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rabindra.tharu.np@gmail.com
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A neural mechanism for optic flow parsing in macaque visual cortex
For the brain to compute object motion in the world during self-motion, it must discount the global patterns of image motion (optic flow) caused by self-motion. Optic flow parsing is a proposed visual mechanism for computing object motion in the world, and studies in both humans and monkeys have demonstrated perceptual biases consistent with the…
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rabindra.tharu.np@gmail.com
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Stem cell-specific ecdysone signaling regulates the development of dorsal fan-shaped body neurons and sleep homeostasis
Complex behaviors arise from neural circuits that assemble from diverse cell types. Sleep is a conserved behavior essential for survival, yet little is known about how the nervous system generates neuron types of a sleep-wake circuit. Here, we focus on the specification of Drosophila 23E10-labeled dorsal fan-shaped body (dFB) long-field tangential input neurons that project…
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rabindra.tharu.np@gmail.com
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Evolution of novel sensory organs in fish with legs
How do animals evolve new traits? Sea robins are fish that possess specialized leg-like appendages used to “walk” along the sea floor. Here, we show that legs are bona fide sense organs that localize buried prey. Legs are covered in sensory papillae that receive dense innervation from touch-sensitive neurons, express non-canonical epithelial taste receptors, and…
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rabindra.tharu.np@gmail.com
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Not-so-mutually beneficial coral symbiosis
The partnership between corals and their intracellular algal symbionts has long been a textbook example of a mutually beneficial association. Here I argue that this view has been made obsolete by a steady accumulation of evidence over the past three decades. The coral-algal relationship is perhaps better viewed as one of domestication – think of…
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rabindra.tharu.np@gmail.com
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Miniature linear and split-belt treadmills reveal mechanisms of adaptive motor control in walking Drosophila
To navigate complex environments, walking animals must detect and overcome unexpected perturbations. One technical challenge when investigating adaptive locomotion is measuring behavioral responses to precise perturbations during naturalistic walking; another is that manipulating neural activity in sensorimotor circuits often reduces spontaneous locomotion. To overcome these obstacles, we introduce miniature treadmill systems for coercing locomotion and…
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rabindra.tharu.np@gmail.com
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Auditory cortex encodes lipreading information through spatially distributed activity
Watching a speaker’s face improves speech perception accuracy. This benefit is enabled, in part, by implicit lipreading abilities present in the general population. While it is established that lipreading can alter the perception of a heard word, it is unknown how these visual signals are represented in the auditory system or how they interact with…
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rabindra.tharu.np@gmail.com
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Extensive immune receptor repertoire diversity in disease-resistant rice landraces
Plants have powerful defense mechanisms and extensive immune receptor repertoires, yet crop monocultures are prone to epidemic diseases. Rice (Oryza sativa) is susceptible to many diseases, such as rice blast caused by Magnaporthe oryzae. Varietal resistance of rice to blast relies on intracellular nucleotide binding, leucine-rich repeat (NLR) receptors that recognize specific pathogen molecules and…
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rabindra.tharu.np@gmail.com
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Proximity to humans is associated with antimicrobial-resistant enteric pathogens in wild bird microbiomes
Humans are radically altering global ecology, and one of the most apparent human-induced effects is urbanization, where high-density human habitats disrupt long-established ecotones. Changes to these transitional areas between organisms, especially enhanced contact among humans and wild animals, provide new opportunities for the spread of zoonotic pathogens. This poses a serious threat to global public…
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rabindra.tharu.np@gmail.com
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Measuring air metagenomic diversity in an agricultural ecosystem
All species shed DNA during life or in death, providing an opportunity to monitor biodiversity via environmental DNA (eDNA). In recent years, combining eDNA, high-throughput sequencing technologies, bioinformatics, and increasingly complete sequence databases has promised a non-invasive and non-destructive environmental monitoring tool. Modern agricultural systems are often large monocultures and so are highly vulnerable to…
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rabindra.tharu.np@gmail.com
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Wind gates olfaction-driven search states in free flight
For organisms tracking a chemical cue to its source, the motion of their surrounding fluid provides crucial information for success. Swimming and flying animals engaged in olfaction-driven search often start by turning into the direction of an oncoming wind or water current. However, it is unclear how organisms adjust their strategies when directional cues are…
