Endless forms most stupid,icky, and small: The preponderance of noncharismatic invertebrates as integral to a biologically sound view of life

Big, beautiful organisms are useful for biological education, increasing evolution literacy, and biodiversity conservation. But if educators gloss over the ubiquity of streamlined and miniaturized organisms, they unwittingly leave students and the public vulnerable to the idea that the primary evolutionary plot of every metazoan lineage is “progressive” and "favors" complexity. We show that simple, small, and intriguingly repulsive invertebrate animals provide a counterpoint to misconceptions about evolution. Our examples can be immediately deployed in biology courses and outreach. This context emphasizes that chordates are not the pinnacle of evolution. Rather, in the evolution of animals, miniaturization, trait loss, and lack of perfection are at least as frequent as their opposites. Teaching about invertebrate animals in a “tree thinking” context uproots evolution misconceptions (for students and the public alike), provides a mental scaffold for understanding all animals, and helps to cultivate future ambassadors and experts on these little‐known, weird, and fascinating taxa.     

Smoking and Health

Although cigarette smoking is the number one public health problem in the United States, physicians have failed to take the lead either in convincing youngsters not to begin smoking or in aiding adults to quit smoking. To be most effective and convincing in combating the smoking epidemic, practicing physicians must have the same basic fund of knowledge about the short- and long-term consequences of smoking as they do about other commonly encountered medical problems. By acting on such knowledge and adopting a definite set of attitudes and activities in their offices and with patients, physicians can make a significant contribution to their patients and to the entire community in which they practice.     

ELECTROMETRIC DETERMINATIONS OF THE DISSOCIATION OF GLYCOCOLL AND SIMPLE PEPTIDES1

1. The apparent acid and basic dissociation constants were determined potentiometrically by the methods of hydrolysis and of titration for the following ampholytes: Glycocoll, glycylglycocoll, alanylglycocoll, valylglycocoll, leucylglycocoll, methylleucylglycocoll, phenylalanylglycocoll and glycylglycylglycocoll. The constants were also determined in the presence of KCl and of K₂SO₄ at equal ionic strength. 2. In general, the relative order of magnitude of the constants decreased as the number of carbon atoms between amino and carboxyl groups increased. An explanation of this is offered on the basis of theories of electronic structure. 3. The application of the modern concepts of solutions to the case of the ampholytic ions is discussed. The inadequacy of the present theories is pointed out. 4. The constants were found, in general, to be functions of the hydrogen ion activity and the ionic strength of the solutions. Apparent contradictions to the Debye-Hückel theory are pointed out and partially explained on the basis of specific ion effects.     

Singlet oxygen: a potential culprit in myocardial injury?

The purpose of this study was to explore the role of singlet oxygen in cardiovascular injury. To accomplish this objective, we investigated the effect of singlet oxygen [generated from photoactivation of rose-bengal] on the calcium transport and Ca²⁺-ATPase activity of cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum and compared these results with those obtained by superoxide radical, hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radical. Isolated cardiac SR exposed to rose bengal (10 nM) irradiated at (560 nm) produced a significant inhibition of Ca ²⁺ uptake; from 2.27 ± 0.05 to 0.62 ± 0.05 µmol Ca⁺/mg.min (mean ± SE) (P < 0.01) and Ca²⁺-ATPase activity from 2.08 ± 0.05 µmol Pi/min. mg to 0.28 ± 0.04 µmol Pi/min. mg (mean ± SE) (P < 0.01). The inhibition of calcium uptake and Ca²⁺-ATPase activity by rose bengal derived activatedoxygen (singlet oxygen) was dependent on the duration of exposure and intensity of light. The singlet oxygen scavengers ascorbic acid and histidine significantly protected SR Ca²⁺-ATPase against rose bengal derived activated oxygen species but superoxide dismutase and catalase did not attenuate the inhibition. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of SR exposed to photoactivated rose bengal up to 14 min, demonstrated complete loss of Ca²⁺-ATPase monomer band which was significantly protected by histidine. Irradiation of rose bengal also caused an 18% loss of total sulfhydryl groups of SR. On the other hand, superoxide (generated from xanthine oxidase action on xanthine) and hydroxyl radical (0.5 mM H₂O₂ + Fe²⁺ -EDTA) as well as H₂O₂ (12 mM) were without any effect on the 97,000 dalton Ca²⁺-ATPase band ofsarcoplasmic reticulum. The results suggest that oxidative damage of cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum may be mediated by singlet oxygen. This may represent an important mechanism by which the oxidative injury to the myocardium induces both a loss of tension development and arrhythmogenesis.     

Species identity of insect cell lines

Summary Three mosquito cell cultures designated as Suitor's clone ofAedes aegypti, Culiseta inornata andAedes vexans were shown to be moth by immunological, karyological, and isozyme analyses. The cells reacted with rabbit antimoth serum but not rabbit antimosquito serum. Chromosome analyses indicated Lepidopteran rather than Dipteran morphology, and three isozyme systems were confirmative. Any one of these assays would be sufficient to indicate that contamination had occurred and could be used as a periodic check for identity of cell cultures. Morphology and growth characteristics are also valid criteria to distinguish between these particular orders of insect cells. These studies were supported by Grant CA-04953-12 from the National Cancer Institute; General Research Support Grant FR-5582 from the National Institues of Health; and Grant-in-Aid Contract M-43 from the State of New Jersey. Recipient of Research Career Award 5-K3-16,749. from the National Institutes of Health.     

Species identity of insect cell lines

Summary Three mosquito cell cultures designated as Suitor's clone ofAedes aegypti, Culiseta inornata, andAedes vexans were shown to be moth by immunological, karyological, and isozyme analyses. The cells reacted with rabbit antimoth serum but not rabbit antimosquito serum. Chromosome analyses indicated Lepidopteran rather than Dipteran morphology, and three isozyme systems were confirmative. Any one of these assays would be sufficient to indicate that contamination had occurred and could be used as a periodic check for identity of cell cultures. Morphology and growth characteristics are also valid criteria to distinguish between these particular orders of insect cells. These studies were supported by Grant CA-04953-12 from the National Cancer Institute; General Research Support Grant FR-5582 from the National Institutes of Health; and Grant-in-Aid Contract M-43 from the State of New Jersey. Recipient of Research Career Award 5-K3-16,749 from the National Institutes of Health.