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Single crystal X-ray diffraction is arguably the most definitive method for molecular structure determination, but the inability to grow suitable single crystals can frustrate conventional X-ray diffraction analysis. Building on a prolonged examination of hydrogen-bonded frameworks and inclusion compounds derived from guanidinium organosulfonates, we have devised an approach to molecular structure determination that relies on a versatile toolkit of these host frameworks, which form crystalline inclusion compounds with target guest molecules in a single-step crystallization. This approach complements the so-called crystalline sponge method that relies on diffusion of the target into the cages of a metal-organic framework, while circumventing many of its challenges. The peculiar properties of the host frameworks enable rapid stoichiometric inclusion of a wide range of target molecules with full occupancy, typically without disorder and accompanying solvent, affording well-refined structures. Moreover, anomalous scattering by the framework sulfur atoms enables reliable assignment of absolute configuration of stereogenic centers. An ever-expanding library of organosulfonates provides a toolkit of frameworks for capturing specific target molecules for their structure determination. This presentation will describe examples of this approach to structure determination, preceded by an account of the unusual properties and resilience of these hydrogen-bonded frameworks, their substantial diversity of framework architectures, and their utility in other applications.

In trying to understand quantum gravity at a fundamental level, one of the most confusing questions is where the degrees of freedom are. So-called holographic dualities help with this question, by showing that certain quantum gravity theories are equivalent to conventional quantum field theories, in which we understand in principle where the degrees of freedom are and how they interact. Using such dualities, a new way of understanding entanglement in quantum gravity, involving so-called “bit threads”, has recently been developed. From this point of view, space becomes a channel for carrying entanglement of fundamental degrees of freedom. We will explain what holographic dualities are, what bit threads are, and what they might tell us about the nature of space in quantum gravity.

Denise Cai:
Linking memories across time
The compilation of memories, collected and aggregated across a lifetime defines our human experience. My lab is interested in dissecting how memories are stored, updated, integrated and retrieved across a lifetime. Recent studies suggest that a shared neural ensemble may link distinct memories encoded close in time. Using in vivo calcium imaging (with open-source Miniscopes in freely behaving mice), TetTag transgenic system, chemogenetics, electrophysiology and novel behavioral designs, we tested how hippocampal networks temporally link memories. Multiple convergent findings suggest that contextual memories encoded close in time are linked by directing storage into overlapping hippocampal ensembles, such that the recall of one memory can trigger the recall of another temporally-related memory. Alteration of this process (e.g. during aging, PTSD, etc) affect the temporal structure of memories, thus impairing efficient recall of related information.

Tristan Shuman:
Breakdown of spatial coding and interneuron synchronization in epileptic mice
Temporal lobe epilepsy causes severe cognitive deficits yet the circuit mechanisms that alter cognition remain unknown. We hypothesized that the death and reorganization of inhibitory connections during epileptogenesis may disrupt synchrony of hippocampal inhibition. To test this, we simultaneously recorded from CA1 and dentate gyrus (DG) in pilocarpine-treated epileptic mice with silicon probes during head-fixed virtual navigation. We found desynchronized interneuron firing between CA1 and DG in epileptic mice. Since hippocampal interneurons control information processing, we tested whether CA1 spatial coding was altered in this desynchronized circuit using a novel wire-free Miniscope. We found that CA1 place cells in epileptic mice were unstable and completely remapped across a week. This place cell instability emerged ~6 weeks after status epilepticus, well after the onset of chronic spontaneous seizures and interneuron death. Finally, our CA1 network model showed that desynchronized inputs can impair information content and stability of CA1 place cells. Together, these results demonstrate that temporally precise intra-hippocampal communication is critical for spatial processing and hippocampal desynchronization contributes to spatial coding deficits in epileptic mice.

Many planetary bodies experience tides, which produce time-varying stresses. Seismic activity on the Moon is modulated by tides, and there are hints of similar effects on Earth (but not, so far, Mars).
In this talk I'll describe two other places where tides modulate geological activity at different periods: Io, a highly volcanic moon of Jupiter; and Enceladus, a small icy moon of Saturn. In both cases we can use remote-sensing observations of the modulation to make inferences about the properties of these bodies' interiors. One could imagine similar approaches being used for tidally-distorted exoplanets (e.g. the TRAPPIST system).