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Title
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The messengers to the soul
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Description
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Under the microscope, the mouse eye, subject of my research, glows in brilliant red and white. The retinal ganglion cell marker in white traces a constellation across the retina, and in red, Nr2f1, a protein expressed in retinal progenitor cells, the mother cells that give rise to the entire retina. I search for transcription factors that, in concert with many other factors, bias the fate of mother cells to generate the perfect number of daughter cells at the right time and place. These factors are like a whisper to the progenitor cells, commanding their fate in a sea of possibilities. The stained eye is a record of those whispers, showing that identity comes from the influence of space, timing, and context. Each retinal ganglion cell is both the outcome and the question of these instructions. Why is this cell here and now? In pursuing the answer to this question, I am not just mapping development; I am watching choice take form from layered influenced progenitors. One neuron at a time. Each one is singular and connects what we see to our brains, becoming the true messengers of light, carrying sight into thought, opening the world into our souls, bearing news of colors and shadows.
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Date
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2026-01-25
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Creator
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Cyrino, Clarissa
