Exoplanets To Microbes
In astronomical research, detecting exoplanets presents a demanding challenge, as stars luminesce at much greater amounts than planets. Astronomers managed to minimize this contrast in luminosity by using High Contrast Imaging (HCI) to detect these planets.
Researchers at the Boston University biology laboratory are faced with a similar issue when it comes to analyzing seafloor sediment samples, which contain both mineral grains and microbial cells. On their website, they share that their research motivation for this intersectional project is to “see how organism-organism and organism-substrate relationships influence metabolic activity”. However, before they can observe such relationships, they have to differentiate the signals of minerals and microbial cells.
Using UV (ultra-violet) light for their observations gives them the most information regarding the microbial cells. Unfortunately, mineral grains are strongly auto-fluorescent (glow on their own) in UV light, to an extent of overpowering the glow of the microbial cells.
In this project, we are working at the crossroads of Astronomy and Biology. By using astronomical HCI techniques to analyze the signals from seafloor sediment samples, we hope to separate the minerals’ signals from those of the microbial cells. Ultimately, we will create a computational algorithm that correctly filters out the noise of the mineral grains. The algorithm will help pave the path for biologists to be able to accurately and efficiently detect microbes in samples.
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Ongoing Work
Coming soon!