Secret lives of cells – Life sciences
Summary
TLDRThe video script explores the life sciences, focusing on the cell as the fundamental unit of life. It delves into the Human Cell Atlas project, aiming to map all human cells, and discusses groundbreaking research on cell functions, including DNA reading, energy acquisition, and immune cell behavior. Scientists use advanced technologies like microfluidic chips for single-cell analysis and synchrotron light microscopy to visualize protein structures at the atomic level. This research could revolutionize medicine by uncovering cures for diseases like cancer.
Takeaways
- 🔬 Life Sciences is a broad field that encompasses biology, medicine, engineering, chemistry, and physics, focusing on how living organisms function, interact, and affect their surroundings.
- 🧬 The Human Genome Project, completed in 2000, was a significant milestone in mapping all human genes, providing a unique code for our cells.
- 🗺️ The Human Cell Atlas is an ambitious project aiming to map all cell types in the human body, creating a comprehensive catalog and a three-dimensional map of the body's cells.
- 🌟 Cells are complex structures with a lipid membrane, cytoplasm filled with nutrients and proteins, and a nucleus containing DNA with genes that dictate their functions.
- 🧐 Each cell type uses only certain parts of the DNA blueprint, and researchers are working to identify these parts and understand the variety of cell types.
- 🧪 New technologies, such as microfluidic chips, allow scientists to study individual cells and how they use their DNA code, revealing new cell types and functions.
- 🧬 The Human Cell Atlas project has already begun mapping the entire brain of a mouse, which will provide insights into human brain cell types despite its smaller size.
- 🔍 Studying cells individually is crucial for understanding their functions, and researchers are developing techniques to observe and analyze single cells in detail.
- 🔬 The transcription factors, proteins that search through DNA, play a significant role in cell function, and researchers are uncovering how they work at a high level of resolution.
- 🏥 The Human Cell Atlas could have a significant impact on clinical research, providing a reference for understanding diseases and developing treatments.
- 🔬 There are many unknown functions of cells, and researchers are continually uncovering new roles, such as immune cells' involvement in healing wounds and building new blood vessels.
Q & A
What is the field of study that focuses on how living organisms function, interact, and affect their surroundings?
-The field of study is called life sciences, which includes biology, medicine, engineering, chemistry, and physics.
What is the most basic building block of life that is essential for research in life sciences?
-The most basic building block of life is the cell.
What was the major scientific breakthrough in the year 2000 related to human genetics?
-The major scientific breakthrough in the year 2000 was the completion of the Human Genome Project, which involved mapping all of the genes in human DNA.
What is the Human Cell Atlas project, and how does it compare to the Genome Project?
-The Human Cell Atlas is an ambitious project that aims to generate a comprehensive catalog of all human cell types, including a three-dimensional map showing the types of cells in each organ. It is considered a next step following the Human Genome Project.
How do cells use only certain parts of their DNA blueprints to create unique characteristics?
-Each cell type uses only certain parts of the DNA blueprints to create its unique characteristics, but researchers are still discovering which parts these are and how many different cell types exist.
What is the significance of mapping the billions of human cells in the Human Cell Atlas project?
-Mapping the billions of human cells can be a tremendous benefit for humanity, potentially aiding in quickly finding cures for new viruses, and serving as a reference for clinical research.
What is a microfluidic chip and how does it help scientists study cells?
-A microfluidic chip is a technology that allows scientists to study single cells. It enables researchers to learn how each individual cell uses its DNA code and can reveal new cell types.
What is the role of transcription factors in how a cell functions?
-Transcription factors are proteins that search through all of the DNA to find relevant parts the cell needs to function. They play a significant role in the cell's ability to regulate its functions.
How does the new technique of studying cells individually contribute to the research of the Human Cell Atlas?
-The new technique allows for the study of single cells, which helps in understanding how cells read their own DNA and contributes to the development of a more accurate mathematical model of cellular function.
What is the importance of understanding how cells get their energy, particularly in relation to sugar?
-Understanding how cells get their energy from sugar is important because it can help in designing molecules that can change the function of sugar uptake, which is linked to serious diseases like diabetes and certain cancers.
What is the potential application of understanding the fructose transporter GLUT5 in cancer research?
-Understanding GLUT5, the protein responsible for fructose uptake, can lead to the development of molecules that block this protein, potentially stopping cancer cells from getting the energy they need to grow.
