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11 <title>Science & Technology – Harvard Gazette</title>
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14 <description>Official news from Harvard University covering innovation in teaching, learning, and research</description>
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23 <title>Octopus’ suction cups hold its taste and touch sensors</title>
24 <link>https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/10/octopus-suction-cups-hold-its-taste-and-touch-sensors/?utm_medium=Feed&utm_source=Syndication</link>
25
26 <dc:creator><![CDATA[]]></dc:creator>
27 <pubDate>Thu, 29 Oct 2020 15:00:08 +0000</pubDate>
28 <category><![CDATA[Science & Technology]]></category>
29 <category><![CDATA[Bellono Lab]]></category>
30 <category><![CDATA[Cell]]></category>
31 <category><![CDATA[chemotactile receptors]]></category>
32 <category><![CDATA[Corey A.H. Allard]]></category>
33 <category><![CDATA[Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology]]></category>
34 <category><![CDATA[Faculty of Arts and Sciences]]></category>
35 <category><![CDATA[FAS]]></category>
36 <category><![CDATA[Juan Siliezar]]></category>
37 <category><![CDATA[Lena van Giesen]]></category>
38 <category><![CDATA[Octopus]]></category>
39 <category><![CDATA[Peter B. Kilian]]></category>
40 <guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/?p=312446</guid>
41
42 <description><![CDATA[Harvard researchers uncover novel family of sensors in octopuses.]]></description>
43 <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Octopuses have captured the human imagination for centuries, inspiring sagas of sea monsters from Scandinavian kraken legends to TV’s “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea” and, most recently, Netflix’s less-threatening “My Octopus Teacher.” With their eight suction-cup covered arms, their very appearance is unique, and their ability to use those appendages to touch and taste while foraging further sets them apart.</p>
44 <p>In fact scientists have wondered for decades how those arms, or more specifically the suction cups on them, do their work, prompting a number of experiments into the biomechanics. But very few have studied what is happening on a molecular level. In a new report, Harvard researchers got a glimpse into how the nervous system in the octopus’ arms (which operate largely independently from its centralized brain) manage this feat. The work published Thursday in Cell.</p>
45 <p>The scientists identified a novel family of sensors in the first layer of cells inside the suction cups that have adapted to react and detect molecules that don’t dissolve well in water. The research suggests these sensors, called chemotactile receptors, use these molecules to help the animal figure out what it’s touching and whether that object is prey.</p>
46 </div> <!-- article-body -->
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50 <figure class="article-embed article-embed--article-width">
51
52 <div class="article-embed__content">
53 <video autoplay loop muted playsinline poster="">
54 <source src="https://news.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Octopus2_2020_LOOP.mp4" type="video/mp4">
55 </video>
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57
58 <figcaption class="article-embed__figcaption">
59 <div class="article-embed__figcaption-content">
60 <p class="article-embed__figcaption-credit">Video: Peter B. Kilian</p>
61 </div>
62 </figcaption>
63
64 </figure>
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70 <p>“We think because the molecules do not solubilize well, they could, for instance, be found on the surface of octopuses’ prey and [whatever the animals touch],” said <a href="https://www.mcb.harvard.edu/directory/nicholas-bellono/">Nicholas Bellono</a>, an assistant professor of molecular and cellular biology and the study’s senior author. “So, when the octopus touches a rock versus a crab, now its arm knows, ‘OK, I’m touching a crab [because] I know there’s not only touch but there’s also this sort of taste.’”</p>
71 <p>In addition, scientists found diversity in what the receptors responded to and the signals they then transmitted to the cell and nervous systems.</p>
72 <p>“We think that this is important because it could facilitate complexity in what the octopus senses and also how it can process a range of signals using its semi-autonomous arm nervous system to produce complex behaviors,” Bellono said.</p>
73 <p>The scientists believe this research can help uncover similar receptor systems in other cephalopods, the invertebrate family that also includes squids and cuttlefish. The hope is to determine how these systems work on a molecular level and answer some relatively unexplored questions about how these creatures’ capabilities evolved to suit their environment.</p>
