全国实验动物遗传技术培训班在京举行

全国实验动物遗传技术培训班于2004年10月25日至29日,在中国药品生物制品检定所(国家实验动物遗传质量检测中心)顺利结束。来自全国14个省市15家单位的25名学员参加了本次培训和研讨。中国医学科学院实验动物研究所秦川所长、中国药品生物制品检定所实验动物中心邢瑞昌主任等有关专家出席了开幕式并发表了热情洋溢的讲话。本次培训以2001版实验动物国家标准为依据,以实际操作为重点,同时注重理论联系实际。遗传质量检测中心的邢瑞昌主任等分别就实验动物遗传检测的原理、遗传检测技术进展、生化标记方法、以及免疫学方法进行了讲解,在实践操…     

鱼类实验动物

阐述了鱼类作为实验动物的优点,介绍了国外鱼类实验动物和我国的鱼类实验动物,探讨了鱼类实验动物的应用。     

中国遗传学会召开动物染色体组型和斑带技术讨论会

全国动物染色体组型和斑带技术讨论会于1983年7月31日至8月5日在昆明市召开。动物染色体组型和斑带的研究,是动物遗传学的重要组成部分,对家畜、家禽、鱼类、蚕业的遗传育种及野生动物遗传资源的利用,遗传毒理学和环境保护等都具有重要的指导作用。     

实验用鱼类的水环境及其标准化

由于近年实验用鱼作为新兴模式动物在国内外生命科技界发展迅速,因此实验用鱼的标准化特别是对其水环境的标准化已经成为实验用鱼类研究发展的必然趋势。本文分析和综述了实验用鱼类所需的水源及供水要求、水质和水环境的技术指标特点和对鱼类的影响,以期为斑马鱼、剑尾鱼等水生动物的实验动物化研究提供必要的资料。     

鱼类核移植与重编程

鱼类核移植是动物克隆研究的一个重要领域, 我国学者在上世纪60年代首创了鱼类的核移植研究。以斑马鱼为模式动物, 进行核移植与再程序化研究具有独特的优势。文章总结了鱼类细胞核移植研究的历史、斑马鱼核移植研究概况、以及影响核移植胚胎发育的因素, 特别是核移植胚胎基因组的表观遗传修饰, 如基因组DNA甲基化及组蛋白乙酰化和甲基化等的研究, 将有助于完善克隆技术并提高克隆的成功率, 推动克隆技术的广泛开展和应用。     

鱼类经济性状遗传解析及分子育种应用研究

人类需要不断改良养殖鱼类的生产性状以提供更多优质的动物蛋白.鱼类的经济性状由多基因的数量性状位点所控制,其中大部分基因是微效的,但是少数基因可能具有决定性的影响.基于近10年来遗传学和基因组学研究中的主要进展,本文简要介绍和评述一些重要养殖鱼类在生长、抗病(逆)、性别等经济性状开展分子育种基础和应用研究的状况,探讨组学和下一代测序技术在鱼类经济性状遗传解析和分子设计育种中的应用潜力.这些研究有助于最终揭示鱼类经济性状的遗传调控机制并将相关研究成果应用于养殖鱼类目标性状的遗传改良.     

中国重要海洋动物遗传多样性的研究进展

海洋动物遗传多样性的研究不仅可以揭示物种的起源与进化历史,而且为遗传资源的保存、海水养殖动物育种和遗传改良及整个海洋生态环境的修复和稳定等工作提供理论依据.本文概述了近十几年来我国重要海洋动物(主要包括鱼类、虾蟹类和贝类)遗传多样性研究所取得的成果,具体阐述其在种质鉴定、系统进化、群体遗传结构分析和良种培育等方面的应用,以期进一步推动海洋动物遗传多样性研究,加快优良种质的培育,促进海水养殖业的健康发展,实现海洋生物资源的合理开发和可持续利用.     

鱼类线粒体DNA及其研究进展

鱼类是脊椎动物中最原始而在种属数量上又最占优势的类群,其起源复杂,分布广泛,拥有丰富的遗传多样性。鱼类线粒体DNA(mitochondrial DNA,mtDNA)同其他脊椎动物的mtRNA一样,呈共价闭合环状,是细胞核外具自主复制、转录和翻译能力的遗传因子。与核DNA相比,鱼类mtDNA具有分子较小、结构简单、进化速度快、遗传相对独立性和母系遗传等特点,是一个相对独立的复制单位。由于鱼类线粒体DNA具有上述特点,以mtDNA作为分子标记,探讨鱼类的群体遗传结构与系统演化,已成为鱼类分子群体遗传学和系统学研究中的热点。综述了鱼类mtDNA的结构特征、进化和多态性检测方法及其在鱼类分子群体遗传学和鱼类系统学研究中的应用。     

分子遗传标记技术在兔遗传多样性分析中的应用

实验兔是重要的实验动物之一,在医药领域发挥重要作用。各种分子遗传标记的出现为实验兔系统发育、种群遗传结构分析以及质量控制等各个领域提供了更为简便、可靠的研究手段。但目前,国内实验兔遗传质量不稳定,遗传背景不明确,严重制约着实验兔的应用。本文对各种分子标记在兔遗传多样性中的应用进行综述,以为实验兔遗传检测方法的建立提供帮助。     

