Aims of undergraduate physiology education: a view from the University of Chicago

Physiology may play an important, if not essential role, in a liberal arts education because it provides a context for integrating information and concepts from diverse biological and extra-biological disciplines. Instructors of physiology may aid in fulfilling this role by clarifying the core concepts that physiological details exemplify. As an example, presented here are the core principles that are the basis for an undergraduate physiology course taught at the University of Chicago. The first of these is: Evolution has resulted in organisms comprising mechanisms for maintenance, growth, and reproduction, despite perturbations of the internal and external environment. Such principles necessitate a coupling of physiology to diverse disciplines (i.e., "sciomics") and provide a basis for integrating discoveries in other disciplines.     

Actin-based motility: from molecules to movement

Extensive progress has been made recently in understanding the mechanism by which cells move and extend protrusions using site-directed polymerization of actin in response to signalling. Insights into the molecular mechanism of production of force and movement by actin polymerization have been provided by a crosstalk between several disciplines, including biochemistry, biomimetic approaches and computational studies. This review focuses on the biochemical properties of the proteins involved in actin-based motility and shows how these properties are used to generate models of force production, how the predictions of different theoretical models are tested using a biochemically controlled reconstituted motility assay and how the changes in motility resulting from changes to the concentrations of components of the assay can help understand diverse aspects of the motile behavior of living cells.     

Paleoethnobotany: Modern Research Connecting Ancient Plants and Ancient Peoples

Paleoethnobotany is a growing subdiscipline of archaeology that utilizes information from numerous other disciplines to show the relationships between ancient plants and ancient peoples. The two primary disciplines that underlie paleoethnobotanical research are archaeology and botany. As such, the results of ongoing botanical research on taphonomic processes, genetic identification of ancient plant types, pollen analysis, phytoliths analysis, and seed identification directly affect the strength of paleoethnobotanical models of past human behavior. Preserved seeds form a significant portion of the archaeobotanical record. They represent not only the environment that was present when they were deposited but also a connection to the activity and culture of ancient people. Using the type of archaeobotanical remains and the archeological context of the remains, paleoethnobotanists study a diverse range of topics. These topics include, but are not limited to, the use of plants in ancient cultures, the development and rise of agriculture, and the relationship between agriculture and settlement patterns.     

Modeling urban landscape dynamics: A review

Reviewed here is the historical development of urban growth models, showing how different disciplines and diverse theories have come together over time to produce the models used today. This review is divided into two sections, the first section reviews the early models that are rooted in transportation and land-use planning and form the foundation on which nearly all modeling efforts are based. These models are already well documented in the literature and an overview here is sufficient. In the second section, an exploration is made into the theories and approaches that have been integrated into urban modeling efforts. The concepts are outlined and one or more contemporary examples are highlighted. These theories and approaches represent the major areas of development that exist in published work.     

Measuring quality of life in theory and in practice: a dialogue between philosophical and psychological approaches

Measuring quality of life is of concern to both philosophers and psychologists, yet the two disciplines typically approach the question in very different ways, ways so diverse that it may look as if they are engaged in such disparate activities that no dialogue between them is possible. In this paper we aim to construct the beginnings of a dialogue between the two disciplines which will show how they could serve each other and yet also show how, from the dialogue, difficult and previously unconsidered issues emerge for both sides.     

Environmental protection: applying the precautionary principle and proactive regulation to biotechnology

Biotechnology is a broad field encompassing diverse disciplines from agriculture to zoology. Advances in research are occurring at a rapid pace, and applications that have broad implications socially, economically, ecologically and politically are emerging. Along with notable benefits, environmental consequences that affect core quality-of-life issues for present and future generations are materializing. The precautionary principle should be applied to biotechnology research, activities and products, and a strengthened, enforceable and proactive regulatory framework is needed. The environmental impacts of agriculture, aquaculture, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and even pharmaceuticals are raising public concerns and demonstrate the need for guidance from a variety of social, economic and scientific disciplines to insure the benefits of biotechnology are enjoyed without unacceptable and irreversible environmental costs.     

Molecular pathogenesis of urothelial bladder cancer

Carcinoma of the urinary bladder is the second most common urologic malignancy. In addition, these tumors are one of the best understood genitourinary neoplasms with a well defined etiology, natural history, tumor biology, treatment options and outcome. This level of understanding arises as a consequence of multiple factors and represents a convergence of knowledge from diverse scientific disciplines. Insight provided by these disciplines, coupled with unique features of this neoplasm which make it assessable for detection, monitoring and treatment, combine to make this disease a model system for modern oncology. The intent of this review is to provide the reader an overview of our current understanding of this tumor from the standpoint of its molecular biology as related to tumor development and progression.     

