超个体的生物学奥秘:评E.D.Wilson二本昆虫学著作的中译本

生物体(organism)是生物学的基本研究对象。如果给它下一定义,那么生物体是多种器官的生命复杂适应系统(complex adaptive system),这些器官之间相互影响,使得在某些方面行使一个稳定整体的功能。可见,生物体由器官组成的,不过世界上还存在一种由很多生物体组成的超生物体,称作     

E.O.威尔逊的“博物学家”头衔

威尔逊(Edward O.Wilson,1929-2021)是哈佛大学著名学者,取得多方面的成就,有许多头衔,如昆虫学家、演化生物学家、社会生物学家、思想家等。我特别关注他的博物学家(naturalist,也可译作"博物者")头衔(Nichols,1991;MacGregor,2018),他本人也特别在意这个称号,并把它用作自传《博物学家》的书名(Wilson, 1994)。     

E. O. 威尔逊的学术生涯与蚂蚁研究成就纵览

1"蚁学巨匠"E.O.Wilson E.O.Wilson教授被誉为当代蚂蚁研究的翘楚。他的研究领域涉及蚂蚁的分类、生态和行为等各个方面,并由此衍生出岛屿生物地理学的理论和社会生物学的体系。这些研究成果对于当今的昆虫学和生物学其他分支学科均产生着深远的影响。     

纳米生物学:使能技术揭示生命过程的奥秘

正纳米科学是20世纪90年代出现的一门新兴学科,是致力于研究在100 nm左右的尺度空间内电子、原子和分子运动规律和特性的科学与技术. 1990年,美国加州的IBM研究实验室利用扫描隧道显微镜在低温真空条件下,将35个氙原子放置在镍基片上构成"IBM"字样,标志着纳米科学的诞生.由于该技术的最终目标是让人类能够按照自己的意愿操纵单个原子和分子,以实现对微观世界的有效控制,所以被认为是21世纪     

超快过程激光生物学的内容、方法和意义 Ⅱ.超快过程激光生物学的研究领域

首先,讨论了用超短光脉冲对高等植物和细菌光合作用研究,从瞬态吸收研究推出了电子转移步骤。分析了对其他植物色素研究激光应用的可能性;其次,讨论在动物色素研究中的激光应用,它包括：黑色素的研究;视觉的原初过程;卟啉和它的衍生物（血红蛋白）研究及生物发光。进一步指出了紫外激光在蛋白质、核酸、糖类和脂类中的应用。     

超快过程激光生物学的内容,方法和意义：II.超快过程激光生物学的研究领域

首先,讨论了用超短光脉冲对高等植物和细菌光合作用研究,从瞬态吸收研究推出了电子转移步骤。分析了对其他植物色素研究激光应用的可能性;其次,讨论在动物色素研究中的激光应用,它包括：黑色素的研究;视觉的原初过程;卟啉和它的衍生物（血红蛋白）研究及生物发光。进一步指出了紫外激光在蛋白质、核酸、糖类和脂类中的应用。     

Tails of two Tirs: actin pedestal formation by enteropathogenic E. coli and enterohemorrhagic E. coli O157:H7

Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) and enterohemorrhagic E. coli O157:H7 (EHEC) form characteristic lesions on infected mammalian cells called actin pedestals. Each of these two pathogens injects its own translocated intimin receptor (Tir) molecule into the plasma membranes of host cells. Interaction of translocated Tir with the bacterial outer membrane protein intimin is required to trigger the assembly of actin into focused pedestals beneath bound bacteria. Despite similarities between the Tir molecules and the host components that associate with pedestals, recent work indicates that EPEC and EHEC Tir are not functionally interchangeable. For EPEC, Tir-mediated binding of Nck, a host adaptor protein implicated in actin signaling, is both necessary and sufficient to initiate actin assembly. In contrast, for EHEC, pedestals are formed independently of Nck, and require translocation of bacterial factors in addition to Tir to trigger actin signaling.     

The first two decades of vitamin E.

This presentation reviews highlights of the first 20 years (1922-1942) of vitamin E. It begins with background information leading to identification of an antisterility factor for rats of both sexes and its acceptance into the vitamin family as vitamin E (1925). Research of the next 12 years revealed a multiplicity of deficiency manifestations: embryonic mortality, testis degeneration, encephalomalacia and exudative diathesis in the chick, and nutritional muscular dystrophy in avian and mammalian species. Toward the close of this period came the isolation of vitamin E from natural sources, determination of its empirical formula, and introduction of the designation alpha-tocopherol for vitamin E (1936). Within the next two years the structural formula of alpha-tocopherol was elucidated, its chemical synthesis accomplished, and its production from natural plant oils by molecular distillation was well established. The existence of other tocopherols with lesser degrees of biological activity became recognized. Also, the concurrent development of a chemical method for determining the vitamin E content of alpha-tocopherol in foods, body tissues and body fluids, which replaced the very laborious bioassay procedure, greatly facilitated later advances in knowledge of the distribution and nature of vitamin E.     

Structural and genetic relationships of two pairs of closely related O-antigens of Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica: E. coli O11/S. enterica O16 and E. coli O21/S. enterica O38

The O-antigen is a part of the lipopolysaccharide molecule present in the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria, and is essential for the full function of the microorganisms. Salmonella enterica and Escherichia coli are taxonomically closely related species. In this study, the O-antigen structures of S. enterica O16 and O38 and E. coli O11 were determined. Salmonella enterica O38 and E. coli O21 were found to have identical O-antigen structures, whereas S. enterica O16 and E. coli O11 had closely related structures, differing only in the presence of a lateral glucose residue and O-acetylation of a mannose residue in the former. The O-antigen gene clusters of S. enterica O16 and O38 and E. coli O11 were sequenced and analyzed together with that of E. coli O21 retrieved from the GenBank. Each S. enterica/E. coli pair was found to contain the same set of genes organized in the same manner and to share 56-78% overall DNA identity. These data suggest that the O-antigen gene clusters of each pair studied originated from a common ancestor. Thus, it has become evident that in the past, the degree of relatedness between the O-antigens of S. enterica and E. coli was underestimated.