[Sci-tech-public] Knight Seminars next week: February 8 and 10

[Eric Strattman]

KNIGHT SEMINAR:  February 8 (MIT,  E19-623, 4pm)

New Science RNA silencing-future science Convergence
Phillip Sharp, MIT Institute professor in molecular biology and  
biochemistry




Much of Dr. Sharp's scientific work has been conducted at MIT's Center  
for Cancer Research (now the Koch Institute), which he joined in 1974  
and directed from 1985 to 1991.  He subsequently led the Department of  
Biology from 1991 to 1999 before assuming the directorship of the  
McGovern Institute from 2000-2004.  His research interests have  
centered on the molecular biology of gene expression relevant to  
cancer and the mechanisms of RNA splicing.  His landmark achievement  
was the discovery of RNA splicing in 1977.  This work provided one of  
the first indications of the startling phenomenon of “discontinuous  
genes” in mammalian cells.  The discovery that genes contain nonsense  
segments that are edited out by cells in the course of utilizing  
genetic information is important in understanding the genetic causes  
of cancer and other diseases. This discovery, which fundamentally  
changed scientists' understanding of the structure of genes, earned  
Dr. Sharp the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.  His lab has  
now turned its attention to understanding how RNA molecules act as  
switches to turn genes on and off (RNA interference).  These newly  
discovered processes have revolutionized cell biology and could  
potentially generate a new class of therapeutics.

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KNIGHT SEMINAR:  February 10 (MIT,  E19-623) This seminar starts at  
4:30pm.

Functional Specificity in the Human Brain
Nancy Kanwisher, Investigator at the McGovern Institute and Professor  
in MIT's Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences

The human brain includes more than 40 different areas devoted to  
vision. Nancy Kanwisher uses brain imaging and behavioral testing to  
study how these areas contribute to our perception of the visual  
world. Her lab has identified several regions of the brain that play  
specialized roles in the perception of specific categories of visual  
stimuli such as faces, places, and bodies. Kanwisher is also  
interested in understanding typical and atypical human brain  
development. She is heading an ambitious project to explore the  
origins of autism using new pediatric neuroimaging technologies.


Eric Strattman
Knight Science Journalism Fellowships at MIT
E19-623
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge MA  02139






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