On the legacy of W.S. McCulloch

In this paper, we review McCulloch's legacy, from his early work in neurophysiology, and its relationship to his philosophical quest for an 'experimental epistemology' to his role in the cybernetics movement during the 1940s and 1950s and his contributions to the development of computer science and communication theory. There are three parts in chronological sequence. First, the period up to his work at Yale University with Dusser de Barenne, where he concentrated on the experimental study of the functional organization of sensory cortex. Second, the time of his Psychiatric Chair at the University of Chicago and the organization of the Macy Foundation Conferences. To this period corresponds the genesis and publication of the most influential and quoted work by McCulloch and Pitts: A Logical Calculus of the Ideas Immanent in Neurons Activity. Third, the period of his research activity at the Massachussetts Institute of Technology where he, Lettvin, Maturana and Pitts produced epochmaking papers on epistemological neurophysiology, the modelling of the reticular formation and other work with da Fonseca and Moreno-Díaz. We finally refer to the International Conference that took place in McCulloch's memory at the 25th anniversary of his death. Our main conclusion is that McCulloch's writings are still a source of inspiration from neurophysiology to artificial intelligence and robotics.     

Q & A

Gregory A. Petsko is Gyula and Katica Tauber Professor of Biochemistry and Chemistry and Director of the Rosenstiel Basic Medical Sciences Research Center at Brandeis University. He did his undergraduate work at Princeton and his graduate work as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University. He held faculty positions at Wayne State University School of Medicine and MIT before moving to Brandeis in 1990. A structural biologist, he is best known for his work, together with his colleague Dagmar Ringe, on the structural basis of enzyme catalytic power and the role of protein dynamics in protein function. He writes a regular opinion column for the journal Genome Biology.     

Thomas Hunt Morgan as an Embryologist: The View from Bryn Mawr

Thomas Hunt Morgan taught at Bryn Mawr College from 1891 until1904. During his years there he concentrated his research interestson embryology; he included regeneration as an integral partof development. This article maintains that Morgan did not abandonhis interest in embryology when he became a geneticist at Columbia,but it deals mainly with his teaching and research while atBryn Mawr. He worked on the development of a great diversityof organisms, plant and animal, he used widely differing experimentalmethods to investigate them, and he concerned himself with manydifferent general and special problems. He strove to investigateproblems that were directly soluble by experimental intervention,and was highly critical, in the best possible way, of the experimentsand interpretations made by his contemporaries, who regardedhim as a leader. He exerted his influence on developmental biologynot only through his research, but also through a number offine textbooks, and by his teaching. During his Bryn Mawr yearshe encouraged his students, undergraduate and graduate, to carryout independent research. He sometimes published with them asco-author, but dozens of articles by his students were publishedwithout carrying Morgan's name as co-author.     

Rolf Bernander (1956–2014): pioneer of the archaeal cell cycle

On 19 January 2014 Rolf (‘Roffe’) Bernander passed away unexpectedly. Rolf was a dedicated scientist; his research aimed at unravelling the cell biology of the archaeal domain of life, especially cell cycle‐related questions, but he also made important contributions in other areas of microbiology. Rolf had a professor position in the Molecular Evolution programme at Uppsala University, Sweden for about 8 years, and in January 2013 he became chair professor at the Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner‐Gren Institute at Stockholm University in Sweden. Rolf was an exceptional colleague and will be deeply missed by his family and friends, and the colleagues and co‐workers that he leaves behind in the scientific community. He will be remembered for his endless enthusiasm for science, his analytical mind, and his quirky sense of humour.     

The Philosophical Origins of Mitchell's Chemiosmotic Concepts

Mitchell's formulation of the chemiosmotic theory of oxidative phosphorylation in 1961 lacked any experimental support for its three central postulates. The path by which Mitchell reached this theory is explored. A major factor was the role of Mitchell's philosophical system conceived in his student days at Cambridge. This system appears to have become a tacit influence on his work in the sense that Polanyi understood all knowledge to be generated by an interaction between tacit and explicit knowing. Early in his life Mitchell had evolved a simple philosophy based on fluctoids, fluctids and statids which was developed in a thesis submitted for the z at the University of Cambridge, England. This aspect of his work was rejected by the examiners and became a tacit element in his intellectual development. It is argued from his various publications that this philosophy can be traced as an underlying theme behind much of Mitchell's theoretical writing in the 50's leading, through his notion of vectorial metabolism, to the formulation and amplification of the chemiosmotic theory in the sixties. This philosophy formed the basis for Mitchell of his understanding of biological systems and gave him his unique approach to cell biology. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Q & A. [interview

George Oster is Professor of Biophysics, University of California, Berkeley. He received his B.S. at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and his Ph.D. at Columbia University. He began his career in biophysics as a postdoc at the Weizmann Institute under Aharon Katchalsky, where his research involved membrane biophysics and irreversible thermodynamics. His concern for environmental issues led him into population biology, which shaded into evolutionary biology and thence to developmental biology, cell biology and, most recently, protein motors and bacterial motility and pattern formation. His tools are mathematics, physics and computer simulation. He is currently a faculty member in the Departments of Molecular and Cellular Biology and the College of Natural Resources at Berkeley.     

