WorldWideScience

Sample records for biological warfare biology

  1. Biological warfare agents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Duraipandian Thavaselvam

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The recent bioterrorist attacks using anthrax spores have emphasized the need to detect and decontaminate critical facilities in the shortest possible time. There has been a remarkable progress in the detection, protection and decontamination of biological warfare agents as many instrumentation platforms and detection methodologies are developed and commissioned. Even then the threat of biological warfare agents and their use in bioterrorist attacks still remain a leading cause of global concern. Furthermore in the past decade there have been threats due to the emerging new diseases and also the re-emergence of old diseases and development of antimicrobial resistance and spread to new geographical regions. The preparedness against these agents need complete knowledge about the disease, better research and training facilities, diagnostic facilities and improved public health system. This review on the biological warfare agents will provide information on the biological warfare agents, their mode of transmission and spread and also the detection systems available to detect them. In addition the current information on the availability of commercially available and developing technologies against biological warfare agents has also been discussed. The risk that arise due to the use of these agents in warfare or bioterrorism related scenario can be mitigated with the availability of improved detection technologies.

  2. Biological warfare agents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thavaselvam, Duraipandian; Vijayaraghavan, Rajagopalan

    2010-01-01

    The recent bioterrorist attacks using anthrax spores have emphasized the need to detect and decontaminate critical facilities in the shortest possible time. There has been a remarkable progress in the detection, protection and decontamination of biological warfare agents as many instrumentation platforms and detection methodologies are developed and commissioned. Even then the threat of biological warfare agents and their use in bioterrorist attacks still remain a leading cause of global concern. Furthermore in the past decade there have been threats due to the emerging new diseases and also the re-emergence of old diseases and development of antimicrobial resistance and spread to new geographical regions. The preparedness against these agents need complete knowledge about the disease, better research and training facilities, diagnostic facilities and improved public health system. This review on the biological warfare agents will provide information on the biological warfare agents, their mode of transmission and spread and also the detection systems available to detect them. In addition the current information on the availability of commercially available and developing technologies against biological warfare agents has also been discussed. The risk that arise due to the use of these agents in warfare or bioterrorism related scenario can be mitigated with the availability of improved detection technologies. PMID:21829313

  3. Biological warfare, bioterrorism, and biocrime

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jansen, H. J.; Breeveld, F. J.; Stijnis, C.; Grobusch, M. P.

    2014-01-01

    Biological weapons achieve their intended target effects through the infectivity of disease-causing infectious agents. The ability to use biological agents in warfare is prohibited by the Biological and Toxin Weapon Convention. Bioterrorism is defined as the deliberate release of viruses, bacteria

  4. Biomaterials for mediation of chemical and biological warfare agents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Russell, Alan J; Berberich, Jason A; Drevon, Geraldine F; Koepsel, Richard R

    2003-01-01

    Recent events have emphasized the threat from chemical and biological warfare agents. Within the efforts to counter this threat, the biocatalytic destruction and sensing of chemical and biological weapons has become an important area of focus. The specificity and high catalytic rates of biological catalysts make them appropriate for decommissioning nerve agent stockpiles, counteracting nerve agent attacks, and remediation of organophosphate spills. A number of materials have been prepared containing enzymes for the destruction of and protection against organophosphate nerve agents and biological warfare agents. This review discusses the major chemical and biological warfare agents, decontamination methods, and biomaterials that have potential for the preparation of decontamination wipes, gas filters, column packings, protective wear, and self-decontaminating paints and coatings.

  5. Cutaneous reactions in nuclear, biological and chemical warfare

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arora Sandeep

    2005-03-01

    Full Text Available Nuclear, biological and chemical warfare have in recent times been responsible for an increasing number of otherwise rare dermatoses. Many nations are now maintaining overt and clandestine stockpiles of such arsenal. With increasing terrorist threats, these agents of mass destruction pose a risk to the civilian population. Nuclear and chemical attacks manifest immediately while biological attacks manifest later. Chemical and biological attacks pose a significant risk to the attending medical personnel. The large scale of anticipated casualties in the event of such an occurrence would need the expertise of all physicians, including dermatologists, both military and civilian. Dermatologists are uniquely qualified in this respect. This article aims at presenting a review of the cutaneous manifestations in nuclear, chemical and biological warfare and their management.

  6. Nuclear, biological and chemical warfare. Part I: Medical aspects of nuclear warfare.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kasthuri, A S; Pradhan, A B; Dham, S K; Bhalla, I P; Paul, J S

    1990-04-01

    Casualties in earlier wars were due much more to diseases than to weapons. Mention has been made in history of the use of biological agents in warfare, to deny the enemy food and water and to cause disease. In the first world war chemical agents were used to cause mass casualties. Nuclear weapons were introduced in the second world war. Several countries are now involved in developing nuclear, biological and chemical weapon systems, for the mass annihilation of human beings, animals and plants, and to destroy the economy of their enemies. Recently, natural calamities and accidents in nuclear, chemical and biological laboratories and industries have caused mass instantaneous deaths in civilian population. The effects of future wars will not be restricted to uniformed persons. It is time that physicians become aware of the destructive potential of these weapons. Awareness, immediate protective measures and first aid will save a large number of persons. This series of articles will outline the medical aspects of nuclear, biological and chemical weapon systems in three parts. Part I will deal with the biological effects of a nuclear explosion. The short and long term effects due to blast, heat and associated radiation are highlighted. In Part II, the role of biological agents which cause commoner or new disease patterns is mentioned. Some of the accidents from biological warfare laboratories are a testimony to its potential deleterious effects. Part III deals with medical aspects of chemical warfare agents, which in view of their mass effects can overwhelm the existing medical resources, both civilian and military.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

  7. History of chemical and biological warfare agents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Szinicz, L.

    2005-01-01

    Chemical and biological warfare agents constitute a low-probability, but high-impact risk both to the military and to the civilian population. The use of hazardous materials of chemical or biological origin as weapons and for homicide has been documented since ancient times. The first use of chemicals in terms of weapons of mass destruction goes back to World War I, when on April 22, 1915 large amounts of chlorine were released by German military forces at Ypres, Belgium. Until around the 1970s of the 20th century, the awareness of the threat by chemical and biological agents had been mainly confined to the military sector. In the following time, the development of increasing range delivery systems by chemical and biological agents possessors sensitised public attention to the threat emanating from these agents. Their proliferation to the terrorists field during the 1990s with the expanding scale and globalisation of terrorist attacks suggested that these agents are becoming an increasing threat to the whole world community. The following article gives a condensed overview on the history of use and development of the more prominent chemical and biological warfare agents

  8. History of chemical and biological warfare agents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szinicz, L

    2005-10-30

    Chemical and biological warfare agents constitute a low-probability, but high-impact risk both to the military and to the civilian population. The use of hazardous materials of chemical or biological origin as weapons and for homicide has been documented since ancient times. The first use of chemicals in terms of weapons of mass destruction goes back to World War I, when on April 22, 1915 large amounts of chlorine were released by German military forces at Ypres, Belgium. Until around the 1970s of the 20th century, the awareness of the threat by chemical and biological agents had been mainly confined to the military sector. In the following time, the development of increasing range delivery systems by chemical and biological agents possessors sensitised public attention to the threat emanating from these agents. Their proliferation to the terrorists field during the 1990s with the expanding scale and globalisation of terrorist attacks suggested that these agents are becoming an increasing threat to the whole world community. The following article gives a condensed overview on the history of use and development of the more prominent chemical and biological warfare agents.

  9. Detection of biological warfare agents using ultra violet-laser induced fluorescence LIDAR.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joshi, Deepti; Kumar, Deepak; Maini, Anil K; Sharma, Ramesh C

    2013-08-01

    This review has been written to highlight the threat of biological warfare agents, their types and detection. Bacterial biological agent Bacillus anthracis (bacteria causing the disease anthrax) which is most likely to be employed in biological warfare is being discussed in detail. Standoff detection of biological warfare agents in aerosol form using Ultra violet-Laser Induced Fluorescence (UV-LIF) spectroscopy method has been studied. Range-resolved detection and identification of biological aerosols by both nano-second and non-linear femto-second LIDAR is also discussed. Calculated received fluorescence signal for a cloud of typical biological agent Bacillus globigii (Simulants of B. anthracis) at a location of ~5.0 km at different concentrations in presence of solar background radiation has been described. Overview of current research efforts in internationally available working UV-LIF LIDAR systems are also mentioned briefly. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Oxidative decontamination of chemical and biological warfare agents using L-Gel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raber, Ellen; McGuire, Raymond

    2002-08-05

    A decontamination method has been developed using a single reagent that is effective both against chemical warfare (CW) and biological warfare (BW) agents. The new reagent, "L-Gel", consists of an aqueous solution of a mild commercial oxidizer, Oxone, together with a commercial fumed silica gelling agent, Cab-O-Sil EH-5. L-Gel is non-toxic, environmentally friendly, relatively non-corrosive, maximizes contact time because of its thixotropic nature, clings to walls and ceilings, and does not harm carpets or painted surfaces. The new reagent also addresses the most demanding requirements for decontamination in the civilian sector, including availability, low maintenance, ease of application and deployment by a variety of dispersal mechanisms, minimal training and acceptable expense. Experiments to test the effectiveness of L-Gel were conducted at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and independently at four other locations. L-Gel was tested against all classes of chemical warfare agents and against various biological warfare agent surrogates, including spore-forming bacteria and non-virulent strains of real biological agents. Testing showed that L-Gel is as effective against chemical agents and biological materials, including spores, as the best military decontaminants.

  11. Mass spectrometry in identification of ecotoxicants including chemical and biological warfare agents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lebedev, Albert T.

    2005-01-01

    Mass spectrometry is a unique tool to detect and identify trace levels of organic and bioorganic compounds as well as microorganisms in the environment. The range of potential chemical warfare (CW) and biological warfare (BW) agents is very broad. An important advantage of mass spectrometry over other techniques involves potential for full spectrum detection of chemical and biological agents including mid-spectrum materials (i.e. bioactive peptides, toxins, etc.) for which biological approaches are inadequate. Being very fast (seconds and minutes), extremely sensitive (zeptomoles 10 -21 ), and informative (detailed qualitative and quantitative composition of mixtures containing hundreds of chemicals), mass spectrometry is a principal analytical tool at the sites of destruction of CW. Due to its unique features, mass spectrometry is applied not only for the detection of CW agents, but for the analysis of products of metabolism and degradation of these agents in organisms or environment as well. The present paper deals with some examples of successful application of mass spectrometry for the analyses of ecotoxicants, chemical warfare agents, explosives, and microorganisms including biology warfare agents

  12. Technological advancements for the detection of and protection against biological and chemical warfare agents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eubanks, Lisa M; Dickerson, Tobin J; Janda, Kim D

    2007-03-01

    There is a growing need for technological advancements to combat agents of chemical and biological warfare, particularly in the context of the deliberate use of a chemical and/or biological warfare agent by a terrorist organization. In this tutorial review, we describe methods that have been developed both for the specific detection of biological and chemical warfare agents in a field setting, as well as potential therapeutic approaches for treating exposure to these toxic species. In particular, nerve agents are described as a typical chemical warfare agent, and the two potent biothreat agents, anthrax and botulinum neurotoxin, are used as illustrative examples of potent weapons for which countermeasures are urgently needed.

  13. Researchers study decontamination of chemical, biological warfare agents

    OpenAIRE

    Trulove, Susan

    2007-01-01

    The U.S. Army Research Office has awarded Virginia Tech a $680,000 grant over two years to build an instrument that can be used to study the chemistry of gases that will decompose both chemical and biological warfare agents on surfaces.

  14. [Decontamination of chemical and biological warfare agents].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seto, Yasuo

    2009-01-01

    Chemical and biological warfare agents (CBWA's) are diverse in nature; volatile acute low-molecular-weight toxic compounds, chemical warfare agents (CWA's, gaseous choking and blood agents, volatile nerve gases and blister agents, nonvolatile vomit agents and lacrymators), biological toxins (nonvolatile low-molecular-weight toxins, proteinous toxins) and microbes (bacteria, viruses, rickettsiae). In the consequence management against chemical and biological terrorism, speedy decontamination of victims, facilities and equipment is required for the minimization of the damage. In the present situation, washing victims and contaminated materials with large volumes of water is the basic way, and additionally hypochlorite salt solution is used for decomposition of CWA's. However, it still remains unsolved how to dispose large volumes of waste water, and the decontamination reagents have serious limitation of high toxicity, despoiling nature against the environments, long finishing time and non-durability in effective decontamination. Namely, the existing decontamination system is not effective, nonspecifically affecting the surrounding non-target materials. Therefore, it is the urgent matter to build up the usable decontamination system surpassing the present technologies. The symposiast presents the on-going joint project of research and development of the novel decontamination system against CBWA's, in the purpose of realizing nontoxic, fast, specific, effective and economical terrorism on-site decontamination. The projects consists of (1) establishment of the decontamination evaluation methods and verification of the existing technologies and adaptation of bacterial organophosphorus hydrolase, (2) development of adsorptive elimination technologies using molecular recognition tools, and (4) development of deactivation technologies using photocatalysis.

  15. Chemical and biological warfare. Should defenses be researched and deployed?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orient, J M

    1989-08-04

    The threat of chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction has intensified because of improved delivery systems and advances in chemistry, genetics, and other sciences. Possible US responses to this threat include deterrence, defenses, and/or disarmament, including a reaffirmation of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention of 1972, which is now in jeopardy. This article discusses the history of chemical and biological warfare, existing and potential weapons, the proliferation of weapons and delivery systems, ways to prevent the use of these weapons, and ways to protect populations from their effects.

  16. Biological warfare, bioterrorism, and biocrime.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jansen, H J; Breeveld, F J; Stijnis, C; Grobusch, M P

    2014-06-01

    Biological weapons achieve their intended target effects through the infectivity of disease-causing infectious agents. The ability to use biological agents in warfare is prohibited by the Biological and Toxin Weapon Convention. Bioterrorism is defined as the deliberate release of viruses, bacteria or other agents used to cause illness or death in people, but also in animals or plants. It is aimed at creating casualties, terror, societal disruption, or economic loss, inspired by ideological, religious or political beliefs. The success of bioterroristic attempts is defined by the measure of societal disruption and panic, and not necessarily by the sheer number of casualties. Thus, making only a few individuals ill by the use of crude methods may be sufficient, as long as it creates the impact that is aimed for. The assessment of bioterrorism threats and motives have been described before. Biocrime implies the use of a biological agent to kill or make ill a single individual or small group of individuals, motivated by revenge or the desire for monetary gain by extortion, rather than by political, ideological, religious or other beliefs. The likelihood of a successful bioterrorist attack is not very large, given the technical difficulties and constraints. However, even if the number of casualties is likely to be limited, the impact of a bioterrorist attack can still be high. Measures aimed at enhancing diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities and capacities alongside training and education will improve the ability of society to combat 'regular' infectious diseases outbreaks, as well as mitigating the effects of bioterrorist attacks. © 2014 The Authors Clinical Microbiology and Infection © 2014 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.