Outlines
🔬 The Human Cell Atlas: Unraveling the Secrets of Cells
The paragraph introduces the field of life sciences, focusing on the study of how living organisms function and interact with their environment. It highlights the importance of cell research, which is central to understanding life's most basic building blocks. The Human Genome Project is mentioned as a significant milestone, leading to the ambitious Human Cell Atlas project. This project aims to map all human cells, creating a comprehensive catalog and 3D map of the body's cells. The paragraph also discusses the complexity of cells, their structure, and the mystery of how they use only certain parts of their DNA blueprints to create unique characteristics. The potential benefits of understanding cell functions are emphasized, including the possibility of finding cures for diseases.
🧬 Advancing Cell Research with Microfluidic Technology
This paragraph delves into the technological advancements that have allowed scientists to study cells in greater detail. It discusses the use of microfluidic chips for analyzing DNA from single cells, which has revealed the existence of many more cell types than previously thought. The Human Cell Atlas project is still in its early stages, but significant progress has been made, such as mapping the entire brain of a mouse. The paragraph also explains how different cell types use different parts of the DNA code and how researchers are working to identify these variations. The potential applications of this research, such as understanding and combating diseases like the Zika virus, are also mentioned.
🔍 Exploring the Inner Workings of Cells with Microfluidic Chips
The focus of this paragraph is on the development of microfluidic chips for studying individual cells. It describes how these chips allow scientists to observe cells in real-time and understand how they function. The process of creating these chips, from designing the mold to casting them in plastic, is outlined. The paragraph also discusses how these chips are used in conjunction with microscopes to observe cells with nanometer precision, revealing the movement of transcription factors within cells. The research aims to correct mathematical models of cell function based on these observations, which can help other researchers understand and counteract cellular errors.
🩸 Uncovering New Functions of Immune Cells
This paragraph explores the study of immune cells, specifically white blood cells, and their functions beyond fighting bacteria. It discusses how these cells were previously thought to only leave blood vessels in search of bacteria but have been found to have other roles. The paragraph details an experiment that revealed immune cells' ability to sense oxygen-poor areas and help build new blood vessels, which is crucial for healing wounds. The research suggests that immune cells play a significant role in wound healing, not only in blood vessel formation but also in tissue repair and wound closure.
🍬 Investigating Fructose Uptake in Cells for Disease Prevention
The final paragraph discusses the research into how cells obtain energy from sugar, particularly fructose. It focuses on the protein GLUT5, which is responsible for fructose uptake in cells and is linked to diseases like diabetes and breast cancer. The paragraph explains how scientists are studying the structure of GLUT5 using protein crystals and synchrotron light microscopy. The goal is to find a molecule that can block GLUT5, preventing fructose uptake and thus slowing the growth of cancer cells. The potential of this research to develop treatments for serious diseases is highlighted.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Life Sciences
💡Cell
💡DNA Code
💡Human Genome Project
💡Human Cell Atlas
💡Microfluidic Chip
💡Transcription Factors
💡Immune Cells
💡Fructose Transporter GLUT5
💡Synchrotron Light Microscope
💡Cancer Research
Highlights
Life Sciences study how living organisms function, interact, and affect their surroundings.
Biology, medicine, engineering, chemistry, and physics are all part of Life Sciences.
Research on cells, the basic building blocks of life, is an essential part of Life Sciences.
The Human Cell Atlas project aims to map all cell types in the human body.
The Human Genome Project in 2000 mapped all human DNA, marking a significant scientific breakthrough.
Cells have a complex structure with a thin membrane and a nucleus containing genes.
Each cell type uses only certain parts of the DNA blueprints, creating unique characteristics.
New technologies allow scientists to study single cells and their DNA usage.
The Human Cell Atlas project has begun mapping the entire brain of a mouse.
Cells have multiple cell types, even within the same tissue.
Technological advances have accelerated the pace of scientific research.
The Human Cell Atlas could help find cures for new viruses like Zika.
Researchers are developing microfluidic chips to study individual cells.
Transcription factors play a significant role in how cells function.
Immune cells have unknown functions, including helping to build new blood vessels.
Cells require sugar for energy, and the uptake of sugar is linked to diseases like diabetes and cancer.
Researchers are studying the fructose transporter GLUT5 to understand sugar uptake in cells.
