Prof. Svante Pääbo presents his lecture, "A Neandertal Perspective on Human Origins", where he discusses methods to retrieve DNA from ancient bones and other tissue remains as well as sediments found at archaeological excavations. Genomic analysis of neanderthal bones unexpectedly reveals a hitherto unknown extinct Asian hominin group related to Neandertals, named “Denisovans.” Prof. Pääbo highlights the genetic discoveries made, and what they tell us about the evolution of modern humans.

Ancient and modern population genetic studies have recently shown that present-day Japanese populations originated by a mixture of two distinct gene pools, one related to the rice-farming Yayoi culture and the other related to the pre-Yayoi Jomon culture. Present-day Ryukyuans, including those from southern-most Miyako and Ishigaki islands, share this genetic composition with mainland Japanese, with higher contribution from the Jomon-related gene pool, but this composition is clearly distinct from that of indigenous populations from Taiwan. Prof. Krause explains how investigations into ancient genomes from Miyako-jima have shed light on when this this sharp genetic boundary developed.

OISTの研究者らが海ぶどうの全ゲノム解読に成功しました。その複雑な形態と独特の歯触りは、この単細胞生物に特異的な遺伝子セットによって実現されていることが示唆されました。

マイクロ・バイオ・ナノ流体ユニットは、細胞遊走の動きをセグメント化、追跡、解析する機械学習ソフトウェアを考案した。琉球の方言で「透き写し」を意味する「ウシーガチ」と名付けられた本ソフトウェアは、既存のプログラムをはるかに超える性能を持ち、生物学や医療分野での幅広い応用が期待される。

研究チームは鋭いガラス製の針を用い、緑色蛍光タンパク質（GFP）で標識した線虫感覚神経を体外へと露出させ、様々な濃度の塩に対する標識神経の応答をホールセルパッチクランプにより記録・解析しました。本研究から、線虫の塩感受性感覚神経が、塩分濃度の上昇に伴い全か無かの法則に従う脱分極応答を示すことが明かになりました。動画は実際のホールセル記録時の様子。  

細胞分裂中、細胞が球形に形成されながら、遺伝情報を担う染色体（赤色）が細胞の中央に並ぶ様子を示す。緑色はアクチン繊維。  

ABSTRACT: On a microscopic scale our world is governed by quantum physics. Apart from fundamental questions and ‘mysteries’ of quantum physics, learning how to control this microscopic world is also an opportunity for new applications and quantum technologies - potentially more powerful than their classical counterparts. In this lecture we discuss recent progress in building quantum computers and quantum simulators. We will focus on quantum optical systems of atoms and ions manipulated by laser light, providing prime examples of quantum systems, which can be controlled on the level of single quanta. This includes a discussion of trapped ions as a universal quantum processor, and digital and analog quantum simulation of strongly correlated quantum matter with atoms in optical lattices. We conclude by presenting recent theory-experiment results from Innsbruck, including quantum cloud programming of ion trap quantum computers and simulators. SHORT BIOGRAPHY: Professor of Physics with tenure, Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Innsbruck, Austria, vice dean of studies (2001-2004), Head of the Institute of Theoretical Physics (1995-1999) Research Director, Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information of the Austria Academy of Sciences, Innsbruck, Austria (11/2003-present ); Managing Director (11/2009-1/2012) JILA Adjoint Fellow, Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics, Boulder, Colorado (9/1994-present)