  17. PERMANENCE OF BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WARFARE AGENTS IN MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE LANDFILL LEACHATES

    Science.gov (United States)

    The objective of this work is to permit EPA/ORD's National Homeland Security Research Center (NHSRC) and Edgewood Chemical Biological Center to collaborate together to test the permanence of biological and chemical warfare agents in municipal solid waste landfills. Research into ...

  18. Simulated experiment for elimination of chemical and biological warfare agents by making use of microwave plasma torch

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hong, Yong C.; Kim, Jeong H.; Uhm, Han S.

    2004-01-01

    The threat of chemical and biological warfare agents in a domestic terrorist attack and in military conflict is increasing worldwide. Elimination and decontamination of chemical and biological warfare (CBW) agents are immediately required after such an attack. Simulated experiment for elimination of CBW agents by making use of atmospheric-pressure microwave plasma torches is carried out. Elimination of biological warfare agents indicated by the vitrification or burnout of sewage sludge powders and decomposition of toluene gas as a chemical agent stimulant are presented. A detailed characterization for the elimination of the simulant chemicals using Fourier transform infrared and gas chromatography is also presented

  19. Simulated experiment for elimination of chemical and biological warfare agents by making use of microwave plasma torch

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hong, Yong C.; Kim, Jeong H.; Uhm, Han S.

    2004-02-01

    The threat of chemical and biological warfare agents in a domestic terrorist attack and in military conflict is increasing worldwide. Elimination and decontamination of chemical and biological warfare (CBW) agents are immediately required after such an attack. Simulated experiment for elimination of CBW agents by making use of atmospheric-pressure microwave plasma torches is carried out. Elimination of biological warfare agents indicated by the vitrification or burnout of sewage sludge powders and decomposition of toluene gas as a chemical agent stimulant are presented. A detailed characterization for the elimination of the simulant chemicals using Fourier transform infrared and gas chromatography is also presented.

  20. NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Fluorescence and other Optical Properties of Biological Particles for Biological Warfare Agent Sensors

    CERN Document Server

    Hoekstra, Alfons; Videen, Gorden; Optics of Biological Particles

    2007-01-01

    This book covers the optics of single biological particles, both theory and experiment, with emphasis on Elastic Light Scattering and Fluorescence. It deals with the optics of bacteria (bio-aerosols), marine particles (selected phytoplankton communities) and red and white blood cells. Moreover, there are dedicated chapters on a general theory for scattering by a cell, and modelling and simulation of scattering by inhomogeneous biological cells. Finally, one chapter is dedicated to astro-biological signatures, discussing the possibilities for detecting non-terrestrial biological material. The volume has up-to-date discussions on new experimental and numerical techniques, and many examples of applications of these techniques in real-life systems, as used to detect and characterize e.g. biological warfare agents or human blood cells.

  1. The United States and biological warfare: secrets from the early cold war and Korea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bruwer, A

    2001-01-01

    The United States and Biological Warfare is about accusations that the United States resorted to bacteriological warfare at a time of great military stress during the Korean War. In December 1951, the then US Secretary of Defense ordered early readiness for offensive use of biological weapons. Soon afterwards, the North Korean and Chinese armies accused the United States of starting a large-scale biological warfare experiment in Korea. The US State Department denied the accusation. Both parties to the dispute maintain their positions today. The authors spent 20 years researching the accusations in North America, Europe and Japan. They were the first foreigners to be given access to Chinese classified documents. The reader is also introduced to the concept of 'plausible denial', an official US policy which allowed responsible governmental representatives to deny knowledge of certain events. The authors hope that their work will contribute to the understanding of a time when modern war expanded into a new type of violence.

  2. Bioterrorism and Biological Warfare, from Past to the Present: A classic review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Majid Zare Bidaki

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Bioterrorism is defined as any terrorist action of intentional release or dissemination of highly pathogenic biological agents, including a variety of microorganisms or biological toxins. With the growing threat of terrorism, is necessary that the potential danger of various microorganisms – as a powerful tool of aggression and threat- to be taken seriously. This review tries to explain the concept of biological weapons and their historical development process with an emphasis on efforts to control the proliferation of these types of weapons over the last century. Potential impact of infectious diseases on people and armed forces was known from since 600 BC. Using the victims of the plague as a weapon in medieval warfare and spread of smallpox as a weapon during the war against the Indians when initially America was discovered, the development of biological weapons during the World War I, World War II and the Cold War, and even since the beginning of the third millennium, all show the strategic importance of pathogenic microorganisms as a deterrent power for the superiority of some governments and cults. Historical attempts to use infectious diseases as biological weapons reveal that the distinction between a natural outbreak of an infectious disease and that of a deliberate biological attack is very difficult. Abusing this characteristic of infectious diseases has made it possible for the purposes of superiority. International agreements to control the development of biological weapons, such as “the 1925 Geneva Protocol” and “the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Biological and Toxic Weapons” have not been able to control the development and using of biological warfare.  The current paper is a classic review (Overview article aiming at increasing the knowledge and awareness of people especially of health authorities and government officials.

  3. Decontamination of biological warfare agents by a microwave plasma torch

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lai, Wilson; Lai, Henry; Kuo, Spencer P.; Tarasenko, Olga; Levon, Kalle

    2005-01-01

    A portable arc-seeded microwave plasma torch running stably with airflow is described and applied for the decontamination of biological warfare agents. Emission spectroscopy of the plasma torch indicated that this torch produced an abundance of reactive atomic oxygen that could effectively oxidize biological agents. Bacillus cereus was chosen as a simulant of Bacillus anthracis spores for biological agent in the decontamination experiments. Decontamination was performed with the airflow rate of 0.393 l/s, corresponding to a maximum concentration of atomic oxygen produced by the torch. The experimental results showed that all spores were killed in less than 8 s at 3 cm distance, 12 s at 4 cm distance, and 16 s at 5 cm distance away from the nozzle of the torch

  4. Developmental Testing of Liquid and Gaseous/Vaporous Decontamination on Bacterial Spores and Other Biological Warfare Agents on Military Relevant Surfaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-02-11

    Vaporous Decontamination on Bacterial Spores and Other Biological Warfare Agents on Military-Relevant Surfaces 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT... DECONTAMINATION ON BACTERIAL SPORES AND OTHER BIOLOGICAL WARFARE AGENTS ON MILITARY-RELEVANT SURFACES Page Paragraph 1. SCOPE...surfaces before and after decontamination . The protocol in this TOP is based on the developed test methodologies from Edgewood Chemical Biological

  5. Development of Bicarbonate-Activated Peroxide as a Chemical and Biological Warfare Agent Decontaminant

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Richardson, David E

    2006-01-01

    ...) and other chemistry for the decontamination of chemical and biological warfare agents. The mechanism of formation of the active oxidant, peroxymonocarbonate, has been investigated in detail. New surfoxidants...

  6. A new General Purpose Decontamination System for Chemical and Biological Warfare and Terrorism Agents

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Khetan, Sushil; Banerjee, xdDeboshri; Chanda, Arani; Collins, Terry

    2003-01-01

    Partial contents: Fe-TAML Activator of Peroxide,Activators of Hydrogen peroxide,Biological Warfare Agents,Bacterial Endospore,Bacterial Spore Deactivation,Modeling Studies,Deactivation Studies with Bacillus spores...

  7. Personal protection during resuscitation of casualties contaminated with chemical or biological warfare agents--a survey of medical first responders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brinker, Andrea; Prior, Kate; Schumacher, Jan

    2009-01-01

    The threat of mass casualties caused by an unconventional terrorist attack is a challenge for the public health system, with special implications for emergency medicine, anesthesia, and intensive care. Advanced life support of patients injured by chemical or biological warfare agents requires an adequate level of personal protection. The aim of this study was to evaluate the personal protection knowledge of emergency physicians and anesthetists who would be at the frontline of the initial health response to a chemical/biological warfare agent incident. After institutional review board approval, knowledge of personal protection measures among emergency medicine (n = 28) and anesthetics (n = 47) specialty registrars in the South Thames Region of the United Kingdom was surveyed using a standardized questionnaire. Participants were asked for the recommended level of personal protection if a chemical/biological warfare agent(s) casualty required advanced life support in the designated hospital resuscitation area. The best awareness within both groups was regarding severe acute respiratory syndrome, and fair knowledge was found regarding anthrax, plague, Ebola, and smallpox. In both groups, knowledge about personal protection requirements against chemical warfare agents was limited. Knowledge about personal protection measures for biological agents was acceptable, but was limited for chemical warfare agents. The results highlight the need to improve training and education regarding personal protection measures for medical first receivers.

  8. Analysis of the Threat of Genetically Modified Organisms for Biological Warfare

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-05-01

    biological warfare. The primary focus of the framework are those aspects of the technology directly affecting humans by inducing virulent infectious disease...applications. Simple organisms such as fruit flies have been used to study the effects of genetic changes across generations. Transgenic mice are...Analysis * Multi-cell pathogens * Toxins (Chemical products of living cells.) * Fungi (Robust organism; no genetic manipulation needed

  9. Plasma flame for mass purification of contaminated air with chemical and biological warfare agents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Uhm, Han S.; Shin, Dong H.; Hong, Yong C.

    2006-01-01

    An elimination of airborne simulated chemical and biological warfare agents was carried out by making use of a plasma flame made of atmospheric plasma and a fuel-burning flame, which can purify the interior air of a large volume in isolated spaces such as buildings, public transportation systems, and military vehicles. The plasma flame generator consists of a microwave plasma torch connected in series to a fuel injector and a reaction chamber. For example, a reaction chamber, with the dimensions of a 22 cm diameter and 30 cm length, purifies an airflow rate of 5000 lpm contaminated with toluene (the simulated chemical agent) and soot from a diesel engine (the simulated aerosol for biological agents). Large volumes of purification by the plasma flame will free mankind from the threat of airborne warfare agents. The plasma flame may also effectively purify air that is contaminated with volatile organic compounds, in addition to eliminating soot from diesel engines as an environmental application

  10. Chemical warfare agent and biological toxin-induced pulmonary toxicity: could stem cells provide potential therapies?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angelini, Daniel J; Dorsey, Russell M; Willis, Kristen L; Hong, Charles; Moyer, Robert A; Oyler, Jonathan; Jensen, Neil S; Salem, Harry

    2013-01-01

    Chemical warfare agents (CWAs) as well as biological toxins present a significant inhalation injury risk to both deployed warfighters and civilian targets of terrorist attacks. Inhalation of many CWAs and biological toxins can induce severe pulmonary toxicity leading to the development of acute lung injury (ALI) as well as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The therapeutic options currently used to treat these conditions are very limited and mortality rates remain high. Recent evidence suggests that human stem cells may provide significant therapeutic options for ALI and ARDS in the near future. The threat posed by CWAs and biological toxins for both civilian populations and military personnel is growing, thus understanding the mechanisms of toxicity and potential therapies is critical. This review will outline the pulmonary toxic effects of some of the most common CWAs and biological toxins as well as the potential role of stem cells in treating these types of toxic lung injuries.

  11. Insect-gene-activity detection system for chemical and biological warfare agents and toxic industrial chemicals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mackie, Ryan S.; Schilling, Amanda S.; Lopez, Arturo M.; Rayms-Keller, Alfredo

    2002-02-01

    Detection of multiple chemical and biological weapons (CBW) agents and/or complex mixtures of toxic industrial chemicals (TIC) is imperative for both the commercial and military sectors. In a military scenario, a multi-CBW attack would create confusion, thereby delaying decontamination and therapeutic efforts. In the commercial sector, polluted sites invariably contain a mixture of TIC. Novel detection systems capable of detecting CBW and TIC are sorely needed. While it may be impossible to build a detector capable of discriminating all the possible combinations of CBW, a detection system capable of statistically predicting the most likely composition of a given mixture is within the reach of current emerging technologies. Aquatic insect-gene activity may prove to be a sensitive, discriminating, and elegant paradigm for the detection of CBW and TIC. We propose to systematically establish the expression patterns of selected protein markers in insects exposed to specific mixtures of chemical and biological warfare agents to generate a library of biosignatures of exposure. The predicting capabilities of an operational library of biosignatures of exposures will allow the detection of emerging novel or genetically engineered agents, as well as complex mixtures of chemical and biological weapons agents. CBW and TIC are discussed in the context of war, terrorism, and pollution.

  12. War and Medicine in a Culture of Peace. 2. Synopsis of Biological Weapons

    OpenAIRE

    Pierard, Gérald

    2001-01-01

    Biological warfare has a long history. Despite the 1972 international convention and several attempts at biological weapon eradication, some countries and non governmental groups still retain some of these agents. According to their potential use, they belong to bioterrorism or to massive destruction weapons. Any biological warfare put the civilian medical and paramedical assets at the frontline and at high risk for being rapidly contaminated. The prompt recognition of a bioterrorist attack a...

  13. Gulf war syndrome: could it be triggered by biological warfare-vaccines using pertussis as an adjuvant?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tournier, J-N; Jouan, A; Mathieu, J; Drouet, E

    2002-04-01

    Several recent epidemiological studies have shown that vaccinations against biological warfare using pertussis as an adjuvant were associated with the Gulf war syndrome. If such epidemiological findings are confirmed, we propose that the use of pertussis as an adjuvant could trigger neurodegeneration through induction of interleukin-1beta secretion in the brain. In turn, neuronal lesions may be sustained by stress or neurotoxic chemical combinations. Particular susceptibility for IL-1beta secretion and potential distant neuronal damage could provide an explanation for the diversity of the symptoms observed on veterans. Copyright 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Decontamination issues for chemical and biological warfare agents: how clean is clean enough?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raber, E; Jin, A; Noonan, K; McGuire, R; Kirvel, R D

    2001-06-01

    The objective of this assessment is to determine what level of cleanup will be required to meet regulatory and stakeholder needs in the case of a chemical and/or biological incident at a civilian facility. A literature review for selected, potential chemical and biological warfare agents shows that dose information is often lacking or controversial. Environmental regulatory limits or other industrial health guidelines that could be used to help establish cleanup concentration levels for such agents are generally unavailable or not applicable for a public setting. Although dose information, cleanup criteria, and decontamination protocols all present challenges to effective planning, several decontamination approaches are available. Such approaches should be combined with risk-informed decision making to establish reasonable cleanup goals for protecting health, property, and resources. Key issues during a risk assessment are to determine exactly what constitutes a safety hazard and whether decontamination is necessary or not for a particular scenario. An important conclusion is that cleanup criteria are site dependent and stakeholder specific. The results of a modeling exercise for two outdoor scenarios are presented to reinforce this conclusion. Public perception of risk to health, public acceptance of recommendations based on scientific criteria, political support, time constraints, and economic concerns must all be addressed in the context of a specific scenario to yield effective and acceptable decontamination.