Understanding GLUT5 could lead to treatments for diseases linked to increased sugar uptake.
Life Sciences research is crucial for understanding the building blocks of life on Earth.
Transcripts
life how does life itself really
function in all of its different forms
from the largest all the way down to the
miniscule when one studies and research
is this the field is called life
sciences it's all about how living
organisms function interact within and
affect their surroundings biology and
medicine are two major areas of the life
sciences but here we also meet
scientists in engineering chemistry and
even physics an essential part of this
is research around life's most basic
building block the cell
it involves among other things discovery
and mapping of all the different cell
types to understand how a cell reads its
own DNA code
to find the cells hidden tasks and to
understand how cells get the energy they
need to survive
if scientist succeed in uncovering all
the secrets of the cell it can be a
tremendous benefit for all humanity
[Music]
[Music]
in a small room at the Karolinska
Institute sits as scientists with big
plans
Stanley nursin wants to accomplish a
monumental project but in order to
understand what it is he wants to do we
need to go back a few years in time the
year 2000 saw a major scientific
breakthrough the completion of the human
genome project researchers were
successful in mapping all of the genes
in human DNA the unique code of our
cells that makes us human the news rang
out all over the world and the results
were presented by the then President of
the United States Bill Clinton without a
doubt this is the most important most
wondrous map ever produced by humankind
now it's time to take the next step in
line with the huge task of mapping the
human genome
Stanley nursin now wants to map cells in
what is called the human cell Atlas the
human salata is a very ambitious project
and in scale I think you can fairly
compare it to the genome projects we aim
to generate an s-class of all cell types
in the human body and the idea is that
it's both honest us in in the sense of a
catalog it's also an actual
three-dimensional map of the body that
shows you in each organ what types of
cells it's a system and we are getting
together internationally and inviting
all parts of the scientific community to
join in to grasp the concept of what
scientists want to do we need to look
closely at the structure of the cell
cells are surrounded by a thin membrane
of fat inside they're filled with liquid
containing among other things nutrients
and proteins in the nucleus we find the
genes in the DNA code the same DNA
blueprints are found in all of the cells
of an individual the problem is that
each cell type in order to create its
own unique characteristics uses only
certain parts of these DNA blueprints
and researchers do not know which ones
they are or how many different cell
types exist
[Music]
as we've obtained more powerful methods
in recent years we've come to realize
that organs are much more complex than
we thought so whereas we previously
thought that would be a few tens of
different types of neurons in the brain
maybe hundred now we realize that there
are definitely hundreds maybe thousands
of different distinct types of neurons
in different parts of the brain so I
think the main difference is the level
of detail and detailed molecular
understanding of how tissues and organs
work but now new opportunities have
opened up a new technology that uses a
so called microfluidic chip which gives
scientists the opportunity to study
single cells so these are microfluidic
plates that we use for analyzing DNA
from single cells the technology enables
researchers to learn how each individual
cell uses its DNA code and that can
reveal new cell types the human cell
Atlas is still in its infancy but Sten
Linh ursins team has already taken the
first step to map the entire brain of a
mouse and so here we're looking at a
part of the brain the colors here show
you cells that have been detected the
small dots represent the different parts
of the DNA code that cells use and a
specific mix of dots then forms its own
cell type
[Music]
the green and blue that's one type of
cells and and they're brown and and
white that's another type of cell and
the pink is a third type of cell so this
allows us to see multiple cell types in
the same tissue at the same time and
it's actually the first time that we're
able to do this kind of highly
multiplexed imaging the survey has taken
a long time but technological advances
now happen quickly the new capabilities
make it possible for Stan's team to soon
be finished with the whole mouse brain
after which they want to continue with
the human even though the brain of a
mouse is much smaller than the human
brain every part of the brain exists
both in mouse and human
and I think most cell types will be the
same so we can learn a lot by studying
the mouse
if the human cell Atlas project succeeds
in mapping all of the billions of human
cells this will be a fantastic tool for
example when we want to quickly find the
cure against new viruses such as the
Zika virus which has recently hit the
world the human solidness is going to
have an important impact in clinical
research because it will serve as a
reference where you can look up
information and as an example if you
take Sakellaris if we had the cell at us
you would have been able to look up this
kind of information directly in the
Atlas and it would have taken maybe an
hour
what makes 10 Lin ursins research
possible is the new technique in
