P lease note the later start time at 13:0 0\, the seminar follows the DIGS-ILS General Assembly schedul ed at 11:00 am.
The Physics of Life (PoL) PhD and Postdoc seminar is a meeting where PoL early career scientists present their research to the ir peers. All are welcome!&\;nbsp\;
The seminar consists of two s hort talks by PhD students and/or Postdocs\, each followed by a discussion in which speaker and attendants can exchange ideas\, engage in scientific discussions and network with their fellow young scientists.
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The talks:
Abstract: The integrity of genetic information is c rucial across different stages of complexity – from individual cells to entire organisms. A plethora of exo- and endogenous factors threaten the i ntegrity of DNA structure: UV exposure\, medical treatments\, stalled repl ication forks\, reactive oxygen species\, and mitosis. Daily\, cells incur thousands of lesions. Their accumulation disrupts essential processes lik e DNA transcription and replication. Unrepaired lesions can accelerate agi ng and result in neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. Therefore\, mainta ining genomic integrity and repairing DNA damage upon entering mitosis are essential. Of all lesions\, double-stranded DNA breaks are the most sever e. These breaks are mainly repaired either via faithful Homologous Recombi nation or via error-prone Non-homologous End Joining. However\, the mechan ism by which cells select a repair pathway remains unclear. Current resear ch focuses on the single-stranded overhangs formed at the break site\, but little is known about how the mechanics of damaged chromatin influence th e choice of repair pathway. To study this\, we use optical tweezers on iso lated human chromosomes after treatments that induce DNA double-strand bre aks. These chromosomes are then monitored in Xenopus laevis egg extracts a rrested in metaphase to follow DNA repair. The resulting data will clarify how chromatin mechanics impact the selection of the DNA repair pathway.
Abstract: The term “de velopmental tempo” can mean a different thing to different people. We tr y to analyse three key concepts of embryonic development in one system: th e segmentation clock\, the HOX timer\, and the cell cycle. In vivo\, these processes have to be tightly controlled to ensure proper development. To see how the three processes may be connected and regulated collectively\, I am doing chemical library screens of epigenetic and metabolic targets to investigate the different mechanisms regulating the different development al clocks. We use iPSC-derived neuro-mesodermal progenitor cells (NMPs) fo r these screens. NMPs are extremely useful\, as they are not only the comm on progenitor of the involved tissues\, but they also allow us to assess a ll three developmental clocks in one cell type using the same differentiat ion protocol.
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For those who cannot j oin on site\, a Zoom option will be available:
http
s://tu-dresden.zoom-x.de/j/63359118163?pwd=XNnQgKbbSzWItRfok1GxvDHeVaIS9E.
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Meeting ID: 633 5911 8163
Passcod
e: @T206x=%