鱼类线粒体DNA及其在分子群体遗传研究中的应用

鱼类是脊椎动物亚门中种属数量最多的类群,分布广泛,起源复杂,拥有丰富的遗传多样性.多种自然和人为因素对鱼类遗传资源存在不同程度的作用,对鱼类生存和进化有重要影响.采用分子手段探讨鱼类遗传资源现状,可为遗传育种、鱼类进化研究和遗传资源保护等提供一定科学依据.以鱼类线粒体DNA(mtDNA)为代表的分子标记技术已被用于研究鱼类群体遗传结构及其与影响因素间的关系.本文综述了鱼类mtDNA的结构特征及其在鱼类分子群体遗传研究中的应用,对了解和运用mtDNA等分子标记研究鱼类群体遗传具有一定参考价值.     

数字透出的信息——生命科学正在蓬勃发展

生命科学和信息科学是近年来发展很快因而备受科学界关注的学科。我们以国际、国内的有关科学论坛、科学会议、科学评论及有关网站的统计数据为基础 ,对生命科学和信息科学进行了初步的比较研究 ,并对生命科学和信息科学的发展趋势进行了简略的探讨。     

Local advisers for the teaching of microbiology in schools

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of formal teaching of ethical issues related to science on middle school students' attitudes towards science and science achievement. A total of 132 Grade 8 (age 13 – 14years) students in Seoul participated, who were divided into the control and the experimental group. Student attitude toward science was assessed using a questionnaire before and after the intervention which composed of five sub-categories: students' interest level in science, students' perception of the practicality of science knowledge, student's opinion on how science is defined, students' perception of the relationships within science, scientists and society, and students' perception of the value of science. The study further examined whether teaching ethical issues in science had any effect on students' achievement level by means of a pre- and post-test evaluation.

The results of this study showed that teaching ethical issues in science had a positive influence on the students' attitudes toward science, specifically, the interest level in science (p = 0.028) and perception of practicality of science knowledge (p = 0.044). However, there was no statistically significant difference in science achievement level between the control and experimental groups. The results imply that there is a need to explore ethical issues in science education, and that incorporating various materials on the ethical perspectives of science and technology in educational material will promote students' positive attitude towards science.     

Fostering Change from Within: Influencing Teaching Practices of Departmental Colleagues by Science Faculty with Education Specialties

Globally, calls for the improvement of science education are frequent and fervent. In parallel, the phenomenon of having Science Faculty with Education Specialties (SFES) within science departments appears to have grown in recent decades. In the context of an interview study of a randomized, stratified sample of SFES from across the United States, we discovered that most SFES interviewed (82%) perceived having professional impacts in the realm of improving undergraduate science education, more so than in research in science education or K-12 science education. While SFES reported a rich variety of efforts towards improving undergraduate science education, the most prevalent reported impact by far was influencing the teaching practices of their departmental colleagues. Since college and university science faculty continue to be hired with little to no training in effective science teaching, the seeding of science departments with science education specialists holds promise for fostering change in science education from within biology, chemistry, geoscience, and physics departments.     

An exploratory study of student teachers’ conceptions of teaching life science outdoors

Abstract

The purpose of this exploratory qualitative study was to investigate elementary student teachers’ conceptions of teaching life science outdoors. The study involved 99 student teachers who were enrolled in an elementary science methods course at a large public university in the United States of America. The study utilised drawings, and narratives to investigate the nature of these teachers’ conceptions. Data analysis revealed that three conceptions of teaching life science were common among the participants: (1) teaching life science is predominantly conceptualised as being situated in the schoolyard, (2) teaching life science outdoors is teacher-directed, and (3) teaching life science outdoors is disconnected from in-class science instruction. Implications include the need for (1) teacher education programmes to provide reflective supports that explicate student teachers’ conceptualisation of teaching life science and thus exposing prior frameworks; and (2) teacher educators to examine student teachers’ prior frameworks for teaching life science outdoors and provide knowledgeable theory and practice platforms that will serve as frameworks for student teachers to adopt, connect and routinize outdoor life science teaching with in-school teaching of life science.     

Investigating Human Impact in the Environment with Faded Scaffolded Inquiry Supported by Technologies

Teaching science as inquiry is advocated in all national science education documents and by leading science and science teaching organizations. In addition to teaching science as inquiry, we recognize that learning experiences need to connect to students’ lives. This article details how we use a sequence of faded scaffolded inquiry supported by technologies to engage students meaningfully in science connected to their lives and schoolyards. In this approach, more teacher guidance is provided earlier in the inquiry experiences before this is faded later in the sequence, as students are better prepared to complete successful inquiries. The sequence of inquiry experiences shared in this article offers one possible mechanism for science teaching supported by technologies as an exemplar for translating teaching “science as inquiry” into practice.     

