DIR provides fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems through basic, clinical, and population-based research. Scroll through the following slideshow to learn about select scientific advances from each affinity group.
![Three-dimensional graphic shows the inset mitochondria in the top left; the organelle is bean-shaped with folds inside. The MRS2 channel is shown as a cross-section embedded in a lipid bilayer. The intermembrane space of the mitochondria is shaded blue, and the mitochondrial matrix is shaded purple. Magnesium ions are small green spheres.](/sites/default/files/2024-03/DIR-march2024-showcase-image1.jpg)
Elucidating How Mitochondria Obtain Magnesium
Magnesium is required for many critical biological processes, and its dysregulation can result in various diseases, including cardiac diseases, immunodeficiency, Parkinson’s disease, and cancer. Mitochondria—the energy producers in cells—obtain magnesium through the MRS2 channel, but the details of how this magnesium transport is regulated have remained unclear.
![Drawing of a single zebrafish with streams of cells arranged artistically and grouped by color and type.](/sites/default/files/2024-03/DIR-march2024-showcase-image2.png)
Creating a Genetic Atlas of Early Zebrafish Development
![A young woman with overweight sitting at a table and looking through a window.](/sites/default/files/2024-03/DIR-march2024-showcase-image3.jpg)
Studying the Effect of Social Stress on Eating Behaviors
Adolescents, particularly girls, are vulnerable to social stressors. Studies have suggested that girls with loss-of-control eating—the experience of being unable to control what or how much one eats—may have atypical brain responses to social threats.
![Left panel shows rod-shaped bacteria; some have a few whip-like appendages. Right panel shows rod-shaped bacteria, each with multiple whip-like appendages.](/sites/default/files/2024-03/DIR-march2024-showcase-image5.jpg)
Understanding How Flagella Synthesis Is Regulated
A whip-like appendage called the flagellum helps bacteria move. The flagellum is composed of many proteins, the production of which is tightly regulated.
![Microscopy image of sperm, each of which have a round head and long, thin tail.](/sites/default/files/2024-03/DIR-march2024-showcase-image6.jpg)
Developing Reversible Male Contraceptives
![Five transparent zebrafish embryos lined up vertically. The top three each contain a red dot, and a red pipette tip is inserted in the third from the top.](/sites/default/files/2024-03/DIR-march2024-showcase-image7.jpg)
Manipulating Cell Signaling to Study Early Development
Signaling pathways allow cells to orchestrate fundamental biological processes, including early development. Experimental methods to manipulate cell signaling help scientists understand how signaling is interpreted in different contexts.
![Scanning electron microcopy image of a cell is colorized blue. The cell has a lumpy, messy surface, and there are more cells like it, but blurred, in the background.](/sites/default/files/2024-03/DIR-march2024-showcase-image8.jpg)
Understanding How Immune Cell Activity is Regulated
![Microscopy image of yellow cells against a black background. The center junction contains many vessel-like projections. The axons of the two neurons are thicker and run from top left to bottom right.](/sites/default/files/2024-03/DIR-march2024-showcase-image9.jpg)
Highlighting the Utility of Animal Models in Neuroscience Research
For decades, neuroscientists have relied on animal models to understand how the nervous system works. Yet it remains unclear whether the properties of different types of neuronal junctions, or synapses, discovered in mice are relevant to human synapses and neurological conditions that occur in people.
![An adult and three children sit together in a grassy field, smiling and facing forward in a posed position.](/sites/default/files/2024-03/DIR-march2024-showcase-image10.jpg)
Studying Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and Children’s Health
![Microscopy image of a large, pink cluster of rod-shaped bacteria against a blue background.](/sites/default/files/2024-03/DIR-march2024-showcase-image11.jpg)
Identifying Gene Combinations Critical for Bacterial Virulence
Identifying factors responsible for the virulence of disease-causing bacteria is often complicated by the existence of multiple genes that perform similar functions. Experimental methods to disrupt a single gene may not produce detectable effects, hindering further analyses.
Read about a new method developed by the Machner Lab to simultaneously disrupt multiple genes.