Seahorse platform: the Agilent Seahorse Flux Analyser with integrated normalization system Vrije Universiteit Brussel
phenotype of a cell is not only adapting to changes ...
Through milions of years of evolution organisms have finetuned their design to their environment, often yielding elegant solutions to problems similar to engineering ones. Seahorses have a stiff bony skeleton, yet their tail remains extremely flexible. This project will investigate the morphology and biomechanics of the tail skeleton of seahorses (strenght, mobility and prehension) and look for engineering applications.
By drawing inspiration from the functional behavior of the seahorse tail, we propose a novel type of bio-inspired robotic manipulator that combines the rigidness and strength offered by hard robot arms and the dynamic conformation potential and flexibility of soft robotics. Additionally, we propose a novel and generic methodology for robot morphology and controller co-optimization through evolution.
Here, we request an on-line probe-based extracellular flux analyzer for the studies of cellular bioenergetics. Bioenergetics comprises respiration and enzymatic/molecular systems for ATP generation. Disturbances induced by diet, or food and environmental contaminants, may lead to cellular dysfunction, which is on the basis of chronic diseases (NAFLD, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, cancer,…), and can be in-depth investigated using Seahorse ...
Seahorses are unique among fishes in their capacities to grasp with their tail onto substrates. Previous research showed adaptations related to this grasping, however, how the grasping is actually performed was unknown. This project focuses on the 3D kinematics of a grasping tail in seahorses, as well as the relation to the variation in substrate types to which the seahorses attach.
In this project we study the evolutionary adaptive nature of the seahorse tail by means of a robotic manipulator design process. The project relies on the co-learned embodiment and control by means of differentiable programming, starting from the morphology of a seahorse. By developing a parameterised, biomechanical model, this will lead to a versatile robotic manipulator that gives us a platform to test hypotheses on adaptive evolution in ...
A toxin-mediated infection of foodborne Bacillus cereus requires direct contact of viable B. cereus with its host for in-situ production of diarrheal enterotoxins. This direct contact leads to a cross-talk between a pathogen and its host. The interaction will be investigated by functional, cytotoxic and
transcriptomic approaches, using tools such as Seahorse flux analysis, RNAseq, microarrays, RTPCR, ELISA and mass-spectrometry.