Support of a Charter Vessel for the Collection of Live Marine Organisms for Neurobiological Research

海洋生物实验室（MBL）使用长鳍鱿鱼Loligo pealei在分子，细胞，组织和整个动物水平上进行详细的神经生物学研究。28年来，MBL/NSF鱿鱼项目使神经生物学家、生理学家、解剖学家、生物化学家和生物物理学家能够研究神经系统的基本特性。巨大的轴突、巨大的突触和眼睛是鱿鱼的突出和独特的特征，使它们成为首选的海洋模型，它们继续为突触传递、神经冲动传播、轴突运输和细胞器运动、膜结构、细胞修复、细胞死亡和离子通道分布和功能的机制提供重要的突破。鱿鱼在五月初向海岸迁移，每年九月都可以在马萨诸塞州的伍兹霍尔附近找到。在此期间，大约有40-60名研究人员专门来到MBL，以鱿鱼为模型系统进行基础研究。为了收集这些脆弱的生物，MBL租了一艘合适的拖网渔船——Loligo号，由一位知识渊博的船长和伙伴们在每年夏天寻找和运送鱿鱼。美国国家科学基金会的支持帮助支付了夏季租船的费用，并开发了更好地维护和健康鱿鱼的方法。MBL的科学家来自不同的国家和国际地理区域，通过为年轻科学家的培训提供一个智力刺激的环境，该提案的持续资助延伸到实际科学之外。

The long-finned squid Loligo pealei is used at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) for detailed neurobiological study at the molecular, cellular, tissue and whole animal levels. For more than 28 years, this MBL/NSF squid program has enabled neurobiologists, physiologists, anatomists, biochemists and biophysicists to study fundamental properties of the nervous system. The giant axon, the giant synapse and the eyes are outstanding and unique features of squids that render them as premiere marine models, and they continue to provide vital breakthroughs into mechanisms of synaptic transmission, nerve impulse propagation, axonal transport and organelle motility, membrane structure, cell repair, cell death, and ion channel distribution and function. Squids migrate inshore by early May and are available near Woods Hole, MA through September each year. About 40-60 investigators come to the MBL specifically during this period to carry out basic research using the squid as a model system. To collect these delicate creatures, the MBL has chartered a suitable trawling vessel - the Loligo- with a knowledgeable captain and mates to find and deliver squids throughout each summer. NSF support has helped defray the cost of the summer charter vessel and developed methods for better maintenance and health of squids. Scientists to the MBL come from diverse national and international geographical regions, and continued funding of this proposal extends beyond the actual science by providing an intellectually stimulating environment for the training of young scientists.