Behavioral changes of a juvenile gorilla after a transfer to a more naturalistic environment

Play behavior and stress-associated behavior of a captive juvenile gorilla were observed before and after his transfer to a larger and more natural environment. The gorilla was observed for 4 months after the transfer and at 1 and 4 years after the transfer. Throughout his first month in the new environment play decreased dramatically. Although play subsequently increased again 2 months and 1 year after the transfer, it never reached the levels of play in the old environment. Four years after the move his play had decreased again to the low level of his first month in the new environment. Two of his stress-associated behaviors, coprophagy and regurgitation/reingestion, decreased after the transfer. Self-clasping behavior increased initially in the new environment and remained at high levels 1 year after the move. Four years after the move his self-clasping behavior was significantly less than at 1 year after the move; however, it continued to be significantly greater than in the old environment. These findings suggest that larger and more natural environments do not necessarily result in more play activity or a reduction in all stress-associated behavior.     

Vincenzo Malacarne (1744-1816): a researcher in neurophysiology between anatomophysiology and electrical physiology of the human brain

Since his first years at Turin until the last years of his life at Padua, Vincenzo Malacarne devoted most of his time to the examination of the structures and the various parts of which the cerebellum and the human brain are composed. He is rightly considered as one of the first to have correctly described the anatomy of the cerebellum, as well in the field of human anatomy and comparative anatomy. However, his work cannot be reduced to these studies. He worked out a cerebral physiology, with organic and intellectual phenomena in mind, established on an anatomopsychic parallelism. This parallelism is itself founded on a rational and mathematical criterion: the number of lamellae contained in the cerebellum. A letter written by him in 1792 and addressed to Abbot Denina was recently found by the present author in November 2005 at the Academy of Sciences of Turin. Malacarne exposed his project of studying the animal electricity put forward by Galvani within the cerebral organ. May it be that Malacarne had in mind the physiology of his time while trying to record an electric activity within the brain?     

What's so special about Osler?

Sir William Osler was an outstanding figure in American and British Medicine during the early years of this century. Over fifty years after his death, his name is still remembered and honored, whereas other leaders who were equally important in the eyes of their contemporaries have been relegated to the realm of history. This brief review attempts to discover what special qualities have kept Osler''s memory vivid. No single characteristic of his skill, science, or personality seems in itself to explain his continuing reputation. Rather, a combination of his eminence in several different medical schools, his presence at a time of revolution in medical teaching and thought, his authorship of one of the most successful medical textbooks, and an enthusiastic claque of ex-students and colleagues seem to have combined to maintain his memory as a leader of medicine.     

Bradycardiac Angina: Haemodynamic Aspects and Treatment

A patient with a sinus bradycardia and angina is described who was unable to increase his heart rate on vigorous exercise by more than a few beats. His severe angina was attributed to the bradycardia. Atrial pacing of his heart abolished his angina and increased his exercise tolerance. Circulatory changes at rest, on exertion, and with atrial pacing are described. The cause of angina in this patient is discussed.     

Medicine or Science—A Study of Career Decisions

A study of the career decisions of all students in a single matriculation cohort was undertaken in 1965 at the University of British Columbia. Studied were 64 premedical students, 112 ex-premedical students and 87 science students who had completed at least their second year. It was found by means of a questionnaire that medicine remained the career of high prestige for the three groups of students. In general the values and needs of the ex-premedical student were more similar to those of the science student than the premedical student. The loyalists to medicine were found to be more committed, self-assured, and orientated towards people and service. In addition, the premedical student was more concerned about his academic achievement but was also more confident of his progress. He emerged at the end of his training as the committed student who had chosen medicine at an early age and had remained loyal to his chosen career goal.     

Robert Alexander Falla K.B.E., C.M.G., M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S.N.Z.

Abstract

On 23 February 1979 Sir Robert Falla collapsed and died at his home in Eastbourne. He was 77. His sudden death came as a great shock to his multitude of friends and colleagues, many of whom were still sharing with Sir Robert a deep sense of loss at the death on 31 May 1978, shortly after the couple's golden wedding anniversary, of his charming wife Molly.     

Development of a congenitally malformed Japanese monkey in a free-ranging group during the first four years of life

A malformed male Japanese monkey completely lacking both hands was observed in a free-ranging situation to four years of age. He developed a locomotor pattern appropriate to his deformity, namely, bipedal walking on hind legs. He maintained a stronger bond with his mother than did normal same-aged male monkeys and retained the same high dominance ranking order as his mother. He did not show peripheralization as did normal juvenile monkeys. No social disadvantages based on his physical deficiencies were observed at least until the end of his fourth year of life.     