Using learning networks to understand complex systems: a case study of biological,geophysical and social research in the Amazon

Developing high‐quality scientific research will be most effective if research communities with diverse skills and interests are able to share information and knowledge, are aware of the major challenges across disciplines, and can exploit economies of scale to provide robust answers and better inform policy. We evaluate opportunities and challenges facing the development of a more interactive research environment by developing an interdisciplinary synthesis of research on a single geographic region. We focus on the Amazon as it is of enormous regional and global environmental importance and faces a highly uncertain future. To take stock of existing knowledge and provide a framework for analysis we present a set of mini‐reviews from fourteen different areas of research, encompassing taxonomy, biodiversity, biogeography, vegetation dynamics, landscape ecology, earth‐atmosphere interactions, ecosystem processes, fire, deforestation dynamics, hydrology, hunting, conservation planning, livelihoods, and payments for ecosystem services. Each review highlights the current state of knowledge and identifies research priorities, including major challenges and opportunities. We show that while substantial progress is being made across many areas of scientific research, our understanding of specific issues is often dependent on knowledge from other disciplines. Accelerating the acquisition of reliable and contextualized knowledge about the fate of complex pristine and modified ecosystems is partly dependent on our ability to exploit economies of scale in shared resources and technical expertise, recognise and make explicit interconnections and feedbacks among sub‐disciplines, increase the temporal and spatial scale of existing studies, and improve the dissemination of scientific findings to policy makers and society at large. Enhancing interaction among research efforts is vital if we are to make the most of limited funds and overcome the challenges posed by addressing large‐scale interdisciplinary questions. Bringing together a diverse scientific community with a single geographic focus can help increase awareness of research questions both within and among disciplines, and reveal the opportunities that may exist for advancing acquisition of reliable knowledge. This approach could be useful for a variety of globally important scientific questions.     

TRANSAUTOPHAGY: European network for multidisciplinary research and translation of autophagy knowledge

A collaborative consortium, named “TRANSAUTOPHAGY,” has been created among European research groups, comprising more than 150 scientists from 21 countries studying diverse branches of basic and translational autophagy. The consortium was approved in the framework of the Horizon 2020 Program in November 2015 as a COST Action of the European Union (COST means: CO-operation in Science and Technology), and will be sponsored for 4 years. TRANSAUTOPHAGY will form an interdisciplinary platform for basic and translational researchers, enterprises and stakeholders of diverse disciplines (including nanotechnology, bioinformatics, physics, chemistry, biology and various medical disciplines). TRANSAUTOPHAGY will establish 5 different thematic working groups, formulated to cooperate in research projects, share ideas, and results through workshops, meetings and short term exchanges of personnel (among other initiatives). TRANSAUTOPHAGY aims to generate breakthrough multidisciplinary knowledge about autophagy regulation, and to boost translation of this knowledge into biomedical and biotechnological applications.     

On the evolution of the standard amino-acid alphabet

Although one standard amino-acid 'alphabet' is used by most organisms on Earth, the evolutionary cause(s) and significance of this alphabet remain elusive. Fresh insights into the origin of the alphabet are now emerging from disciplines as diverse as astrobiology, biochemical engineering and bioinformatics.     

Ecosystem services and biodiversity conservation: concepts and a glossary

The RUBICODE project draws on expertise from a range of disciplines to develop and integrate frameworks for assessing the impacts of environmental change on ecosystem service provision, and for rationalising biodiversity conservation in that light. With such diverse expertise and concepts involved, interested parties will not be familiar with all the key terminology. This paper defines the terms as used within the project and, where useful, discusses some reasoning behind the definitions. Terms are grouped by concept rather than being listed alphabetically.     

