Carbonized food plants of Pompeii,Herculaneum, and the Villa at Torre Annunziata

The remains of carbonized plants recovered from sites destroyed by Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79 furnish valuable historical evidence on many staple food plants used by the ancient Campanians of the 1st century A.D. Carbonized seeds,grains, nuts, and fruits of 24 species identified from documented materials at Pompeii, Herculaneum, and the Roman villa at Torre Annunziata include: filbert, Corylus avellana;broadbean, Vicia fabavar. minor;bittervetch. Vicia ervilia;chickpea, Cicer arietinum;carob, Ceratonia siliqua;lentil, Lens culinaris;European chestnut, Castanea sativa;English or Persian walnut, Juglans regia;common onion, Allium cepa;garlic, Allium sativum;fig, Ficus carica;olive, Olea europaea;date, Phoenix dactylifera;stone pine, Pinus pinea;six-rowed barley, Hordeum vulgare;emmer wheat, Triticum dicoccon;common millet, Panicum miliaceum;Italian millet, Setaria italica;oat, Avena sativa;almond, Prunus dulcis;sour cherry, Prunus cerasus;pear, Pyrus communis;crabapple, Malussp.;and grape, Vitis vinifera.     

Volatilization of mercury byThiobacillus ferrooxidans

Thiobacillus ferrooxidans became significantly more tolerant to mercury stress after culturing in media of increasing mercury(II) concentrations. When mercuric chloride was added to the growth medium, the resistant organisms were found to volatilize elemental mercury (Hg⁰).T. ferrooxidans may be an important factor in the natural mercury cycle, since the environments whereT. ferrooxidans is found typically contain elevated levels of heavy metals, including mercury.     

High biological activity of the synthetic replicates of somatostatin-28 and somatostatin-25

We have isolated form extracts of ovine hypothalami two molecules characterized as somatostatin-28 and somatostatin-4-28 (referred to as somatostatin-25). They were reproduced by solid hase synthesis. In equimolar ratio and depending upon the experimental conditions, synthetic somatostatin-28 ans somatostatin-25 are 3-14 times more potent than somatostatin-14 to inhibit the basal in vitro secretion of growth hormone or as stimulated by prostaglandin (PGE2). In early studies in vivo, somatostatin-28 and somatostatin-25 are also more potent than somatostatin-14 in inhibiting the secretion of growth hormone acutely stimulated in the rat by injection of morphine; somatostatin-28 is also longer-acting than somatostatin-14. These results suggest that somatostatin-14, as originally isolated, is a biologically active fragment of a larger molecule of greater specific activity; it should be considered as another form of somatostatin with high biological activity present in some tissues and likely secreted y the tissues along with somatostatin-14 and possibly other somatostatin-peptides of diverse sizes.     

Experiments on the abiotic amplification of optical activity

Our earlier experiments are briefly reviewed, involving the abiotic generation of optical activity by exposure of DL-amino acids to various chiral physical forces. The enantiomeric enrichments so obtained were low, however, and additional experiments were undertaken with the objective of abiotically enhancing such small enantiomeric excesses. DL Mixtures of leucine N-carboxy anhydride gave enantiomerically enriched polymers on partial polymerization, while valine NCA mixtures behaved oppositely. Leucine polymers were also found to hydrolyze stereoselectively, providing for additional enantiomenic enhancement. A repetitive sequence of partial polymerization-hydrolysis steps is suggested as a possible mechanism for the abiotic genesis of optically enriched polypeptides on the primitive Earth.