生物学实践活动资源的开发与利用

生物学实践活动资源是开展实践活动的重要基础,是培养学生生物科学素养的条件。在开发和利用生物学实践活动资源时,应当从三个方面入手。一是建设好学校生物园,开放生物实验室,充分挖掘校内实践活动资源的潜力;二是努力开发和利用校外实践活动资源,充分发挥动物园、植物园、学校周围的社区资源以及自然保护区、森林公园等自然生境的作用;三是有效开发和利用信息资源,发挥图书馆、教学软件和网络资源的作用。     

《细胞生物学》课堂教学模式改革的探索与实践

为了更好地培养学生的能力,必须对传统的教学模式进行改革。针对传统教学模式下生物工程专业细胞生物学教学中学生积极性和主动性不强、缺少综合能力训练内容、作业抄袭、新知识与新进展反映不理想等问题,通过设定合理题目、规定格式和内容、单独报告、择优讲演等方式,利用学生的好胜心理、竞争性和成就感等,提出了新的教学模式。教学实践证明,新的教学模式能够充分调动学生学习的积极性和主动性,提高学生对专业知识的综合与归纳能力、表达演讲能力和电脑使用技能,同时也避免了作业抄袭现象的发生,强化了学生的自信心。另外,也对新模式中存在的问题进行了思考与建议。     

一款方便实用的分子生物学软件E-Kit for Plasmid

以目前国内分子生物实验室中使用最多的质粒分子生物学常规操作为对象,利用Visual BASIC语言和Access数据库,开发了一款在PC下运行的简单实用的生物学软件——E-Kit for Plasmid。该软件能够轻松完成质粒操作中常见的序列分析、序列作图,虚拟酶切和克隆等功能。     

A review of resources of the Internet site "Practical Molecular Biology"]

In 2000, in the middle of September, the Russian Web site Practical Molecular Biology (http://molbiol.edu.ru) was opened. The main tasks of the project are (i) distribution of experimental work experience among Russian and foreign laboratories, and (ii) organization of an information database in Russian for researchers connected with molecular biology or medicine.     

Colicin Biology

Colicins are proteins produced by and toxic for some strains of Escherichia coli. They are produced by strains of E. coli carrying a colicinogenic plasmid that bears the genetic determinants for colicin synthesis, immunity, and release. Insights gained into each fundamental aspect of their biology are presented: their synthesis, which is under SOS regulation; their release into the extracellular medium, which involves the colicin lysis protein; and their uptake mechanisms and modes of action. Colicins are organized into three domains, each one involved in a different step of the process of killing sensitive bacteria. The structures of some colicins are known at the atomic level and are discussed. Colicins exert their lethal action by first binding to specific receptors, which are outer membrane proteins used for the entry of specific nutrients. They are then translocated through the outer membrane and transit through the periplasm by either the Tol or the TonB system. The components of each system are known, and their implication in the functioning of the system is described. Colicins then reach their lethal target and act either by forming a voltage-dependent channel into the inner membrane or by using their endonuclease activity on DNA, rRNA, or tRNA. The mechanisms of inhibition by specific and cognate immunity proteins are presented. Finally, the use of colicins as laboratory or biotechnological tools and their mode of evolution are discussed.     

Synthetic Biology

Cover illustration: Synthetic Biology. This special issue, edited by Alfonso Jaramillo and Jean-Loup Foulon, highlights articles from the International conference on Synthetic Biology (December 2010) organized by the Genopole and iSSB. The cover image depicts a tentative synthetic leaf in half revealing its genetic circuitry. A zoom box details the leaf's interior circuits, which are made up of three multiplexed light sensors regulating gene expression controlled by red, green and blue light. The image (provided by Daniel Camsund) illustrates the application of light sensors reported in this issue (http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/biot.201100091 ).     

Chemical Biology

A selection of interesting papers that were published in the two months before our press date in major journals most likely to report significant results in chemical biology.