  15. Enhanced formulations for neutralization of chemical, biological and industrial toxants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tucker, Mark D [Albuqueque, NM

    2008-06-24

    An enhanced formulation and method of making that neutralizes the adverse health effects of both chemical and biological compounds, especially chemical warfare (CW) and biological warfare (BW) agents, and toxic industrial chemicals. The enhanced formulation according to the present invention is non-toxic and non-corrosive and can be delivered by a variety of means and in different phases. The formulation provides solubilizing compounds that serve to effectively render the chemical and biological compounds, particularly CW and BW compounds, susceptible to attack, and at least one reactive compound that serves to attack (and detoxify or kill) the compound. The formulation includes at least one solubilizing agent, a reactive compound, a bleaching activator and water.

  16. Synthetic biology and biosecurity: challenging the "myths".

    OpenAIRE

    Jefferson, C; Lentzos, F; Marris, C

    2014-01-01

    15.10.14 KB. Ok to add published version to spiral, OA paper under cc by Synthetic biology, a field that aims to make biology easier to engineer, is routinely described as leading to an increase in the dual-use threat, i.e., the potential for the same scientific research to be used for peaceful purposes or misused for warfare or terrorism. Fears have been expressed that the de-skilling of biology, combined with online access to the genomic DNA sequences of pathogenic organisms an...

  17. Biological and environmental hazards associated with exposure to chemical warfare agents: arsenicals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Changzhao; Srivastava, Ritesh K; Athar, Mohammad

    2016-08-01

    Arsenicals are highly reactive inorganic and organic derivatives of arsenic. These chemicals are very toxic and produce both acute and chronic tissue damage. On the basis of these observations, and considering the low cost and simple methods of their bulk syntheses, these agents were thought to be appropriate for chemical warfare. Among these, the best-known agent that was synthesized and weaponized during World War I (WWI) is Lewisite. Exposure to Lewisite causes painful inflammatory and blistering responses in the skin, lung, and eye. These chemicals also manifest systemic tissue injury following their cutaneous exposure. Although largely discontinued after WWI, stockpiles are still known to exist in the former Soviet Union, Germany, Italy, the United States, and Asia. Thus, access by terrorists or accidental exposure could be highly dangerous for humans and the environment. This review summarizes studies that describe the biological, pathophysiological, toxicological, and environmental effects of exposure to arsenicals, with a major focus on cutaneous injury. Studies related to the development of novel molecular pathobiology-based antidotes against these agents are also described. © 2016 New York Academy of Sciences.

  18. Biological and environmental hazards associated with exposure to chemical warfare agents: arsenicals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Changzhao; Srivastava, Ritesh K.; Athar, Mohammad

    2016-01-01

    Arsenicals are highly reactive inorganic and organic derivatives of arsenic. These chemicals are very toxic and produce both acute and chronic tissue damage. Based on these observations, and considering the low cost and simple methods of their bulk syntheses, these agents were thought to be appropriate for chemical warfare. Among these, the most known agent synthesized and weaponized during World War I (WWI) is Lewisite. Exposure to Lewisite causes painful inflammatory and blistering responses in the skin, lung, and eye. These chemicals also manifest systemic tissue injury following their cutaneous exposure. Although largely discontinued after WWI, their stockpiles are still known to exist in the former Soviet Union, Germany, Italy, the United States, and Asia. Thus, their access by terrorists or accidental exposure could be highly dangerous for humans and the environment. This review summarizes studies which describe the biological, pathophysiological, toxicological, and environmental effects of exposure to arsenicals, with a major focus on cutaneous injury. Studies related to the development of novel molecular pathobiology–based antidotes against these agents are also described. PMID:27636894

  19. Love-Wave Sensors Combined with Microfluidics for Fast Detection of Biological Warfare Agents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Matatagui

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available The following paper examines a time-efficient method for detecting biological warfare agents (BWAs. The method is based on a system of a Love-wave immunosensor combined with a microfluidic chip which detects BWA samples in a dynamic mode. In this way a continuous flow-through of the sample is created, promoting the reaction between antigen and antibody and allowing a fast detection of the BWAs. In order to prove this method, static and dynamic modes have been simulated and different concentrations of BWA simulants have been tested with two immunoreactions: phage M13 has been detected using the mouse monoclonal antibody anti-M13 (AM13, and the rabbit immunoglobulin (Rabbit IgG has been detected using the polyclonal antibody goat anti-rabbit (GAR. Finally, different concentrations of each BWA simulants have been detected with a fast response time and a desirable level of discrimination among them has been achieved.

  20. Chemically-functionalized microcantilevers for detection of chemical, biological and explosive material

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pinnaduwage, Lal A [Knoxville, TN; Thundat, Thomas G [Knoxville, TN; Brown, Gilbert M [Knoxville, TN; Hawk, John Eric [Olive Branch, MS; Boiadjiev, Vassil I [Knoxville, TN

    2007-04-24

    A chemically functionalized cantilever system has a cantilever coated on one side thereof with a reagent or biological species which binds to an analyte. The system is of particular value when the analyte is a toxic chemical biological warfare agent or an explosive.

  1. [Principles of management in biological infections].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Płusa, Tadeusz

    2012-11-01

    The effectiveness of the management in respiratory infection is depending on the nature of the biological pathogen and the immune status of the patient. For this reason, providing assistance to victims the organ function support, similarly as defining the pathogen and targeted antibiotic therapy should be applied. Available diagnostic tests provide rapid ability to identify the pathogen and antibiotics are able to control infection. Lack of efficacy of treatment may indicate the diversity of the pathogen than previously known and raises suspicion of biological warfare pathogen.

  2. Effects of lactoferrin derived peptides on simulants of biological warfare agents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sijbrandij, Tjitske; Ligtenberg, Antoon J; Nazmi, Kamran; Veerman, Enno C I; Bolscher, Jan G M; Bikker, Floris J

    2017-01-01

    Lactoferrin (LF) is an important immune protein in neutrophils and secretory fluids of mammals. Bovine LF (bLF) harbours two antimicrobial stretches, lactoferricin and lactoferampin, situated in close proximity in the N1 domain. To mimic these antimicrobial domain parts a chimeric peptide (LFchimera) has been constructed comprising parts of both stretches (LFcin17-30 and LFampin265-284). To investigate the potency of this construct to combat a set of Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria which are regarded as simulants for biological warfare agents, the effect on bacterial killing, membrane permeability and membrane polarity were determined in comparison to the constituent peptides and the native bLF. Furthermore we aimed to increase the antimicrobial potency of the bLF derived peptides by cationic amino acid substitutions. Overall, the bactericidal activity of the peptides could be related to membrane disturbing effects, i.e. membrane permeabilization and depolarization. Those effects were most prominent for the LFchimera. Arginine residues were found to be crucial for displaying antimicrobial activity, as lysine to arginine substitutions resulted in an increased antimicrobial activity, affecting mostly LFampin265-284 whereas arginine to lysine substitutions resulted in a decreased bactericidal activity, predominantly in case of LFcin17-30.

  3. Water-driven micromotors for rapid photocatalytic degradation of biological and chemical warfare agents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jinxing; Singh, Virendra V; Sattayasamitsathit, Sirilak; Orozco, Jahir; Kaufmann, Kevin; Dong, Renfeng; Gao, Wei; Jurado-Sanchez, Beatriz; Fedorak, Yuri; Wang, Joseph

    2014-11-25

    Threats of chemical and biological warfare agents (CBWA) represent a serious global concern and require rapid and efficient neutralization methods. We present a highly effective micromotor strategy for photocatalytic degradation of CBWA based on light-activated TiO2/Au/Mg microspheres that propel autonomously in natural water and obviate the need for external fuel, decontaminating reagent, or mechanical agitation. The activated TiO2/Au/Mg micromotors generate highly reactive oxygen species responsible for the efficient destruction of the cell membranes of the anthrax simulant Bacillus globigii spore, as well as rapid and complete in situ mineralization of the highly persistent organophosphate nerve agents into nonharmful products. The water-driven propulsion of the TiO2/Au/Mg micromotors facilitates efficient fluid transport and dispersion of the photogenerated reactive oxidative species and their interaction with the CBWA. Coupling of the photocatalytic surface of the micromotors and their autonomous water-driven propulsion thus leads to a reagent-free operation which holds a considerable promise for diverse "green" defense and environmental applications.

  4. Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and High-Yield Explosives Consequences Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    2006-10-02

    protective measures associated with such offensive operations. Since riot control agents and herbicides are not considered to be chemical warfare agents...control. Procedures to avoid, reduce, remove, or render harmless (temporarily or permanently) nuclear, radiological, biological, and chemical...destroying, neutralizing, making harmless , or removing chemical or biological agents, or by removing radioactive material clinging to or around it. (JP 1

  5. Structure and behavior as determinants: United States nuclear test ban and chemical and biological arms control policy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reich, J.C.

    1991-01-01

    US efforts to control chemical and biological warfare and nuclear testing are examined with the aim of explaining the paucity of US backed agreements in these areas. Two theoretical perspectives, the behavioral and structural approaches, are used to explore US arms control outcomes. In the behavioral approach, the effects of governmental organization and the bargaining dynamics of policy-making elites with different cognitive styles are posited as important influences on US nuclear test ban and chemical and biological arms control policy outcomes. The behavioral perspective accounts for the timing of all US failed and successful entries (with one exception) into nuclear test bans and chemical and biological warfare restraints. A shortcoming of the behavior approach, however, is that it tends to overemphasize the chances for successful US entry into nuclear test and chemical and biological warfare limitations. Analysis of the same events from the structural perspective helps to correct for expectations generated by behavioral variables for a higher success rate than ultimately resulted. In the structural approach, the focus is on the effect of the organization of international politics on US nuclear test ban and chemical and biological arms control policy outcomes

  6. NATO Advanced Research Workshop, 19-22 May 1997: Rapid Method for Monitoring the Environment for Biological Hazards

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    1997-01-01

    The NATO Advanced Research Workshop met for the purpose of bringing to light rapid methods for monitoring the environment for biological hazards such as biological warfare agents, naturally occurring...

  7. A review of research on common biological agents and their impact on environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mashiatullah, A.; Qureshi, R.M.

    2009-01-01

    Biological agents are unique class of microorganisms which can be used to produce the disease in large populations of humans, animals and plants. If used for hostile purposes, any disease-causing microorganism could be considered a weapon. The use of biological agents is not a new concept and history is replete with examples of biological weapon use. Before the twenty century, biological warfare took on three main forms by deliberate poisoning of food and water with infectious material, use of microorganisms or toxins in some form of weapon system, and use of biologically inoculated fabrics. Four kinds of biological warfare agents are bacteria, viruses, rickettsiae, fungi. These are distinguished by being living organisms, that reproduce within their host victims, who then become contagious with a deadly multiplier effect, bacteria, viruses, or fungi or toxin found in nature can be used to kill or injure people. Biological agents may be used for an isolated assassination, as well as to cause incapacitation or death to thousands. These biological agents represent a dangerous military threat because they are alive, and are therefore unpredictable and uncontrollable once released. The act of bioterrorism can range from a simple hoax to the actual use of biological weapons. Biological agents have the potential to make an environment more dangerous over time. If the environment is contaminated, a long-term threat to the population could be created. This paper discusses common biological agents, their mode of action in living organisms and possible impact on the environment. (author)

  8. Chemical and biological weapons: new questions, new answers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hood, E

    1999-01-01

    The words "chemical and biological weapons" (CBW) send a shiver down most spines these days. With the end of the Cold War, the possibility of a massive nuclear confrontation appears remote, so today many popular doomsday scenarios center on the aggressive use of chemical or biological warfare by rogue nations or terrorist groups. As exaggerated as some of the accounts are, with CBW cast as the latest unseen, unstoppable enemy, the threat posed by these weapons is all too real, and growing. Images p931-a PMID:10585899

  9. Chemical warfare agents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vijayaraghavan R

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Among the Weapons of Mass Destruction, chemical warfare (CW is probably one of the most brutal created by mankind in comparison with biological and nuclear warfare. Chemical weapons are inexpensive and are relatively easy to produce, even by small terrorist groups, to create mass casualties with small quantities. The characteristics of various CW agents, general information relevant to current physical as well as medical protection methods, detection equipment available and decontamination techniques are discussed in this review article. A brief note on Chemical Weapons Convention is also provided.

  10. Chemical warfare agents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ganesan, K.; Raza, S. K.; Vijayaraghavan, R.

    2010-01-01

    Among the Weapons of Mass Destruction, chemical warfare (CW) is probably one of the most brutal created by mankind in comparison with biological and nuclear warfare. Chemical weapons are inexpensive and are relatively easy to produce, even by small terrorist groups, to create mass casualties with small quantities. The characteristics of various CW agents, general information relevant to current physical as well as medical protection methods, detection equipment available and decontamination techniques are discussed in this review article. A brief note on Chemical Weapons Convention is also provided. PMID:21829312

  11. Chemical warfare agents. Classes and targets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwenk, Michael

    2018-09-01

    Synthetic toxic chemicals (toxicants) and biological poisons (toxins) have been developed as chemical warfare agents in the last century. At the time of their initial consideration as chemical weapon, only restricted knowledge existed about their mechanisms of action. There exist two different types of acute toxic action: nonspecific cytotoxic mechanisms with multiple chemo-biological interactions versus specific mechanisms that tend to have just a single or a few target biomolecules. TRPV1- and TRPA-receptors are often involved as chemosensors that induce neurogenic inflammation. The present work briefly surveys classes and toxicologically relevant features of chemical warfare agents and describes mechanisms of toxic action. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Use of In Situ-Generated Dimethyldioxirane for Inactivation of Biological Agents

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Wallace, William H; Bushway, Karen E; Miller, Susan D; Delcomyn, Carrie A; Renard, Jean J; Henley, Michael V

    2005-01-01

    ...) at neutral pH, was investigated for inactivation of biological warfare agent simulants. The DMDO solution inactivated bacterial spores, fungal spores, vegetative bacterial cells, viruses, and protein by 7 orders of magnitude in less than 10 min...

  13. 78 FR 55326 - Determinations Regarding Use of Chemical Weapons in Syria Under the Chemical and Biological...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-09-10

    ... DEPARTMENT OF STATE [Public Notice 8460] Determinations Regarding Use of Chemical Weapons in Syria Under the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 AGENCY: Bureau of... Government has determined on August 2, pursuant to Section 306(a) of the Chemical and Biological Weapons...

