In Lieu of an Introduction

Nikolai Veresov: Tatiana, in this volume of our journal we publish a selection of your articles. Two of your other articles were published in Soviet Psychology in the 1970s. Introducing you to the readers of that journal, James Wertsch (1978) wrote: "The author … is one of the leading young investigators from the Luria school of neurolinguistics. She has studied and conducted extensive research both with Luria and with A. A. Leontiev, a major figure in Soviet psycholinguistics. Her analysis of inner speech as a mechanism in speech production reveals the strong influence that L. S. Vygotsky has had on Soviet psychology."¹ But first of all, I suppose our readers would be interested in learning more about your life, about events that preceded your scientific achievements. Could you please tell us briefly about your childhood and your family? How did your parents influence your course of life and your occupational choice? What did they do?     

Epilogue: Luria's Psychological Symphony

A finely worked bronze dog has been standing on my desk for twenty years now. Aside from the books with their dedicatory signatures, it is the only material thing I have in memory of Aleksandr Romanovich Luria. A week after he died, Lana Pimenovna, his wife, asked if I could drop in to see her. I thought that the reason for her call—to ask me to enlarge, reproduce, and frame some photos she had made of Aleksandr Romanovich in various years during his lifetime—was only a pretext: the publisher's in-house photographer or any other photographer could have done this.     

Fluctuation Tests: How Reliable Are the Estimates of Mutation Rates?

Fifty one years ago, Luria and Delbruck published in Genetics a paper that was to become a classic. In it they proved, beyond all reasonable doubt, that bacteria were mutating to phage resistance long before they could have encountered any bacteriophage. Luria and Delbruck also showed how the same experimental data could be used to estimate bacterial mutation rates. Since that time and in many different contexts the methods that they introduced have been used to estimate mutation rates. However, little seems to be known about the errors to be expected in such estimates. In what follows I examine how much uncertainty in the estimates is to be expected merely on the basis of the stochastic variability inherent in the sampling process. On the basis of this examination I question a few traditional ideas and conclude with some practical suggestions. The results were obtained by simulation. It is my hope that they may inspire others to provide a rigorous theoretical basis for such calculations.     

Support for a career in science

I am so very honored to receive the Women in Cell Biology Sandra K. Masur Senior Leadership Award from the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB), particularly because many of the previous awardees have served as mentors and sources of inspiration throughout my own career. I also thank the ASCB for always striving to be maximally inclusive, in terms of both the scientists it supports and its broad vision of what constitutes cell biology. As a graduate student I gave one of my first talks at an ASCB meeting, and I am proud to have been an ASCB member for almost 30 years. In this essay, I describe my own career to illustrate the support that I believe is needed to achieve a career in science.

S. L. Wolin     

New Books

Book reviewed in this article: Vygotsky, L. S. & Luria , A. R. 1993: Studies on the History of Behavior: Ape, Primitive, and Child, edited and translated by V. I. Golod & J. E. Knox. Mitchell , R. W., Thompson , N. S. & Miles , R. W. (eds) 1996: Anthropomorphism, Anecdotes, and Animals. Günther , R. (ed.) 1996: Die Amphibien und Reptilien Deutschlands.     

IV.–Field-notes on the Birds of Sierra Leone.

T he following notes were mostly made during twelve months' service in Sierra Leone, West Africa, 1921-22, of which nine and a half months were passed at Freetown and two and a half in the hinterland. During this latter period I had, however, not much time for observation, as I was travelling daily. My route was a circular one, from Freetown to Port Lokko by canoe, thence to Mabanta, and eastward from there to about the centre of the Panguma District; northward to Falaba, thence westward and southward through the Kariua District back to Port Lokko. Although all my collecting was done, and most of my notes made during the twelve months above referred to, I had had two previous tours of service in this country, and observations made then have helped to confirm some of my conclusions. Ornithology was the recreation of my spare time, which was of course limited.     

XL.—Birds'-nesting in and around Lucknow. Additional Notes taken in the Season of 1896

S ince writing my former article, which appeared in 'The Ibis'; 1896, pp. 185–198, I have found several species breeding near Lucknow which are not mentioned in that list. In my later labours I have been most materially helped by Mr. P. J. Lucas of this station, who not only takes a great personal interest in ornithology, but possesses a very intimate acquaintance with the language and customs of the natives. By his help I have been able to get the villagers to keep a look-out for nests and to bring in word, and I have thus obtained the eggs of several birds which I had previously sought in vain.     

A different kind of quarterback

I am not big on celebrations, nor do I accept many invitations to receive awards. There is much work to be done, and the reward is in the doing. I learned this lesson early from my parents, Martha and Robert Guyden. However, I am humbled that anyone would even mention my name in association with E. E. Just. I, like he, was born into a segregated America, and somehow we both found biology. I think Just's life story instigates a discussion on diversity in science, as well it should. However, after reading Tyrone Hayes' (2010 E. E. Just Award recipient) essay from last year, "Diversifying the Biological Sciences: Past Efforts and Future Challenges" (Hayes, 2010), I have little to add on the subject. His words gave voice to my thoughts. That being said, I would like to use these pages to describe my journey into the "Cell" and the people who "hoed the row ahead of me."     

