Life sciences and biotechnology in China

Life science and biotechnology have become a top priority in research and development in many countries as the world marches into the new century. China as a developing country with a 1.3 billion population and booming economy is actively meeting the challenge of a new era in this area of research. Owing to support from the government and the scientific community, and reform to improve the infrastructure, recent years have witnessed a rapid progress in some important fields of life science and biotechnology in China, such as genomics and protein sciences, neuroscience, systematics, super-hybrid rice research, stem cell and cloning technology, gene therapy and drug/vaccine development. The planned expansion and development of innovation in related sectors and the area of bioethics are described and discussed.     

Citizen science in schools: Engaging students in research on urban habitat for pollinators

Citizen science can play an important role in school science education. Citizen science is particularly relevant to addressing current societal environmental sustainability challenges, as it engages the students directly with environmental science and gives students an understanding of the scientific process. In addition, it allows students to observe local representations of global challenges. Here, we report a citizen science programme designed to engage school‐age children in real‐world scientific research. The programme used standardized methods deployed across multiple schools through scientist–school partnerships to engage students with an important conservation problem: habitat for pollinator insects in urban environments. Citizen science programmes such as the programme presented here can be used to enhance scientific literacy and skills. Provided key challenges to maintain data quality are met, this approach is a powerful way to contribute valuable citizen science data for understudied, but ecologically important study systems, particularly in urban environments across broad geographical areas.     

A framework for the practical science necessary to restore sustainable,resilient, and biodiverse ecosystems

Demand for restoration of resilient, self‐sustaining, and biodiverse natural ecosystems as a conservation measure is increasing globally; however, restoration efforts frequently fail to meet standards appropriate for this objective. Achieving these standards requires management underpinned by input from diverse scientific disciplines including ecology, biotechnology, engineering, soil science, ecophysiology, and genetics. Despite increasing restoration research activity, a gap between the immediate needs of restoration practitioners and the outputs of restoration science often limits the effectiveness of restoration programs. Regrettably, studies often fail to identify the practical issues most critical for restoration success. We propose that part of this oversight may result from the absence of a considered statement of the necessary practical restoration science questions. Here we develop a comprehensive framework of the research required to bridge this gap and guide effective restoration. We structure questions in five themes: (1) setting targets and planning for success, (2) sourcing biological material, (3) optimizing establishment, (4) facilitating growth and survival, and (5) restoring resilience, sustainability, and landscape integration. This framework will assist restoration practitioners and scientists to identify knowledge gaps and develop strategic research focused on applied outcomes. The breadth of questions highlights the importance of cross‐discipline collaboration among restoration scientists, and while the program is broad, successful restoration projects have typically invested in many or most of these themes. Achieving restoration ecology's goal of averting biodiversity losses is a vast challenge: investment in appropriate science is urgently needed for ecological restoration to fulfill its potential and meet demand as a conservation tool.     

Desolation comes from the sky: Invasive Hymenoptera species as prey of Chilean giant robber flies (Diptera: Asilidae) through field observations and citizen science

Robber flies (Asilidae) are the main predatory fly family feeding on beetles, butterflies, other flies for true flies, and even spiders; however, Hymenoptera is the most common prey. Invasive Hymenoptera species are common in central and southern Chile; however, few predators of these are known. The hunting behavior and prey of Chilean robber fly species are also poorly known. The aim of this study is to provide the first hunting behavior records of five Chilean giant robber fly species on invasive Hymenoptera. In addition, an updated distribution of these species is provided. Records of hunting behavior were based on fieldwork collections and citizen science observations. The historical distribution was compared with citizen science observations using chi-square analyzes. Twelve predation events were recorded. Obelophorus terebratus was the most common predator. Bombus terrestris was the invasive Hymenoptera most preyed upon. Both the extension of occurrence of Lycomya germainii as Obelophorus species showed changes in his distribution. Only O. landbecki shown changes in area of occupancy. Citizen science is playing a key role in the knowledge of biological interactions and distribution of endemic and native Chilean robber fly species.     

Linking the experiential,affective and cognitive domains in biology education: a case study – microscopy

A greater emphasis in school curricula on the technology of science would encourage teachers to engage their students more in practical work. This in turn might be expected to improve students’ attitudes towards science and enhance cognitive outcomes. The paper presents findings from a study on first-year university students’ school experience of, attitudes towards, and knowledge of, microscopy. The findings reinforce the general expectations alluded to above. They also draw attention to the importance of the lower secondary science experience – often a suboptimal one owing to a poor resource base – to the formation of student attitudes and cognitive development with respect to science.     

