EyeWire Community Hangout Update

Eyewire General
#1

Hi everyone!


Thanks Jude, Laure, Chris, Oren and Michelle for joining us during yesterday’s hangout. It was a pleasure putting faces to your usernames and getting to know you. Here is the archived video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=91_fExEAK4Q. 

A quick recap:
  • Introductions
  • Sebastian and Claire introduced neuroscience of the retina and introduced the J cell. 
  • We also introduced J-Day, coming on November 26th.  On J-day we will kick off EyeWire’s Campaign to map the connections between SACs and J cells. Together we will answer a question about visual perception: how to J cells detect downward motion?
  • Questions and your ideas about how to spread the word about J-Day.
Your suggestions were great!  Some ideas include:
  • Short promo video introducing the campaign
  • Flyer/Graphic announcing J-Day
  • Ask EyeWirers to share with five friends and post on your Facebook wall. 
Continue to add your ideas in the comments!  This first hangout was wonderful and we look forward to many more!

Cheers
Amy
#2

Thanks again everyone… I really loved it.  I’m loathe to watch the video back though - snort :wink:  


Thanks Sebastian, Claire and Amy for such an interesting two hours. Seeing what you’re working on and how our contributions fit in was really meaningful to me.  Knowing that I can help to make a small difference on such an important project is beyond anything I could have imagined a few years ago. I thank you sincerely for including us and sharing the science.  I’m very eager to get stuck into some J cells now - an exciting mystery for us to chip away at!  That picture of them was gorgeous… would make a great screensaver!

While I eyewire (the verb!), I’m always listening to science podcasts. Possibly these could be another good way to get the word out. Even if they just put a link about the project on their webpages/facebook pages, it would help to expose Eyewire to a lot more people.  I’m not too familiar with US podcasts, but here’s some that I keep up with.

Neuropod (from Nature) http://www.nature.com/neurosci/neuropod/index.html    UK/US
Science Weekly http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/series/science   UK
Brain Science Podcast http://www.brainsciencepodcast.com/    US
Naked Scientists http://www.thenakedscientists.com/    UK
Radiolab http://www.radiolab.org/    US
Science Show http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/scienceshow/  Australia

I can also send whatever promotional material you have out to Weta Digital employees. They’re all busy finishing the Hobbit right now, but many of them have families, so it would be great to get the kids involved. I’m sure there will be a few artists who’d love to do it too… we’re good at staring intensely at pixels :wink:

cheers

jude






#3

The live chat was so fun.  I had no idea that there were neurons specific to horizontal tracking, thanks for the lesson!  It totally re-energized my efforts to get more people involved.

Good news: I have approached faculty at my school about getting students involved in EyeWire.  It looks like we could be ready in approximately 5 weeks when our current semester is over.  The director of the Allied Health Club seemed very interested in the idea of school teams.  Would it be possible to set up a school team for the College of Westchester?  Also, how many students are required to participate on a school team?

#4

Thanks, Laure, for the update! Excellent! Could you email me amyleerobinson at gmail dot com so we can get you answers faster?