astronomy

Martha Gillette

Martha Gillette 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 Martha Gillette rather than just read about it. In short: Martha Ulbrick Gillette is a chronobiologist and neurobiologist with research focusing on the effects of circadian clocks on integrative brain functions metabolism and the molecular mechanisms involved in signaling pathways. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Martha Ulbrick Gillette is a chronobiologist and neurobiologist with research focusing on the effects of circadian clocks on integrative brain functions metabolism and the molecular mechanisms involved in signaling pathways. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Education and career Gillette attended Grinnell College, where she received a B.A. in biology. She went on to receive an M.S. in zoology from the University of Hawaiʻi and a Ph.D. in developmental biology from the University of Toronto in 1976. Gillette conducted postdoctoral research at the University of California, Santa Cruz. In 1978, Gillette began her professorship at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where she has remained as both a researcher and a professor.

Research Gillette's research at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) focuses on the relationship between the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) and cells in the hippocampus, as well as how those interactions are influenced by the changes in the circadian rhythm. Gillette's research has shown that the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) generates ~24h neuronal oscillations in rat hypothalamic brain slice in vitro, and she has investigated temporal windows of sensitivity to circadian phase-shifting by different resetting stimuli, including secondary messengers, hormones, and neuropeptide. Gillette has demonstrated how melatonin, a nonphotic Zeitgeber, can directly reset the rat SCN in vitro, and described how E-box mediated transcriptions of Per1 and Per2 are necessary for proper melatonin signaling during the resetting of SCN clock at dusk. Gillette first discovered that SCN redox state exhibits self-sustained circadian oscillations, which requires the functional molecular clockwork of the Bmal1 gene. This ~24hr redox oscillation of SCN dictates its own neuronal excitability via non-transcriptional modulation of potassium (K+) channel.

Selected publications Ding, Jian M.; Chen, Dong; Weber, E. Todd; Faiman, Lia E.; Rea, Michael A.; Gillette, Martha U. (1994-12-09). "Resetting the Biological Clock: Mediation of Nocturnal Circadian Shifts by Glutamate and NO". Science. 266 (5191): 1713–1717. Bibcode:1994Sci...266.1713D. doi:10.1126/science.7527589. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 7527589. McArthur, Angela J.; Gillette, Martha U.; Prosser, Rebecca A. (1991-11-22). "Melatonin directly resets the rat suprachiasmatic circadian clock in vitro". Brain Research. 565 (1): 158–161. doi:10.1016/0006-8993(91)91748-P. ISSN 0006-8993. PMID 1773352. S2CID 15501781. McArthur, Angela J.; Hunt, Amanda E.; Gillette, Martha U. (1997-02-01). "Melatonin Action and Signal Transduction in the Rat Suprachiasmatic Circadian Clock: Activation of Protein Kinase C at Dusk and Dawn*". Endocrinology. 138 (2): 627–634. doi:10.1210/endo.138.2.4925. ISSN 0013-7227. PMID 9002996. Gillette, Martha Ulbrick; Reppert, Steven M. (1987-07-01). "The hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nuclei: Circadian patterns of vasopressin secretion and neuronal activity in vitro". Brain Research Bulletin. 19 (1): 135–139. doi:10.1016/0361-9230(87)90176-6. ISSN 0361-9230. PMID 3651837. S2CID 2542479.

Awards and honors Gillette was named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1995. In 2004, Gillette received the Mika Salpeter Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for Neuroscience.

References

External links Martha Gillette publications indexed by Google Scholar

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Martha Gillette

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Martha Gillette 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 Martha Gillette 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 Martha Gillette 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 Martha Gillette

In research: Martha Gillette 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 Martha Gillette 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: Martha Gillette is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics American neuroscientists, Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Grinnell College alumni, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Martha Gillette 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 Martha Gillette in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Martha Gillette 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 Martha Gillette out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Martha Gillette in simple terms?

Why does Martha Gillette 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 Martha Gillette?

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 Martha Gillette.