{"id":423,"date":"2019-11-25T17:29:36","date_gmt":"2019-11-25T17:29:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/snowflyproject\/?page_id=423"},"modified":"2022-01-16T18:26:37","modified_gmt":"2022-01-16T18:26:37","slug":"research-objectives","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/snowflyproject\/research-objectives\/","title":{"rendered":"Research Objectives"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Snow flies are remarkably cold tolerant. We have observed them running around while their internal body temperature is below -12\u00b0C (10\u00b0F). This means that snow flies must possess adaptations that allow them to live and move in extreme cold. Understanding adaptation to extreme conditions can provide insight into fundamental biological processes, such as brain and muscle physiology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"314\" height=\"128\" src=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/snowflyproject\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/running-gif-8bit.gif\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-431\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>In the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/faculty.washington.edu\/tuthill\/\">Tuthill Lab at UW<\/a>, we are particularly interested in understanding the biophysical mechanisms that allow snow fly neurons to conduct electrical signals at low temperatures. We are using electrophysiology and behavioral analysis to compare the thermal sensitivity of\u00a0<em>Chionea\u00a0<\/em>neurons to those from a related fly that is not cold tolerant (<em>Drosophila<\/em>). We are also using DNA barcoding to identify the species of the snow flies that we collect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our collaborators in the&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu\/marco-gallio\/\">Gallio Lab at Northwestern University<\/a>&nbsp;and the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biology.lu.se\/marcus-stensmyr\">Stensmyr Lab at Lund University<\/a>&nbsp;will sequence and analyze the&nbsp;<em>Chionea<\/em>&nbsp;genome to understand the genetic basis of cold adaptation (work supported by the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.crafoord.se\/\">Crafoord Foundation<\/a>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Together, we hope to unlock the biological secrets of how snow flies live so exuberantly in frigid, inhospitable environments. The insights from this work are likely to lead to improved technology for long-term cryogenic preservation of the human brain and may inspire new therapies for treating brain freeze (i.e., ice-cream headache). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"382\" height=\"132\" src=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/snowflyproject\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/205-2055724_various-guest-stars-on-futurama-futurama-heads-in-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-503\" srcset=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/snowflyproject\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/205-2055724_various-guest-stars-on-futurama-futurama-heads-in-1.png 382w, https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/snowflyproject\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/205-2055724_various-guest-stars-on-futurama-futurama-heads-in-1-300x104.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 382px) 100vw, 382px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><div class=\"sfsi_widget sfsi_shortcode_container\"><div class=\"norm_row sfsi_wDiv \"  style=\"width:250px;text-align:left;\"><div style='width:40px; height:40px;margin-left:10px;margin-bottom:5px; ' class='sfsi_wicons shuffeldiv ' ><div class='inerCnt'><a class=' sficn' data-effect='' target='_blank'  href='https:\/\/twitter.com\/snowflyproject' id='sfsiid_twitter_icon' style='width:40px;height:40px;opacity:1;'  ><img data-pin-nopin='true' alt='Twitter' title='Twitter' src='https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/snowflyproject\/wordpress\/wp-content\/plugins\/ultimate-social-media-icons\/images\/icons_theme\/default\/default_twitter.png' width='40' height='40' style='' class='sfcm sfsi_wicon ' data-effect=''   \/><\/a><div class=\"sfsi_tool_tip_2 twt_tool_bdr sfsiTlleft\" style=\"opacity:0;z-index:-1;\" id=\"sfsiid_twitter\"><span class=\"bot_arow bot_twt_arow\"><\/span><div class=\"sfsi_inside\"><div  class='cstmicon1'><a href='https:\/\/twitter.com\/snowflyproject' target='_blank'><img data-pin-nopin='true' class='sfsi_wicon' alt='Visit Us' title='Visit Us' src='https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/snowflyproject\/wordpress\/wp-content\/plugins\/ultimate-social-media-icons\/images\/visit_icons\/Visit_us_twitter\/icon_Visit_us_en_US.png' \/><\/a><\/div><div  class='icon1'><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/user?screen_name=snowflyproject\">\r\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" data-pin-nopin= true src=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/snowflyproject\/wordpress\/wp-content\/plugins\/ultimate-social-media-icons\/images\/share_icons\/Twitter_Follow\/en_US_Follow.svg\" class=\"sfsi_wicon\" alt=\"Follow Me\" title=\"Follow Me\" style=\"opacity: 1;\" \/>\r\n\t\t\t<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div style='width:40px; height:40px;margin-left:10px;margin-bottom:5px; ' class='sfsi_wicons shuffeldiv ' ><div class='inerCnt'><a class=' sficn' data-effect='' target='_blank'  href='https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/snowflyproject\/' id='sfsiid_instagram_icon' style='width:40px;height:40px;opacity:1;'  ><img data-pin-nopin='true' alt='Instagram' title='Instagram' src='https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/snowflyproject\/wordpress\/wp-content\/plugins\/ultimate-social-media-icons\/images\/icons_theme\/default\/default_instagram.png' width='40' height='40' style='' class='sfcm sfsi_wicon ' data-effect=''   \/><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div ><div id=\"sfsi_holder\" class=\"sfsi_holders\" style=\"position: relative; float: left;width:100%;z-index:-1;\"><\/div ><script>window.addEventListener(\"sfsi_functions_loaded\", function()\n\t\t\t{\n\t\t\t\tif (typeof sfsi_widget_set == \"function\") {\n\t\t\t\t\tsfsi_widget_set();\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t}); <\/script><div style=\"clear: both;\"><\/div><\/div><\/strong> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Snow flies are remarkably cold tolerant. We have observed them running around while their internal body temperature is below -12\u00b0C (10\u00b0F). This means that snow flies must possess adaptations that allow them to live and move in extreme cold. Understanding adaptation to extreme conditions can provide insight into fundamental biological processes, such as brain and muscle physiology. In the\u00a0Tuthill Lab at UW, we are particularly interested in understanding the biophysical mechanisms that allow snow fly neurons to conduct electrical signals at low temperatures. We are using electrophysiology and behavioral analysis to compare the thermal sensitivity of\u00a0Chionea\u00a0neurons to those from a related fly that is not cold tolerant (Drosophila). We are also using DNA barcoding to identify the species of the snow flies that we collect. Our collaborators in the&nbsp;Gallio Lab at Northwestern University&nbsp;and the&nbsp;Stensmyr Lab at Lund University&nbsp;will sequence and analyze the&nbsp;Chionea&nbsp;genome to understand the genetic basis of cold adaptation (work supported by the Crafoord Foundation). Together, we hope to unlock the biological secrets of how snow flies live so exuberantly in frigid, inhospitable environments. The insights from this work are likely to lead to improved technology for long-term cryogenic preservation of the human brain and may inspire new therapies for treating brain freeze (i.e., ice-cream headache).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-423","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/snowflyproject\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/snowflyproject\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/snowflyproject\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/snowflyproject\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/snowflyproject\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=423"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/snowflyproject\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/423\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":574,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/snowflyproject\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/423\/revisions\/574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/snowflyproject\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}