The marriage of art and science in health care

This paper invites the reader to consider the marriage of art and science as antidote to much epidemic disease, for our greater personal and societal health. The history of arts medicine is reviewed, identifying its persisting although often tenuous link with health care from pre-history to the present. The author describes his personal encounter with art at the bedside, and how it led to his establishing a comprehensive artist-in-residence program at his university hospital. The scientific evidence underscoring the efficacy of art-making for physical and psychological health are outlined, together with the physiological and biochemical data. The author describes his own program, and offers examples of healing art in action.     

OBITUARY NOTICES

Major R obert C ary B arnard was born at Cheltenham on 13th December, 1827, but was brought up at Bartlow in Cambridgeshire, where his father lived. He received his education first at private schools, then at Winchester under the Rev. G. Moberly.     

Known by the society he keeps: an interview with Robert Ruffolo

By his own admission, Robert R. Ruffolo, Head of Research and Development at Wyeth-Ayerst, is a bit of a nerd. Opting to spend seven nights per week with his textbooks at the expense of all else, he earned his pharmacy degree summa cum laude, and his PhD in pharmacology in just over three years. He speaks with unabashed enthusiasm for the pharmaceutical industry, for biomedicine, and particularly for the future of pharmacology. Even if you don't know Ruffolo, you've probably seen him-if not at a science symposium, then surely as the lead "actor" in televised promotions that ran throughout 1999 on behalf of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA; scenes reproduced here, with permission). "Actor" belongs in quotation marks, because if there is such a thing as type casting, then Ruffolo is certainly an example in the PhRMA ads: passionate about good drugs and the people who need them; proud of his profession and his contributions; dedicated to science as well as to his colleagues; and grateful for the opportunities he has had to contribute. The commercial's requisite happy ending, where three generations of a coronary-prone farm family ride off into the sunset, reflects Ruffolo's own success story in helping to bring carvedilol to market. In all of this, however, Ruffolo's sincerity transcends the hokey as well as the nerdy. His devotion to science includes a mission to help others, and he would argue that in this and most ways, he is not so different from his academic colleagues.     

The DNA supercoiling-sensitive expression of the Salmonella typhimurium his operon requires the his attenuator and is modulated by anaerobiosis and by osmolarity

Bacterial cells possess a subset of genes whose expression correlates with changes in DNA supercoiling brought about by anaerobic growth and by growth at high osmolarity. It has been shown previously that expression of the histidine biosynthetic operon of Salmonella typhimurium is derepressed by relaxation of supercoiled DNA. Here, we confirm that a his::MudJ operon fusion in S. typhimurium can be induced by treatment with the DNA gyrase inhibitor novobiocin in a dose-dependent manner, and show that the level of derepression is higher in stationary phase than in mid-exponential phase cultures. Furthermore, expression of his is repressed by anaerobiosis and by osmolarity, two environmental parameters which increase the negative supercoiling of bacterial DNA. Novobiocin induction of his is also repressed by growing the cells either at high osmolarity or anaerobically. Both environmental repression and novobiocin induction of his require the his attenuator. In addition, derepression of his expression by novobiocin and its repression by anaerobiosis or osmolarity are independent of the stringent response gene, relA.     

I. P. Pavlov's teacher of physiology I. F. Tsion (1842-1912)]

In 1866, at the C. Ludwig's laboratory, E. F. Cyon discovered n. depressor, and after C. Bernard's presentation he was awarded with the Montion Prize of the Paris Academy of Sciences. In 1867, together with his brother M. Cyon, he discovered nn. accelerantes of heart, which increase the heart rate when being stimulated. From 1868 to 1874 he was a privatdocent an professor of physiology at Saint-Petersburg University, where under his guidance I.P. Pavlov mastered the brilliant technique of vivisection experiment and accomplished his first works on the physiology of circulation and digestion. From 1872 to 1874 E. F. Cyon was physiology professor at Saint-Petersburg Medical-Surgical Academy. He published "Course of Physiology" in 2 volumes, the official speech "Heart and Brain" and others, proposed an original theory of inhibition, improved the reflex theory. He published 197 works, including 151 in German and French. I. P. Pavlov paid a worthy tribute to his teacher and continued the main direction of his investigations.     

A new perspective on lakes: Kawanabe's latest achievements

In October 1996 the Lake Biwa Museum opened in Oroshimo, Japan after 10 years of planing and construction. It is a most ambitious concept and a very impressive facility. By June of 1997 it had attracted almost 800 000 visitors – almost twice the at tendance predicted for the entire first year of operation.The founding Director General of the Lake Biwa Museum is Hiroya Kawanabe. After a distinguished career as professor of ecology at Kyoto University, Hiroya Kawanabe founded the Centre for Ecological Research at Otsu. After retirement from the university he moved to his new position at the Lake Biwa Museum. Kawanabe-san is internationally recognized for his pioneering and collaborative research on the ayu, Pleoglossus altivelis, Lake Biwa and the ecology of Lake Tanganyika fishes (Kawanabe 1996, Kawanabe et al. 1997). The Lake Biwa Museum is not only the pinnacle of his personal and professional achievements, but also the physical embodiment of his philosophy of science and life.