{"id":43118,"date":"2022-05-16T16:13:26","date_gmt":"2022-05-16T14:13:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.humboldtforum.org\/programm\/termin\/sonstige\/wieso-haben-mikroben-augen-43118\/"},"modified":"2022-06-03T14:50:47","modified_gmt":"2022-06-03T12:50:47","slug":"wieso-haben-mikroben-augen","status":"publish","type":"event","link":"https:\/\/www.humboldtforum.org\/en\/programm\/termin\/drop-in-en\/wieso-haben-mikroben-augen-43118\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Do Microbes Have Eyes?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Few people know that humans and animals are not the only creatures that can see light. Some microbes, for instance, have proteins in their genome which allow them to perceive light. An example is the green microalgae Chlamydomonas: It reacts to a certain light spectrum and swims towards it. There are also bacteria and viruses that have light-reactive proteins \u2013 so-called rhodopsins. Why these tiny organisms need them is almost unknown.<\/p>\n

What biologists, physicists, and neuroscientists know for certain is that rhodopsins are fascinating, since they are able to make any \u201cblind\u201d neuron into one that reacts to light. For many sciences, this opens up revolutionary new applications: In a human trial, rhodopsins allowed a blind man to detect objects for the first time in 47 years.<\/p>\n

In the series \u201cMeet the Scientist\u201d, the marine microbial ecologist Alina Pushkarev offers visitors a glimpse into the astonishing field of light-sensitive algae \u2013 and talks about, how these tiny organisms could change the future of neuroscience.<\/p>\n

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