74 <p>“Not much is known about marine chemotactile behavior and with this receptor family as a model system, we can now study which signals are important for the animal and how they can be encoded,” said <a href="https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/bellonolab/people/lena-van-giesen">Lena van Giesen</a>, a postdoctoral fellow in the <a href="https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/bellonolab">Bellono Lab</a> and lead author of the paper. “These insights into protein evolution and signal coding go far beyond just cephalopods.”</p>
75 <p>Along with Giesen, other co-authors from the lab include <a href="https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/bellonolab/people/peter-kilian">Peter B. Kilian</a>, an animal technician, and <a href="https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/bellonolab/people/corey-allard">Corey A.H. Allard</a>, a postdoctoral fellow.</p>
76 <p>“The strategies they have evolved in order to solve problems in their environment are unique to them and that inspires a great deal of interest from both scientists and non-scientists alike,” Kilian said. “People are drawn to octopuses and other cephalopods because they are wildly different from most other animals.”</p>
77 <p>The team set out to uncover how the receptors are able to sense chemicals and detect signals in what they touch, like an arm around a snail, to help them make choices.</p>
78 <p>Octopus arms are distinct and complex. About two-thirds of an octopus’s neurons are located in their arms. Because the arms operate partially independently from the brain, if one is severed it can still reach for, identify, and grasp items.</p>
79 <aside class="pull-quote">
80 <div class="pull-quote__text">“People are drawn to octopuses and other cephalopods because they are wildly different from most other animals.”</div>
81 <div class="pull-quote__attribution">— Peter B. Kilian</div>
82 </aside>
83
84 <p>The team started by identifying which cells in the suckers actually do the detecting. After isolating and cloning the touch and chemical receptors, they inserted them in frog eggs and in human cell lines to study their function in isolation. Nothing like these receptors exists in frog or human cells, so the cells act essentially like closed vessels for the study of these receptors.</p>
85 <p>The researchers then exposed those cells to molecules such as extracts from octopus prey and others items to which these receptors are known to react. Some test subjects were water-soluble, like salts, sugars, amino acids; others do not dissolve well and are not typically considered of interest by aquatic animals. Surprisingly, only the poorly soluble molecules activated the receptors.</p>
86 <p>Researchers then went back to the octopuses in their lab to see whether they too responded to those molecules by putting those same extracts on the floors of their tanks. They found the only odorants the octopuses receptors responded to were a non-dissolving class of naturally occurring chemicals known as terpenoid molecules.</p>
87 <p>“[The octopus] was highly responsive to only the part of the floor that had the molecule infused,” Bellono said. This led the researchers to believe that the receptors they identified pick up on these types of molecules and help the octopus distinguish what it’s touching. “With the semi-autonomous nervous system, it can quickly make this decision: ‘Do I contract and grab this crab or keep searching?’”</p>
88 <p>While the study provides a molecular explanation for this aquatic touch-taste sensation in octopuses through their chemotactile receptors, the researchers suggest further study is needed, given that a great number of unknown natural compounds could also stimulate these receptors to mediate complex behaviors.</p>
89 <p>“We’re now trying to look at other natural molecules that these animals might detect,” Bellono said.</p>
90 <p><em>This research was supported by the New York Stem Cell Foundation, the Searle Scholars Program, the Sloan Foundation, the Klingenstein-Simons Fellowship, the National Institutes of Health, and the Swiss National Science Foundation.</em></p>
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98 <title>LabXchange’s free platform built for STEM students, educators</title>
99 <link>https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/10/rob-lue-labxchange-free-platform-for-stem-instruction/?utm_medium=Feed&utm_source=Syndication</link>
100
101 <dc:creator><![CDATA[]]></dc:creator>
102 <pubDate>Tue, 27 Oct 2020 14:28:48 +0000</pubDate>
103 <category><![CDATA[Science & Technology]]></category>
104 <category><![CDATA[Digital learning]]></category>
105 <category><![CDATA[iLab]]></category>