  14. Developing Navy Capability to Recover Forces in Chemical, Biological, and Radiological Hazard Environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    damage control; LHD flight deck and well deck operations; fleet surgical team; Afloat Training Group; Assault Craft Unit; Naval Surface Warfare Center ...Biological, Radiological and Nuclear School, and U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center , Guidelines for Mass Casualty Decontamination During a HAZMAT...Policy Center of the RAND National Defense Research Institute, a federally funded research and development center sponsored by OSD, the Joint Staff

  15. Synthetic biology and biosecurity: challenging the "myths".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jefferson, Catherine; Lentzos, Filippa; Marris, Claire

    2014-01-01

    Synthetic biology, a field that aims to "make biology easier to engineer," is routinely described as leading to an increase in the "dual-use" threat, i.e., the potential for the same scientific research to be "used" for peaceful purposes or "misused" for warfare or terrorism. Fears have been expressed that the "de-skilling" of biology, combined with online access to the genomic DNA sequences of pathogenic organisms and the reduction in price for DNA synthesis, will make biology increasingly accessible to people operating outside well-equipped professional research laboratories, including people with malevolent intentions. The emergence of do-it-yourself (DIY) biology communities and of the student iGEM competition has come to epitomize this supposed trend toward greater ease of access and the associated potential threat from rogue actors. In this article, we identify five "myths" that permeate discussions about synthetic biology and biosecurity, and argue that they embody misleading assumptions about both synthetic biology and bioterrorism. We demonstrate how these myths are challenged by more realistic understandings of the scientific research currently being conducted in both professional and DIY laboratories, and by an analysis of historical cases of bioterrorism. We show that the importance of tacit knowledge is commonly overlooked in the dominant narrative: the focus is on access to biological materials and digital information, rather than on human practices and institutional dimensions. As a result, public discourse on synthetic biology and biosecurity tends to portray speculative scenarios about the future as realities in the present or the near future, when this is not warranted. We suggest that these "myths" play an important role in defining synthetic biology as a "promissory" field of research and as an "emerging technology" in need of governance.

  16. Tissue-based water quality biosensors for detecting chemical warfare agents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greenbaum, Elias [Oak Ridge, TN; Sanders, Charlene A [Knoxville, TN

    2003-05-27

    A water quality sensor for detecting the presence of at least one chemical or biological warfare agent includes: a cell; apparatus for introducing water into the cell and discharging water from the cell adapted for analyzing photosynthetic activity of naturally occurring, free-living, indigenous photosynthetic organisms in water; a fluorometer for measuring photosynthetic activity of naturally occurring, free-living, indigenous photosynthetic organisms drawn into the cell; and an electronics package that analyzes raw data from the fluorometer and emits a signal indicating the presence of at least one chemical or biological warfare agent in the water.

  17. Isolation and expression of recombinant antibody fragments to the biological warfare pathogen Brucella melitensis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayhurst, Andrew; Happe, Scott; Mabry, Robert; Koch, Zephyr; Iverson, Brent L; Georgiou, George

    2003-05-01

    Brucella melitensis is a highly infectious animal pathogen able to cause a recurring debilitating disease in humans and is therefore high on the list of biological warfare agents. Immunoglobulin genes from mice immunized with gamma-irradiated B. melitensis strain 16M were used to construct a library that was screened by phage display against similarly prepared bacteria. The selected phage particles afforded a strong enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) signal against gamma-irradiated B. melitensis cells. However, extensive efforts to express the respective single chain antibody variable region fragment (scFv) in soluble form failed due to: (i) poor solubility and (ii) in vivo degradation of the c-myc tag used for the detection of the recombinant antibodies. Both problems could be addressed by: (i) fusing a human kappa light chain constant domain (Ck) chain to the scFv to generate single chain antibody fragment (scAb) antibody fragments and (ii) by co-expression of the periplasmic chaperone Skp. While soluble, functional antibodies could be produced in this manner, phage-displaying scFvs or scAbs were still found to be superior ELISA reagents for immunoassays, due to the large signal amplification afforded by anti-phage antibodies. The isolated phage antibodies were shown to be highly specific to B. melitensis and did not recognize Yersinia pseudotuberculosis in contrast to the existing diagnostic monoclonal YST 9.2.1.

  18. Modified clay minerals efficiency against chemical and biological warfare agents for civil human protection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plachá, Daniela; Rosenbergová, Kateřina; Slabotínský, Jiří; Kutláková, Kateřina Mamulová; Studentová, Soňa; Martynková, Gražyna Simha

    2014-04-30

    Sorption efficiencies of modified montmorillonite and vermiculite of their mono ionic Na and organic HDTMA and HDP forms were studied against chemical and biological warfare agents such as yperite and selected bacterial strains. Yperite interactions with modified clay minerals were observed through its capture in low-density polyethylene foil-modified clay composites by measuring yperite gas permeation with using chemical indication and gas chromatography methods. The antibacterial activities of synthetized organoclays were tested against selected Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial species in minimum inhibitory concentration tests. The obtained results showed a positive influence of modified clay minerals on the significant yperite breakthrough-time increase. The most effective material was the polyethylene-Na form montmorillonite, while the polyethylene-Na form vermiculite showed the lowest efficiency. With increasing organic cations loading in the interlayer space the montmorillonite efficiency decreased, and in the case of vermiculite an opposite effect was observed. Generally the modified montmorillonites were more effective than modified vermiculites. The HDP cations seem to be more effective compare to the HDTMA. The antibacterial activity tests confirmed efficiency of all organically modified clay minerals against Gram-positive bacteria. The confirmation of antibacterial activity against Y. pestis, plague bacteria, is the most interesting result of this part of the study. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Guerra biológica, bioterrorismo e saúde pública Biological warfare, bioterrorism and public health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luiz Jacintho da Silva

    2001-12-01

    Full Text Available O uso de agentes biológicos como arma não é novidade para a humanidade. Durante séculos, até a atualidade, a guerra biológica tem sido objeto de muita pesquisa e especulação, mas de pouca ação. O medo de efeitos contrários e dúvidas sobre sua eficiência como armas devem ter limitado seu uso. Recentemente, se verificou uma nova forma de terrorismo, empregando agentes infecciosos, devagar e sem muito alarde, até as ocorrências recentes com o Bacillus anthracis nos Estados Unidos. A varíola é possivelmente o mais devastador desses agentes. Menos de 25 anos passados desde sua erradicação, a saúde pública tem que lidar com a possibilidade de sua re-introdução. O cenário da re-introdução da varíola no Brasil é discutido.Biological agents as weapons are not new to mankind. For centuries and into the present, biological warfare has been the subject of much research and speculation, but little action. Their limited use has probably been due to fear of unexpected counter-effects and doubts about their efficiency as weapons. Recently a new form of terrorism employing infectious agents has emerged slowly and without much fanfare, until the recent events with Bacillus anthracis in the United States. Smallpox is potentially the most devastating of these agents. Less than 25 years after the eradication of smallpox, the public health field is now forced to deal with the possibility of its re-introduction. The author discusses the scenario of smallpox re-introduction into Brazil.

  20. Tissue-based standoff biosensors for detecting chemical warfare agents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greenbaum, Elias; Sanders, Charlene A.

    2003-11-18

    A tissue-based, deployable, standoff air quality sensor for detecting the presence of at least one chemical or biological warfare agent, includes: a cell containing entrapped photosynthetic tissue, the cell adapted for analyzing photosynthetic activity of the entrapped photosynthetic tissue; means for introducing an air sample into the cell and contacting the air sample with the entrapped photosynthetic tissue; a fluorometer in operable relationship with the cell for measuring photosynthetic activity of the entrapped photosynthetic tissue; and transmitting means for transmitting analytical data generated by the fluorometer relating to the presence of at least one chemical or biological warfare agent in the air sample, the sensor adapted for deployment into a selected area.

  1. Synthetic biology and biosecurity: challenging the ‘myths’

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Catherine eJefferson

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Synthetic biology, a field that aims to ‘make biology easier to engineer’, is routinely described as leading to an increase in the ‘dual use’ threat, i.e. the potential for the same piece of scientific research to be ‘used’ for peaceful purposes or ‘misused’ for warfare or terrorism. Fears have been expressed that the ‘de-skilling’ of biology, combined with online access to the genomic DNA sequences of pathogenic organisms and the reduction in price for DNA synthesis, will make biology increasingly accessible to people operating outside well-equipped professional research laboratories, including people with malevolent intentions. The emergence of DIY biology communities and of the student iGEM competition has come to epitomize this supposed trend towards greater ease of access and the associated potential threat from rogue actors. In this article, we identify 5 ‘myths’ that permeate discussions about synthetic biology and biosecurity, and argue that they embody misleading assumptions about both synthetic biology and bioterrorism. We demonstrate how these myths are challenged by more realistic understandings of the scientific research currently being conducted in both professional and DIY laboratories, and by an analysis of historical cases of bioterrorism. We show that the importance of tacit knowledge is commonly overlooked in the dominant narrative: the focus is on access to biological materials and digital information, rather than on human practices and institutional dimensions. As a result, public discourse on synthetic biology and biosecurity tends to portray speculative scenarios about the future as realities in the present or the near future, when this is not warranted. We suggest that these ‘myths’ play an important role in defining synthetic biology as a ‘promissory’ field of research and as an ‘emerging technology’ in need of governance.

  2. Synthetic Biology and Biosecurity: Challenging the “Myths”

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jefferson, Catherine; Lentzos, Filippa; Marris, Claire

    2014-01-01

    Synthetic biology, a field that aims to “make biology easier to engineer,” is routinely described as leading to an increase in the “dual-use” threat, i.e., the potential for the same scientific research to be “used” for peaceful purposes or “misused” for warfare or terrorism. Fears have been expressed that the “de-skilling” of biology, combined with online access to the genomic DNA sequences of pathogenic organisms and the reduction in price for DNA synthesis, will make biology increasingly accessible to people operating outside well-equipped professional research laboratories, including people with malevolent intentions. The emergence of do-it-yourself (DIY) biology communities and of the student iGEM competition has come to epitomize this supposed trend toward greater ease of access and the associated potential threat from rogue actors. In this article, we identify five “myths” that permeate discussions about synthetic biology and biosecurity, and argue that they embody misleading assumptions about both synthetic biology and bioterrorism. We demonstrate how these myths are challenged by more realistic understandings of the scientific research currently being conducted in both professional and DIY laboratories, and by an analysis of historical cases of bioterrorism. We show that the importance of tacit knowledge is commonly overlooked in the dominant narrative: the focus is on access to biological materials and digital information, rather than on human practices and institutional dimensions. As a result, public discourse on synthetic biology and biosecurity tends to portray speculative scenarios about the future as realities in the present or the near future, when this is not warranted. We suggest that these “myths” play an important role in defining synthetic biology as a “promissory” field of research and as an “emerging technology” in need of governance. PMID:25191649

  3. Chemical and biological weapons in the 'new wars'.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ilchmann, Kai; Revill, James

    2014-09-01

    The strategic use of disease and poison in warfare has been subject to a longstanding and cross-cultural taboo that condemns the hostile exploitation of poisons and disease as the act of a pariah. In short, biological and chemical weapons are simply not fair game. The normative opprobrium is, however, not fixed, but context dependent and, as a social phenomenon, remains subject to erosion by social (or more specifically, antisocial) actors. The cross cultural understanding that fighting with poisons and disease is reprehensible, that they are taboo, is codified through a web of interconnected measures, principal amongst these are the 1925 Geneva Protocol; the Biological Weapons Convention; and the Chemical Weapons Convention. Whilst these treaties have weathered the storm of international events reasonably well, their continued health is premised on their being 'tended to' in the face of contextual changes, particularly facing changes in science and technology, as well as the changed nature and character of conflict. This article looks at the potential for normative erosion of the norm against chemical and biological weapons in the face of these contextual changes and the creeping legitimization of chemical and biological weapons.

  4. Biological warfare warriors, secrecy and pure science in the Cold War: how to understand dialogue and the classifications of science.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bud, Robert

    2014-01-01

    This paper uses a case study from the Cold War to reflect on the meaning at the time of the term 'Pure Science'. In 1961, four senior scientists from Britain's biological warfare centre at Porton Down visited Moscow both attending an International Congress and visiting Russian microbiological and biochemical laboratories. The reports of the British scientists in talking about a limited range of topics encountered in the Soviet Union expressed qualities of openness, sociologists of the time associated with pure science. The paper reflects on the discourses of "Pure Science", secrecy and security in the Cold War. Using Bakhtin's approach, I suggest the cordial communication between scientists from opposing sides can be seen in terms of the performance, or speaking, of one language among several at their disposal. Pure science was the language they were allowed to share outside their institutions, and indeed political blocs.

  5. Transport behavior of surrogate biological warfare agents in a simulated landfill: Effect of leachate recirculation and water infiltration

    KAUST Repository

    Saikaly, Pascal

    2010-11-15

    An understanding of the transport behavior of biological warfare (BW) agents in landfills is required to evaluate the suitability of landfills for the disposal of building decontamination residue (BDR) following a bioterrorist attack on a building. Surrogate BW agents, Bacillus atrophaeus spores and Serratia marcescens, were spiked into simulated landfill reactors that were filled with synthetic building debris (SBD) and operated for 4 months with leachate recirculation or water infiltration. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR) was used to monitor surrogate transport. In the leachate recirculation reactors, <10% of spiked surrogates were eluted in leachate over 4 months. In contrast, 45% and 31% of spiked S. marcescens and B. atrophaeus spores were eluted in leachate in the water infiltration reactors. At the termination of the experiment, the number of retained cells and spores in SBD was measured over the depth of the reactor. Less than 3% of the total spiked S. marcescens cells and no B. atrophaeus spores were detected in SBD. These results suggest that significant fractions of the spiked surrogates were strongly attached to SBD. © 2010 American Chemical Society.

  6. Transport behavior of surrogate biological warfare agents in a simulated landfill: Effect of leachate recirculation and water infiltration

    KAUST Repository

    Saikaly, Pascal; Hicks, Kristin A.; Barlaz, Morton A.; De Los Reyes, Francis Delos De Los

    2010-01-01

    An understanding of the transport behavior of biological warfare (BW) agents in landfills is required to evaluate the suitability of landfills for the disposal of building decontamination residue (BDR) following a bioterrorist attack on a building. Surrogate BW agents, Bacillus atrophaeus spores and Serratia marcescens, were spiked into simulated landfill reactors that were filled with synthetic building debris (SBD) and operated for 4 months with leachate recirculation or water infiltration. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR) was used to monitor surrogate transport. In the leachate recirculation reactors, <10% of spiked surrogates were eluted in leachate over 4 months. In contrast, 45% and 31% of spiked S. marcescens and B. atrophaeus spores were eluted in leachate in the water infiltration reactors. At the termination of the experiment, the number of retained cells and spores in SBD was measured over the depth of the reactor. Less than 3% of the total spiked S. marcescens cells and no B. atrophaeus spores were detected in SBD. These results suggest that significant fractions of the spiked surrogates were strongly attached to SBD. © 2010 American Chemical Society.

  7. Creating biological nanomaterials using synthetic biology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rice, MaryJoe K; Ruder, Warren C

    2014-01-01

    Synthetic biology is a new discipline that combines science and engineering approaches to precisely control biological networks. These signaling networks are especially important in fields such as biomedicine and biochemical engineering. Additionally, biological networks can also be critical to the production of naturally occurring biological nanomaterials, and as a result, synthetic biology holds tremendous potential in creating new materials. This review introduces the field of synthetic biology, discusses how biological systems naturally produce materials, and then presents examples and strategies for incorporating synthetic biology approaches in the development of new materials. In particular, strategies for using synthetic biology to produce both organic and inorganic nanomaterials are discussed. Ultimately, synthetic biology holds the potential to dramatically impact biological materials science with significant potential applications in medical systems. (review)

  8. Creating biological nanomaterials using synthetic biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rice, MaryJoe K; Ruder, Warren C

    2014-02-01

    Synthetic biology is a new discipline that combines science and engineering approaches to precisely control biological networks. These signaling networks are especially important in fields such as biomedicine and biochemical engineering. Additionally, biological networks can also be critical to the production of naturally occurring biological nanomaterials, and as a result, synthetic biology holds tremendous potential in creating new materials. This review introduces the field of synthetic biology, discusses how biological systems naturally produce materials, and then presents examples and strategies for incorporating synthetic biology approaches in the development of new materials. In particular, strategies for using synthetic biology to produce both organic and inorganic nanomaterials are discussed. Ultimately, synthetic biology holds the potential to dramatically impact biological materials science with significant potential applications in medical systems.

