Different Branches Of Biology Research Articles

Liquid Crystal Elastomers for Biological Applications

The term liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) describes a class of materials that combine the elastic entropy behaviour associated with conventional elastomers with the stimuli responsive properties of anisotropic liquid crystals. LCEs consequently exhibit attributes of both elastomers and liquid crystals, but additionally have unique properties not found in either. Recent developments in LCE synthesis, as well as the understanding of the behaviour of liquid crystal elastomers—namely their mechanical, optical and responsive properties—is of significant relevance to biology and biomedicine. LCEs are abundant in nature, highlighting the potential use of LCEs in biomimetics. Their exceptional tensile properties and biocompatibility have led to research exploring their applications in artificial tissue, biological sensors and cell scaffolds by exploiting their actuation and shock absorption properties. There has also been significant recent interest in using LCEs as a model for morphogenesis. This review provides an overview of some aspects of LCEs which are of relevance in different branches of biology and biomedicine, as well as discussing how recent LCE advances could impact future applications.

Why the Debate about the Metaphysics of Biological Species Should Not Be Deflated

Abstract Some philosophers of biology state that the metaphysical status of biological species is context determined by the use different branches of biology make of their corresponding proper names, so that one and the same biological species can be both an individual and a natural kind. In this paper, I aim to undermine the idea, often associated with the present thesis, according to which the debate about the metaphysical status of biological species should be deflated, since it would be possible to translate every sentence from natural-kind talk to individual-talk and vice versa. I offer a charitable interpretation of the principle grounding such an idea and show how it is in tension with independent theoretical biological notions.

CRISPR-Cas9 mediated targeted disruption of FAD2\u20132 microsomal omega-6 desaturase in soybean (Glycine max.L)

BackgroundRecent innovation in the field of genome engineering encompasses numerous levels of plant genome engineering which attract the substantial excitement of plant biologist worldwide. RNA-guided CRISPR Cas9 system has appeared a promising tool in site-directed mutagenesis due to its innovative utilization in different branches of biology. CRISPR-Cas9 nuclease system have supersedes all previously existed strategies and their associated pitfalls encountered with site-specific mutagenesis.Results Here we demonstrated an efficient sequence specific integration/mutation of FAD2–2 gene in soybean using CRISPR-Cas9 nuclease system. A single guided RNA sequence was designed with the help of a number of bioinformatics tools aimed to target distinct sites of FAD2–2 loci in soybean. The binary vector (pCas9-AtU6-sgRNA) has been successfully transformed into soybean cotyledon using Agrobacterium tumafacien. Taken together our findings complies soybean transgenic mutants subjected to targeted mutation were surprisingly detected in our target gene. Furthermore, the detection of Cas9 gene, BAR gene, and NOS terminator were carried out respectively. Southern blot analysis confirmed the stable transformation of Cas9 gene into soybean. Real time expression with qRT-PCR and Sanger sequencing analysis confirmed the efficient CRISPR-Cas9/sgRNA induced mutation within the target sequence of FAD2–2 loci. The integration of FAD2–2 target region in the form of substitution, deletions and insertions were achieved with notably high frequency and rare off-target mutagenesis.ConclusionHigh frequent mutation efficiency was recorded as 21% out of all transgenic soybean plants subjected to targeted mutagenesis. Furthermore, Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR) indicates the entire fatty acid profiling obtained from the mutants seeds of soybean. A considerable modulation in oleic acid content up to (65.58%) whereas the least level of linoleic acid is (16.08%) were recorded. Based on these finding CRISPR-Cas9 system can possibly sum up recent development and future challenges in producing agronomically important crops.

Evaluation of the Concepts and Subjects in Biology Perceived to be Difficult to Learn and Teach by the Pre-Service Teachers Registered in the Pedagogical Formation Program

<p style="text-align:justify">This study examines the subjects and concepts in biology perceived to be difficult to learn and teach by 759 pre-service biology teachers registered in the pedagogical formation program at Uludag University Faculty of Education in the academic year of 2005-2016, as well as the associations that word “biology” first calls to their mind. The study was designed as a survey model, and a questionnaire of three scaled questions was used as a data collection tool. The data were classified into 10 different categories based on different branches of biology: Anatomy-Morphology, Biotechnology, Ecology, Evolution, Physiology, Genetics, Histology, Cytology, Systematics and Reproduction and Development. Following the classification, the data were analyzed using frequency and percentages. The subjects and concepts perceived to be difficult to learn by the pre-service teachers are respectively as follows: photosynthesis and its stages, genetics, circulatory system, aerobic respiration, respiratory system, anaerobic respiration, protein synthesis, phanerogams, DNA structure and function, cryptogams, mitosis, plant systematics, endocrine system, meiosis, ETC, urinary system, plant physiology, taxonomy, evolution and digestive system. The subjects and concepts perceived to be difficult to teach by the pre-service teachers are respectively as follows: photosynthesis and its stages, protein synthesis, circulatory system, endocrine system, meiosis, plant systematics, evolution, mitosis, reproduction, genetic crossing over problems, Latinization of names, urinary system, genetics, ecology, aerobic respiration, DNA structure and function, plant tissues, glycolysis and anaerobic respiration. These findings confirm the need for developing undergraduate programs in biology and promoting the research culture at the secondary education level.</p>

