2017-B
Detecting Signs of Life
Astronomer Andrew McWilliam of the Observatories has teamed up with
Hubble Postdoctoral Fellow Johanna Teske of Terrestrial Magnetism to
detect molecules important to the emergence of life on Earth-sized
exoplanets. A priority target is TRAPPIST-1 system, with seven Earth-sized
planets. They will analyze light transmitted through these exoplanet
atmospheres as the planets move in front of their host stars, searching
for the faint molecular fingerprints of species like water, carbon
dioxide, and methane. The researchers will work with the world-class
instrumentation team at Observatories to adapt a new, high-resolution
near-infrared spectrograph, from the University of Tokyo, to be deployed
on the Magellan-Clay telescope, and develop custom reduction and analysis
tools for exo-atmospheric detection.

A priority target for detecting molecules essential to life is the
TRAPPIST-1 system (left, artist’s concept). It has seven Earth-sized
planets, and three of them are in the habitable zone, where temperatures
permit liquid water to occur on the surface. Image courtesy
NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt, T. Pyle (IPAC)
Measuring Photosynthesis At Large Scales
A second grant was awarded to a collaboration among instrument designer
Nick Konidaris of the Observatories and global ecologists Greg Asner, Joe
Berry and Ari Kornfeld, to disentangle the faint light emitted by
chlorophyll during photosynthesis from the much brighter sunlight
reflected off the plant surface. This remote sensing technique, called
Solar Induced Chlorophyll Fluorescence (SIF), can be used in
applications from precision farming, to forestry, to
understanding and predicting global climate change. These methods
can also be used to study low-surface-brightness features in nearby
galaxies thereby advancing both ecological and astronomical studies. As a
first step in advancing these two fields, a SIF instrument will be
incorporated into the Carnegie Airborne Observatory to allow measurements
of photosynthesis to be coupled with structural characteristics in
unprecedented detail.
The
image at left shows chlorophyll fluorescence from photosynthesis at the
molecular level. The Carnegie Airborne Observatory (CAO) can render
height maps of forests, as in the image at right. Red in this image
indicates the tallest plants. The team will use the remote sensing
technique called Solar Induced Chlorophyll Fluorescence (SIF) to measure
photosynthesis, coupled with structural characteristics from the CAO in
unprecedented detail at large scales.
A "Gene Gun" for
Genetic Manipulation
A third Venture Grant was awarded to a project planned by plant
biologists Zhiyong Wang and global ecologists Joe Berry and Jennifer
Johnson, with Karlheinz Merkle of Stanford University to develop a new
“gene gun” that can deliver biomolecules deep into plant cells
that then participate in reproduction for the purpose of genetic
manipulation. The new tool would be much quicker and more effective than
current methods and could break a time-consuming bottleneck in plant
research and biotechnology.
The
researchers will use the maize plant, shown at left under greenhouse
lighting, to inject biomolecules deep into plant cells with their new
“gene gun” for genetic manipulation.
Materials Science Applied to Biological Protein
Folding
A fourth grant will go to a team that includes materials physicists at
the Geophysical Laboratory Tim Strobel, Ron Cohen and Li Zhu, in
collaboration with Plant Biology’s Proteomics Facility Director
Shouling Xu. The team will apply their new computational method designed
to understand materials synthesis to the biological problem of
understanding the mechanisms of protein folding, which is vital to life.
Misfolded proteins are believed to lead to many diseases. The team hopes
to help bridge the gap between known protein sequences and protein
structures.
This image is an example of a modeled biological protein fold using
techniques from materials science. Like an activated phase transition—such
as graphite to diamond—in any solid-state material, proteins fold by
changing configuration with associated energy penalties and benefits.