Hannah in Japan III: Microscopy and a trip to Kobe
Ohayo Gozaimasu! (Good Morning!)
I finished staining the brain tissue (mentioned in previous post), and I have since been focusing on microscopy. I’ve been plotting neurons with a program called Neurolucida (MBF Bioscience) to visualize the dispersion of cortical and subcortical neurons projecting to the dorsal striatum.
Roughly two dozen tissue sections will be analyzed with each antibody (Red Fluorescent Protein and Green Fluorescent Protein). The microscope is connected to a computer, enabling easy visualization on a monitor. Once I have a section in focus, I outline the tissue to capture an image. Then, I mark clearly isolated neurons within the cortical or subcortical area. The staining process distinguishes the target neurons (those containing GFP or RFP) in black color from other, background neurons which are highlighted in red color (Neutral Red).
My mentor, Dr. Kenichi Inoue, thinks we will be able to finish plotting a significant amount of the tissue before I leave Japan at the end of July. Once I have enough sections plotted, I can start assembling a comprehensive figure.
Trip to Kobe
The other NSF-IRES students (Dakota Smallridge, Samantha Magrini, Scott McKinny) and I visited Kobe over the weekend to attend the 39th annual conference of the Primate Society of Japan (PSJ). Some podium and poster presentations were delivered in English, others in Japanese. Most of the research focused on primate ecology, conservation, and behavior. We attended a number of talks and discussed research with several of the presenters. We also joined the conference opening dinner, where we met primate biologists from all over Japan. One night, the four of us explored the beautiful city of Kobe. We rode the Ferris wheel and went shopping in Harborland, a popular entertainment district along the waterfront of Kobe’s port area. I also tried okonomiyaki for the first time! It is a type of savory pancake with meat and vegetables. Another night, we went to a yakiniku (grilled meat) restaurant where you cook your own food on a grill at your table. The Kobe beef – a local delicacy of marbled meat – was especially delicious!
I will be traveling again in the upcoming week. I will take the shinkansen (bullet train) to the main campus in Kyoto for a lecture on Western and Japanese cultural difference. The other NSF-IRES students will join the lecture, too. We will also attend Gion Matsuri – one of the most famous festivals in Japan! I’m really looking forward to it!
Ja mata ne! (See you later!)
Hannah
This opportunity to conduct research in Japan is supported by NSF-IRES Award #1853937 to Drs. Tosi, Raghanti, Meindl, and Lovejoy at Kent State University.