La helmintología según la filosofía de la ciencia de Imre Lakatos

Lakatos's philosophy of science has been used for different branches of biology, however this has not been true for helminthology. Therefore, this article examines the possibility of using his methodology of scientific research programmes (SRP) for reconstructing the history of the discipline of helminthology. It is upheld that the first SRP in biology was inaugurated by Aristotle, and its protective belt included a small group of auxiliary hypotheses referring to helminths. This programme continued up until the 17th century, when two rival programmes in helminthology arose: the internalist and the externalist. After the second half of the 19th century the internalist SRP was abandoned, while the externalist considerably broadened its protective belt during the 20th century. The internalist programme was abandoned due to the crucial experiments of Küchenmeister, which permitted the consolidation of the externalist SRP.

Impact of negative feedback in metabolic noise propagation.

Synthetic biology combines different branches of biology and engineering aimed at designing synthetic biological circuits able to replicate emergent properties useful for the biotechnology industry, human health and environment. The role of negative feedback in noise propagation for a basic enzymatic reaction scheme is investigated. Two feedback control schemes on enzyme expression are considered: one from the final product of the pathway activity, the other from the enzyme accumulation. Both schemes are designed to provide the same steady-state average values of the involved players, in order to evaluate the feedback performances according to the same working mode. Computations are carried out numerically and analytically, the latter allowing to infer information on which model parameter setting leads to a more efficient noise attenuation, according to the chosen scheme. In addition to highlighting the role of the feedback in providing a substantial noise reduction, our investigation concludes that the effect of feedback is enhanced by increasing the promoter sensitivity for both schemes. A further interesting biological insight is that an increase in the promoter sensitivity provides more benefits to the feedback from the product with respect to the feedback from the enzyme, in terms of enlarging the parameter design space.

Ретроспектива изучения растительного покрова Крайнего Севера в Ботаническом институте им. В. Л. Комарова РАН за полтора века и перспективы в XXI веке

Ретроспектива изучения растительного покрова Крайнего Севера в Ботаническом институте им. В. Л. Комарова РАН за полтора века и перспективы в XXI веке

An attempt to construct a (general) mathematical framework to model biological “context-dependence”

Context-dependent nature of biological phenomena is well documented in every branch of biology. While there have been few previous attempts to (implicitly) model various (particular) facets of biological context-dependence, a formal and general mathematical construct to model the wide spectrum of context-dependence, eludes the students of biology. Such an objective model, from both 'bottom-up' as well as 'top-down' perspective, is proposed here to serve as the template to describe the various kinds of context-dependence that we encounter in different branches of biology. Interactions between biological contexts was found to be transitive but non-commutative. It is found that a hierarchical nature of dependence among the biological contexts models the emergent biological properties efficiently. Reasons for these findings are provided ina general model to describe biological reality. Scheme to algorithmically implement the hierarchic structure of organization of biological contexts was proposed with a construct named 'Context tree'. A 'Context tree' based analysis of context interactions among biophysical factors influencing protein structure was performed.