ABSTRACT: The Emerged field of Time Domain Astronomy Astronomy enjoys the reputation of being a romantic subject. By all accounts, it is currently in its golden phase with even greater promise as we start this new decade. What is less well known and less appreciated is that modern astronomy is a beneficiary of technological gains (primarily Moore's law, rapid developments in sensor technology) and in turn has contributed to the development of sensors and their physics (charge-coupled devices or CCDs, super-conducting detectors) and was an early entry into big data (through massive surveys). The speaker will make the case using the specific scientific example of "how did the Universe acquire the periodic table?" SHORT BIOGRAPHY: Over the past nearly two decades, along with his current students, post-doctoral fellows, former students, post-doctoral scholars and long term collaborators , he has worked on millisecond pulsars, old neutron stars, young neutron stars, brown dwarfs, soft gamma-ray repeaters, supernova remnants, gamma-ray bursts, new types of optical transients and instrumentation. His current focus is the public-private Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) aimed at an exploration of the transient sky (brighter than 21 mag). In development: STARE, a search for Galactic versions of Fast Radio Bursts (at OVRO, Palomar and other locations) and Kitt Peak EMCCD Demonstrator. Please also see: https://sites.astro.caltech.edu/~srk/

OIST研究者らはパーキンソン病における脳の活動異常について調べたところ、パーキンソン病のモデルマウスで、線条体ニューロンが同調しながら活動し、大脳基底核の活動全体を制御していることを突きとめた。実験では、線条体ニューロンに連続光による刺激を与えると、異常な症状が現れる一方、パルス光を照射すると、脳の活動が正常に戻ることが分かった。

ABSTRACT: With more than 2 million species already described, and many more millions undiscovered or extinct, the size of the Tree of Life is immense. Throughout much of human history our species has felt a deep connection to the other species on our planet. The Tree of Life has now emerged as a grand symbol and organizing principle for biodiversity, one that deftly threads scientific and cultural meaning, providing a unique connector to the public. Yet it required over 150 years from the time of Darwin who referred to “The Great Tree of Life” in the mid 1800s to actually build the first tree of all life in 2015. Put simply, building huge family trees of species is very hard, rivaling the most difficult problems in physics and astronomy. Thus, building the first tree of all named life (all 2.3 million species) was a true “grand challenge” or a “moonshot” for biology. Knowledge of the Tree of Life is also crucial for human survival and well-being – relationships have predictive value, with downstream practical benefits that include the discovery of medicines, crop improvement, improved approaches to conservation, and a better understanding of species’ response to climate change. Yet the Tree of Life is under immense threat in the Anthropocene. We are therefore working on several methods of engaging the public on the importance of biodiversity via the Tree of Life metaphor. No matter what scale and medium, the storytelling will convey why knowledge of the Tree of Life is important for human well-being and survival. SHORT BIOGRAPHY of Prof. Douglas Soltis Douglas Soltis is a Distinguished Professor in the Florida Museum of Natural History and Department of Biology at the University of Florida. He studies plant evolution using genomic and informatic approaches; interests include genome doubling (polyploidy), genome evolution, building the tree of life, and angiosperm diversification. Soltis has reconstructed relationships among major lineages of flowering plants. With others, he proposed a new classification for angiosperms (APG system). He worked with Chinese collaborators to build a tree of life for the plants of China. Soltis is part of a group that built the first-draft tree of life for all 2.3 million named species on Earth. He and others clarified the ancestral angiosperm via the Amborella Genome Project. He has also developed Tragopogon (Compositae) as a model for the study of polyploid evolution. He has over 500 publications, including papers in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, Science and Nature; and 8 books. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Several of these areas are discussed in the following link: https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/soltis-lab/doug-soltis/ SHORT BIOGRAPHY of Prof. Pamela Soltis She is a Distinguished Professor and Curator in the Florida Museum of Natural History and Department of Biology at the University of Florida. A member of the National Academy of Sciences, she focuses on evolutionary patterns and processes that have generated the Tree of Life of plants. She is passionate about the importance of the Tree for human well-being and sharing the grandeur of the Tree with college students and the public.

OIST理論生物物理学ユニットとアムステルダム自由大学の研究者らは、話し言葉を音素に分解する時のように、線虫 C. elegance の複雑な動きをよりシンプルな構成要素に細分化する局所線形解析を行った。一番上のビデオは線虫の動作の一部を示しており、これが逆方向、旋回、前進の動きに分けられる（下図参照）

OISTサイエンスフェスタ2018で大勢の来場者が科学の楽しさを体験しました。