  9. Warfare, genocide, and ethnic conflict: a Darwinian approach

    OpenAIRE

    Dimijian, Gregory G.

    2010-01-01

    As the 21st century dawns, I reflect on the history of humankind with growing concern about the need to understand the underlying biological and cultural roots of ethnic conflict and warfare. In the many studies of human conflict, innate biological predispositions have been neglected. This article is the third part of a series of seminars for medical residents at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School at Dallas (see http://adarwinstudygroup.org/). The series starts with in-depth ...

  10. Endemic infectious diseases and biological warfare during the Gulf War: a decade of analysis and final concerns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hyams, K C; Riddle, J; Trump, D H; Graham, J T

    2001-11-01

    Infectious diseases were one of the first health threats confronted by Coalition troops deployed to the Arabian desert in August 1990. On the basis of experiences in World War II, the major endemic infectious disease risks were thought to be sandfly fever, cutaneous leishmaniasis, diarrheal disease, and malaria. Although there was active surveillance, no case of sandfly fever and few other endemic infectious diseases were identified among over 500,000 U.S., British, and Canadian ground troops. In addition, there was no diagnosis of biological warfare (BW) exposure, and BW agents were not detected in clinical, environmental, or veterinary samples. The most common infectious disease problems were those associated with crowding (acute upper respiratory infections) and reduced levels of sanitation (travelers-type diarrhea). Only one endemic infectious disease has been confirmed as causing chronic health problems: visceral Leishmania tropica infection (viscerotropic leishmaniasis). However, this protozoan infection was diagnosed in only 12 U.S. veterans, and no new cases have been identified during the last 8 years. Infectious diseases were not a serious problem for Gulf War troops because of extensive preventive medicine efforts and favorable weather and geographic factors. Moreover, it is unlikely that an endemic infectious disease or a BW agent could cause chronic health problems and remain undetected over a 10-year period.

  11. [The re-introduction of malaria in the Pontine Marshes and the Cassino district during the end of World War II. Biological warfare or global war tactics?].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sabbatani, Sergio; Fiorino, Sirio; Manfredi, Roberto

    2013-12-01

    After the fall of the Fascist regime on September 8, 1943, Italy was split into two parts: (i) the Southern regions where the King Victor Emanuel III and the military general staff escaped was under the control of English-American allied armies, and (ii) the northern regions comprising Lazio, Tuscany, Umbria, and Marche still under the control of the Germans. The German Wehrmacht, after suffering several defeats on Southern lines, established a new strengthened line of defence called the Gustav line, located south of Rome and crossing in the western portion the recently-drained Pontine Marshes. In his book published in 2006, Frank Snowden hypothesised that occupying German armies in 1943 had initiated a programme of re-flooding the Pontine plain as a biological warfare strategy to re-introduce malaria infection in the territories south of Rome, Such a plan was intended (i) to slow down the advance of English-American forces, and (ii) to punish Italians who abandoned their former allies. Other authors, including Annibale Folchi, Erhard Geissler, and Jeanne Guillemin, have disputed this hypothesis based on an analysis of recently-uncovered archive documents. What is not disputed is that the flooding of the Pontine and Roman plains in 1943 contributed to a severe malaria epidemic in 1944, which was associated with exceptionally high morbidity and mortality rates in the afflicted populations. Herein, we critically evaluate the evidence and arguments of whether the Wehrmacht specifically aimed to spread malaria as a novel biological warfare strategy in Italy during the Second World War. In our opinion, evidence for specific orders to deliberately spread malaria by the German army is lacking, although the strategy itself may have been considered by Nazis during the waning years of the war.

  12. Is synthetic biology mechanical biology?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holm, Sune

    2015-12-01

    A widespread and influential characterization of synthetic biology emphasizes that synthetic biology is the application of engineering principles to living systems. Furthermore, there is a strong tendency to express the engineering approach to organisms in terms of what seems to be an ontological claim: organisms are machines. In the paper I investigate the ontological and heuristic significance of the machine analogy in synthetic biology. I argue that the use of the machine analogy and the aim of producing rationally designed organisms does not necessarily imply a commitment to mechanical biology. The ideal of applying engineering principles to biology is best understood as expressing recognition of the machine-unlikeness of natural organisms and the limits of human cognition. The paper suggests an interpretation of the identification of organisms with machines in synthetic biology according to which it expresses a strategy for representing, understanding, and constructing living systems that are more machine-like than natural organisms.

  13. Nuclear radiation in warfare

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rotblat, J.

    1986-01-01

    The subject is covered in chapters, entitled: introduction; digest of nuclear weaponry (characteristics of nuclear weapons; effects of nuclear weapons other than ionizing radiation (fire-ball, fall-out, thermal radiation, blast wave, electromagnetic pulse); the nuclear arms race; war scenarios; biological effects of radiations on man (radiation doses; natural sources of radiation; acute effects of radiation; long-term somatic effects; genetic effects; factors affecting the biological response to radiation; internal exposure; synergistic effects; protection against radiation effects); radiations from nuclear explosions (initial radiation; fall-out; effects of fall-out on animal and plant life; contamination of water and food supplies by fall-out); radiation casualties in a nuclear war; effectiveness of civil defence; other warlike uses of radiation (attacks on civilian nuclear power installations; radiological warfare; terrorist activities); conclusion. (orig./HP) [de

  14. Nuclear radiation in warfare

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rotblat, J.

    1981-01-01

    The subject is covered in chapters, entitled: introduction; digest of nuclear weaponry (characteristics of nuclear weapons; effects of nuclear weapons other than ionizing radiation (fire-ball, fall-out, thermal radiation, blast wave, electromagnetic pulse); the nuclear arms race; war scenarios); biological effects of radiations on man (radiation doses; natural sources of radiation; acute effects of radiation; long-term somatic effects; genetic effects; factors affecting the biological response to radiation; internal exposure; synergistic effects; protection against radiation effects); radiations from nuclear explosions (initial radiation; fall-out; effects of fall-out on animal and plant life; contamination of water and food supplies by fall-out); radiation casualties in a nuclear war; effectiveness of civil defence; other warlike uses of radiation (attacks on civilian nuclear power installations; radiological warfare; terrorist activities); conclusion. (U.K.)

  15. Aum Shinrikyo's Chemical and Biological Weapons: More Than Sarin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tu, A T

    2014-07-01

    The radical religious group Aum Shinrikyo was founded in Japan in the 1980s and grew rapidly in the 1990s. Aum members perpetrated a mass murder in Matsumoto City in 1994, where they used sarin as a chemical weapon to poison approximately 500 civilians. On March 20, 1995, Aum deployed sarin in an even larger terrorist attack on the Tokyo Subway System, which poisoned some 6,000 people. After the Tokyo Subway attack, the Japanese Police arrested the sect's senior members. From 2005 through 2011, 13 of these senior members were sentenced to death. In this article, aspects of Aum's chemical and biological terrorism are reviewed. Sarin production efforts by the sect are described, including how the degradation product of sarin in soil, methylphosphonic acid, enabled the detection of sarin production sites. Also, Aum's chemical-warfare agents other than sarin are described, as are its biological weapons. The author was permitted by the Japanese government to interview Dr. Tomomasa Nakagawa, one of the senior members of Aum Shinrikyo. From Dr. Nakagawa the author obtained valuable inside information about Aum's chemical and biological weapons programs. Copyright © 2014 Central Police University.

  16. Developmental biology, the stem cell of biological disciplines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilbert, Scott F

    2017-12-01

    Developmental biology (including embryology) is proposed as "the stem cell of biological disciplines." Genetics, cell biology, oncology, immunology, evolutionary mechanisms, neurobiology, and systems biology each has its ancestry in developmental biology. Moreover, developmental biology continues to roll on, budding off more disciplines, while retaining its own identity. While its descendant disciplines differentiate into sciences with a restricted set of paradigms, examples, and techniques, developmental biology remains vigorous, pluripotent, and relatively undifferentiated. In many disciplines, especially in evolutionary biology and oncology, the developmental perspective is being reasserted as an important research program.

  17. Relations between Intuitive Biological Thinking and Biological Misconceptions in Biology Majors and Nonmajors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coley, John D.; Tanner, Kimberly

    2015-01-01

    Research and theory development in cognitive psychology and science education research remain largely isolated. Biology education researchers have documented persistent scientifically inaccurate ideas, often termed misconceptions, among biology students across biological domains. In parallel, cognitive and developmental psychologists have described intuitive conceptual systems—teleological, essentialist, and anthropocentric thinking—that humans use to reason about biology. We hypothesize that seemingly unrelated biological misconceptions may have common origins in these intuitive ways of knowing, termed cognitive construals. We presented 137 undergraduate biology majors and nonmajors with six biological misconceptions. They indicated their agreement with each statement, and explained their rationale for their response. Results indicate frequent agreement with misconceptions, and frequent use of construal-based reasoning among both biology majors and nonmajors in their written explanations. Moreover, results also show associations between specific construals and the misconceptions hypothesized to arise from those construals. Strikingly, such associations were stronger among biology majors than nonmajors. These results demonstrate important linkages between intuitive ways of thinking and misconceptions in discipline-based reasoning, and raise questions about the origins, persistence, and generality of relations between intuitive reasoning and biological misconceptions. PMID:25713093

  18. A Brief Introduction to Chinese Biological Biological

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2005-01-01

    Chinese Biological Abstracts sponsored by the Library, the Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, the Biological Documentation and Information Network, all of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, commenced publication in 1987 and was initiated to provide access to the Chinese information in the field of biology.

  19. Relations between intuitive biological thinking and biological misconceptions in biology majors and nonmajors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coley, John D; Tanner, Kimberly

    2015-03-02

    Research and theory development in cognitive psychology and science education research remain largely isolated. Biology education researchers have documented persistent scientifically inaccurate ideas, often termed misconceptions, among biology students across biological domains. In parallel, cognitive and developmental psychologists have described intuitive conceptual systems--teleological, essentialist, and anthropocentric thinking--that humans use to reason about biology. We hypothesize that seemingly unrelated biological misconceptions may have common origins in these intuitive ways of knowing, termed cognitive construals. We presented 137 undergraduate biology majors and nonmajors with six biological misconceptions. They indicated their agreement with each statement, and explained their rationale for their response. Results indicate frequent agreement with misconceptions, and frequent use of construal-based reasoning among both biology majors and nonmajors in their written explanations. Moreover, results also show associations between specific construals and the misconceptions hypothesized to arise from those construals. Strikingly, such associations were stronger among biology majors than nonmajors. These results demonstrate important linkages between intuitive ways of thinking and misconceptions in discipline-based reasoning, and raise questions about the origins, persistence, and generality of relations between intuitive reasoning and biological misconceptions. © 2015 J. D. Coley and K. Tanner. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2015 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

  20. Developmental biology, the stem cell of biological disciplines

    OpenAIRE

    Gilbert, Scott F.

    2017-01-01

    Developmental biology (including embryology) is proposed as "the stem cell of biological disciplines.” Genetics, cell biology, oncology, immunology, evolutionary mechanisms, neurobiology, and systems biology each has its ancestry in developmental biology. Moreover, developmental biology continues to roll on, budding off more disciplines, while retaining its own identity. While its descendant disciplines differentiate into sciences with a restricted set of paradigms, examples, and techniques, ...

  1. Pembangunan Kebun Biologi Wamena*[establishment of Wamena Biological Gardens

    OpenAIRE

    Rahmansyah, M; Latupapua, HJD

    2003-01-01

    The richness of biological resources (biodiversity) in mountainous area of Papua is an asset that has to be preserved.Exploitation of natural resources often cause damage on those biological assets and as genetic resources.Care has to be taken to overcome the situation of biological degradation, and alternate steps had been shaped on ex-situ biological conservation. Wamena Biological Gardens, as an ex-situ biological conservation, has been established to keep the high mountain biological and ...

  2. Development trend of radiation biology research-systems radiation biology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Min Rui

    2010-01-01

    Radiation biology research has past 80 years. We have known much more about fundamentals, processes and results of biology effects induced by radiation and various factors that influence biology effects wide and deep, however many old and new scientific problems occurring in the field of radiation biology research remain to be illustrated. To explore and figure these scientific problems need systemic concept, methods and multi dimension view on the base of considerations of complexity of biology system, diversity of biology response, temporal and spatial process of biological effects during occurrence, and complex feed back network of biological regulations. (authors)

  3. Relations between Intuitive Biological Thinking and Biological Misconceptions in Biology Majors and Nonmajors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coley, John D.; Tanner, Kimberly

    2015-01-01

    Research and theory development in cognitive psychology and science education research remain largely isolated. Biology education researchers have documented persistent scientifically inaccurate ideas, often termed "misconceptions," among biology students across biological domains. In parallel, cognitive and developmental psychologists…

  4. Synthetic Biology: Putting Synthesis into Biology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Jing; Luo, Yunzi; Zhao, Huimin

    2010-01-01

    The ability to manipulate living organisms is at the heart of a range of emerging technologies that serve to address important and current problems in environment, energy, and health. However, with all its complexity and interconnectivity, biology has for many years been recalcitrant to engineering manipulations. The recent advances in synthesis, analysis, and modeling methods have finally provided the tools necessary to manipulate living systems in meaningful ways, and have led to the coining of a field named synthetic biology. The scope of synthetic biology is as complicated as life itself – encompassing many branches of science, and across many scales of application. New DNA synthesis and assembly techniques have made routine the customization of very large DNA molecules. This in turn has allowed the incorporation of multiple genes and pathways. By coupling these with techniques that allow for the modeling and design of protein functions, scientists have now gained the tools to create completely novel biological machineries. Even the ultimate biological machinery – a self-replicating organism – is being pursued at this moment. It is the purpose of this review to dissect and organize these various components of synthetic biology into a coherent picture. PMID:21064036

  5. Interim Consequence Management Guidance for a Wide-Area Biological Attack

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Raber, Ellen [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Kirvel, Robert [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); MacQueen, Don [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Love, Adam [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Dombroski, Matthew [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); McGrann, Thomas [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Richards, John [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Melius, Carl [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Bunt, Thomas [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Hibbard, Wilthea [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Greenwalt, Robert [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Miles, Robin [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Dillon, Michael [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Mancieri, Sav [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Harris, Steve [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Michalik, Richard [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Wheeler, Richard [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Hoppes, Bill [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Tucker, Mark [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Krauter, Paula [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Knowlton, Robert [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Yang, Lynn [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Franco, Dave [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Einfeld, Wayne [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Brockman, John [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Betty, Rita [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

    2011-05-17

    The Interagency Biological Restoration Demonstration (IBRD) program is a collaborative, interagency effort co-chaired by the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Defense aimed at improving the nation‘s ability to respond to and recover from a large-scale, wide-area, domestic attack involving the release of an environmentally persistent biological warfare agent. The program is focused on understanding interactions between the civilian and military sectors, and in building mutual support to carry out such remediations. This Interim Consequence Management Guidance document provides guidance for decisionmakers in executing activities required to respond to and recover from a biological incident affecting a wide urban area insofar as information is currently available. The spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis is discussed as the biological agent of primary concern because it is the most difficult of known bioterrorism agents to inactivate and is considered to be one of the key threat agents. Most other biological threat agents are much easier to remediate, and in many cases, inactivation would occur naturally within days as a result of environmental exposure; however, the framework and operational questions that need to be addressed are expected to remain the same. The guidance in this document is applicable to (1) enclosed facilities, such as commercial, residential, and continental U.S. military facilities; (2) semi-enclosed facilities, such as subways and public transit facilities; (3) outdoor areas (both localized and wide area), such as building exteriors, streets, parks, and other open spaces; (4) drinking water facilities; and (5) drinking water sources. This document follows an interagency framework [Planning Guidance for Recovery Following Biological Incidents (DHS and EPA 2009)]—which considered Raber et al. (2002) in its development—but takes the framework to a more operational level and provides guidance at key action and decision

  6. Laboratory analysis of chemical warfare agents, adducts, and metabolites in biomedial samples

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schans, M.J. van der

    2015-01-01

    Chemical warfare agents (CWAs) are the most toxic compounds ever produced. To develop medical countermeasures against the effects of these agents, analytical procedures to analyze these agents in biological matrices are essential for a better understanding of the toxicological process. The need for

  7. Nanoplatforms for Detection, Remediation and Protection Against Chem-Bio Warfare

    Science.gov (United States)

    Denkbaş, E. B.; Bayram, C.; Kavaz, D.; Çirak, T.; Demirbilek, M.

