Joseph Ayers - US grants

Funding is requested for the development of a biological image processing facility. This facility will be used in support of research in behavior, neurobiology, structural biology, biochemistry, and marine ecology. Specifically, projects will investigate: the neuroethological analysis of regeneration and behavioral recovery following spinal cord transaction in the sea lamprey; community ecology of the rocky subtidal zone; vertical zonation of suspension feeders, long-term effects of coral bleaching on the dynamics of epifaunal reef communities in St. John, USVI; and ultrastructural studies of sublethal stress effects in the softshell clam with diagnosed hematopetic disease from Boston Harbor and New Bedford Harbor.

The Marine Science Center of Northeastern University is the only marine station with year-round research and teaching facilities, as well as resident faculty and staff, located on the coast of New England north of Cape Cod. It is also the only such marine laboratory within an hour's drive of most universities in the greater Boston area. The location, well north of Boston Harbor, provides high quality seawater and excellent intertidal and subtidal habitats for field study and organism collection. Funded research at the Marine Science Center encompasses a variety of projects in marine ecology, behavior, neurobiology, structural biology, biochemistry and molecular biology. At present, development of new projects and addition of new resident and visiting investigators are severely limited by available research space. This award will increase research space by providing partial funding for a 6000 square foot addition to the present laboratory building and two pieces of badly needed equipment. The expansion will provide space critically needed for funded projects by resident faculty, other investigators from Northeastern University, and visiting researchers from other academic institutions in the Boston area, other parts of the U.S. and overseas.

Feeding behavior is critical to survival in all animal species. Each type of animal employs different motor strategies in order to achieve this behavior. These movements are under neural control in all species. Invertebrate animals with simple nervous systems are useful model systems for understanding neural control of behaviors in more complex vertebrates. Dr. Ayers will study feeding behavior in lobsters. Although much is known about the isolated activity of neurons controlling motor patterns in lobsters, little information is available about how the motor patterns function in the freely-moving animal during the time that it is searching for, ingesting, and digesting its food. Using the sonar telemetric instrumentation under development, recordings from muscles can be made in undisturbed animals while they are feeding in a natural environment. This work will contribute significantly to basic understanding of how elements of the nervous system control feeding behavior.

Scientific Impact
The aim of this research is to construct Cyberplasm, a micro-scale robot using principles of synthetic biology. This will be accomplished using a combination of cellular device integration, advanced microelectronics and biomimicry; an approach that mimics animal models; in the latter we will imitate some of the behavior of the marine animal the sea lamprey. Synthetic muscle will generate undulatory movements to propel the robot through the water. Synthetic sensors derived from yeast cells will be reporting signals from the immediate environment. These signals will be processed by an electronic nervous system. The electronic brain will, in turn, generate signals to drive the muscle cells that will use glucose for energy. All electronic components will be powered by a microbial fuel cell integrated into the robot body. This research aims to harness the power of synthetic biology at the cellular level by integrating specific gene ?parts? into bacteria, yeast and mammalian cells to carry out device like functions. Moreover this approach will allow the cells/bacteria to be "simplified" so that the input/output (I/O) requirements of device integration can be addressed. In particular we plan to use visual receptors to couple electronics to both sensation and actuation through light signals. In addition synthetic biology will be carried out at the systems level by interfacing multiple cellular /bacterial devices together, connecting to an electronic brain and in effect creating a multi-cellular biohybrid micro-robot, we named Cyberplasm. Motile function will be achieved by engineering muscle cells to have the minimal cellular machinery required for excitation/contraction coupling and contractile function. The muscle will be powered by mitochondrial conversion of glucose to ATP, an energetic currency in biological cells, hence combining power generation with actuation.