studying cells individually we can find
a scientists who is working with the
development of this technique in Uppsala
[Music]
here we can see how the cell reads its
own DNA as a mathematical model of
course the problem is that the model is
not entirely correct it needs to be
improved this is the mission of Johann
elf at Uppsala University Johan begins
by making a model of how the cells
should work according to the old methods
using test tubes and then with the help
of new technology he looks for how it
works in reality and it doesn't always
add up when we try to measure something
in society so that is usually something
that is totally different than what it
was assumed from test tubes experiments
that rates are different there were some
other molecule that we our student know
about yeah that influence the process
that is why Johan now through his
research is going to find out how the
cell actually reads its DNA different
cell types use different parts of the
DNA code on different occasions to know
which are the relevant parts the cell
must search through all of the DNA the
proteins that do the searching are
called
transcription factors and they play a
significant role in how the cell
functions
in order to study how these
transcription factors actually work
Johan needs to look inside single
bacterium cells previously they could
only study the parts of the cell in a
test tube and the results were rather
rough in place of this
now yo.hannes team is developing small
plates called microfluidic chips similar
to those that Stanley nursin used at his
lab these micro FIDIC devices have
revolutionized how we work with the
bacteria and imaging the micro channels
makes it possible to trap individual
bacterial cells and keep them growing
for days johan's team is constantly
developing new chips and manufacturing
them themselves in the lab it's not a
new mold holder
yes does it work we'll see the
researchers first create a mold and
designed the tiny channels they need
rich moments that this is a large mold
with the 1500 nanometer gas in the mold
they can then cast the chip in plastic
the chip will be bound to a small glass
slide first the surfaces are treated in
a plasma oven
then the small holes are made through
which the cells can be inserted as well
as the liquid they will grow in now they
have the single cells in place the next
step for studying how the cells work in
real time is a microscope filling the
cell interior yo.hannes team has built
its own laser microscope
[Music]
or to see on the table here is lots of
optical components to combine the light
from these different lasers into
something that we can use to excite the
tour force inside the cells
[Music]
the chip is fastened to the microscope
which now can reveal the cell interior
with nanometre precision and detect all
movements of the transcription factors
that occur in less than a millisecond
so this is the first time we can look at
any regulation with transcription
factors at this level of resolution
on the screen they can now follow
exactly how the cell searches through
its DNA the result is astounding
yo.hannes team measured that each
transcription factor molecule searches
the cells entire DNA code in just three
minutes
that means 25,000 base pairs per second
and doing it with impressive accuracy
they rarely missed their targets as long
as they don't encounter mutations but if
they do the consequences can be
devastating when this process goes wrong
the cells regulation doesn't work that
will cause some genetic disease for
instance or or such as cancer
Yohann takes the results from the films
of the cell interior back with him to
his calculations he can now correct them
in order to obtain a more accurate
mathematical model this knowledge can
then help other research groups
understand and counteract the errors
that can occur when the cell reads its
DNA
thanks to rapid to technological
developments we can now learn more about
ourselves than was previously possible
but there is still much we do not know
about the secret life of our cells
[Music]
[Music]
cells do not only do what we think they
do they also have several unknown
functions and this is of interest to me
of philipson at Uppsala University
she's taking a closer look at some of
our most common immune cells white blood
cells
I find immune cells extremely
fascinating because we can find them
everywhere in the body in all organs and
they also use the circulatory system to
quickly accumulate at specific sites at
certain signals and if we just
understand the full potential or what
they can do I'm sure that we can use
their potential in order to keep healthy
in order to uncover these unknown
functions in immune cells mia has to
study the cells at work in their normal
environment inside a living body
Mia's littlest coworkers are therefore
mice I think it's very important for
everyone that works with the mice feel
that they are taking care of the best
ways possible
through a very careful operation Mia's
team can film the immune cells at work
in the mouse's body so the reason for
the image to move is that the mouse is
breathing all the time and has also
heartbeat and now we are looking at the
intestine the red staining shows the
blood vessels and the pink staining
marks an immune cell that circulates it
was on one such film a few years ago Mia
discovered something unusual the white
blood cells previously thought to
quickly get out of the blood vessels
solely in search of bacteria behaved
strangely they creeped slowly searching
along the blood vessel walls
Mia is suspected that during this time
they were receiving many other signals