Tailoring science outreach through E-matching using a community-based participatory approach

In an effort to increase science exposure for pre-college (K-12) students and as part of the science education reform agenda, many biomedical research institutions have established university-community partnerships. Typically, these science outreach programs consist of pre-structured, generic exposure for students, with little community engagement. However, the use of a medium that is accessible to both teachers and scientists, electronic web-based matchmaking (E-matching) provides an opportunity for tailored outreach utilizing a community-based participatory approach (CBPA), which involves all stakeholders in the planning and implementation of the science outreach based on the interests of teachers/students and scientists. E-matching is a timely and urgent endeavor that provides a rapid connection for science engagement between teachers/students and experts in an effort to fill the science outreach gap. National Lab Network (formerly National Lab Day), an ongoing initiative to increase science equity and literacy, provides a model for engaging the public in science via an E-matching and hands-on learning approach. We argue that science outreach should be a dynamic endeavor that changes according to the needs of a target school. We will describe a case study of a tailored science outreach activity in which a public school that serves mostly under-represented minority students from disadvantaged backgrounds were E-matched with a university, and subsequently became equal partners in the development of the science outreach plan. In addition, we will show how global science outreach endeavors may utilize a CBPA, like E-matching, to support a pipeline to science among under-represented minority students and students from disadvantaged backgrounds. By merging the CBPA concept with a practical case example, we hope to inform science outreach practices via the lens of a tailored E-matching approach.     

Plans of mice and men: from bench science to science policy

The transition from bench science to science policy is not always a smooth one, and my journey stretched as far as the unemployment line to the hallowed halls of the U.S. Capitol. While earning my doctorate in microbiology, I found myself more interested in my political activities than my experiments. Thus, my science policy career aspirations were born from merging my love of science with my interest in policy and politics. After receiving my doctorate, I accepted the Henry Luce Scholarship, which allowed me to live in South Korea for 1 year and delve into the field of science policy research. This introduction into science policy occurred at the South Korean think tank called the Science and Technology Policy Institute (STEPI). During that year, I used textbooks, colleagues, and hands-on research projects as my educational introduction into the social science of science and technology decision-making. However, upon returning to the United States during one of the worst job markets in nearly 80 years, securing a position in science policy proved to be very difficult, and I was unemployed for five months. Ultimately, it took more than a year from the end of the Luce Scholarship to obtain my next science policy position with the American Society for Microbiology Congressional Fellowship. This fellowship gave me the opportunity to work as the science and public health advisor to U.S. Senator Harry Reid. While there were significant challenges during my transition from the laboratory to science policy, those challenges made me tougher, more appreciative, and more prepared to move from working at the bench to working in the field of science policy.     

Definition of the real domain of the history of sciences and exploring the relationship with the philosophy of science

The specific field of the history of science is the study and explanation of the origin and transformation of the structures of scientific knowledge. The historian of science should render understandable the reality of scientific research. The relationships between the history of science and the philosophy of science are examined stating that (1) the philosophical theories on the development of science have a scientific content only as much as they may be compared with the results of the history of science, and (2) the philosophy of science does not refer to an immediate historical reality but to an intellectual reconstruction of the past.     

``Why Study History for Science?'

David Hull has demonstrated a marvelous ability to annoy everyone who caresabout science (or should), by forcing us to confront deep truths about howscience works. Credit, priority, precularities, and process weave together tomake the very fabric of science. As Hull's studies reveal, the story is bothmessier and more irritating than those limited by a single disciplinaryperspective generally admit. By itself history is interesting enough, andphilosophy valuable enough. But taken together, they do so much in tellingus about science and by puncturing the comfortable popular illusion abouthow science works. Ultimately, David Hull shows by his example thathistory and philosophy of science can make science better. I agree, and withits focus on the history of science in particular, this paper explores why.     

Scientists want more children

Scholars partly attribute the low number of women in academic science to the impact of the science career on family life. Yet, the picture of how men and women in science--at different points in the career trajectory--compare in their perceptions of this impact is incomplete. In particular, we know little about the perceptions and experiences of junior and senior scientists at top universities, institutions that have a disproportionate influence on science, science policy, and the next generation of scientists. Here we show that having fewer children than wished as a result of the science career affects the life satisfaction of science faculty and indirectly affects career satisfaction, and that young scientists (graduate students and postdoctoral fellows) who have had fewer children than wished are more likely to plan to exit science entirely. We also show that the impact of science on family life is not just a woman's problem; the effect on life satisfaction of having fewer children than desired is more pronounced for male than female faculty, with life satisfaction strongly related to career satisfaction. And, in contrast to other research, gender differences among graduate students and postdoctoral fellows disappear. Family factors impede talented young scientists of both sexes from persisting to research positions in academic science. In an era when the global competitiveness of US science is at risk, it is concerning that a significant proportion of men and women trained in the select few spots available at top US research universities are considering leaving science and that such desires to leave are related to the impact of the science career on family life. Results from our study may inform university family leave policies for science departments as well as mentoring programs in the sciences.