    Chemical and biological substances have been used as warfare agents by terrorists by varying degree of sophistication. It is critical that these agents be detected in real-time with high level of sensitively, specificity, and accuracy. Many different types of techniques and systems have been developed to detect these agents. But there are some limitations in these conventional techniques and systems. Limitations include the collection, handling and sampling procedures, detection limits, sample transfer, expensive equipment, personnel training, and detection materials. Due to the unique properties such as quantum effect, very high surface/volume ratio, enhanced surface reactivity, conductivity, electrical and magnetic properties of the nanomaterials offer great opportunity to develop very fast, sensitive, accurate and cost effective detection techniques and systems to detect chemical and biological (chem.-bio) warfare agents. Furthermore, surface modification of the materials is very easy and effective way to get functional or smart surfaces to be used as nano-biosensor platform. In that respect many different types of nanomaterials have been developed and used for the detection, remediation and protection, such as gold and silver nanoparticles, quantum dots, Nano chips and arrays, fluorescent polymeric and magnetic nanoparticles, fiber optic and cantilever based nanobiosensors, nanofibrillar nanostructures etc. This study summarizes preparation and characterization of nanotechnology based approaches for the detection of and remediation and protection against chem.-bio warfare agents.

  8. 7th Annual Systems Biology Symposium: Systems Biology and Engineering

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Galitski, Timothy P.

    2008-04-01

    Systems biology recognizes the complex multi-scale organization of biological systems, from molecules to ecosystems. The International Symposium on Systems Biology has been hosted by the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, Washington, since 2002. The annual two-day event gathers the most influential researchers transforming biology into an integrative discipline investingating complex systems. Engineering and application of new technology is a central element of systems biology. Genome-scale, or very small-scale, biological questions drive the enigneering of new technologies, which enable new modes of experimentation and computational analysis, leading to new biological insights and questions. Concepts and analytical methods in engineering are now finding direct applications in biology. Therefore, the 2008 Symposium, funded in partnership with the Department of Energy, featured global leaders in "Systems Biology and Engineering."

  9. The Promises of Biology and the Biology of Promises

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lee, Jieun

    2015-01-01

    commitments with differently imagined futures. I argue that promises are constitutive of the stem cell biology, rather than being derivative of it. Since the biological concept of stem cells is predicated on the future that they promise, the biological life of stem cells is inextricably intertwined...... patients’ bodies in anticipation of materializing the promises of stem cell biology, they are produced as a new form of biovaluable. The promises of biology move beyond the closed circuit of scientific knowledge production, and proliferate in the speculative marketplaces of promises. Part II looks at how...... of technologized biology and biological time can appear promising with the backdrop of the imagined intransigence of social, political, and economic order in the Korean society....

  10. Building biological foundries for next-generation synthetic biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chao, Ran; Yuan, YongBo; Zhao, HuiMin

    2015-07-01

    Synthetic biology is an interdisciplinary field that takes top-down approaches to understand and engineer biological systems through design-build-test cycles. A number of advances in this relatively young field have greatly accelerated such engineering cycles. Specifically, various innovative tools were developed for in silico biosystems design, DNA de novo synthesis and assembly, construct verification, as well as metabolite analysis, which have laid a solid foundation for building biological foundries for rapid prototyping of improved or novel biosystems. This review summarizes the state-of-the-art technologies for synthetic biology and discusses the challenges to establish such biological foundries.

  11. Marine molecular biology: an emerging field of biological sciences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thakur, Narsinh L; Jain, Roopesh; Natalio, Filipe; Hamer, Bojan; Thakur, Archana N; Müller, Werner E G

    2008-01-01

    An appreciation of the potential applications of molecular biology is of growing importance in many areas of life sciences, including marine biology. During the past two decades, the development of sophisticated molecular technologies and instruments for biomedical research has resulted in significant advances in the biological sciences. However, the value of molecular techniques for addressing problems in marine biology has only recently begun to be cherished. It has been proven that the exploitation of molecular biological techniques will allow difficult research questions about marine organisms and ocean processes to be addressed. Marine molecular biology is a discipline, which strives to define and solve the problems regarding the sustainable exploration of marine life for human health and welfare, through the cooperation between scientists working in marine biology, molecular biology, microbiology and chemistry disciplines. Several success stories of the applications of molecular techniques in the field of marine biology are guiding further research in this area. In this review different molecular techniques are discussed, which have application in marine microbiology, marine invertebrate biology, marine ecology, marine natural products, material sciences, fisheries, conservation and bio-invasion etc. In summary, if marine biologists and molecular biologists continue to work towards strong partnership during the next decade and recognize intellectual and technological advantages and benefits of such partnership, an exciting new frontier of marine molecular biology will emerge in the future.

  12. From biodefence to biosecurity: the Obama administration's strategy for countering biological threats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koblentz, Gregory D

    2012-01-01

    The Seventh Review Conference of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), the first international treaty to outlaw an entire class of weapons, was held in Geneva in December 2011. On 7 December, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton became the highest-ranking US government official to address a BWC meeting. Secretary Clinton told the assembled delegation that ‘we view the risk of bioweapons attack as both a serious national security challenge and a foreign policy priority’. At the same time, she warned that a large-scale disease outbreak ‘could cripple an already fragile global economy’. Secretary Clinton's speech reflected a new understanding that the range of biological threats to international security has expanded from state-sponsored biological warfare programmes to include biological terrorism, dual-use research and naturally occurring infectious diseases such as pandemics. Recognizing these changes, President Barack Obama released a new national strategy for countering biological threats in 2009. This strategy represents a shift in thinking away from the George W. Bush administration's focus on biodefence, which emphasized preparing for and responding to biological weapon attacks, to the concept of biosecurity, which includes measures to prevent, prepare for and respond to naturally occurring and man-made biological threats. The Obama administration's biosecurity strategy seeks to reduce the global risk of naturally occurring and deliberate disease outbreaks through prevention, international cooperation, and maximizing synergies between health and security. The biosecurity strategy is closely aligned with the Obama administration's broader approach to foreign policy, which emphasizes the pragmatic use of smart power, multilateralism and engagement to further the national interest. This article describes the Obama administration's biosecurity strategy; highlights elements of continuity and change from the policies of the Bush administration; discusses

  13. Academic Preparation in Biology and Advocacy for Teaching Evolution: Biology versus Non-Biology Teachers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nehm, Ross H.; Kim, Sun Young; Sheppard, Keith

    2009-01-01

    Despite considerable focus on evolution knowledge-belief relationships, little research has targeted populations with strong content backgrounds, such as undergraduate degrees in biology. This study (1) measured precertified biology and non-biology teachers' (n = 167) knowledge of evolution and the nature of science; (2) quantified teacher…

  14. Mathematical biology

    CERN Document Server

    Murray, James D

    1993-01-01

    The book is a textbook (with many exercises) giving an in-depth account of the practical use of mathematical modelling in the biomedical sciences. The mathematical level required is generally not high and the emphasis is on what is required to solve the real biological problem. The subject matter is drawn, e.g. from population biology, reaction kinetics, biological oscillators and switches, Belousov-Zhabotinskii reaction, reaction-diffusion theory, biological wave phenomena, central pattern generators, neural models, spread of epidemics, mechanochemical theory of biological pattern formation and importance in evolution. Most of the models are based on real biological problems and the predictions and explanations offered as a direct result of mathematical analysis of the models are important aspects of the book. The aim is to provide a thorough training in practical mathematical biology and to show how exciting and novel mathematical challenges arise from a genuine interdisciplinary involvement with the biosci...

  15. Diagnosis of exposure to chemical warfare agents: An essential tool to counteract chemical terrorism

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Noort, D.; Schans, M.J. van der; Bikker, F.J.; Benschop, H.P.

    2009-01-01

    Methods to analyze chemical warfare agents (CW-agents) and their decomposition products in environmental samples were developed over the last decades. In contrast herewith, procedures for analysis in biological samples have only recently been developed. Retrospective detection of exposure to

  16. Biological Agents

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... E-Tools Safety and Health Topics / Biological Agents Biological Agents This page requires that javascript be enabled ... 202) 693-2300 if additional assistance is required. Biological Agents Menu Overview In Focus: Ebola Frederick A. ...

  17. Warfare, genocide, and ethnic conflict: a Darwinian approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dimijian, Gregory G

    2010-07-01

    As the 21st century dawns, I reflect on the history of humankind with growing concern about the need to understand the underlying biological and cultural roots of ethnic conflict and warfare. In the many studies of human conflict, innate biological predispositions have been neglected. This article is the third part of a series of seminars for medical residents at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School at Dallas (see http://adarwinstudygroup.org/). The series starts with in-depth coverage of Darwinian natural and sexual selection, with examples from the domestication of animals and plants and the crisis of antibiotic resistance. The series strives to show how biology has been neglected in the study of the we-they orientation of human behavior, with its devastating consequences. The subject material is profoundly disturbing, as it looks at "human nature" and contrasts the "dark side" of human behavior with the opposite, profoundly caring and loving side.

  18. The Relationships Between Epistemic Beliefs in Biology and Approaches to Learning Biology Among Biology-Major University Students in Taiwan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Yi-Chun; Liang, Jyh-Chong; Tsai, Chin-Chung

    2012-12-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between students' epistemic beliefs in biology and their approaches to learning biology. To this end, two instruments, the epistemic beliefs in biology and the approaches to learning biology surveys, were developed and administered to 520 university biology students, respectively. By and large, it was found that the students reflected "mixed" motives in biology learning, while those who had more sophisticated epistemic beliefs tended to employ deep strategies. In addition, the results of paired t tests revealed that the female students were more likely to possess beliefs about biological knowledge residing in external authorities, to believe in a right answer, and to utilize rote learning as a learning strategy. Moreover, compared to juniors and seniors, freshmen and sophomores tended to hold less mature views on all factors of epistemic beliefs regarding biology. Another comparison indicated that theoretical biology students (e.g. students majoring in the Department of Biology) tended to have more mature beliefs in learning biology and more advanced strategies for biology learning than those students studying applied biology (e.g. in the Department of Biotechnology). Stepwise regression analysis, in general, indicated that students who valued the role of experiments and justify epistemic assumptions and knowledge claims based on evidence were more oriented towards having mixed motives and utilizing deep strategies to learn biology. In contrast, students who believed in the certainty of biological knowledge were more likely to adopt rote learning strategies and to aim to qualify in biology.

  19. Military medicine and the ethics of war: British colonial warfare during the Seven Years War (1756-63).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charters, Erica

    2010-01-01

    This article examines 18th-century European warfare, tracing the first formal codifications of conventions of war, frequently introduced by military physicians and initially regarding the treatment of the sick and wounded. It outlines to what extent these conventions were followed in practice, particularly in the challenging environment of American irregular warfare, with a focus on the most well-known incident of "biological warfare" in the period: the deliberate spread of smallpox by British officers among Amerindians in 1763. More broadly, it demonstrates that the history of military medicine provides a fruitful method with which to uncover assumptions about the ethics of war.

  20. Modern Biology

    OpenAIRE

    ALEKSIC, Branko

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this course is to learn the philosophy, principles, and techniques of modern biology. The course is particularly designed for those who have not learned biology previously or whose major is other than biology, and who may think that they do not need to know any biology at all. The topics are covered in a rather general, overview manner, but certain level of diligence in grasping concepts and memorizing the terminology is expected.

  1. Positioning genomics in biology education: content mapping of undergraduate biology textbooks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wernick, Naomi L B; Ndung'u, Eric; Haughton, Dominique; Ledley, Fred D

    2014-12-01

    Biological thought increasingly recognizes the centrality of the genome in constituting and regulating processes ranging from cellular systems to ecology and evolution. In this paper, we ask whether genomics is similarly positioned as a core concept in the instructional sequence for undergraduate biology. Using quantitative methods, we analyzed the order in which core biological concepts were introduced in textbooks for first-year general and human biology. Statistical analysis was performed using self-organizing map algorithms and conventional methods to identify clusters of terms and their relative position in the books. General biology textbooks for both majors and nonmajors introduced genome-related content after text related to cell biology and biological chemistry, but before content describing higher-order biological processes. However, human biology textbooks most often introduced genomic content near the end of the books. These results suggest that genomics is not yet positioned as a core concept in commonly used textbooks for first-year biology and raises questions about whether such textbooks, or courses based on the outline of these textbooks, provide an appropriate foundation for understanding contemporary biological science.