Speciation: Where Are We Now? An Introduction to a Special Issue on Speciation

Although modern evolutionary biology started with a seminal volume whose title identified the origin of species as the central theme of the new theory (Darwin 1859), the topic of speciation received relatively little attention for several decades following the publication of the origin of species. Darwin and his contemporaries devoted much more attention to explain how changes occurred within species rather than how species originated. In fact, a search of the published scientific literature using web of science reveals that between 1864 and 1939 only 21 journal articles had the word speciation in their title (Fig. 1). As already summarized by Coyne and Orr (2004) interest in the origin of species greatly increased during the development of the modern synthesis, when mendelian genetics was reconciled with biogeography and natural selection by people like Dobzhansky (1937) and Mayr (1942). Mayr was the first to focus on the importance of species, introducing the biological species concept (BSC), which has dominated speciation research for the past seven decades, and championed the idea of speciation in allopatry. Dobzhansky’s work pointed out the importance of understanding how changes in allele frequencies could produce genetically distinct groups and the importance of reproductive isolating mechanisms. Between the 1940s and the 1970s, while the biogeography of speciation remained an active area of research for systematists and naturalists, the mechanisms of origin of barriers to reproductive isolation received relatively little attention by geneticists. During that time period most workers in fact remained more interested in demonstrating the strength and influence of natural selection in the wild, and in explaining how genetic variation accumulates and persists within species (e.g., Lewontin 1974). Starting in the 1980s however, the availability of new empirical tools such as molecular genetics, and theoretical and methodological approaches, such as phylogenetic and comparative methods, led to resurgence in interest in the origin of species. Speciation research, once predominantly the domain of systematists, paleontologists, and some geneticists, started to attract the interests of workers in other fields of biology, such as ecologists, ethologists, genome biologists, and developmental biologists. This caused a shift from largely pattern-oriented studies of speciation, in which often the description of patterns was accompanied by the suggestion of some (often untestable) hypotheses regarding what might have caused the events, to more process-oriented studies, in which attempts were made to directly test and explore the process. This resurgence of interest in speciation has been one of the main developments in evolutionary biology during the past 25 years, and has led to a new phase of speciation studies (Coyne and Orr 2004). During this new phase many of the major conclusions about speciation reached since 1859 have been re-examined. The debate over species concepts, once mostly the domain of systematists and philosophers, was reinvigorated through the active involvement of students of different branches of biology (e.g., F. Santini (&) Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California at Los Angeles, 610 Charles Young Dr. South, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA e-mail: santini@ucla.edu

Darwin's finches: readings in the evolution of a scientific paradigm

Two species come to mind when one thinks of the Galapagos Islands - the giant tortoises and fabled finches. While not as immediately captivating as the tortoises, these little brown songbirds and their beaks have become one of the most familiar and charismatic research systems in biology, providing generations of natural historians and scientists a lens through which to view the evolutionary process and its role in morphological differentiation. In Darwin's Finches, Kathleen Donohue excerpts and collects the most illuminating and scientifically significant writings on the finches of the Galapagos to teach the fundamental principles of evolutionary theory and to provide a historical record of scientific debate. Beginning with fragments of Galapagos field notes and subsequent correspondence, and moving through the writings of such famed field biologists as David Lack and Peter and Rosemary Grant, the collection demonstrates how scientific processes have changed over time, how different branches of biology relate to one another, and how they all relate to evolution. As Donohue notes, practicing science today is like entering a conversation that has been in progress for a long, long time. Her book provides the history of that conversation and an invitation to join in. Students of both evolutionary biology and history of science will appreciate this compilation of historical and contemporary readings and will especially value Donohue's enlightening commentary.

Cell Biology Redux

Cell Biology Redux

DNA's golden jubilee

DNA's golden jubilee

DNA's golden jubilee

![][1] 50 Years of DNAForeword by PhilCampbell, edited by JulieClayton and CarinaDennisPalgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, UK144 pages, £20.00ISBN 1 403 91480 X Since the beginning of the year, we have heard many times that in April 1953, Nature published three consecutive papers that signalled a new era in biology: the era of DNA. Nature rightly celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of this event by preparing a special supplement (23 January 2003) containing the original papers, together with interesting historical perspectives and topical overviews of the current state of DNA research in different branches of biology. Those who missed this special issue may be glad to learn that Nature Publishing Group has prepared a greatly expanded version that includes such extras as interviews with James Watson and Maurice Wilkins. Compiled by Julie Clayton and Carina Dennis, 50 Years of DNA is a superbly illustrated, carefully researched and well‐written DNA jubilee book. Julie Clayton has written ten introductory chapters that start with a historical background and end with discussions on the moral implications of human cloning. Carina Dennis has commissioned and edited up‐to‐date reviews on DNA by leading scientists in the field. Of course, it is difficult to avoid mistakes in enterprises like these, and the first one is prominently exposed on the cover of the book: an attractive computer‐generated image of DNA with 20 base pairs per turn. There are other graphic lapses inside the book, like the classical mistake of presenting DNA as a left‐handed helix. We should, however, concentrate on the text. For me, and probably many other readers who are interested in the history of science, this book provides new insights into understanding what really happened in the first few months of 1953, and who we should remember as providing the decisive data required to elucidate the structure of DNA. Clayton's … [1]: /embed/graphic-1.gif