106 <category><![CDATA[In the Community]]></category>
107 <category><![CDATA[LabXchange]]></category>
108 <category><![CDATA[Online Learning]]></category>
109 <category><![CDATA[Robert Lue]]></category>
110 <category><![CDATA[STEM]]></category>
111 <category><![CDATA[the Amgen Foundation]]></category>
112 <guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/?p=302263</guid>
113
114 <description><![CDATA[LabXchange, a free digital-learning platform for science education, allows students, educators, scientists, and researchers to collaborate globally in an online community. ]]></description>
115 <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The LabXchange opened to virtual fanfare when it launched this past January, but the excitement was brief. The introduction of the program, created to help STEM teachers bridge ethnic and gender gaps as effectively as possibly, was quickly lost in the explosion of COVID-19.</p>
116 <p>But that doesn’t mean it went away. Despite the pressing pandemic and political news, the website has had more than 2 million users since its debut — and to its creators, it’s clear why.</p>
117 <p>The initiative, developed by <a href="https://www.fas.harvard.edu">Harvard University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences</a>, the <a href="https://www.amgen.com">Amgen Foundation</a>, and Massachusetts teachers, is a free resource for students and educators to collaborate in an online community as well as use mentors to help address equity and access in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). LabXchange is accessible from anywhere in the world, offers a library of diverse content, includes a <a href="https://www.labxchange.org/library/clusters/lx-cluster:abe">biotechnology learning resource</a> available in 12 different languages, and applies science to real-world issues.</p>
118 <p><a href="https://www.mcb.harvard.edu/directory/robert-lue/">Robert Lue</a>, faculty director and principal investigator of LabXchange, identified the need for flexible online learning tools that educators and employers at all levels can control to create customized learning plans.</p>
119 <p>“LabXchange is especially pleased to have launched at a time when we could add our STEM resources and online class functionalities to the arsenal that instructors have to teach virtually during the pandemic,” he said.</p>
120 </div> <!-- article-body -->
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125
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131
132 <figcaption class="article-embed__figcaption">
133 <div class="article-embed__figcaption-content">
134 <p class="article-embed__figcaption-caption">LabXchange content manager Jessica Silverman works with scientists and artists to help create interchangeable modular content.</p>
135 </div>
136 </figcaption>
137
138 </figure>
139
140 <div class="article-wrap">
141 <div class="article-content">
142 <div class="article-body basic-text">
143
144 <p> </p>
145 <p>Last week, in partnership with <a href="https://www.massstemweek.org">Massachusetts STEM Week</a>, the initiative hosted “Personalize Online Learning with LabXchange,” a virtual event for local teachers. Participants learned how to use the platform as a tool that encourages exploration, adaptation, teamwork, experimentation, and creativity through critical thinking, problem-solving, and innovation. They also learned ways to help their students learn to build and sustain a global economy, and increase the roles of women and minorities.</p>
146 <p>LabXchange chief of staff <a href="https://about.labxchange.org">Ilyana Sawka</a> said the initiative is working to break down barriers and stereotypes in science and democratize participation in digital learning. The platform gives people an easy way to jump in and experiment, she said.</p>
147 <p>“There is room for improvement with diversity in the STEM sector, and we want to be part of the conversation about how we can improve outcomes for young people,” she said.</p>
148 <p>This year’s statewide educational theme, “See Yourself in STEM,” was stressed by webinar host <a href="https://about.labxchange.org">Jessica Silverman</a>, LabXchange content and collaborations manager; and participants <a href="https://www.amgenbiotechexperience.com/about/stories/david-mangus">David Mangus</a>, Brockton High School science department head; Mary Liu, Weston High School biology teacher; Andrew Bowersox, Greenfield High School science teacher; and <a href="https://lifesciencesoutreach.fas.harvard.edu/people/alia-qatarneh">Alia Qatarneh</a>, Massachusetts Amgen Biotech experience program director at Harvard University.</p>
149 <aside class="pull-quote">
