i feel an imminent sense of future history here. I think that this thread will be an historic, record setting thread. Anyone who is anyone will post to this thread. It will serve as a decloaking station for the lurkers. An auspicious honor for LabRat. Her very first thread, an instant classic. Future Cellarites of Note will have their starts here. People that didn't just register on a whim, post once, and move on. A place where our ambassador, xoxoxobruce can welcome the unlurked.

And let me just say that for the record, and i've said it before:
Lurkers make me nervous.

So, if you've been reading the cellar but never posted, I encourage you to at least register and say hi one time. you won't get any spam from it, or VD, or hatemail, or Gangrene, or anything. And you'll be freaking me out a lot less. Thanksafuckinglot.

Welcome Redrago....

God it's like an AA meeting. Come on all you still-silent lurkers, fess-up while the ball's rolling. Come on, we know who you are anyway, we keep special tabs on these things. Heh he he he he he he he....

:joint:

Great minds...

ah, so. you've passed the quiz. very good.

• 
  at least i don't have to reconfigure my keyboard

you have been lurking.

since way before dave left--still don't know what the heedy-hell that was all about...

which one is your pic?

i'm the RA/Lab manager #1 is my boss, #2 is me (my hair is a lot longer now, and i've lost a lot of my babyfat) and the rest are grad students or undergrads that are working in our lab.

You don't want to draw up that mess.
Oh an LJ, youre an asshole.


While I can follow a teenytiny amount of what the about page does, can you give us an english summary of the research you guys are doing? From what I can gather, what happens to the CNS post injury and how it may be possible to repair it?

Well....

I got no problem with lurkers... I'm dating one

Hey, labrat - cool movies! I'd like to see one of those things square off against THIS thing in a winner-take-all cage match:

basically we are interested in 1) how microglia react to injury, b/c many studies have implicated them in creating secondary damage above and beyond an itintial injury or aggravating damage caused by disease (MS, alzheimer etc) If we can figure our how they activate, we can then try to counteract this activation so extra damage is kept to a minimum. 2) synaptogenesis: the guys are working on just exactly how two neurons without eyes or a map can find each other, decide they are good partners and create a synapse. specifically exactly HOW that synapse is created, what molecules show up first, then next etc. 3) astrocytes were thought to just be feeders and scaffolding for neurons, but recent research is pointing to a MUCH more active role in neuronal signalling, and one of the studs is looking at astrocyte morphology( shape) changes in different areas of the hippocampus thruout development. their shape is thought to relate to their function.

because i actually never had a neuroscience course during my BA or MS, everything i have learned about the brain i have learned here. I was hired b/c i got mad skills with microscissors and a scope :eek:

I understand the simplified cause of MS (in a neuroscience for dummies kind of way) is the nervous system attacking itself, cause unknown but expected to be some kind of genetic timebomb. i didn't know there was a similar scenario with damage as well. I also wasn't aware of a link to altzhimers, can you explain that a little further?

A synapse is the way two neurons interact by releasing certain chemicals between each other to act as a conduit for the electricial signals that go through neurons right?

Lost me completely on number 3. That must've been a real toss in the deep end, that's a lot of terminology and theroy to learn damn fast. I have a friend at oxford who does protien crystolography work, is that in any way similar? Some of the terms sound familiar from him talking about his work.

As you can no doubt tell, I'm faily thick when it comes to this stuff but it's facinating to talk to people on the 'front lines' so to speak.

Neither do we, but we don't discuss it any more.

LabRat, Redrago, welcome to the Cellar.:)
Where did they come up with all those HOT lab assistants.:yum:

You know the Lion Tamer, Aerialists and Clowns do the performing, but the crowds (lurkers) make the circus what it is. So welcome to you, also. :beer: