Science Spotlights: Chemical Movement and the Backyard Zombie Apocalypse

Meet up-and-coming scientists and learn about questions at the forefront of research today in this series of short talks on Saturday, June 15, presented by Harvard Museum of Natural History and Harvard Museums of Science & Culture. From 2–2:30pm, join cellular biologist and Harvard graduate student Juan Orozco as he explores how changing tiny chemical components in neurons can completely alter how animals move. Whether escaping from predators in the wild or just playing on a sports team, coordination is key. No matter the animal, knowing how to move is extremely important, but even the smallest changes at the molecular level can affect this coordination. Then at 3pm, join geneticist and Harvard graduate student Julius Tabin to learn more about the life cycle of a fruit fly zombie infection and the questions scientists are using it to answer. Every day, tiny fruit flies are being infected by a fungus that gets into their brain, takes them over, and controls their behavior. The fungus manipulates the fly to crawl upward to a high point, so that the fungus can then burst out of the fly, raining down to infect more victims