Building the Cell Atlas: Understanding the Spatial Landscape of Cells in the Brain скачать в хорошем качестве

Building the Cell Atlas: Understanding the Spatial Landscape of Cells in the Brain

Cells, too small for our eyes to perceive, constitute the fundamental unit of biology. All the cells within our bodies share a nearly identical DNA, which serves as the genetic blueprint dictating the identity and behavior of each cell. This naturally leads us to ponder how these distinct cells come together to form tissues and organs, working in harmony to facilitate various functions in our lives. In this seminar, my primary focus will be on the brain, the most complex organ in the human body. An average human brain consists of approximately 170 billion cells and over 3300 different cell types. How are the diverse brain cell types spatially organized in the various regions of the brain, allowing for seamless communication and interaction, thereby enabling us to walk, talk, and think? To address these questions, I will introduce state-of-the-art imaging technologies that empower us to map each individual cell within the mouse brains, creating a comprehensive cell 'atlas.' I will also elucidate how this panoramic view of cells contributes to a deeper understanding of the progression of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. Speaker Rena Ren received her Bachelor of Arts in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Bryn Mawr College in 2019. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Chemical biology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Broad Institute, working in the lab of Professor Xiao Wang. She has developed innovative biotechnologies to investigate spatially-resolved post-transcriptional RNA dynamics at the genomic scale in single cells. She and the team profiled the spatial, temporal, and single-molecule information of RNA at the transcriptomic and translational levels in intact brain tissues, accomplishing advancements in the field of spatial transcriptomics. Glossary of Important Terms DNA: Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is the hereditary material in the cells of humans and almost all other organisms. Nearly every cell in a person's body has the same DNA. Gene: A gene is a short section of DNA. Your genes contain instructions that tell your cells to make molecules called proteins. Each gene carries instructions that determine your features, such as eye color, hair color and height. mRNA/transcript: Ribonucleic acid (abbreviated RNA) is a nucleic acid present in all living cells that has structural similarities to DNA. An mRNA molecule carries a portion of the DNA code to other parts of the cell for processing. Protein: A naturally occurring, extremely complex substance that consists of amino acid residues. It’s synthesized according to the template from mRNA. It carries a wide variety of cellular functions. Cell type: Cell types are the basic functional units of an organism. Cell types exhibit diverse phenotypic properties at multiple levels, making them challenging to define, categorize, and understand. Central dogma of molecular biology: The flow of genetic information within cells of a biological system. It states that DNA carries the instructions to make RNA, and RNA carries those instructions to make proteins. Transcription: The process where a copy of genetic information from DNA is made in the form of RNA. It occurs in the cell nucleus. Translation: The process in which the information carried by messenger RNA (mRNA) is used to build a protein. This occurs in the cell's cytoplasm carried out by ribosomes. Next-generation sequencing: A high-throughput method used in molecular biology to determine the sequence of DNA or RNA molecules. It allows scientists to read the genetic code of a large number of DNA or RNA fragments simultaneously. RNA-seq: RNA-seq (or RNA sequencing) is a technique used in molecular biology to analyze and measure the abundance of RNA molecules in a biological sample. Single-cell RNA-seq: a RNA-seq-based technique that allows scientists to study gene expression at the level of individual cells. Unlike RNA-seq, scRNA-seq provides insights into the gene activity within each individual cell. Spatial transcriptomics: a technique that allows scientists to study the gene activity and expression patterns of RNA molecules within the context of their specific locations in tissues or cells. Spatial translatomics: a cutting edge technique that allows scientists to study the translating patterns of RNA molecules (or the RNAs that are actively in the process of making proteins) within the context of their spatial locations in tissues or cells. Resources to learn more Video from iBiology (by Eric Chow (UCSF)) explaining single-cell sequencing:    • Single Cell Sequencing - Eric Chow (UCSF)   Virtual seminar series on spatial omics by Xiao Wang:    • Multimodal in situ analysis of single-cell...