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Junior Internship
Very little information exists on the anatomy of mitochondria, as only a handful have been modeled. This is detrimental, especially to neurobiology, because mitochondria perform such essential functions. They are mainly responsible for creating energy in the form of ATP, but they also are the source of body heat and facilitate health cell death. All of these functions are rooted in the structure of the mitochondria. The level of energy production and the amount of heat that radiates through the rest of the body may be increased by a greater internal surface area. My project was part of a larger study of those properties. I traced a single mitochondria that had been segmented into 299 images by computerized tomography, the same process involved in medical CT scanning. Creating such a detailed model required tracing each individual image in a program called Reconstruct. My project manager, Tom, was then able to put it into Blender, which allowed him to smooth out the model and create the movies shown below. Going forward, the model may be used to simulate the function of the mitochondria to conduct tests. We are continuing to work on finding the measurements and may even create 3D-printed models.
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I am happy to have pictures to remember my experiences as internship comes to a close. For this photo essay, I decided to share what a typical day at the Salk was like. Enjoy! |
The ProgramJunior Internship is a month-long opportunity to gain experience in a real work environment. I am happy to be spending this time at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. ArchivesCategories |