between the magnetic field and the atmospheric circulation on giants planets
More information Time 11:00 - 11:00Location Sussman Family Building for Environmental SciencesLecturer Keren Duer
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences Weizmann Institute of ScienceOrganizer Department of Earth and Planetary SciencesContact -
Date:23SundayDecember 2018Lecture
ORGaNICs: A Canonical Neural Circuit Computation
More information Time 14:30 - 14:30Location Arthur and Rochelle Belfer Building for Biomedical ResearchLecturer Prof. David Heeger
Center for Neural Science and Dept of Psychology, NYUOrganizer Department of Brain SciencesContact Abstract Show full text abstract about A theory of cortical function is proposed, based on a family...» A theory of cortical function is proposed, based on a family of recurrent neural circuits, called ORGaNICs (Oscillatory Recurrent GAted Neural Integrator Circuits). The theory is applied to working memory and motor control. Working memory is a cognitive process for temporarily maintaining and manipulating information. Most empirical neuroscience research on working memory has measured sustained activity during delayed-response tasks, and most models of working memory are designed to explain sustained activity. But this focus on sustained activity (i.e., maintenance) ignores manipulation, and there are a variety of experimental results that are difficult to reconcile with sustained activity. ORGaNICs can be used to explain the complex dynamics of activity, and ORGaNICs can be use to manipulate (as well as maintain) information during a working memory task. The theory provides a means for reading out information from the dynamically varying responses at any point in time, in spite of the complex dynamics. When applied to motor systems, ORGaNICs can be used to convert spatial patterns of premotor activity to temporal profiles of motor activity: different spatial patterns of premotor activity evoke different temporal response dynamics. ORGaNICs offer a novel conceptual framework; Rethinking cortical computation in these terms should have widespread implications, motivating a variety of experiments.
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Date:24MondayDecember 2018Lecture
Imm Guest seminar-Shai Shen-Orr will lecture on "Cellular variability in the immune system. Where are we going and how did we get here"
More information Time 13:00 - 14:00Location Wolfson Building for Biological ResearchLecturer Shai Shen-Orr
Assistant Professor Dept. of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology.Organizer Department of Systems ImmunologyContact -
Date:24MondayDecember 2018Lecture
TBA
More information Time 14:00 - 15:00Title Special Guest SeminarLocation Max and Lillian Candiotty BuildingLecturer Dr. Mondira Kundu
St Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, USAOrganizer Department of Immunology and Regenerative BiologyContact -
Date:25TuesdayDecember 2018Lecture
Novel insights into the structure and function of microbial communities
More information Time 10:00 - 11:00Location Nella and Leon Benoziyo Building for Biological SciencesLecturer Dr. Ilana Kolodkin
Department of Molecular GeneticsOrganizer Department of Biomolecular SciencesContact Abstract Show full text abstract about In nature, bacteria form differentiated multicellular commun...» In nature, bacteria form differentiated multicellular communities, known as biofilms. The coordinated actions of many cells, communicating and dividing labor, improve the ability of the community to attach to hosts and protect it from environmental assaults.Bacterial biofilms are associated with persistent bacterial infections, and thus pose a global threat of extreme clinical importance. Bacteria in a biofilm are significantly more resistant to antibiotics than free-living bacteria. Our work provides two novel explanations of this phenotypic antibiotic resistance: a structural mineral component defending the bacterial colony, and the ability of community members to communicate and coordinate activities using RNA transfer. -
Date:25TuesdayDecember 2018Lecture
Chemical and Biological Physics Special Seminar
More information Time 10:45 - 10:45Title Cell-Matrix Interactions in Fibrosis and Cancer: Multiscale mechano-chemical modelsLocation Perlman Chemical Sciences BuildingLecturer Prof. Vivek Shenoy
University of PennsylvaniaOrganizer Clore Center for Biological PhysicsContact Abstract Show full text abstract about Much of our understanding of the biological mechanisms that ...» Much of our understanding of the biological mechanisms that underlie cellular functions, such as migration, differentiation and force sensing has been garnered from studying cells cultured on two-dimensional (2D) substrates. In the recent years there has been intense interest and effort to understand cell mechanics in three-dimensional (3D) cultures, which more closely resemble the in vivo microenvironment. However, a major challenge unique to 3D settings is the dynamic feedback between cells and their surroundings. In many 3D matrices, cells remodel and reorient local extracellular microenvironment, which in turn alters the active mechanics and in many cases, the cell phenotype. Most models for matrices to date do not account for such positive feedback. Such models, validated by experiments, can provide a quantitative framework to study how injury related factors (in pathological conditions such as fibrosis and cancer metastasis) alter extracellular matrix (ECM) mechanics. They can also be used to analyze tissue morphology in complex 3D environments such as during morphogenesis and organogenesis, and guide such processes in engineered 3D tissues. In this talk, I will present discrete network simulations to study how cells remodel matrices and how this remodeling can lead to force transmission over large distances in cells. I will also discuss an active tissue model to quantitatively study the influence of mechanical constraints and matrix stiffness on contractility and stability of micropatterned tissues. -
