Diving physiology of birds: a history of studies on polar species

Our knowledge of avian diving physiology has been based primarily on research with polar species. Since Scholander's 1940 monograph, research has expanded from examination of the 'diving reflex' to studies of free-diving birds, and has included laboratory investigations of oxygen stores, muscle adaptations, pressure effects, and cardiovascular/metabolic responses to swimming exercise. Behavioral and energetic studies at sea have shown that common diving durations of many avian species exceed the calculated aerobic diving limits (ADL). Current physiological research is focused on factors, such as heart rate and temperature, which potentially affect the diving metabolic rate and duration of aerobic diving.     

History of polar whaling: insights into the physiology of the great whales

The sheer size and pelagic nature of the great whales has effectively precluded detailed studies of most of their physiological processes. The vast majority of all data for these species have come from anatomical studies conducted on specimens that were caught in commercial and native whaling operations. In both the polar regions, an incredible number of whales were hunted, but anatomical studies were not usually conducted until relatively recent times. However, the anatomical data that do exist provide a valuable insight into some of the physiological demands placed on the animals by their marine habitat. These include information on blubber and nutrition; baleen and feeding ecology; contaminant chemistry and tissue samples; diving chemistry and acoustics. Taken together, these anatomical data provide the only substantial information on how these animals dive and hunt. Recent breakthroughs in chemical techniques however, are providing even greater details on function (for example, fatty acid signature methods). Coupled with advanced methods for tracking these whales at sea (acoustic and satellite), future studies should provide significant new information on the general physiology of these difficult to study species.     

The Paton individual-based model legacy

Ray Paton oversaw the creation of a long lineage of Individual-based Models (IbMs) and this paper discusses the five most successful. All of these concern the development of adaptation, covering both evolutionary time and organism lifetime (somatic time). Of the five models discussed here, the first is based on a plant-herbivore model, the other four are based on a substrate-bacteria model, with the option of antibiotics.     

The Henrietta Lacks legacy grows

Now that the NIH has reached an agreement with Henrietta Lacks''s family concerning the use of the HeLa cell line, what lessons can we learn about informed consent and the unforeseen use of biological samples?On 7 August 2013, the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced that it had reached an agreement with the descendants of Henrietta Lacks concerning NIH-funded uses of the HeLa cell line [1], which, over the past 60 years has been featured in tens of thousands of experiments all over the world, and even in outer space.The origin of these cells, although never a secret, did not become well known until the 2010 publication of Rebecca Skloot''s book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. As was the practice of the time, Henrietta Lacks was not asked for permission to use samples of her tumour for research. For several decades, her family knew nothing about the HeLa cell line or its genetic tie to Henrietta Lacks—and to themselves. Henrietta Lacks''s contribution was little recognized and her family received no benefits from the widespread use of the cell line.On 11 March 2013, a team of researchers from The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), led by Lars Steinmetz, published an article about the genomic characteristics of the one strain of the HeLa cell line [2]. Following current practice, they posted the whole genome sequence on-line, intending for it to serve as a resource to help other researchers; they did not intend or expect to set off an ethical controversy.But they did. Articles in the scientific press raised questions about publishing the genome sequence of the HeLa cell line [3], because although it had mutated enormously over the past 60 years, the data did provide some genomic information about Henrietta Lacks and, probabilistically, about her living descendants. As a result, Rebecca Skloot, on behalf of the Lacks family, raised concerns about their privacy.In the meantime, although the EMBL team had followed existing laws and regulations in its use of the HeLa samples, it responded to the controversy. The authors wrote to the Lacks family through Rebecca Skloot, apologizing for any distress the publication had caused, removed the sequence data from the internet, and offered to work with the family to find ways to make this potentially scientifically valuable information available while protecting the family''s interests and acknowledging Henrietta Lacks''s crucial role. At Steinmetz''s request, we conducted a bench-side ethics consult and provided some advice to the team as it strove to deal with this situation.The 7 August agreement between the NIH and the Lacks family resulted from discussions between Francis Collins and family members. It requires that any HeLa genomic information from NIH-associated studies be deposited in NIH''s ‘database of genotypes and phenotypes'' (dbGaP). A HeLa Genome Data Access Working Group made up of three scientists, two members of the Lacks family and one bioethicist will review requests to use the data, making recommendations to the Advisory Committee to the Director, and ultimately to the NIH Director. All publications that have used the data must include a specific acknowledgement of Henrietta Lacks and her family.This compromise is a reasonable resolution to an unusually extreme example of the increasing conflict between researchers'' need for broad availability of data (and samples) and legitimate privacy and autonomy interests of the people who are the sources of biological research materials and data. Unlike most research in recent decades, until this agreement, no one ever gave any permission for Henrietta Lacks'' tumour cells to be used for research. And the source of the HeLa cells is not only identifiable, but famous.However, the agreement is not completely enforceable. The Director of the NIH only has power over the NIH and the work it funds. We hope researchers not funded by NIH will abide by the agreement, both out of respect for the Lacks family and to help build trust among millions of other research subjects, but this cannot be guaranteed.A bigger issue is the many other human samples and data sets that are broadly accessible to researchers and sometimes the public. Some come with no consent, some have some consent, but few have actual and honest informed consent to be used for any purpose by any researchers or for data to be publicly available online. And although most are stripped of individual identifiers, that is cold comfort in an era of common breaches of data confidentiality and the use of other data sets to re-identify ‘anonymized'' data and samples [4].We cannot set up new administrative committees for every set of human data or biological samples. What we can do—and must do—is to make sure that, going forward, donors have knowingly made clear how they can, and cannot, be used. In addition, we must acknowledge that genomic information is no longer truly anonymous. These changes will require new understandings between researchers and research participants. The HeLa agreement provides a way to resolve that dilemma in an exceptional case; we now need to manage that conflict in common cases.One last note. Steinmetz and the EMBL group apologized to the Lacks family and took down the genomic data whilst a resolution could be explored. Jay Shendure and his group agreed to hold up publication of their similar paper [5] for the same end. The NIH seriously reached out to the family to make an agreement happen. And the Lacks family agreed. We think these acts—of consideration, patience and understanding, acknowledging and respecting the important role of research donors and participants—show an understanding of the underlying interests that researchers and research participants share. That all sides could find common ground in this most extraordinary case is perhaps the best result, and lesson, of the controversy.     

