Copper-chelatin: isolation from various eucaryotic sources.

Bovine factor V was treated with highly purified neuraminidase to yield asialo factor V. Different preparations of factor V were found to exhibit heterogeneity with respect to the content of sialic acid, which ranged from 5% to 12%. The activity of asialo factor V in accelerating blood coagulation was found to be significantly greater than native factor V; thus, sialic acid is not essential for activity but may modulate its function. Asialo-factor V was 3.8 times more stable as calculated from the thermal decay constant at 37 °C. when compared to unmodified factor V.The increase in activity of factor V by thrombin was biphasic after removal of all sialic acid residues. The binding of asialo-factor V to phosphatidyl ethanolamine, as, characterized both by kinetics and by sucrose density gradient ultracentrifugation, resulted in an inactive complex. Double immunodiffusion shows that the sialic acid component of factor V is not necessary for its antigenicity.     

Robert Rosen in the age of systems biology

The widespread use of the term Systems Biology (SB) signals a welcome recognition that organisms must be understood as integrated systems. Although just what this is taken to mean varies from one group to another, it generally implies a focus on biological functions and processes rather than on biological parts and a reliance on mathematical modeling to arrive at an understanding of these biological processes based on biological observations or measurements. SB, thus, falls directly in the line of reflection carried out by Robert Rosen throughout his work. In the present article, we briefly introduce the various currents of SB and then point out several ways Rosen's work can be used to avoid certain pitfalls associated with the use of dynamical systems models for the study of complex systems, as well as to inspire a productive path forward based on loosely organized cooperation among dispersed laboratories.     

Abnormal locomotion in rats after bilateral intrastriatal injection of kainic acid.

The locomotion changes, after bilateral injection of kainic acid into the striata, are characterized by increased swing time and decreased stance time. This may be analogous to the locomotion pattern in patients with Huntington's Disease.     

达尔文-科学进化论的奠基者

2009年, 时逢英国博物学家查尔斯·罗伯特·达尔文(Charles Robert Darwin,1809-1882)诞辰200周年, 进化论光辉著作《物种起源》发表150周年。历史的发展不断认证达尔文的《物种起源》一书是生物学史上不朽的经典著作, 如今《物种起源》所提及的许多观点已成为人尽皆知的常识, 并且还在不断地发展、完善, 为人类认识自然和自身发展指点方向。文章追忆了先贤的卓越科学贡献和科学探索精神, 并对百年来科学进步和进化论的发展重要成果进行了简要的评述, 指出了进化论未来研究的重点问题。     

Celebrating the millennium – historical highlights of photosynthesis research,Part 2

This paper is an introduction to Part 2 of our celebrations of the historical highlights of photosynthesis research. Part 1 was published in October 2002 as Volume 73 of Photosynthesis Research. After a brief introduction, we recognize two giants in the field: Cornelis B. van Niel (for anoxygenic photosynthesis), and Robert Hill (for oxygenic photosynthesis). This is followed by recognition of a 1960 book by Hans Gaffron, and a multi-authored book edited by W. Ruhland and André Pirson, and inclusion in the appendix of a list of selected books. Our celebration is enhanced by the inclusion of beautiful paintings of cells by Antoinette Ryter. After introducing all the historical papers contained in this volume, we honor Louis N. M. Duysens, one of the greatest biophysicists of our time, and finally we dedicate this volume to a great scientist, humanist and peacemaker: Eugene I. Rabinowitch. [12pt] 'Annihilating all that is made To a green thought in a green shade' – Andrew Marvell (1621–1678), The Garden (1681) This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Profile – Børge Diderichsen

Børge Diderichsen (Fig. 1) is the President of the European Federation of Biotechnology (EFB) and Vice President at Novo Nordisk (Denmark). After a master's degree in biochemistry, followed by a Ph.D. in microbiology, both from the University of Copenhagen, he joined Novo Industry as part of a small team of researchers who were to examine whether genetically modified organisms (GMOs) could be used in the production of insulin and industrial enzymes. Since then he has played an important role in Novo Nordisk's efforts to resolve many of the problems that arise in connection with the production of GMOs and was a pioneer in bringing some of the first industrial enzymes from GMOs onto the market. Diderichsen has many honorary titles and has served on a large number of boards and commissions. Most recently he was invited to join the Commissioner's Advisory Group for Life Sciences, Genomics and Biotechnology for Health corresponding to the 6th Framework Programme. For more than 20 years he has contributed to the public debate concerning genetic engineering and ethics, biotechnology and society, conditions for universities and public research among others. He has been a major force in reforming the EFB, of which he was elected president in January 2002.

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Fig. 1. Børge Diderichsen.     

Dead Birds Migrating: DVD Reinvigorates Classic Ethnographic Film

The DVD release of Robert Gardner's Dead Birds exemplifies the added value of extra features and the improvement in viewing quality when existing ethnographic films are distributed in this new medium. Whereas in the past, ethnographic films have been experienced as transitory performances, a nonlinear medium like DVD makes it possible to read a film the way one reads a book, stopping, reflecting, and reviewing. The inclusion of multiple soundtracks, additional sequences, and associated texts affords a density of content that has not previously been possible in either films or books.     

Place,Practice and Primatology: Clarence Ray Carpenter,Primate Communication and the Development of Field Methodology, 1931–1945

Place, practice and status have played significant and interacting roles in the complex history of primatology during the early to mid-twentieth century. This paper demonstrates that, within the emerging discipline of primatology, the field was understood as an essential supplement to laboratory work. Founders argued that only in the field could primates be studied in interaction with their natural social group and environment. Such field studies of primate behavior required the development of existing and new field techniques. The practices and sites developed by American primatologist Clarence Ray Carpenter were used to demonstrate that scientific standards could be successfully applied to the study of primates in the field. In an environment in which many field biologists fought for higher scientific status, Carpenter gradually adopted increasingly interventionist techniques. These techniques raised epistemological problems for studies whose value rested on the naturalness of the behaviors observed. Thus, issues of status shaped field practices and subsequently altered Carpenter’s criteria for what constituted natural primate behavior. This article is part of a doctoral dissertation (in progress). This research was supported in part by a Doctoral Dissertation Research Grant and Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship from the University of Minnesota. Georgina (Hoptroff) Montgomery presented earlier versions of this paper at the ISHPSSB conference held in Vienna in July 2003 and at the HSS conference in Boston in November 2003.