Comparative physiology and biochemistry: challenges for the future

1. Comparative physiology is distinguished from other types of physiology by treating the diversity of solutions of functional problems and by using kind of animal as a functional variable. 2. The strength of comparative physiology os its capacity to give some solutions to problems in basic biology. 3. Specific examples of subject areas to which comparative physiology contributes are: (a) mechanisms underlying evolution; (b) the nature of speciation; (c) comparative cognitive science, neural models for behavior; and (d) applications of molecular techniques to physiology of whole animals. 4. Applications continue in ecology, medicine and agriculture. 5. The breadth of the comparative approach to physiology has important philosophical implications.     

The stochastic nature of biochemical networks

Cell behaviour and the cellular environment are stochastic. Phenotypes vary across isogenic populations and in individual cells over time. Here we will argue that to understand the abilities of cells we need to understand their stochastic nature. New experimental techniques allow gene expression to be followed in single cells over time and reveal stochastic bursts of both mRNA and protein synthesis in many different types of organisms. Stochasticity has been shown to be exploited by bacteria and viruses to decide between different behaviours. In fluctuating environments, cells that respond stochastically can out-compete those that sense environmental changes, and stochasticity may even have contributed to chromosomal gene order. We will focus on advances in modelling stochasticity, in understanding its effects on evolution and cellular design, and on means by which it may be exploited in biotechnology and medicine.     

Dynamical and integrative cell signaling: challenges for the new biology

Years of careful experimental analysis have revealed that signaling molecules are organized into complex networks of biochemical reactions exquisitely regulated in time and space to provide a cell with high-fidelity information about an extremely noisy and volatile environment. A new view of signaling networks as systems consisting of multiple complex elements interacting in a multifarious fashion is emerging, a view that conflicts with the single-gene or protein-centric approach common in biological research. The postgenomic era has brought about a different, network-centric methodology of analysis, suddenly forcing researchers toward the opposite extreme of complexity, where the networks being explored are, to a certain extent, intractable and uninterpretable. Both the cartoons of simple pathways and the very large "hair-ball" diagrams of large intracellular networks are also representations of static worlds, superficially devoid of dynamics and chemistry. These representations are often viewed as being analogous to stably linked computer and neural networks rather than dynamically changing networks of chemical interactions, where the notions of concentration, compartmentalization, and diffusion may be the primary determinants of connectivity. Arguably, the systems biology approach, relying on computational modeling coupled with various experimental techniques and methodologies, will be an essential component of analysis of the behavior of signal transduction pathways. Combining the dynamical view of rapidly evolving responses and the structural view arising from high-throughput analyses of the interacting species will be the best approach toward efforts toward greater understanding of intracellular signaling processes.     

Conserving tropical nature: current challenges for ecologists

Tropical biodiversity continues to erode unabated, which calls for ecologists to address the problem directly, placing less reliance on indirect interventions, such as community-based development schemes. Ecologists must become more assertive in providing scientifically formulated and adaptively managed interventions, involving biodiversity payments, to serve local, regional and global interests in tropical nature. Priorities for tropical ecologists thus include the identification of key thresholds to ecological resilience, and the formulation of clear monitoring protocols and management strategies for implementation by local resource managers. A particular challenge is to demonstrate how nature reserves contribute to the adaptive capacity of regional land-use matrices and, hence, to the provision of sustainable benefits at multiple spatial and temporal scales.     

Biotechnology education for non-scientists in the USA

The focus and funding for science education in the USA is to channel bright students into PhD programs and science research careers. While this goal is necessary to our country's continued technical innovation, the contributions of non-scientist members of our society to the cycle of economic development through technical innovation are usually overlooked. Public support of scientific research, both financial and philosophical, and the commercialization of useful technologies by business people are critical components of the cycle which depend on increasing science education for non-scientists. For the industry's continued success, it must adopt business strategies that maintain public confidence and defuse countermarketing efforts by several small but influential public opposition groups.The author is with Biotechnology Training Programs, Inc., Bryant College, 1150 Douglas Pike, Smithfield, RI 02917 USA     

Multivariate data analysis in biochemistry: a new integrative approach to metabolic control in brain aging.

The principal component analysis (PCA) allows to obtain a quantitative measure of the state of metabolism as a whole. In this paper we applied this method to the study of energy metabolism during aging process and of the effect of a drug (Acetyl-1-carnitine, ALCAR) on the aging brain.