astronomy

John Heuser

John Heuser is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand John Heuser rather than just read about it. In short: John E. Heuser (born August 29, 1942) is an American Professor of Biophysics in the department of Cell Biology and Physiology at the Washington University School of Medicine as well as a Professor at the Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS) at Kyoto University.

Key takeaways

John Heuser belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect John Heuser to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of John Heuser from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

John E. Heuser (born August 29, 1942) is an American Professor of Biophysics in the department of Cell Biology and Physiology at the Washington University School of Medicine as well as a Professor at the Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS) at Kyoto University. Heuser created quick-freeze deep-etch electron microscopy (a variant of cell unroofing), a pioneering technique that lets biologists take detailed pictures of fleeting events inside living cells. For decades, Heuser has used this technique to capture details of the molecular mechanisms that underlie many basic biological activities, including nerve cell signal transmission, muscle contraction, and most recently, the fusion of viruses with cells during the spread of infection. He compares quick-freeze deep-etch electron microscopy to using a stroboscopic flash to freeze the action in a photograph. To make it possible to image the frozen sample with an electron microscope, Heuser adds an ultra-thin film of metallic platinum that molds snugly against the sample's frozen surface contours. He and others in his lab have worked to make the equipment and procedures necessary for this process available to researchers around the world. Currently Heuser has patents pending on Washington University in St. Louis's behalf for even more advanced versions of his quick-freezing machines. Heuser graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Medical School in 1969 and joined the Washington University faculty as a professor of biophysics in 1980. He is currently associate editor of the Journal of Neurocytology and previously served as associate editor of the Journal of Cell Biology. His curriculum vitae lists over 200 scientific publications. He was elected as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences class of 2005 and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2007. Heuser was also elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2011.

Current research

Freeze-etch electron microscopy as applied to cell and molecular biology The structural basis of neuronal synaptic transmission Heuser explains what is done in his laboratory:

"Electron microscopic visualization of everything from whole cells to individual molecules is the work of this laboratory. Special emphasis is given to developing new methods of sample preparation that will achieve a more natural, life-like appearance of samples in the microscope. To accomplish this, we have developed what is now called the "quick-freeze, deep-etch" technique for electron microscopy and have disseminated the equipment and procedures needed to carry out this technique throughout the field. Currently, we use "quick-freezing" to capture several different cellular processes that are unusually fleeting, including membrane budding and fusion, synaptic vesicle discharge during neural transmission, movement of cilia and flagella on vertebrate and protozoal cells, and muscle contraction. In each case, our aim has been to visualize the underlying molecular mechanisms occurring. We also use "deep-etching" to visualize molecules adsorbed to inert substrates in order to study mechanisms of macromolecular assembly and disassembly in various processes, including remodeling of cytoskeletons, clathrin-mediated endocytosis, cell-to-cell recognition, and the formation of extracellular matrices."

Experience

1963–1967 Undergraduate apprentice in J. David Robertson's Electron Microscopy Lab, Harvard Medical School and the McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA 1969–1974 USPHS Fellow and Moseley Travelling Fellow of Harvard University, as Postdoctoral trainee in the Biophysics Unit of University College, London, under Sir Bernard Katz and Ricardo Miledi 1970–1972 USPHS Military service in Laboratory of Neuropathology and Neuroanatomical Sciences, NINCDS, Bethesda, MD with Thomas S. Reese 1974–1980 Assistant, Associate, and then Full Professor of Physiology, Department of Physiology, University of California, San Francisco, CA 1980– Professor of Biophysics, Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO

Professional activities

Associate Editor of the Journal of Cell Biology (past) Associate Editor of the Journal of Neurocytology (current) Service to editorial boards of: Journal of Neurophysiology, Brain Research, Journal of Comparative Neurology, Journal of Neuroscience Methods, Gastroenterology, Cell, Anatomical Record, Journal of Molecular Biology Ad Hoc reviewer for NINCDS, NCRR, and National Science Foundation

Education 1964, B.A., cum laude, Harvard College 1969, M.D., magna cum laude, Harvard Medical School 1970–1973, Graduate studies in Biophysics, University College London

Teaching activities 1980–1990 Lecturer (with Ursula Goodenough) in Washington University Medical School courses in Cell Biology and Neurobiology 1980–1995 Lecturer in Washington University Medical School courses in Cell Biology and Neurobiology 1974–1980 Lecturer in UCSF graduate and medical school courses: Cell Biology and Neurobiology 1974–1995 Director of graduate course: Neuroanatomical Methods 1975–1998 Instructor, Summer Neurobiology course, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA

Awards Heuser was the inaugural recipient of the American Association for Anatomy's R.R. Bensley Award, in 1979.

External links Heuserlab homepage Archived December 8, 2006, at the Wayback Machine John Heuser's Publications (1966–present) Archived April 18, 2007, at the Wayback Machine

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with John Heuser

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what John Heuser claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to John Heuser before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about John Heuser ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of John Heuser

In research: John Heuser appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses John Heuser in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: John Heuser is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1942 births, 21st-century American biologists, Academic staff of Kyoto University, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for John Heuser outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study John Heuser in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what John Heuser means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain John Heuser out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is John Heuser in simple terms?

Why does John Heuser matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study John Heuser?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on John Heuser.