Genetic and Ecological Correlates of Intraspecific Variation in Pitviper Venom Composition Detected Using Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) and Isoelectric Focusing

The ability to detect biochemical diversity in animal venoms has wide-ranging implications for a diverse array of scientific disciplines. Matrix-assisted laser desorption time-of-flight mass spectrometry (and, for comparative purposes, isoelectric focusing) were used to characterize venoms from a geographically diverse sample of Trimeresurus stejnegeri ( n < 229) from Taiwan. Previously unrealized levels of heterogeneity were detected in venom phospholipase A(2) isoforms (PLA(2)) and in whole venom profiles. Geographic variation in venom was primarily between Taiwan and two Pacific islets. Despite the common assumption that venom variation is a product of neutral molecular evolution, statistical testing failed to link venom variation with phylogenetic descent convincingly. Instead, pronounced differences in venom composition may be the product of natural selection for regional diets or of independent founder effects. More data are required on the functional differences between the isoforms to distinguish between these alternatives.     

The Magyar moustache: the faces of Hungarian state formation, 1867-1918

This paper outlines the history of Hungarian ethnography and anthropology and their role in the construction of the nation and Hungarian liberalism in the Dualist period (1867-1918). Affected by the specific socio-political conditions of this ethnically most diverse country of contemporary Europe, the disciplinary trajectories of Hungarian ethnography and anthropology diverge considerably from the models offered by the historiography in the British, French and German contexts. The paper argues that the pluralistic, cultural and strongly integrative ethnographic tradition that prevailed in Hungary in the last decades of the nineteenth century did not notably wane and shift towards a biological, hierarchical and racialist thinking by the end of the First World War. Furthermore, Hungarian liberalism did not simply provide the milieu for these disciplines to flourish, but was itself partly the result of these disciplines' attempts to formulate the very concepts of ethnicity and race.     

OMNIITOX concept model supports characterisation modelling for life cycle impact assessment

Goal Scope Background  The main focus in OMNIITOX is on characterisation models for toxicological impacts in a life cycle assessment (LCA) context. The OMNIITOX information system (OMNIITOX IS) is being developed primarily to facilitate characterisation modelling and calculation of characterisation factors to provide users with information necessary for environmental management and control of industrial systems. The modelling and implementation of operational characterisation models on eco and human toxic impacts requires the use of data and modelling approaches often originating from regulatory chemical risk assessment (RA) related disciplines. Hence, there is a need for a concept model for the data and modelling approaches that can be interchanged between these different contexts of natural system model approaches. Methods. The concept modelling methodology applied in the OMNIITOX project is built on database design principles and ontological principles in a consensus based and iterative process by participants from the LCA, RA and environmental informatics disciplines. Results. The developed OMNIITOX concept model focuses on the core concepts of substance, nature framework, load, indicator, and mechanism, with supplementary concepts to support these core concepts. They refer to the modelled cause, effect, and the relation between them, which are aspects inherent in all models used in the disciplines within the scope of OMNIITOX. This structure provides a possibility to compare the models on a fundamental level and a language to communicate information between the disciplines and to assess the possibility of transparently reusing data and modelling approaches of various levels of detail and complexity. Conclusions  The current experiences from applying the concept model show that the OMNIITOX concept model increases the structuring of all information needed to describe characterisation models transparently. From a user perspective the OMNIITOX concept model aids in understanding the applicability, use of a characterisation model and how to interpret model outputs. Recommendations and Outlook  The concept model provides a tool for structured characterisation modelling, model comparison, model implementation, model quality management, and model usage. Moreover, it could be used for the structuring of any natural environment cause-effect model concerning other impact categories than toxicity.     

Understanding the chemical mechanisms of life

Understanding the biological, medical and ecological pathways of complex transformations will be greatly aided by the chemist's molecular approach. The 2nd European Conference on Chemistry for Life Sciences brought together these diverse disciplines to consider where we are and where we will go.     

Estrogen receptor-beta: recent lessons from in vivo studies

The unexpected discovery of a second form of the estrogen receptor (ER), designated ERbeta, surprised and energized the field of estrogen research. In the 9 yr since its identification, the remarkable efforts from academic and industrial scientists of many disciplines have made significant progress in elucidating its biology. A powerful battery of tools, including knockout mice as well as a panel of receptor-selective agonists, has allowed an investigation into the role of ERbeta. To date, in vivo efficacy studies are limited to rodents. Current data indicate that ERbeta plays a minor role in mediating estrogen action in the uterus, on the hypothalamus/pituitary, the skeleton, and other classic estrogen target tissues. However, a clear role for ERbeta has been established in the ovary, cardiovascular system, and brain as well as in several animal models of inflammation including arthritis, endometriosis, inflammatory bowel disease, and sepsis. The next phase of research will focus on elucidating, at a molecular level, how ERbeta exerts these diverse effects and exploring the clinical utility of ERbeta-selective agonists.