150 <div class="pull-quote__text">“The pandemic is changing how we do things. We are trying to create a new understanding and new definition of what it means to pursue science in a rapidly changing society.”</div>
151 <div class="pull-quote__attribution">— Ilyana Sawka, LabXchange chief of staff</div>
152 </aside>
153
154 <p>During the event, Mangus, a former research scientist, demonstrated a molecular biology simulation using virtual lab components to mimic a robust in-person lab.</p>
155 <p>“This provides them low-stakes, low-impact environments where they can explore without having to worry about making mistakes or wasting resources,” he said.</p>
156 <p>Silverman works with scientists and artists to help create interchangeable modular content that stimulates interactive learning to meet specific learning objectives. Interesting graphics, text, and video help learners navigate challenging topics.</p>
157 <p>“It’s not just a linear track, we want to show what experiences are common to all students, and what pathways are available to students for their individual interests and at their own pace,” she said.</p>
158 <p>Sawka said LabXchange shares the Amgen Foundation’s mission of trying to ensure science is informed by a multitude of perspectives promoting success on a career path — whether in medicine, research, policy, communications, or biotech business development. “The pandemic is changing how we do things,” she said. “We are trying to create a new understanding and new definition of what it means to pursue science in a rapidly changing society.”</p>
159
160 <p>LabXchange has been working to support schools across Massachusetts as they transition to, and continue with, remote and hybrid learning. Over the past few months more than 16,000 educators and students have used the platform, for nearly 10,000 hours of teaching and learning. More than 90 Massachusetts schools and institutions, and more than 50 educator co-developers have collaborated on the platform thus far.</p>
161 <p><a href="https://www.mass.gov/info-details/secretary-of-education">Massachusetts Secretary of Education James Peyser</a>, who made opening remarks at the LabXchange event, said the pandemic has substantially impacted education and brought longstanding equity barriers into starker relief. He praised the positive developments that have come to light providing energy and momentum for educators and students, especially the trend toward digital simulations and other virtual learning experiences such as LabXchange.</p>
162 <p>“They are not just a substitute for traditional instruction, they can actually improve the depth of learning while breaking down barriers that may otherwise prevent students and teachers from getting access to the most effective learning experiences,” he said. “Especially in underserved communities and especially in STEM fields.”</p>
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168 <item>
169 <title>Aging chimps show social selectivity</title>
170 <link>https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/10/aging-chimps-show-social-selectivity/?utm_medium=Feed&utm_source=Syndication</link>
171
172 <dc:creator><![CDATA[]]></dc:creator>
173 <pubDate>Thu, 22 Oct 2020 18:00:39 +0000</pubDate>
174 <category><![CDATA[Science & Technology]]></category>
175 <category><![CDATA[Aging]]></category>
176 <category><![CDATA[Alexandra Rosati]]></category>
177 <category><![CDATA[Chimpanzees]]></category>
178 <category><![CDATA[Department of Human Evolutionary Biology]]></category>
179 <category><![CDATA[Faculty of Arts and Sciences]]></category>
180 <category><![CDATA[FAS]]></category>
181 <category><![CDATA[Juan Siliezar]]></category>
182 <category><![CDATA[Kibale Chimpanzee Project]]></category>
183 <category><![CDATA[Lindsey Hagberg]]></category>
184 <category><![CDATA[Martin N. Muller]]></category>
185 <category><![CDATA[Melissa Emery Thompson]]></category>
186 <category><![CDATA[Richard W. Wrangham]]></category>
187 <category><![CDATA[Science]]></category>
188 <category><![CDATA[Zarin Machanda]]></category>
189 <guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/?p=314392</guid>
190
191 <description><![CDATA[Understanding why older chimps tend to favor small circles of meaningful, established friendships rather than seek new ones may help scientists gain a better picture of what healthy human aging should look like and what triggers this social change.]]></description>
192 <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>No new friends and no drama.</p>
193 <p>When humans age, they tend to favor small circles of meaningful, established friendships rather than seek new ones, and to lean toward positive relationships rather than ones that bring tension or conflict. These behaviors were thought to be unique to humans but it turns out chimpanzees, one of our closest living relatives, have these traits, too. Understanding why can help scientists gain a better picture of what healthy aging should look like and what triggers this social change.</p>