  2. Translational environmental biology: cell biology informing conservation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Traylor-Knowles, Nikki; Palumbi, Stephen R

    2014-05-01

    Typically, findings from cell biology have been beneficial for preventing human disease. However, translational applications from cell biology can also be applied to conservation efforts, such as protecting coral reefs. Recent efforts to understand the cell biological mechanisms maintaining coral health such as innate immunity and acclimatization have prompted new developments in conservation. Similar to biomedicine, we urge that future efforts should focus on better frameworks for biomarker development to protect coral reefs. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Quantum Biology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alessandro Sergi

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available A critical assessment of the recent developmentsof molecular biology is presented.The thesis that they do not lead to a conceptualunderstanding of life and biological systems is defended.Maturana and Varela's concept of autopoiesis is briefly sketchedand its logical circularity avoided by postulatingthe existence of underlying living processes,entailing amplification from the microscopic to the macroscopic scale,with increasing complexity in the passage from one scale to the other.Following such a line of thought, the currently accepted model of condensed matter, which is based on electrostatics and short-ranged forces,is criticized. It is suggested that the correct interpretationof quantum dispersion forces (van der Waals, hydrogen bonding, and so onas quantum coherence effects hints at the necessity of includinglong-ranged forces (or mechanisms for them incondensed matter theories of biological processes.Some quantum effects in biology are reviewedand quantum mechanics is acknowledged as conceptually important to biology since withoutit most (if not all of the biological structuresand signalling processes would not even exist. Moreover, it is suggested that long-rangequantum coherent dynamics, including electron polarization,may be invoked to explain signal amplificationprocess in biological systems in general.

  4. The Relationships between Epistemic Beliefs in Biology and Approaches to Learning Biology among Biology-Major University Students in Taiwan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Yi-Chun; Liang, Jyh-Chong; Tsai, Chin-Chung

    2012-01-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between students' epistemic beliefs in biology and their approaches to learning biology. To this end, two instruments, the epistemic beliefs in biology and the approaches to learning biology surveys, were developed and administered to 520 university biology students, respectively. By and…

  5. Informing biological design by integration of systems and synthetic biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smolke, Christina D; Silver, Pamela A

    2011-03-18

    Synthetic biology aims to make the engineering of biology faster and more predictable. In contrast, systems biology focuses on the interaction of myriad components and how these give rise to the dynamic and complex behavior of biological systems. Here, we examine the synergies between these two fields. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Designing synthetic biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agapakis, Christina M

    2014-03-21

    Synthetic biology is frequently defined as the application of engineering design principles to biology. Such principles are intended to streamline the practice of biological engineering, to shorten the time required to design, build, and test synthetic gene networks. This streamlining of iterative design cycles can facilitate the future construction of biological systems for a range of applications in the production of fuels, foods, materials, and medicines. The promise of these potential applications as well as the emphasis on design has prompted critical reflection on synthetic biology from design theorists and practicing designers from many fields, who can bring valuable perspectives to the discipline. While interdisciplinary connections between biologists and engineers have built synthetic biology via the science and the technology of biology, interdisciplinary collaboration with artists, designers, and social theorists can provide insight on the connections between technology and society. Such collaborations can open up new avenues and new principles for research and design, as well as shed new light on the challenging context-dependence-both biological and social-that face living technologies at many scales. This review is inspired by the session titled "Design and Synthetic Biology: Connecting People and Technology" at Synthetic Biology 6.0 and covers a range of literature on design practice in synthetic biology and beyond. Critical engagement with how design is used to shape the discipline opens up new possibilities for how we might design the future of synthetic biology.

  7. Conflict Without Casualties: Non-Lethal Weapons in Irregular Warfare

    Science.gov (United States)

    2007-09-01

    the body,” and the Geneva Protocol of 1925, bans the use of chemical and biological weapons .11 On 8 April 1975, President Ford issued Executive...E Funding – PE 63851M) (accessed 15 December 2006). The American Journal of Bioethics . “Medical Ethics and Non-Lethal Weapons .” Bioethics.net...CASUALTIES: NON-LETHAL WEAPONS IN IRREGULAR WARFARE by Richard L. Scott September 2007 Thesis Advisor: Robert McNab Second Reader

  8. Detection of Chemical/Biological Agents and Stimulants using Quadrupole Ion Trap Mass Spectrometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harmon, S.H.; Hart, K.J.; Vass, A.A.; Wise, M.B.; Wolf, D.A.

    1999-01-01

    Detection of Chemical/Biological Agents and Simulants A new detector for chemical and biological agents is being developed for the U. S. Army under the Chemical and Biological Mass Spectrometer Block II program. The CBMS Block II is designed to optimize detection of both chemical and biological agents through the use of direct sampling inlets[I], a multi- ported sampling valve and a turbo- based vacuum system to support chemical ionization. Unit mass resolution using air as the buffer gas[2] has been obtained using this design. Software to control the instrument and to analyze the data generated from the instrument has also been newly developed. Detection of chemical agents can be accomplished. using the CBMS Block II design via one of two inlets - a l/ I 6'' stainless steel sample line -Chemical Warfare Air (CW Air) or a ground probe with enclosed capillary currently in use by the US Army - CW Ground. The Block II design is capable of both electron ionization and chemical ionization. Ethanol is being used as the Cl reagent based on a study indicating best performance for the Biological Warfare (BW) detection task (31). Data showing good signal to noise for 500 pg of methyl salicylate injected into the CW Air inlet, 50 ng of dimethylmethylphosphonate exposed to the CW Ground probe and 5 ng of methyl stearate analyzed using the pyrolyzer inlet were presented. Biological agents are sampled using a ''bio-concentrator'' unit that is designed to concentrate particles in the low micron range. Particles are collected in the bottom of a quartz pyrolyzer tube. An automated injector is being developed to deliver approximately 2 pL of a methylating reagent, tetramethylamonium- hydroxide to 'the collected particles. Pyrolysis occurs by rapid heating to ca. 55OOC. Biological agents are then characterized by their fatty acid methyl ester profiles and by other biomarkers. A library of ETOH- Cl/ pyrolysis MS data of microorganisms used for a recently published study[3] has been

  9. Modeling LIDAR Detection of Biological Aerosols to Determine Optimum Implementation Strategy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sheen, David M.; Aker, Pam M.

    2007-09-19

    This report summarizes work performed for a larger multi-laboratory project named the Background Interferent Measurement and Standards project. While originally tasked to develop algorithms to optimize biological warfare agent detection using UV fluorescence LIDAR, the current uncertainties in the reported fluorescence profiles and cross sections the development of any meaningful models. It was decided that a better approach would be to model the wavelength-dependent elastic backscattering from a number of ambient background aerosol types, and compare this with that generated from representative sporulated and vegetative bacterial systems. Calculations in this report show that a 266, 355, 532 and 1064 nm elastic backscatter LIDAR experiment will allow an operator to immediately recognize when sulfate, VOC-based or road dust (silicate) aerosols are approaching, independent of humidity changes. It will be more difficult to distinguish soot aerosols from biological aerosols, or vegetative bacteria from sporulated bacteria. In these latter cases, the elastic scattering data will most likely have to be combined with UV fluorescence data to enable a more robust categorization.

  10. Managing biological diversity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samson, Fred B.; Knopf, Fritz L.

    1993-01-01

    Biological diversity is the variety of life and accompanying ecological processes (Off. Technol. Assess. 1987, Wilcove and Samson 1987, Keystone 1991). Conservation of biological diversity is a major environmental issue (Wilson 1988, Counc. Environ. Quality 1991). The health and future of the earth's ecological systems (Lubchenco et al. 1991), global climate change (Botkin 1990), and an ever-increasing rate in loss of species, communities, and ecological systems (Myers 1990) are among issues drawing biological diversity to the mainstream of conservation worldwide (Int. Union Conserv. Nat. and Nat. Resour. [IUCN] et al. 1991). The legal mandate for conserving biological diversity is now in place (Carlson 1988, Doremus 1991). More than 19 federal laws govern the use of biological resources in the United States (Rein 1991). The proposed National Biological Diversity Conservation and Environmental Research Act (H.R. 585 and S.58) notes the need for a national biological diversity policy, would create a national center for biological diversity research, and recommends a federal interagency strategy for ecosystem conservation. There are, however, hard choices ahead for the conservation of biological diversity, and biologists are grappling with how to set priorities in research and management (Roberts 1988). We sense disillusion among field biologists and managers relative to how to operationally approach the seemingly overwhelming charge of conserving biological diversity. Biologists also need to respond to critics like Hunt (1991) who suggest a tree farm has more biological diversity than an equal area of old-growth forest. At present, science has played only a minor role in the conservation of biological diversity (Weston 1992) with no unified approach available to evaluate strategies and programs that address the quality and quantity of biological diversity (Murphy 1990, Erwin 1992). Although actions to conserve biological diversity need to be clearly defined by

  11. Women are underrepresented in computational biology: An analysis of the scholarly literature in biology, computer science and computational biology.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kevin S Bonham

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available While women are generally underrepresented in STEM fields, there are noticeable differences between fields. For instance, the gender ratio in biology is more balanced than in computer science. We were interested in how this difference is reflected in the interdisciplinary field of computational/quantitative biology. To this end, we examined the proportion of female authors in publications from the PubMed and arXiv databases. There are fewer female authors on research papers in computational biology, as compared to biology in general. This is true across authorship position, year, and journal impact factor. A comparison with arXiv shows that quantitative biology papers have a higher ratio of female authors than computer science papers, placing computational biology in between its two parent fields in terms of gender representation. Both in biology and in computational biology, a female last author increases the probability of other authors on the paper being female, pointing to a potential role of female PIs in influencing the gender balance.

  12. Women are underrepresented in computational biology: An analysis of the scholarly literature in biology, computer science and computational biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonham, Kevin S; Stefan, Melanie I

    2017-10-01

    While women are generally underrepresented in STEM fields, there are noticeable differences between fields. For instance, the gender ratio in biology is more balanced than in computer science. We were interested in how this difference is reflected in the interdisciplinary field of computational/quantitative biology. To this end, we examined the proportion of female authors in publications from the PubMed and arXiv databases. There are fewer female authors on research papers in computational biology, as compared to biology in general. This is true across authorship position, year, and journal impact factor. A comparison with arXiv shows that quantitative biology papers have a higher ratio of female authors than computer science papers, placing computational biology in between its two parent fields in terms of gender representation. Both in biology and in computational biology, a female last author increases the probability of other authors on the paper being female, pointing to a potential role of female PIs in influencing the gender balance.

  13. Biological conversion system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott, C.D.

    A system for bioconversion of organic material comprises a primary bioreactor column wherein a biological active agent (zymomonas mobilis) converts the organic material (sugar) to a product (alcohol), a rejuvenator column wherein the biological activity of said biological active agent is enhanced, and means for circulating said biological active agent between said primary bioreactor column and said rejuvenator column.

  14. Development of the Biology Card Sorting Task to Measure Conceptual Expertise in Biology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Julia I.; Combs, Elijah D.; Nagami, Paul H.; Alto, Valerie M.; Goh, Henry G.; Gourdet, Muryam A. A.; Hough, Christina M.; Nickell, Ashley E.; Peer, Adrian G.; Coley, John D.; Tanner, Kimberly D.

    2013-01-01

    There are widespread aspirations to focus undergraduate biology education on teaching students to think conceptually like biologists; however, there is a dearth of assessment tools designed to measure progress from novice to expert biological conceptual thinking. We present the development of a novel assessment tool, the Biology Card Sorting Task, designed to probe how individuals organize their conceptual knowledge of biology. While modeled on tasks from cognitive psychology, this task is unique in its design to test two hypothesized conceptual frameworks for the organization of biological knowledge: 1) a surface feature organization focused on organism type and 2) a deep feature organization focused on fundamental biological concepts. In this initial investigation of the Biology Card Sorting Task, each of six analytical measures showed statistically significant differences when used to compare the card sorting results of putative biological experts (biology faculty) and novices (non–biology major undergraduates). Consistently, biology faculty appeared to sort based on hypothesized deep features, while non–biology majors appeared to sort based on either surface features or nonhypothesized organizational frameworks. Results suggest that this novel task is robust in distinguishing populations of biology experts and biology novices and may be an adaptable tool for tracking emerging biology conceptual expertise. PMID:24297290

  15. Structural Biology Fact Sheet

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... NIGMS NIGMS Home > Science Education > Structural Biology Structural Biology Tagline (Optional) Middle/Main Content Area PDF Version (688 KB) Other Fact Sheets What is structural biology? Structural biology is the study of how biological ...

  16. Fostering synergy between cell biology and systems biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eddy, James A; Funk, Cory C; Price, Nathan D

    2015-08-01

    In the shared pursuit of elucidating detailed mechanisms of cell function, systems biology presents a natural complement to ongoing efforts in cell biology. Systems biology aims to characterize biological systems through integrated and quantitative modeling of cellular information. The process of model building and analysis provides value through synthesizing and cataloging information about cells and molecules, predicting mechanisms and identifying generalizable themes, generating hypotheses and guiding experimental design, and highlighting knowledge gaps and refining understanding. In turn, incorporating domain expertise and experimental data is crucial for building towards whole cell models. An iterative cycle of interaction between cell and systems biologists advances the goals of both fields and establishes a framework for mechanistic understanding of the genome-to-phenome relationship. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Plant synthetic biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Wusheng; Stewart, C Neal

    2015-05-01

    Plant synthetic biology is an emerging field that combines engineering principles with plant biology toward the design and production of new devices. This emerging field should play an important role in future agriculture for traditional crop improvement, but also in enabling novel bioproduction in plants. In this review we discuss the design cycles of synthetic biology as well as key engineering principles, genetic parts, and computational tools that can be utilized in plant synthetic biology. Some pioneering examples are offered as a demonstration of how synthetic biology can be used to modify plants for specific purposes. These include synthetic sensors, synthetic metabolic pathways, and synthetic genomes. We also speculate about the future of synthetic biology of plants. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. ‘Can Simple Biological Systems be Built from Standardized Interchangeable Parts?’:Negotiating Biology and Engineering in a Synthetic Biology Competition

    OpenAIRE

    Frow, Emma; Calvert, Jane

    2013-01-01

    Synthetic biology represents a recent attempt to bring engineering principles and practices to working with biology. In practice, the nature of the relationship between engineering and biology in synthetic biology is a subject of ongoing debate. The disciplines of biology and engineering are typically seen to involve differentways of knowing and doing, and to embody different assumptions and objectives. Tensions between these approaches are playing out as the field of synthetic biology is bei...

  19. Toxins as biological weapons for terror-characteristics, challenges and medical countermeasures: a mini-review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berger, Tamar; Eisenkraft, Arik; Bar-Haim, Erez; Kassirer, Michael; Aran, Adi Avniel; Fogel, Itay

    2016-01-01

    Toxins are hazardous biochemical compounds derived from bacteria, fungi, or plants. Some have mechanisms of action and physical properties that make them amenable for use as potential warfare agents. Currently, some toxins are classified as potential biological weapons, although they have several differences from classic living bio-terror pathogens and some similarities to manmade chemical warfare agents. This review focuses on category A and B bio-terror toxins recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Botulinum neurotoxin, staphylococcal enterotoxin B, Clostridium perfringens epsilon toxin, and ricin. Their derivation, pathogenesis, mechanism of action, associated clinical signs and symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment are discussed in detail. Given their expected covert use, the primary diagnostic challenge in toxin exposure is the early detection of morbidity clusters, apart from background morbidity, after a relatively short incubation period. For this reason, it is important that clinicians be familiar with the clinical manifestations of toxins and the appropriate methods of management and countermeasures.

