Using light to illuminate brain function

Professor Karel Svoboda, Janelia Research Campus, Virginia, USA

The lecture is taught in English/Foredraget afholdes på letforståeligt engelsk.

Professor Karel Svoboda is the latest receiver of the greatest prize in brain research, The Brain Prize. We are happy to announce that he will give the associated public lecture 'The Brain Prize public lecture' at this lecture series 'Offentlige foredrag i Naturvidenskab' (Public Lectures in Natural Science). In the lecture, he will talk about the research that led to him being awarded the prize.

Content of the lecture

The brain is the most complex system currently being studied in the laboratory. It consists of 100 billion neurons, the cells of the brain, which are interconnected in still mysterious ways. Electrical signals coursing through this awesome network somehow underlie our perception of the world and our actions within it. Scientists are continually searching for new methods to investigate the brain.

The last 20 years have yielded revolutionary light-activated molecular tools, based on genes discovered in bacteria, algae, and marine organisms. Together with new types of powerful microscopes scientists use these molecules to observe and manipulate neurons in the intact brain. Svoboda's presentation will provide a overview of these developments and highlight their importance for basic science and the potential for treatment of brain disorders.

*OBS!
I skal være opmærksomme på, at jeres reserverede pladser bortfalder kl. 18.45. Det er derfor vigtigt, at I ankommer før dette tidspunkt, selvom foredraget først starter kl. 19.00.

Seminaret afholdes i samarbejde med Offentlige foredrag i Naturvidenskab, Aarhus.