Welcome to a special mini-episode of Neurotransmissions. After our interview with Dr. Ferster, we had and unexpectedly candid and enlightening conversation about communicating Science. Find out why sometimes the science doesn’t really start until you put pen to paper.

The post Neurotransmissions: Dr. David Ferster on Writing first appeared on Max Planck Neuroscience.

The mammalian visual cortex performs important transformations of the information that is transmitted from the eye to the brain. We sit down with Dr. David Ferster, Professor Emeritus from Northwestern, to discuss his long career studying the cellular mechanisms of these transformations. We also find out what life after academic retirement is like, and how he’s continuing to use his scientific expertise in the private sector to develop new technology for neuroscientists.

The post Neurotransmissions: Visual Computation with Dr. David Ferster first appeared on Max Planck Neuroscience.

Neurons share information via synapses, but how do scientists? We talk to the distinguished Dr. Karel Svoboda from Janelia Research Campus about his breakthroughs in understanding synapses, problems with “big data”, and the role of machine learning in future scientific progress. We also learn about ways in which open data sharing can benefit science. All of this and more on this special episode of Neurotransmissions!

The post Neurotransmissions: Dendrites and Data Sharing with Dr. Karel Svoboda first appeared on Max Planck Neuroscience.

Looking inside the brains of translucent amphibians, Dr. Hollis Cline studies the development and plasticity of the visual system. Join Misha, Joe, and Andre as they get to know more about her research as well her position as the president of the Society for Neuroscience.

The post Neurotransmissions: Get to know your president! – Development, Experience and Plasticity with Dr. Hollis Cline first appeared on Max Planck Neuroscience.

Women are awarded over half of all doctorate degrees in the life sciences, but account for a small fraction of high-ranking academic positions. To investigate this phenomenon, Joe and Misha explore the various barriers and experiences unique to women in science with Dr. Leslie Vosshall of The Rockefeller University, Dr. Na Ji of Janelia Research Campus, and Ellie Hozhabri at the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience.

The post Neurotransmissions: Biology and Sexism – Equality for Women in Scientific Careers first appeared on Max Planck Neuroscience.

What can we learn from studying the vast complexity of wiring in the brain? In this week’s episode, Professor Movshon explains why a functional perspective is lacking in a connectomics approach that limits our ability to understand what the brain is doing. We’ll also hear about how a diverse set of scientific interests can make for a fruitful and enjoyable career in research.

The post Neurotransmissions: The Hedgehog and the Fox – Connectomics, Part 2 with Dr. Tony Movshon first appeared on Max Planck Neuroscience.

How do neuroscientists see through layers of grey matter to produce images of cells that are deeply embedded in living brains? Dr. Na Ji from HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus explains how optical tricks from astronomy can be applied to solve this problem. We cover her exciting academic career from China to California and beyond. Tune in to get the inside scoop on the next big advancements in neuroscience.

The post Neurotransmissions: Neurons, Astronomy and Superman – Adaptive Optics with Dr. Na Ji first appeared on Max Planck Neuroscience.

From Cornell to Bell Labs and beyond, Eric Betzig spent an entire career trying to see the unseeable. The optics of conventional microscopes face a fundamental, physical limit on their resolution. Dr. Betzig’s quest to break this limit ultimately led to the development of a super-resolution microscopy technique, providing researchers a level of detail in biology and that had never been possible before. Misha, Ben and Joe sit down with him to discuss his incredible life story, and discover how a lauded physicist walked away from a promising career in science, only to return a decade later to achieve great scientific success that earned the 2014 Nobel Prize for Chemistry.

The post Neurotransmissions: A Life in Focus: The Journey of Dr. Eric Betzig first appeared on Max Planck Neuroscience.

Humans have 10 times more neurons in our brain than there are people on the earth, so how do these billions of cells manage to all work together? Misha, Ben, and Joe sit down with Dr. Jeff Lichtman, professor of Neuroscience at Harvard University, to talk about his work understanding the complexity of how neurons connect with one another. We discuss recent technological breakthroughs and shortcomings in traditional microscopy, and whether we can transfer our consciousness onto computers.

The post Neurotransmissions: Connectomics – Unraveling a Society of Cells with Dr. Jeff Lichtman first appeared on Max Planck Neuroscience.

What is basic science, and how is it significant in the realm of brain research and the future progress of our society? Your hosts Joe, Misha, and Ben sit down with Dr. David Fitzpatrick, Scientific Director of the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience and tackle those questions and more on the first episode of the Neurotransmissions podcast, tackling neuroscience stories from the lab and life – a special episode to celebrate Brain Awareness Week, 2016.

The post Neurotransmissions – Basic Science, the Brain, and Going to Mars, with Dr. David Fitzpatrick first appeared on Max Planck Neuroscience.