Broader Aspects
The development of Cyberplasm will impact the imagination of the general public, the private sector, and education in general. The robotics industry (in terms of biotech, healthcare, agriculture and healthcare) is worth billions of dollars annually. A hybrid bio/synthetic robot would completely revolutionize aspects of this industry allowing robots to operate with a whole new level of control and functionality. Amongst the fundamental issues that this research addresses is the integration of bacteria into fuel cells, as well as yeast and mammalian cells into engineered devices such as sensors and actuators, respectively. Moreover, we will address the I/O problem by developing mechanisms for these engineered cells to communicate with electronics. The knowledge to be gained (namely at the biology-electronics interface) will not only contribute to advance the field as such by laying a solid ground upon which novel concepts and developments can be built, but could have a far-reaching, longer term industrial impact in industries such as those healthcare, where biosensors and drug delivery systems could be vastly improved by harnessing the sensing capabilities and efficiency of such cellular machines. Owing to its ?cybernetic? nature, the project can be effectively used as a vehicle to foster the enthusiasm and interest of lay public and, specifically, for the teaching of science in general and synthetic biology to students, ranging from primary to secondary/high schools.

"This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
(Public Law 111-5)."

RoboBees: A convergence of body, brain, and colony

J. Ayers, G. Barrows, D. Brooks, S. Combes, L. Mahadevan, G. Morrisett,
R. Nagpal, S. Ramanathan, G.-Y. Wei, M. Welsh, R.J. Wood, T. Zickler

This project entails the creation of a coordinated colony of robotic bees, RoboBees. Research topics are split between the ?body?, ?brain?, and ?colony?. Topics within the ?body? include all aspects of the flight apparatus, propulsion, and power systems. The ?brain? involves research on the electronic nervous system equivalent of a bee?s brain including circuits for sensing and decision-making. Finally, research within the ?colony? entails communication and control algorithms that will enable performance well beyond the capabilities of an individual. Each of these research areas is drawn together by the challenges of recreating various functionalities of natural bees. One such example is pollination: Bees coordinate to interact with complex natural systems by using a diversity of sensors, a hierarchy of task delegation, unique communication, and an effective flapping-wing propulsion system. Pollination and other agricultural tasks will serve as challenge thrusts throughout the life of this project. Such tasks require expertise across a broad spectrum of scientific topics. The research team includes experts in biology, computer science, electrical and mechanical engineering, and materials science, assembled to address fundamental challenges in developing RoboBees.

Beyond pollination and assisted agriculture, coordinated robotic insects will have substantial impact upon rescue workers for search and rescue and hazardous environment exploration applications. High fidelity environmental monitoring, traffic monitoring, and mobile sensor networks are just a few examples of the future impact of coordinated RoboBees. Since each RoboBee component must be developed from scratch, technological fallout will be prevalent throughout research on the body, brain, and colony. This new technology and the exciting and tangible nature of robotic bees present a tremendous opportunity to catalyze young minds and encourage their participation in science and engineering. An integral part of this program is the development of a museum exhibit, in partnership with the Museum of Science, Boston, which will explore the life of a bee and the technologies required to create RoboBees.
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For more information, please visit: http://robobees.seas.harvard.edu

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).

This project renovates 1,310 sq ft. of research laboratory space in Northeastern University's Marine Science Center which houses the Ocean Engineering Lab, the Molecular/Analytical Chemistry Lab, the Shared Molecular Resources Lab, and the Wet Prep Lab. It also provides major infrastructure upgrades to the existing flow-through seawater system which lacks adequate capacity and reliability for present and future research needs. These improvements will help to transform these facilities into an interdisciplinary research hub focused on technological solutions to better address major environmental issues facing the world's coastal marine habitats. The renovations will provide increased research capacity as well as improved facilities for graduate student training. Research that will be enabled include studies of coastal ocean eutrophication, the development of automatic underwater mariculture controllers that can be used in fisheries development projects, marine genomic studies, and investigations of the molecular, physiological, and behavioral responses of marine organisms to stress. Broader impacts of project include increasing infrastructure for science in terms of helping the US stay economically competitive in the area of mariculture and fisheries ecosystem management. Additional impacts include potential applications to national security through the development of remotely controlled vehicles and sensors. The renovation will also enhance the research and educational capabilities of the institution and facilitate broader participation by outside researchers and will serve as a hands-on science outreach engine by serving over 4,000 K-12 school children each year through the Northeastern University Coastal Ocean Science Academy which has many students that are members of under-represented minorities in STEM fields.