Date:25TuesdayDecember 2018Lecture
Algebraic Geometry and Representation Theory Seminar
More information Time 11:15 - 12:15Title Symmetries of the hydrogen atom and algebraic familiesLocation Jacob Ziskind BuildingLecturer Eyal subag Organizer Faculty of Mathematics and Computer ScienceContact -
Date:25TuesdayDecember 2018Lecture
A Snap-Shot from an Evolutionary Arms Race: How a small viral protein subverts plant defense through selective-autophagy
More information Time 11:30 - 12:30Location Nella and Leon Benoziyo Building for Biological SciencesLecturer Dr. Simon Michaeli
Scientific Consultant, Lab. of Prof. Gad Galili, Department of Plant and Environmental SciencesOrganizer Department of Plant and Environmental SciencesContact -
Date:25TuesdayDecember 2018Academic Events
Scientific Council meeting
More information Time 14:00 - 17:00Location The David Lopatie Conference CentreContact -
Date:25TuesdayDecember 2018Lecture
Paramagnetic tagging of proteins for structural biology applications
More information Time 15:00 - 16:00Location Perlman Chemical Sciences BuildingLecturer Prof. Xun-Cheng Su
Department of Chemistry, Nankai UniversityOrganizer Department of Molecular Chemistry and Materials ScienceContact Abstract Show full text abstract about Site-specific installation of paramagnetic lanthanide ions i...» Site-specific installation of paramagnetic lanthanide ions in proteins is a powerful method in delineating the structures, dynamics and interactions of proteins by NMR and EPR. Since most proteins do not have a paramagnetic center, efforts towards site-specific labeling of proteins with paramagnetic ions have thus been made via thiol chemistry, click chemistry, and molecular biology. The formation of disulfide bond between a protein and the paramagnetic tag is mostly applied in protein modifications, whereas the disulfide bond tether succumbs to low stability in reducing conditions or high pH. We have been focusing on development of paramagnetic tagging proteins in formation of a stable thioether bond for analysis of proteins in vitro and in cells using NMR and EPR. A number of stable paramagnetic tags have been designed and the performance of the respective protein conjugates has been evaluated in vitro and in cells by high resolution NMR spectroscopy. Using these high-performance paramagnetic tags, we were able to determine the 3D structure of a protein in live cells and 3D structure of unstable and short-lived thioester intermediate of Sortase A with pseudocontact shifts (PCSs) as structural restraints. -
Date:25TuesdayDecember 2018Lecture
Seminar in Geometry and Topology
More information Time 16:00 - 18:00Title Describing Blaschke products by their critical pointsLocation Jacob Ziskind BuildingLecturer Oleg Ivrii
CaltechOrganizer Faculty of Mathematics and Computer ScienceContact -
Date:26WednesdayDecember 2018Lecture
Developmental Club Series 2018-19
More information Time 10:00 - 10:00Title Heart Repair and RegenerationLocation Arthur and Rochelle Belfer Building for Biomedical ResearchLecturer Prof. Eldad Tzahor Organizer Department of Molecular GeneticsContact -
Date:26WednesdayDecember 2018Lecture
Symmetry breaking in the synthesis of chiral nanocrystals
More information Time 11:00 - 12:00Location Perlman Chemical Sciences BuildingLecturer Prof. Gil Markovich
School of Chemistry, TAUOrganizer Department of Molecular Chemistry and Materials ScienceContact Abstract Show full text abstract about In recent years we have been studying the handedness control...» In recent years we have been studying the handedness controlled synthesis of inorganic nanocrystals made of materials which crystallize in chiral space-groups. In the talk I will discuss the demonstration of strong chiral amplification in the colloidal synthesis of intrinsically chiral lanthanide phosphate nanocrystals, quantitatively measured via the circularly polarized luminescence of the lanthanide ions within the nanocrystals. Together with the group of Ori Cheshnovsky, we were able to measure single particle handedness though circularly polarized emission microscopy. We obtained 100% enantiomeric purity of the nanocrystals by using chiral tartaric acid molecules in the synthesis which act as an external “chiral field”, sensitively directing the amplified nanocrystal handedness through a discontinuous transition between left- and right-handed excess. The amplification involves also spontaneous symmetry breaking into either left- or right-handed nanocrystals below a critical temperature, in the absence of the tartaric acid molecules. These characteristics suggest a conceptual framework for chiral amplification, based on the statistical thermodynamics of critical phenomena, which we use (with Haim Diamant) to quantitatively account for the observations. -