Radicals in Berkeley?

In a previous autobiographical sketch for DNA Repair (Linn, S. (2012) Life in the serendipitous lane: excitement and gratification in studying DNA repair. DNA Repair 11, 595–605), I wrote about my involvement in research on mechanisms of DNA repair. In this Reflections, I look back at how I became interested in free radical chemistry and biology and outline some of our bizarre (at the time) observations. Of course, these studies could never have succeeded without the exceptional aid of my mentors: my teachers; the undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and senior lab visitors in my laboratory; and my faculty and staff colleagues here at Berkeley. I am so indebted to each and every one of these individuals for their efforts to overcome my ignorance and set me on the straight and narrow path to success in research. I regret that I cannot mention and thank each of these mentors individually.     

Sarcolipin, the "proteolipid" of skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum, is a unique, amphipathic, 31-residue peptide.

The sarcoplasmic reticulum of rabbit skeletal muscle contains a small "proteolipid," i.e., a protein which is soluble in acidic CHCl3/CH3OH. We propose the name sarcolipin for this small protein, to signify its lipid-like solubility and association with the sarcoplasmic reticulum. We have determined the following amino acid sequence for sarcolipin, using protein chemistry methods: M E R S T R E L C L N F T V V L I T V I L I W L L V R S Y Q Y. This 31-residue sequence includes a 19-residue hydrophobic segment which probably spans the sarcoplasmic reticulum membrane. The molecular weight calculated from the sequence, 3733, agrees with that measured by fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry, showing that sarcolipin contains no attached fatty acyl or other prosthetic groups.     

"云南凤仙花属新类群"的更正

作者去年在准备本文时 ,对手稿曾有过几次修改。遗憾的是当我们在匆忙中送去发表时 ,选出了一份未改好的手稿。我们的疏忽不可避免地带来了如下的错误 ,即有些出现在摘要中的种名和描述中相应的种名不一致 ;描述中还或多或少地存在一些错误。因此为改正这些错误 ,除图版外 ,不得不重新发表此文。本文中采用的所有名称应视为合格发表的正确名称。     

Molecular Relationship between Two Groups of the Genus Leptospirillum and the Finding that Leptospirillum ferriphilum sp. nov. Dominates South African Commercial Biooxidation Tanks That Operate at 40°C

Iron-oxidizing bacteria belonging to the genus Leptospirillum are of great importance in continuous-flow commercial biooxidation reactors, used for extracting metals from minerals, that operate at 40°C or less. They also form part of the microbial community responsible for the generation of acid mine drainage. More than 16 isolates of leptospirilla were included in this study, and they were clearly divisible into two major groups. Group I leptospirilla had G+C moles percent ratios within the range 49 to 52% and had three copies of rrn genes, and based on 16S rRNA sequence data, these isolates clustered together with the Leptospirillum ferrooxidans type strain (DSM2705 or L15). Group II leptospirilla had G+C moles percent ratios of 55 to 58% and had two copies of rrn genes, and based on 16S rRNA sequence data, they form a separate cluster. Genome DNA-DNA hybridization experiments indicated that three similarity subgroups were present among the leptospirilla tested, with two DNA-DNA hybridization similarity subgroups found within group I. The two groups could also be distinguished based on the sizes of their 16S-23S rRNA gene spacer regions. We propose that the group II leptospirilla should be recognized as a separate species with the name Leptospirillum ferriphilum sp. nov. Members of the two species can be rapidly distinguished from each other by amplification of their 16S rRNA genes and by carrying out restriction enzyme digests of the products. Several, but not all, isolates of the group II leptospirilla, but none from group I (L. ferrooxidans), were capable of growth at 45°C. All the leptospirilla isolated from commercial biooxidation tanks in South Africa were from group II.     

卢氏凤仙花（Impatiens lushiensis Y.L.Chen）的新模式指定

由于卢氏凤仙花Impatiens lushiensis Y.L.Chen[=Impatiens heterosepala S.Y.Wang（1988）non J.D.Hook.（1924）]的主模式和副模式全部遗失,在此指定了卢氏凤仙花的新模式。     

The paradigm of Huntington disease.

I recall it as vividly as though it had occurred but yesterday. It made a most enduring impression upon my boyish mind which was my very first impulse to choosing chorea as my virgin contribution to medical lore. Driving with my father through a wooded road leading from East Hampton to Amagansett we suddenly came upon two women, mother and daughter, both tall and thin, almost cadaverous, both bowing, twisting, grimacing. I stared in wonderment, almost in fear. What could it mean? My father paused to speak with them and we passed on. Then my Gamaliel-like instruction began; my medical education had its inception. From this point on, my interest in the disease has never wholly ceased. [George Huntington, at 59, recalling how at the age of 8 years he first saw Huntington disease while traveling with his physician father on his professional rounds in 1858].     

卢氏凤仙花(Impatiens lushiensis Y.L.Chen)的新模式指定

由于卢氏凤仙花Impatiens lushiensis Y.L.Chen[=Impatiens heterosepala S.Y.Wang(1988)non J.D.Hook.(1924)]的主模式和副模式全部遗失,在此指定了卢氏凤仙花的新模式。