数字透出的信息——生命科学正在蓬勃发展

生命科学和信息科学是近年来发展很快因而备受科学界关注的学科。我们以国际、国内的有关科学论坛、科学会议、科学评论及有关网站的统计数据为基础 ,对生命科学和信息科学进行了初步的比较研究 ,并对生命科学和信息科学的发展趋势进行了简略的探讨。     

Using Amphibians and Reptiles to learn the Process of Science

The National Research Council's document, Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards (2000) describes an elementary science classroom as one that is composed of learners who are engaged in scientific processes. In such a setting, children ask real-world questions and seek real-world solutions. As students pursue their inquiries, they often move away from science textbooks, and they implement mathematical skills, read literature, conduct research in electronic databases, write stories, and so forth in a larger context. What was originally a regular science lesson becomes an opportunity for integration across the curriculum. This article describes an integrated unit on bats and specifically addresses the National Science Education Standards.     

Advice to young behavioral and cognitive scientists

Modeled on Medawar's Advice to a Young Scientist [Medawar, P.B., 1979. Advice to a Young Scientist. Basic Books, New York], this article provides advice to behavioral and cognitive scientists. An important guiding principle is that the study of comparative cognition and behavior are natural sciences tasked with explaining nature. The author advises young scientists to begin with a natural phenomenon and then bring it into the laboratory, rather than beginning in the laboratory and hoping for an application in nature. He suggests collaboration as a way to include research outside the scientist's normal competence. He then discusses several guides to good science. These guides include Tinbergen's [Tinbergen, N., 1963. On aims and methods of ethology. Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie, 20, 410-433. This journal was renamed Ethology in 1986. Also reprinted in Anim. Biol. 55, 297-321, 2005] four "why" questions, Platt's [Platt, J.R., 1964. Strong inference. Science 146, 347-353, (http://weber.ucsd.edu/~jmoore/courses/Platt1964.pdf)] notion of strong inference using multiple alternative hypotheses, and the idea that positive controls help scientists to follow Popper's [Popper, K.R., 1959. The Logic of Scientific Discovery. Basic Books, New York, p. 41] advice about disproving hypotheses. The author also recommends Strunk and White's [Strunk, W., White, E.B., 1979. The Elements of Style, third ed. Macmillan, New York] rules for sound writing, and he provides his personal advice on how to use the anticipation of peer review to improve research and how to decode editors' and reviewers' comments about submitted articles.     

Modeling the States of Matter in a First-Grade Classroom

ABSTRACT

Scientific modeling along with hands-on inquiry can lead to a deeper understanding of scientific concepts among students in upper elementary grades. Even though scientific modeling involves abstract-thinking processes, can students in younger elementary grades successfully participate in scientific modeling? Scientific modeling, like all other aspects of scientific inquiry, has to be developed. This article clearly outlines how students in a first-grade classroom can develop and use scientific models to explain the properties and behaviors of solids, liquids, and gases in a unit on the states of matter.     

A practical guide to interpreting and generating bottom-up proteomics data visualizations

Mass-spectrometry based bottom-up proteomics is the main method to analyze proteomes comprehensively and the rapid evolution of instrumentation and data analysis has made the technology widely available. Data visualization is an integral part of the analysis process and it is crucial for the communication of results. This is a major challenge due to the immense complexity of MS data. In this review, we provide an overview of commonly used visualizations, starting with raw data of traditional and novel MS technologies, then basic peptide and protein level analyses, and finally visualization of highly complex datasets and networks. We specifically provide guidance on how to critically interpret and discuss the multitude of different proteomics data visualizations. Furthermore, we highlight Python-based libraries and other open science tools that can be applied for independent and transparent generation of customized visualizations. To further encourage programmatic data visualization, we provide the Python code used to generate all data figures in this review on GitHub ( https://github.com/MannLabs/ProteomicsVisualization ).     

“新农科”背景下菌物科学与工程专业建设与人才培养规划

在新农科建设背景下,菌物科学与工程专业的成立将加快农业结构性改革的进程,也为培养更多菌物学专门人才提供保障。菌物科学与工程专业将以菌物为特色,依托学科(菌物学与菌类作物二级学科)与科研平台(食药用菌教育部工程研究中心),培养能够掌握生物学及菌物生物学的基本理论,并具备菌物种质资源、菌类作物栽培育种及菌类食品和药品加工等理论知识与实践技能的复合型人才。菌物科学与工程专业的建立不但是行业发展及科学研究的需要,也是解决菌物人才培养目前面临的主要问题的关键措施。专业将以"以本为本"、推进四个回归、"以学生为中心"与"立德树人"为人才培养理念,以培养更多服务地方与国家的菌物人才为导向,围绕师资队伍、教学体系、实践教学平台和教学保障体系进行建设。在今后的三五年,菌物科学与工程专业将继续推进"金课"建设等各方面的改革创新,努力建设成为吉林省一流专业,向国家一流专业迈进。建设菌物科学与工程专业既是机遇也是挑战,呼吁更多的菌物工作者加入其中,为专业与学科的建设贡献力量。     