from the body such as oxygen poor areas
that needed help for example so she did
an experiment we wanted to understand if
these immune cells could sense hypoxia
in the tissue and in order to do so we
developed a model where we transplanted
islets that were hypoxic from the
isolation lacked all blood vessels
she studied blood vessel development
with transplants in diabetics where
there's a risk that the new insulin
producing islets of langerhans get too
little oxygen and died and we could see
that these sites were swarmed by immune
cells that accumulated at the site of
hypoxia the green dots are the immune
cells that have gathered by the site of
the oxygen deficiency to help build new
blood vessels and increase oxygen supply
here mia has discovered a previously
completely unknown function of our
immune system and today she continues
with this discovery the ability to build
new blood vessels is also an important
part of healing wounds she is now trying
to add the protein that activates immune
cells at the location of a wound
then we measure the area of this food
every day for a period of time in mice
that have received no treatment or
specific treatments the result is
amazing
in addition to fighting bacteria the
immune cells help the wound heal much
faster and they seem to not only help
with the blood vessels but also in
building tissue and sealing the wound we
see a dramatic increase in the healing
process especially so during the first
24 hours where the wound closes quite a
bit the more we learn about ourselves
the more we understand just how advanced
they are one major mystery to solve with
cells is how they get their energy
[Music]
here at Stockholm University researcher
David Drew is interested in sugar
cells are like tiny machines that need
energy to function for the cells the
source is sugar but sugar uptake is also
linked with several serious diseases
david explores this focusing on the
sugar fructose if we could understand
how cells take up fructose and we might
be able to design a small molecule to
change the function of the fructose
uptake because increased fructose uptake
is been linked to disorders such as
diabetes or even cancers such as breast
cancer the part of the cell responsible
for the uptake of fructose is a protein
called glute it's on the cell membrane
and scans all of the millions of
substances that constantly pass the cell
and when it detects fructose it catches
it and passes it through the cell wall
so that the cell gets charged up with
new energy you can think of fructose as
a key and the fructose transporter glute
5 like a door and this combination needs
to come together for the for the sugar
to into the cell to learn how it works
David must first find out exactly what
the glute 5 protein looks like but these
proteins are extremely small and
difficult to bring out in order to study
them they need to be grown into larger
crystals a robot divides glute 5 in
small compartments where scientists can
try many different methods of getting
them to crystallize and after several
years of work David's team can now grow
glute 5 crystals of sufficiently good
quality
and the microscope we can see the
protein crystals any particular part in
crystals come together to form shapes
and plaque stars from these protein
crystals one can with the help of a
synchrotron light microscope get
pictures down at the atomic level
David's team now can reveal glute fives
structure and visualize exactly what
happens when fructose is captured and
passes through the cell membrane so this
is imagine have a membrane this is the
outside of the cell and here is the
sugar so fructose comes in this protein
it's recognized by Big Five such that it
closes in the outside now opens up the
inside and now the sugar can intercept
thus David's team now knows how glute 5
looks and functions what can they use
this for good 5 is expressed very highly
in in some forms of cancer particularly
breast cancer and this because breast
cancer cells unlike a normal cells need
a lot more sugar to grow because he
sells rapidly dividing and breast cells
use fructose is a main energy source so
if we had a molecule which is like
fructose but when it bound wasn't
transported but somehow it locked the
protein from working it would stop there
take a fructose in this house and stop
the chimú growing glute 5 is what takes
fructose into all cells including cancer
cells but if they can find a substance
that binds more readily to glute 5 the
dude' 5 protein would be blocked and
fructose molecules would just pass by
then the cancer cells would run out of
energy which would slow their growth
David now has in his computer scans of
millions of different substances and has
narrowed it down to 40 possible
candidates soon his team will begin lab
experiments with these substances to see
which of them work best
I think cancer is it as a thief that
robs people of of of lives so if we were
to develop a medicine which was able to
to save people from these terrible
disease then of course that would be
immensely gratifying and I would just be
privileged to be a part of that story
[Music]
zel research is crucial to understanding
how life works and it is one important
part of the large field called life
sciences
[Music]
now as research on cells takes a huge
step forward the rapid evolution of
technology is crucial the possibilities
are enormous as scientists continue
learning more and more about these
building blocks of life for the cells
life is part of our life and of all life
on Earth
you
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