Date:26WednesdayDecember 2018Lecture
Genetic tricks in a green playground - Genome-wide discovery of essential pathways in the plant superkingdom
More information Time 11:45 - 11:45Location Nella and Leon Benoziyo Building for Biological SciencesLecturer Michal Breker
The Rockefeller University, New-YorkOrganizer Department of Plant and Environmental SciencesHomepage Contact -
Date:26WednesdayDecember 2018Lecture
Spotlight on Science
More information Time 12:00 - 12:00Title The Dynamics of brain development in health and diseaseLocation Arthur and Rochelle Belfer Building for Biomedical ResearchLecturer Dr. Tamar Sapir
Department of Molecular GeneticsContact -
Date:27ThursdayDecember 2018Lecture
The role of redox in cell fate regulation in marine diatom’s response to environmental stresses
More information Time 10:00 - 10:00Title PHD Thesis DefenseLocation Nella and Leon Benoziyo Building for Biological SciencesLecturer Shiri Graff van Creveld
Lab. of Prof. Assaf Vardi, Department of Plant and Environmental SciencesOrganizer Department of Plant and Environmental SciencesContact -
Date:27ThursdayDecember 2018Colloquia
Pushing particles with radio-frequency waves in plasma
More information Time 11:15 - 12:30Location Edna and K.B. Weissman Building of Physical SciencesLecturer Prof. Nat Fisch
PrincetonOrganizer Faculty of PhysicsContact Abstract Show full text abstract about Pushing particles with rf waves can produce enormous effects...» Pushing particles with rf waves can produce enormous effects in magnetically confined plasma. Through a variety of fundamental mechanisms, waves can drive as much as mega-amps of current parallel to a magnetic field. These currents produce fields that can confine the plasma in the steady state. Importantly, it was recently shown that currents driven precisely by these mechanisms can stabilize the tearing of the magnetic fields. Alternatively, waves can also drive ions perpendicular to a magnetic field. In a tokamak reactor, the result could be to facilitate economical fusion by diverting mega-amps of power. Another effect could be to rotate the plasma. Apart from their interest in natural settings, rapidly rotating plasmas exhibit unusual effects that can be exploited in Hall thrusters, plasma mass filters, and both inertial and magnetic fusion confinement devices.
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Date:27ThursdayDecember 2018Lecture
Vision and Robotics Seminar
More information Time 12:15 - 13:30Title TBALocation Jacob Ziskind BuildingLecturer Greg Shakhnarovich
TTI-ChicagoOrganizer Faculty of Mathematics and Computer ScienceContact -
Date:27ThursdayDecember 2018Lecture
Tell es-Safi : the Lower City in the Iron Age
More information Time 13:00 - 13:00Location Helen and Martin Kimmel Center for Archaeological ScienceLecturer Prof. Aren Maeir
Department of Israel Studies, Bar-Ilan UniversityContact -
Date:27ThursdayDecember 2018Lecture
Ca2+ stores in animal models of Alzheimer’s disease
More information Time 13:30 - 14:45Location Nella and Leon Benoziyo Building for Brain ResearchLecturer Etay Aloni (PhD Thesis Defense)
Menahem Segal Lab, Dept of Neurobiology, WISOrganizer Department of Brain SciencesContact Abstract Show full text abstract about : Intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) is tightly regu...» : Intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) is tightly regulated in neurons. Ca2+ plays important roles in signal transduction pathways, synaptic plasticity, energy metabolism and apoptosis. In dendritic spines, [Ca2+]i is controlled by voltage and ligand-gated channels that allow Ca2+ entry from the extracellular space and by ryanodine receptors (RyR) and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors (IP3R) that release Ca2+ from intracellular stores. Disruption in Ca2+ homeostasis is linked to several pathologies and is suggested to play a pivotal role in the cascade of events leading to Alzheimer disease (AD). In line with this, I found that low concentrations of caffeine, known to release Ca2+ from stores, is more effective in facilitating long-term potentiation (LTP) induction in hippocampal slices of a triple-transgenic (3xTg) mouse model of AD than controls. Synaptopodin (SP) is a protein residing in the dendritic spines. SP is an essential component in the formation of the spine apparatus (SA), which is a specialized form of smooth endoplasmic reticulum (ER) found in dendritic spines. Spines lacking SP were shown to release less Ca2+ from stores. The present study is aimed to explore the involvement of Ca2+ stores in 3xTg mouse model of AD. By crossing 3xTg and SPKO mice lines, I studied the effect of SP deficiency on AD markers in the 3xTg mouse. I found that the 3xTg/SPKO mice show normal learning in a spatial memory task by comparison to the deficiency found in the 3xTg mouse, and express normal LTP in hippocampal slices, which is deficient in 3xTg mice. Furthermore, low concentration of ryanodine has a facilitating effect on LTP induction only in the 3xTg mice group. In addition, these brains do not express amyloid plaques, activated microglia, p-tau overexpression and high RyR expression seen in age matched 3xTg mice, These results suggest that SP deficiency restores [Ca2+]i homeostasis in the 3xTg so as to suppress the progression of AD symptoms.