High-school students in university research labs? Implementing an outreach model based on the ‘science as inquiry’ approach

In this study we designed, implemented, and evaluated an outreach programme for high-school biology students rooted in the ‘science as inquiry’ approach. Accordingly, students learn about science from experts in the field, as well as through in-class exposure to the history and philosophy of science. Our sample consisted of 11th graders (n?=?497), ages 16–17, attending advanced biology classes. Our goal was to determine whether this programme had a significant effect on students’ understanding of the ‘nature of science’ (NOS) and on their attitudes towards science. Using a controlled pre-post research design, we asked participants to complete a Likert-like questionnaire. Also, we conducted post-programme semi-structured interviews with 35 of the participants. Results show that completion of the programme significantly enhanced participants’ NOS understanding and improved their attitudes towards science. Participants expressed a deep level of NOS understanding and explicitly stated that the field visits to experts’ labs had changed their attitude towards science. We believe that our outreach programme can be adapted for teaching other sciences and for societies worldwide, as long as there is access to university laboratories and researchers willing to interact with young citizens and potential future scientists.     

The Plate Tectonics Project

The Plate Tectonics Project is a multiday, inquiry-based unit that facilitates students as self-motivated learners. Reliable Web sites are offered to assist with lessons, and a summative rubric is used to facilitate the holistic nature of the project. After each topic (parts of the Earth, continental drift, etc.) is covered, the students will generate a portion of the summative assessment that will be set aside and later compiled into a booklet. This summative assessment creates the circumstance in which each student must develop literacy and organizational skills to master the concept that the Earth is a global, dynamic, lithospheric system.     

大尺度陆地生态系统科学研究的理论基础及其技术体系之探讨

大尺度的陆地生态系统科学研究是在生物多样性保护、应对全球气候变化、区域生态环境治理及全球社会经济可持续发展的科技需求背景下应运而生的生态学及生态系统科学前沿领域,并在我国的生态文明建设社会实践中快速发展。本文在系统论述大尺度陆地生态系统科学研究的科技使命基础上,重点梳理和探讨了区域及大陆尺度的生态系统科学研究理论基础和方法学问题,进而基于宏生态系统生态学理论,新提出了宏观生态系统科学的基础理论、科学概念及其研究方法体系的逻辑框架。本文重点探讨了: 1) 基于生态系统的系统学特性,发展多维视角的“生态系统科学概念网络体系”;2) 基于生态系统整体性和涌现性理论,发展“生态系统状态变化分析理论体系”;3) 基于生态系统属性及状态概念,发展生态系统结构-过程-功能-服务级联关系的“整合研究方法学理论体系”的学科内涵及应用问题,进而论述了发展区域及大陆尺度宏观生态系统科学研究的方法体系,提出构建新一代大陆尺度生态系统观测研究实验网络,完善“联网观测-联网实验-数值模拟-知识融合”四位一体的科学研究技术体系的必要性。     

Tribute to Tinbergen: Public Engagement in Ethology

Public engagement in research, called citizen science, has led to advances in a range of fields like astronomy, ornithology, and public health. While volunteers have been making and sharing observations according to protocols set by researchers in numerous disciplines, citizen science practices are less common in the field of animal behavior. We consider how citizen science might be used to address animal behavior questions at Tinbergen's four levels of analysis. We briefly review resources and methods for addressing technical issues surrounding volunteer participation—such as data quality—so that citizen science can make long‐standing contributions to the field of animal behavior.     

An outline for data analysis in phytosociology: past and present

As vegetation science develops its formalized methodology increased in importance. At the beginning of the century traditional European schools of phytosociology applied an intuitive classification and ordering scheme to establish vegetation units. The introduction of computer-supported data analysis into vegetation science accelerated the formalization. The present paper presents a formal outline for phytosociology and community analysis. In this scheme we distinguish different data states which are connected by active data handling. Data sampling and subsequent analysis can be understood as filtering processes, making theoretical assumptions in vegetation science very important. The model implied provides a basis for discussing potential problems and possibilities in vegetation science.Abbreviations PCA = Principal Component Analysis     

新世纪中推动生物科学发展的“Bio-X”

近二年国际上正掀起建立以生物科学为中心的交叉学科研究中心或研究所等实体的热潮。其中最引入注目的是美国斯坦福大学以诺贝尔物理学奖获得者朱棣文教授等人组建的“Bio-X”研究中心。Bio-X中的Bio为生物学,X泛指物理学、化学、工程学、医学等其它学科,在新世纪到来之时,生物科学中有不少迅速发展的领域迫切需要多学科交叉共同研究和参与,特别是：后基因组、基于同步辐射的结构生物学、单分子测量、纳米技术、脑科学、生物医学工程等。