The Space of Responsibility of Cultural Psychology

The author describes his book as a series of essays, but one can see that the series presents a whole new approach to the development of self. Distinctive features of the book include a combination of excellent styles in the essays, in-depth analysis of the most complex problems of psychology, and an explicitly expressed moral position on the part of the author. Ciaran Benson considers self a multi-level locative system to navigate physical and social worlds. This approach allows him to cover and effectively unite subjects that usually are considered by different branches of biology, neuroscience, psychology, ethics, policy and philosophy. A pivot of the book is an analysis of how humans locate, transform, extend and diminish spaces of possibility for them, constructing each other and themselves, and what types of cultural tools they create for these aims. The author considers Antonio Damasio’s framework of the structure of human selfhood, including mutually related development of protoself, core-self and autobiographical self, and develops it towards new directions. The initial points of Benson’s analysis deal with the

Equivalence between S-systems and Volterra systems

S-systems and Volterra systems have been developed independently of each other in different branches of biology. We show that these systems are mathematically equivalent.

The Term “Stress” in a Veterinary Context

SUMMARY The use of the term “stress” in a veterinary context has led to considerable confusion. This paper gives a brief account of how the concept has developed in different branches of biology and how it has been applied to veterinary problems. Attention is drawn to specific areas of disagreement among various definitions of “stress” and to what is likely to be achieved by a general definition of the term. In this light some definitions are proposed. It is emphasized that the term “stress” as used in a veterinary context refers not to any single parameter or set of bodily reactions, but to a heterogeneous assortment of phenomena. Accordingly “stress” should not be regarded as an explanatory term, nor as a hypothetical parameter reflecting the combined influence of different adverse conditions.

Ecology, evolution and explanatory patterns in biology

In biology, several misunderstandings prevail with respect to the nature of scientific explanation. Confusion arises especially when alternative explanatory patterns concerning the same subject matter are evaluated in regard to their relative merits. As a consequence, the relations between different branches of biology (particularly “ecology” and “evolutionary biology”) are obscured. A sophisticated terminology is needed to analyze the situation. For this purpose, useful concepts may be borrowed from philosophy of science. The present paper introduces such a terminology and, subsequently, provides an introductory analysis of conflicts in present-day biology. The discussion is rather complicated. Therefore, the reader is advised first to glance through the conclusions in section 6 to get a general idea.

Systematics in General Biology

THE annual general meeting of the Association for the Study of Systematics in General Biology was held in the rooms of the Linnean Society, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, on December 15. The inaugural meeting of this newly established association was referred to in NATURE of July 24, 1937, p. 163. At its inception, 53 biologists joined the Association, and since then the membership has increased to 162. The aims of the Association, among others, are: to study the bases and practical aims of taxonomy; to examine criteria employed in denning species and other systematic categories; to consider any modification of existing classification in the light of cytogenetic, ecological, physiological, embryological, biochemical and palaeontological data; to press for increased attention to taxonomy in museums and other institutions; to organize research; to aid the production of handbooks on British animals and plants, and eventually to produce a British Fauna and Flora on uniform biological lines; to investigate methods of teaching system-atics; to promote co-operation between workers in different branches of biology on problems of taxonomic interest. The Taxonomic Principles Committee has already considered several important problems, and has decided to prepare an index of all terms which have been used to designate groups below the rank of species. This should prove of value, especially to young research workers in taxonomy. The Committee on Comparative Systematics has examined the sources from which data for research on variability and other problems may be drawn. The Research Committee has initiated or assisted in the launching of twelve lines of research, and a list of institutions where such work may be done has been prepared. Work has been started on a book on the anatomy of Dicotyledons. The Committee on Handbooks is now compiling a review of existing taxonomic literature on the British flora and fauna. The provision of a check list of the British flora and fauna is being dealt with in collaboration with the Association of British Zoologists. Cheap systematic handbooks are also being considered.

THE EXPANSION OF TAXONOMY WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO SPERMATOPHYTA

SummaryAn attempt is made, within a limited space, to indicate the importance of taxonomy, especially of the Spermatophyta, to the more recently developed branches of biology, and to show that these in turn are reacting on taxonomy. Certain basic logical problems are discussed and a via media between extreme lines of development is suggested. The interactions between taxonomy and cytology, genetics, ecology, palaeontology, phylogeny, biometrics, and physiology are discussed briefly with a few selected examples. Practical suggestions for improving taxonomic methods and for increasing co‐operation between different branches of biology are made in various places throughout the text. Lastly, proposals are made that in practice should lead gradually and some way towards an “omega” or perfected taxonomy, which, idealistically, should be a completed classification of all biological knowledge.