In early October, KSJ fellows visited the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Woods Hole is a hub of marine research capitalizing on the rich biodiversity available in the area.
The busy summer season had already wound down once the fellows arrived, but there was no shortage of enthusiasm from the staff and researchers who warmly welcomed KSJ to the shore. The following photos capture some of the highlights of the trip — one that saw the fellows traverse land and sea to learn about the past and future of marine research.
Sharon Begley Fellow Anil Oza and KSJ Fellow Bryce Hoye pose with specimens collected aboard the Gemma, the MBL’s research vessel working in the waters off Woods Hole. Oza holds “sea pork,” the common name for a colonial tunicate, a globular structure made up of many tiny animals. Hoye holds stack of slipper limpets, this species is a sequential hermaphrodite, meaning it will change sex throughout its lifetime.
Jane Zhang and Yarden Michaeli look closely at a sea star collected aboard the Gemma. Any specimens that were not collected for study at MBL were returned to the water.
Andrew Gillis, who leads an interdisciplinary lab of embryologists, physiologists, engineers and paleontologists, shared a short presentation with KSJ fellows on cartilage growth and repair in the skate. He contextualized his research by describing how mammals have poor capacity to repair that cartilage, especially as we age. In contrast, the skate continues to make new cartilage throughout its lifespan. Gillis’s team hopes this research will ultimately help advance techniques for encouraging cartilage repair in humans.
Sharon Muzaki, Africa and Middle East fellow, takes a picture of the horseshoe crabs in a tank at MBL. The lab is full of tanks with the ability to control temperature and other environmental variables.
Nipam Patel, director of the Marine Biological Laboratory, demonstrated a confocal microscope to a small group of fellows. The microscope can capture a three-dimensional object through two-dimensional scans at different depths. Researchers then run a software program to construct three-dimensional models of the sample.
Patel invited fellows to view the confocal microscope scan in virtual reality. Zhang is pictured learning to “slice” the scan and rotate the viewing angle. VR headsets are a relatively new addition to the MBL’s arsenal of technology. Patel expressed the hope that using VR would help scientists gain, quite literally, a new perspective on the organisms they’re studying.
Jennifer Walton, co-director of the MBLWHOI Library, brought fellows on a tour of the library’s rare books collection. Fellows viewed historical examples of efforts to document and classify organisms. Walton shared details about the origin and construction of texts from different eras of science between the 16th-20th century. Illustrations of organisms in these books were printed using a wood block or etching. Color illustrations would have been hand painted.
KSJ fellows listen to a presentation about the evolution of cephalopods from Caroline Albertin, who leads a lab studying evolution and embryogenesis using cephalopods as models. Fellows got hands-on experience with cephalopod research, using microscopes to look at developing bobtail squid.
KSJ Fellow Jori Lewis uses tweezers to remove the egg sac surrounding the juvenile squid while KSJ fellow Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi films her effort. Scientists perform this maneuver to better view the cephalopod in development. Fellows were fascinated by the tiny squid that emerged from the egg sacs and murmurs of excitement echoed in the lab.
KSJ fellows had the privilege of peeking at Patel’s personal collection of butterfly specimens featuring hundreds of species from around the globe. Patel’s fascination with butterflies began when he was a child and his collection is the result of a lifelong pursuit. He now studies structural color on their wings. While many pigments produce color by absorbing certain wavelengths of light, structural colors scatter light to produce color.
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