Epigenetics is alive and growing

The conference 'Epigenetics of Cancer,' organized by the American Association for Cancer Research, was held 17-21 October 2001 in Palm Desert, CA.     

The deep subsurface biosphere is alive and well

For the first time, metabolically active bacterial cells have recently been quantified in deep marine sediments. In contrast to previous total cell counts that do not differentiate between active cells and inactive or dormant cells, these quantifications using oligonucleotide hybridization probes target active cells and their ribosomal (r)RNA. They demonstrate a sizable, active bacterial subsurface biosphere, and allow realistic estimates of cell-specific respiration rates and turnover times for living bacteria in this global extreme habitat. In situ activities and physiologies of these active subsurface microbiota emerge as high-priority research areas.     

Staying alive

Quiescence is a state of reversible cell cycle arrest that can grant protection against many environmental insults. In some systems, cellular quiescence is associated with a low metabolic state characterized by a decrease in glucose uptake and glycolysis, reduced translation rates and activation of autophagy as a means to provide nutrients for survival. For cells in multiple different quiescence model systems, including Saccharomyces cerevisiae, mammalian lymphocytes and hematopoietic stem cells, the PI3Kinase/TOR signaling pathway helps to integrate information about nutrient availability with cell growth rates. Quiescence signals often inactivate the TOR kinase, resulting in reduced cell growth and biosynthesis. However, quiescence is not always associated with reduced metabolism; it is also possible to achieve a state of cellular quiescence in which glucose uptake, glycolysis and flux through central carbon metabolism are not reduced. In this review, we compare and contrast the metabolic changes that occur with quiescence in different model systems.     

On What It is to Fly Can Tell Us Something About What It is to Live

The plurality of definitions of life is often perceived as an unsatisfying situation stemming from still incomplete knowledge about ‘what it is to live’ as well as from the existence of a variety of methods for reaching a definition. For many, such plurality is to be remedied and the search for a unique and fully satisfactory definition of life pursued. In this contribution on the contrary, it is argued that the existence of such a variety of definitions of life undermines the very feasibility of ever reaching a unique unambiguous definition. It is argued that focusing on the definitions of specific types of ‘living systems’—somehow in the same way that one can define specific types of ‘flying systems’—could be more fruitful from a heuristic point of view than looking for ‘the’ right definition of life, and probably more accurate in terms of carving Nature at its joints.     

The Acid Growth Theory of auxin-induced cell elongation is alive and well

Plant cells elongate irreversibly only when load-bearing bonds in the walls are cleaved. Auxin causes the elongation of stem and coleoptile cells by promoting wall loosening via cleavage of these bonds. This process may be coupled with the intercalation of new cell wall polymers. Because the primary site of auxin action appears to be the plasma membrane or some intracellular site, and wall loosening is extracellular, there must be communication between the protoplast and the wall. Some "wall-loosening factor" must be exported from auxin-impacted cells, which sets into motion the wall loosening events. About 20 years ago, it was suggested that the wall-loosening factor is hydrogen ions. This idea and subsequent supporting data gave rise to the Acid Growth Theory, which states that when exposed to auxin, susceptible cells excrete protons into the wall (apoplast) at an enhanced rate, resulting in a decrease in apoplastic pH. The lowered wall pH then activates wall-loosening processes, the precise nature of which is unknown. Because exogenous acid causes a transient (1-4 h) increase in growth rate, auxin must also mediate events in addition to wall acidification for growth to continue for an extended period of time. These events may include osmoregulation, cell wall synthesis, and maintenance of the capacity of walls to undergo acid-induced wall loosening. At present, we do not know if these phenomena are tightly coupled to wall acidification or if they are the products of multiple independent signal transduction pathways.     

崭露头角的氢气生物学

氢气（hydrogen gas,H₂）是新发现的生物气体信号分子。自2007年开始,有关H₂的生理调控活性及信号转导功能受到广泛的关注,并逐步形成了研究氢气生物学效应和分子机理的一门新学科--氢气生物学。按照实际运用范围的不同,氢气生物学也可以划分为氢医学和氢农学。在医学方面,通过多种动物模型研究和部分临床试验,发现H2具有抗氧化、抗炎和抗凋亡的作用,而且H₂对缺血/再灌注以及以炎症为基础的急性组织缺血性疾病和慢性退行性疾病（如帕金森病、阿尔茨海默病和动脉粥样硬化等氧化应激相关疾病）均具有较为理想的正面效果。在农学方面,相关报道还发现H₂可以提高苜蓿、水稻和拟南芥对非生物胁迫的耐性,调控黄瓜、番茄、猕猴桃、芽苗菜、黑大麦和食用菌的生长发育和营养品质,延长洋桔梗、玫瑰和百合切花的保鲜以及提高家畜对病原微生物的抗性。本文首先探究了氢气生物学的发展历史,提出氢医学研究思路的源头是电解水,结合H₂测定方法、内源H₂的产生途径以及氢气生物学效应的分子机理和信号转导的研究成果,从给氢方式、生物学效应以及安全性等方面,介绍了氢医学和氢农学的现状,提出选择性抗氧化机制不能完全解释现有的氢生物学效应,反映相关分子机制的复杂性和多样性。最后,针对氢气生物学的若干重要的科学和实践问题进行了展望,并提出氢医学的进一步发展还依赖于大量且可信度高的临床试验,氢农业还需要完成多年多点的大规模大田实践。