Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)

These lava-like blobs transform into a neon light show due to an incredible imaging technique called Cryo Correlative Light and Electron Microscopy (cryo-CLEM), created by researchers at HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus. They’ve combined two techniques: fluorescence microscopy and electron microscopy, to create a detailed 3D map of specific cellular components in the cell. This type of technique allows researchers to create detailed maps of the interior components of a cell which could give us a better idea of how cells function and the structure of cells which could be the basis of research in the future for how we treat disease. Credit: Harald Hess and Eric Betzig, HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus

Go behind the scenes at HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus, where scientists built a custom recording studio to study fruit fly courtship songs. Male fruit flies produce courtship songs by vibrating their wings, using cues from females and the environment to decide when to sing and how. This mating ritual is a powerful model for uncovering how the nervous system enables a complex behavior. Recording this behavior is tough with the currently available devices, so Janelia’s Stern Lab and the Janelia Experimental Technology support team created Song Torrent—an open-source system capturing high-resolution audio and video of 96 individual flies or pairs of flies at once. With modular design, LED arrays for optogenetics, affordable off-the-shelf components, and open-source software, Song Torrent can help labs everywhere study insect behavior.

Congratulations to the recipients of the 2025 Wolf Prize in Agriculture: HHMI Investigator Jeff Dangl of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Jonathan D. G. Jones, of The Sainsbury Laboratory (United Kingdom), and Brian Staskawicz of the University of California, Berkeley. The prize is being awarded for their groundbreaking discoveries of the immune system and disease resistance in plants. Learn more at the link below.

This striking image shows retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and cells that are part of their support system called astrocytes, grown in a lab setting. The RGCs (green) relay light information from the retina to the brain. The astrocytes (red) are glial cells that help nourish and protect neurons. The blue dots are the nuclei of all cells and the yellow is where the RGCs and astrocytes meet. By growing and studying these cells, scientists are unlocking insights into retinal health and developing ways to repair damage caused by injuries or diseases like glaucoma.

Students and postdocs: Applications are now open for Janelia’s Junior Scientist Workshop in Theoretical Biophysics. ?? This “by the students, for the students” workshop, organized by Ahmed El Hady, Magdalena Schneider, and Allyson Sgro is designed for early-career researchers working on a variety of topics in biophysics. Accepted participants will present their research, lead chalk-talks on key techniques in their field, and collaborate through interactive sessions and discussions. Accommodation, meals, and reasonable travel expenses covered for accepted applicants. ?? Learn more and apply by June 10 @ https://janelia.news/THB25 #Biophysics #TheoreticalBiophysics #GraduateOpportunities #StudentResearch #PostdocOpportunities

“I love the moment when we ask a question in the laboratory, and we have a hypothesis, and we discover something new – but we were wrong. We were thinking about it in the wrong way, and we designed an experiment that showed us what was really true. I love that moment of finding truth, even if it’s not what we expect to find.” – Michelle Monje, HHMI Investigator and recipient of The Brain Prize 2025. A pediatric neuro-oncologist at Stanford University, Monje investigates the growth and development of healthy and cancerous cells in the brain, exploring how brain activity sculpts brain structure and function. Monje, along with fellow Brain Prize awardee Frank Winkler of Heidelberg University, is seen as a pioneer in the field now called “cancer neuroscience.” Working independently, Monje and Winkler have each made remarkable findings that have transformed scientists’ understanding of how “everyday” neural activity in the brain shapes cancer initiation, growth, spread, and resistance to treatment. Their discoveries pave the way for new therapies to target cancers in the brain that are extremely difficult to treat.

Congratulations to HHMI Investigator Michelle Monje of Stanford University School of Medicine and Frank Winkler of University of Heidelberg on receiving The Brain Prize 2025!??? ? Monje and Winkler are recognized for their independent work on gliomas, types of cancers that arise in the brain and are extraordinarily difficult to treat.?? ? Gliomas are the leading cause of brain tumor-related deaths in both children and adults – they account for about 30% of all brain and central nervous system tumors. Both Monje and Winkler are awarded The Brain Prize 2025 for their discoveries that have led to an entirely new way of thinking about these lethal diseases. Their bodies of work has shown how everyday neural activity in the brain can promote cancer initiation, growth, spread, and treatment resistance. This new realm of research paved the way for the field now known as “cancer neuroscience.”?? ? Established by the Lundbeck Foundation, The Brain Prize is the world’s largest award for outstanding contributions to neuroscience. Monje and Winkler will share the $1.4 million award.?

A new imaging method developed by Janelia researchers and collaborators reveals the 3D arrangement of molecules inside cells. The team used their new system to show the 3D orientation and position of membranes in vesicles, cellulose in plant cells, and actin in cancer cells. Understanding where biomolecules are located and how they are oriented can help researchers better understand their function. Learn more: https://hhmi.news/43z55qH

To study how larval zebrafish learn, researchers at HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus developed a system to simulate a real-life experience: being chased by something that does not initially look like a predator. To model this, the researchers used small cylindrical robots, with some programmed to show predator-like characteristics. Using this novel system, the researchers made the unexpected discovery that not only could larval zebrafish learn robustly and extremely quickly in a more natural context, but they could also do so just five days after beginning their lives as single cells. The researchers showed that the larval zebrafish rapidly learned to recognize non-predator and predator robots and learned to avoid the latter. Learn More: https://hhmi.news/4bcKcDu

We invite all #scientists, #photographers, and amateur #microscopists interested in HHMI's Beautiful Biology initiative to submit materials to be considered here:?https://lnkd.in/eNXftN5A ??