Fasting physiology of polar bears in relation to environmental change and breeding behavior in the Beaufort Sea

We examined the use of the ratio of serum urea to serum creatinine as a physiological biomarker of fasting to monitor temporal patterns in the feeding ecology of polar bears (Ursus maritimus). Blood was collected from 436 polar bears in the eastern Beaufort Sea during April and May of 1985–1986 and 2005–2006. The proportions of polar bears fasting were 9.6% in 1985, 10.5% in 1986, 21.4% in 2005, and 29.3% in 2006. We used stepwise logistic regression analysis to evaluate factors that could influence the binary response variable of fasting or not fasting. Significant predictor variables of fasting were: the 2005 and 2006 capture years, solitary adult male bears, and adult male bears that were accompanying an estrous female. The increased number of polar bears in a physiological fasting state from all sex, age, and reproductive classes in 2005 and 2006 corresponded with broad scale changes in Arctic sea ice composition, which may have affected prey availability. The higher proportion of adult males fasting from all years was attributed to spring breeding behavior.     

The anthropometric legacy of Franz Boas

Franz Boas was responsible for obtaining anthropometric data from approximately 27,000 subjects living around the turn-of-the-century. The subjects are of Native American, Siberian and European ancestry. These data have been entered into databases and are available for research. This paper describes the circumstances under which these data were collected and discusses their research potential.     

The genetic legacy of the Mongols

We have identified a Y-chromosomal lineage with several unusual features. It was found in 16 populations throughout a large region of Asia, stretching from the Pacific to the Caspian Sea, and was present at high frequency: approximately 8% of the men in this region carry it, and it thus makes up approximately 0.5% of the world total. The pattern of variation within the lineage suggested that it originated in Mongolia approximately 1,000 years ago. Such a rapid spread cannot have occurred by chance; it must have been a result of selection. The lineage is carried by likely male-line descendants of Genghis Khan, and we therefore propose that it has spread by a novel form of social selection resulting from their behavior.     

The legacy of stockless organic conversion strategies

Legume‐containing leys are commonly used to improve soil fertility in the 2‐year conversion period from conventional to organic production. While in‐conversion land may be grazed, in stockless farming systems, land is effectively out of production, leading to a reduction in income and pressure on cash flow. The impacts of seven organic conversion strategies on the first organic crop (winter wheat) were previously reported. This study investigates the effect of the conversion strategies on the second (winter beans) and third (winter oats) organic crops, thereby extending the analysis throughout the first complete rotation. The strategies were (a) 2‐years’ red clover–ryegrass green manure, (b) 2‐years’ hairy vetch green manure, (c) red clover for seed production then a red clover–ryegrass green manure, (d) spring wheat undersown with red clover, then a red clover green manure, (e) spring oats, then winter beans, (f) spring wheat, then winter beans and (g) spring wheat undersown with red clover, then a barley–pea intercrop. Conversion strategy had a significant impact on organic bean yield, which ranged from 2.78 to 3.62 t ha^?1, and organic oat yield, which ranged from 3.24 to 4.17 t ha^?1. In the organic bean crop, weed abundance prior to harvest, along with soil texture, accounted for 70% of yield variation. For the oats, soil mineral nitrogen in November together with weed abundance in April accounted for 72% of the variation in yield. The impacts of conversion strategies on soil mineral nitrogen levels were still detectable 3 years after conversion. The results from this study indicate that the choice of conversion crop has important long‐term implications. More exploitative conversion strategies, that is those with a higher proportion of cash cropping, had an increased weed burden and decreased levels of soil mineral nitrogen, leading to reduced yields of beans and oats, 2 and 3 years after conversion.