Immunity, Infection, and the Zebrafish Clock.

Circadian clocks are universally used to coordinate biological processes with the Earth's 24-h solar day and are critical for the health and environmental success of an organism. Circadian rhythms in eukaryotes are driven by a cell-intrinsic transcription-translation feedback loop that controls daily oscillations in gene expression which regulate diverse physiological functions. Substantial evidence now exists demonstrating that immune activation and inflammatory responses during infection are under circadian control, however, the cellular mechanisms responsible for this are not well understood. The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is a powerful model organism to study vertebrate circadian biology and immune function. Zebrafish contain homologs of mammalian circadian clock genes which, to our current knowledge, function similarly to impart timekeeping ability. Consistent with studies in mammalian models, several studies in fish have now demonstrated a bidirectional relationship between the circadian clock and inflammation: the circadian clock regulates immune activity, and inflammation can alter circadian rhythms. This review summarizes our current understanding of the molecular mechanisms of the zebrafish clock and the bi-directional relationship between the circadian clock and inflammation in fish.

Cloud-controlled microscopy enables remote project-based biology education in underserved Latinx communities.

Project-based learning (PBL) has long been recognized as an effective way to teach complex biology concepts. However, not all institutions have the resources to facilitate effective project-based coursework for students. We have developed a framework for facilitating PBL using remote-controlled internet-connected microscopes. Through this approach, one lab facility can host an experiment for many students around the world simultaneously. Experiments on this platform can be run on long timescales and with materials that are typically unavailable to high school classrooms. This allows students to perform novel research projects rather than just repeating standard classroom experiments. To investigate the impact of this program, we designed and ran six user studies with students worldwide. All experiments were hosted in Santa Cruz and San Francisco, California, with observations and decisions made remotely by the students using their personal computers and cellphones. In surveys gathered after the experiments, students reported increased excitement for science and a greater desire to pursue a career in STEM. This framework represents a novel, scalable, and effective PBL approach that has the potential to democratize biology and STEM education around the world.