194 <p>The work is described in the Oct. 23 issue of the journal <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aaz9129">Science</a> and is authored by a team of psychologists and primatologists, including current and former researchers from the <a href="https://heb.fas.harvard.edu/">Harvard Department of Human Evolutionary Biology</a>.</p>
195 <p>The study draws on 78,000 hours of observations, made between 1995 and 2016. It looked at the social interactions of 21 male chimpanzees between 15 and 58 years old in the Kibale National Park in Uganda. It shows what’s believed to be the first evidence of nonhuman animals deliberately selecting who they socialize with during aging.</p>
196 <p>The researchers looked only at male chimpanzees because they show stronger social bonds and have more frequent social interactions than female chimps. Analyzing a trove of data, the researchers saw that the chimpanzees displayed much of the same behavior aging humans exhibit.</p>
197 <p>The older chimpanzees they studied, for instance, had on average more mutual friendships while younger chimps had more one-sided relationships. Mutual friendships are characterized by behavior such as reciprocated grooming whereas in lopsided friendships grooming isn’t always returned.</p>
198 <p>Older males were also more likely to spend more time alone and showed a preference for interacting with — and grooming — chimps they deemed to be more important social partners, like other aging chimps or their mutual friends. And like older humans looking for some peace and quiet, the chimpanzees showed a shift from negative to more positive interactions as they reached their twilight years. The preference is known as a positivity bias.</p>
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212 <div class="article-embed__figcaption-content">
213 <p class="article-embed__figcaption-caption">Kakama and Makoku grooming together; these males are long-term mutual friends and show a high level of tolerance.</p>
214 <p class="article-embed__figcaption-credit">Video by Ronan Donovan</p>
215 </div>
216 </figcaption>
217
218 </figure>
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224 <p>“The really cool thing is that we found that chimpanzees are showing these patterns that mirror those of humans,” said Alexandra Rosati ’05, an assistant professor of psychology and anthropology at the University of Michigan and one of the paper’s lead authors.</p>
225 <p>Future research can help determine if these behaviors constitute the normal or successful course that aging should take, she added. It can serve as a model or baseline.</p>
226 <p>“There’s really a pressing need to understand the biology of aging,” Rosati said. “More humans are living longer than in the past, which can change the dynamics of aging.”</p>
227 <p>Rosati is a former assistant professor and visiting fellow in HEB department, where the study originated. Other Harvard-connected authors on the paper include Zarin Machanda, A.M. ’04, Ph.D. ’09, who’s now an assistant professor at Tufts University; Melissa Emery Thompson, A.M. ’00, Ph.D. ’05, who’s now an associate professor at the University of New Mexico; Lindsey Hagberg ’17, who’s now a medical student at Washington University; and <a href="https://heb.fas.harvard.edu/people/richard-w-wrangham">Richard W. Wrangham</a>, Ruth B. Moore Professor of Biological Anthropology and founder and co-director of the <a href="https://kibalechimpanzees.wordpress.com/">Kibale Chimpanzee Project</a>.</p>
228 <p>Machanda and Thompson worked in Wrangham’s lab as graduate students and currently serve as co-directors for the Kibale project, which has other authors on the paper including Martin N. Muller, a former postdoctoral fellow in HEB. The project started as Hagberg’s undergraduate senior thesis.</p>
229 <p>The study tested the origins of humans prioritizing close, positive relationships during aging and whether that is really triggered by a theory known as socioemotional selectivity. The notion suggests that the central process driving social selectivity during aging is awareness that time is running out and wanting to make the best of what remains.</p>
230 <p>The findings from the study suggest there is more to understand.</p>
231 <p>“Even though chimps are very smart, they do not understand they’re going to die,” Wrangham said. “Much more likely something else is going on in chimps to explain why their relationships become more positive as they get older, and then the question is, is what applies to chimps the same as what applies to humans?”</p>
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