  20. Synthetic biological networks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Archer, Eric; Süel, Gürol M

    2013-01-01

    Despite their obvious relationship and overlap, the field of physics is blessed with many insightful laws, while such laws are sadly absent in biology. Here we aim to discuss how the rise of a more recent field known as synthetic biology may allow us to more directly test hypotheses regarding the possible design principles of natural biological networks and systems. In particular, this review focuses on synthetic gene regulatory networks engineered to perform specific functions or exhibit particular dynamic behaviors. Advances in synthetic biology may set the stage to uncover the relationship of potential biological principles to those developed in physics. (review article)

  1. Biological effects of radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2013-01-01

    This fourth chapter presents: cell structure and metabolism; radiation interaction with biological tissues; steps of the production of biological effect of radiation; radiosensitivity of tissues; classification of biological effects; reversibility, transmissivity and influence factors; pre-natal biological effects; biological effects in therapy and syndrome of acute irradiation

  2. Physics and biology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Frauenfelder, H.

    1988-01-01

    The author points out that the coupling between physics and biology is becoming closer as time goes on. He tries to show that physical studies on biological systems not only yield insight into biology but also provide results of interest to physics. Biological systems are extremly complex system. Ideally one would like to understand the behavior of such systems in terms of the behavior of its constituent atoms. Since in small organisms this may be 10 20 atoms, it is clear these are not simple many-body systems. He reviews the basic elements of cells and then considers the broader questions of structure, complexity, and function, which must be looked at on levels from the cell to the organism. Despite the vast amount of observational material already in existence, biophysics and biological physics are only at a beginning. We can expect that physics will continue to interact strongly with biology. Actually, the connection also includes chemistry and mathematics. New tools that become available in physics will continue to be applied to biological problems. We can expect that the flow of information will not be one way; biological systems will provide new information on many old and new parts of physics, from reaction theory and transport phenomena to complexity, cooperativity, and nonlinear processes

  3. Integrated Biological Control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    JOHNSON, A.R.

    2002-01-01

    Biological control is any activity taken to prevent, limit, clean up, or remediate potential environmental, health and safety, or workplace quality impacts from plants, animals, or microorganisms. At Hanford the principal emphasis of biological control is to prevent the transport of radioactive contamination by biological vectors (plants, animals, or microorganisms), and where necessary, control and clean up resulting contamination. Other aspects of biological control at Hanford include industrial weed control (e.g.; tumbleweeds), noxious weed control (invasive, non-native plant species), and pest control (undesirable animals such as rodents and stinging insects; and microorganisms such as molds that adversely affect the quality of the workplace environment). Biological control activities may be either preventive (apriori) or in response to existing contamination spread (aposteriori). Surveillance activities, including ground, vegetation, flying insect, and other surveys, and apriori control actions, such as herbicide spraying and placing biological barriers, are important in preventing radioactive contamination spread. If surveillance discovers that biological vectors have spread radioactive contamination, aposteriori control measures, such as fixing contamination, followed by cleanup and removal of the contamination to an approved disposal location are typical response functions. In some cases remediation following the contamination cleanup and removal is necessary. Biological control activities for industrial weeds, noxious weeds and pests have similar modes of prevention and response

  4. Feedback dynamics and cell function: Why systems biology is called Systems Biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolkenhauer, Olaf; Mesarovic, Mihajlo

    2005-05-01

    A new paradigm, like Systems Biology, should challenge the way research has been conducted previously. This Opinion article aims to present Systems Biology, not as the application of engineering principles to biology but as a merger of systems- and control theory with molecular- and cell biology. In our view, the central dogma of Systems Biology is that it is system dynamics that gives rise to the functioning and function of cells. The concepts of feedback regulation and control of pathways and the coordination of cell function are emphasized as an important area of Systems Biology research. The hurdles and risks for this area are discussed from the perspective of dynamic pathway modelling. Most of all, the aim of this article is to promote mathematical modelling and simulation as a part of molecular- and cell biology. Systems Biology is a success if it is widely accepted that there is nothing more practical than a good theory.

  5. Synthetic Biology: Advancing Biological Frontiers by Building Synthetic Systems

    OpenAIRE

    Chen, Yvonne Yu-Hsuan; Galloway, Kate E; Smolke, Christina D

    2012-01-01

    Advances in synthetic biology are contributing to diverse research areas, from basic biology to biomanufacturing and disease therapy. We discuss the theoretical foundation, applications, and potential of this emerging field.

  6. Biological restoration of major transportation facilities domestic demonstration and application project (DDAP): technology development at Sandia National Laboratories.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ramsey, James L., Jr. (.,; .); Melton, Brad; Finley, Patrick; Brockman, John; Peyton, Chad E.; Tucker, Mark David; Einfeld, Wayne; Griffith, Richard O.; Brown, Gary Stephen; Lucero, Daniel A.; Betty, Rita G.; McKenna, Sean Andrew; Knowlton, Robert G.; Ho, Pauline

    2006-06-01

    The Bio-Restoration of Major Transportation Facilities Domestic Demonstration and Application Program (DDAP) is a designed to accelerate the restoration of transportation nodes following an attack with a biological warfare agent. This report documents the technology development work done at SNL for this DDAP, which include development of the BROOM tool, an investigation of surface sample collection efficiency, and a flow cytometry study of chlorine dioxide effects on Bacillus anthracis spore viability.

  7. Models for synthetic biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaznessis, Yiannis N

    2007-11-06

    Synthetic biological engineering is emerging from biology as a distinct discipline based on quantification. The technologies propelling synthetic biology are not new, nor is the concept of designing novel biological molecules. What is new is the emphasis on system behavior. The objective is the design and construction of new biological devices and systems to deliver useful applications. Numerous synthetic gene circuits have been created in the past decade, including bistable switches, oscillators, and logic gates, and possible applications abound, including biofuels, detectors for biochemical and chemical weapons, disease diagnosis, and gene therapies. More than fifty years after the discovery of the molecular structure of DNA, molecular biology is mature enough for real quantification that is useful for biological engineering applications, similar to the revolution in modeling in chemistry in the 1950s. With the excitement that synthetic biology is generating, the engineering and biological science communities appear remarkably willing to cross disciplinary boundaries toward a common goal.

  8. Has Modern Biology Entered the Mouth? The Clinical Impact of Biological Research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baum, Bruce J.

    1991-01-01

    Three areas of biological research that are beginning to have an impact on clinical medicine are examined, including molecular biology, cell biology, and biotechnology. It is concluded that oral biologists and educators must work cooperatively to bring rapid biological and biomedical advances into dental training in a meaningful way. (MSE)

  9. Adapting to Biology: Maintaining Container-Closure System Compatibility with the Therapeutic Biologic Revolution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Degrazio, Dominick

    Many pharmaceutical companies are transitioning their research and development drug product pipeline from traditional small-molecule injectables to the dimension of evolving therapeutic biologics. Important concerns associated with this changeover are becoming forefront, as challenges develop of varying complexity uncommon with the synthesis and production of traditional drugs. Therefore, alternative measures must be established that aim to preserve the efficacy and functionality of a biologic that might not be implemented for small molecules. Conserving protein stability is relative to perpetuating a net equilibrium of both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Key to sustaining this balance is the ability of container-closure systems to maintain their compatibility with the ever-changing dynamics of therapeutic biologics. Failure to recognize and adjust the material properties of packaging components to support compatibility with therapeutic biologics can compromise patient safety, drug productivity, and biological stability. This review will examine the differences between small-molecule drugs and therapeutic biologics, lay a basic foundation for understanding the stability of therapeutic biologics, and demonstrate potential sources of container-closure systems' incompatibilities with therapeutic biologics at a mechanistic level. Many pharmaceutical companies are transitioning their research and development drug product pipeline from traditional small-molecule injectables to recombinantly derived therapeutic biologics. Concerns associated with this transformation are becoming prominent, as therapeutic biologics are uncharacteristic to small-molecule drugs. Maintaining the stability of a therapeutic biologic is a combination of balancing intrinsic factors and external elements within the biologic's microenvironment. An important aspect of this balance is relegated to the overall compatibility of primary, parenteral container-closure systems with therapeutic biologics

  10. Marine molecular biology: An emerging field of biological sciences

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Thakur, N.L.; Jain, R.; Natalio, F.; Hamer, B.; Thakur, A.N.; Muller, W.E.G.

    An appreciation of the potential applications of molecular biology is of growing importance in many areas of life sciences, including marine biology. During the past two decades, the development of sophisticated molecular technologies...

  11. Standard biological parts knowledgebase.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michal Galdzicki

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available We have created the Knowledgebase of Standard Biological Parts (SBPkb as a publically accessible Semantic Web resource for synthetic biology (sbolstandard.org. The SBPkb allows researchers to query and retrieve standard biological parts for research and use in synthetic biology. Its initial version includes all of the information about parts stored in the Registry of Standard Biological Parts (partsregistry.org. SBPkb transforms this information so that it is computable, using our semantic framework for synthetic biology parts. This framework, known as SBOL-semantic, was built as part of the Synthetic Biology Open Language (SBOL, a project of the Synthetic Biology Data Exchange Group. SBOL-semantic represents commonly used synthetic biology entities, and its purpose is to improve the distribution and exchange of descriptions of biological parts. In this paper, we describe the data, our methods for transformation to SBPkb, and finally, we demonstrate the value of our knowledgebase with a set of sample queries. We use RDF technology and SPARQL queries to retrieve candidate "promoter" parts that are known to be both negatively and positively regulated. This method provides new web based data access to perform searches for parts that are not currently possible.

  12. Standard Biological Parts Knowledgebase

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galdzicki, Michal; Rodriguez, Cesar; Chandran, Deepak; Sauro, Herbert M.; Gennari, John H.

    2011-01-01

    We have created the Knowledgebase of Standard Biological Parts (SBPkb) as a publically accessible Semantic Web resource for synthetic biology (sbolstandard.org). The SBPkb allows researchers to query and retrieve standard biological parts for research and use in synthetic biology. Its initial version includes all of the information about parts stored in the Registry of Standard Biological Parts (partsregistry.org). SBPkb transforms this information so that it is computable, using our semantic framework for synthetic biology parts. This framework, known as SBOL-semantic, was built as part of the Synthetic Biology Open Language (SBOL), a project of the Synthetic Biology Data Exchange Group. SBOL-semantic represents commonly used synthetic biology entities, and its purpose is to improve the distribution and exchange of descriptions of biological parts. In this paper, we describe the data, our methods for transformation to SBPkb, and finally, we demonstrate the value of our knowledgebase with a set of sample queries. We use RDF technology and SPARQL queries to retrieve candidate “promoter” parts that are known to be both negatively and positively regulated. This method provides new web based data access to perform searches for parts that are not currently possible. PMID:21390321

  13. Standard biological parts knowledgebase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galdzicki, Michal; Rodriguez, Cesar; Chandran, Deepak; Sauro, Herbert M; Gennari, John H

    2011-02-24

    We have created the Knowledgebase of Standard Biological Parts (SBPkb) as a publically accessible Semantic Web resource for synthetic biology (sbolstandard.org). The SBPkb allows researchers to query and retrieve standard biological parts for research and use in synthetic biology. Its initial version includes all of the information about parts stored in the Registry of Standard Biological Parts (partsregistry.org). SBPkb transforms this information so that it is computable, using our semantic framework for synthetic biology parts. This framework, known as SBOL-semantic, was built as part of the Synthetic Biology Open Language (SBOL), a project of the Synthetic Biology Data Exchange Group. SBOL-semantic represents commonly used synthetic biology entities, and its purpose is to improve the distribution and exchange of descriptions of biological parts. In this paper, we describe the data, our methods for transformation to SBPkb, and finally, we demonstrate the value of our knowledgebase with a set of sample queries. We use RDF technology and SPARQL queries to retrieve candidate "promoter" parts that are known to be both negatively and positively regulated. This method provides new web based data access to perform searches for parts that are not currently possible.

  14. Biology Myth-Killers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lampert, Evan

    2014-01-01

    "Biology Myth-Killers" is an activity designed to identify and correct common misconceptions for high school and college introductory biology courses. Students identify common myths, which double as biology misconceptions, and use appropriate sources to share the "truth" about the myths. This learner-centered activity is a fun…

  15. Chemistry and Biology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wigston, David L.

    1970-01-01

    Discusses the relationship between chemisty and biology in the science curriculum. Points out the differences in perception of the disciplines, which the physical scientists favoring reductionism. Suggests that biology departments offer a special course for chemistry students, just as the chemistry departments have done for biology students.…

  16. Biological desulfurisation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Arena, B.J. [UOP LLC (United States); Benschop, A.; Janssen, A. [Paques Natural Solutions (Netherlands); Kijlstra, S. [Shell Global Solutions (Netherlands)

    2001-03-01

    This article focuses on the biological THIOPAQ process for removing hydrogen sulphide from refinery gases and recovering elemental sulphur. Details are given of the process which absorbs hydrogen sulphide-containing gas in alkaline solution prior to oxidation of the dissolved sulphur to elemental sulphur in a THIOPAQ aerobic biological reactor, with regeneration of the caustic solution. Sulphur handling options including sulphur wash, the drying of the sulphur cake, and sulphur smelting by pressure liquefaction are described. Agricultural applications of the biologically recovered sulphur, and application of the THIOPAQ process to sulphur recovery are discussed.

  17. General Biology Syllabus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunter, Scott; Watthews, Thomas

    This syllabus has been developed as an alternative to Regents biology and is intended for the average student who could benefit from an introductory biology course. It is divided into seven major units dealing with, respectively: (1) similarities among living things; (2) human biology (focusing on nutrition, transport, respiration, excretion, and…

  18. A first attempt to bring computational biology into advanced high school biology classrooms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallagher, Suzanne Renick; Coon, William; Donley, Kristin; Scott, Abby; Goldberg, Debra S

    2011-10-01

    Computer science has become ubiquitous in many areas of biological research, yet most high school and even college students are unaware of this. As a result, many college biology majors graduate without adequate computational skills for contemporary fields of biology. The absence of a computational element in secondary school biology classrooms is of growing concern to the computational biology community and biology teachers who would like to acquaint their students with updated approaches in the discipline. We present a first attempt to correct this absence by introducing a computational biology element to teach genetic evolution into advanced biology classes in two local high schools. Our primary goal was to show students how computation is used in biology and why a basic understanding of computation is necessary for research in many fields of biology. This curriculum is intended to be taught by a computational biologist who has worked with a high school advanced biology teacher to adapt the unit for his/her classroom, but a motivated high school teacher comfortable with mathematics and computing may be able to teach this alone. In this paper, we present our curriculum, which takes into consideration the constraints of the required curriculum, and discuss our experiences teaching it. We describe the successes and challenges we encountered while bringing this unit to high school students, discuss how we addressed these challenges, and make suggestions for future versions of this curriculum.We believe that our curriculum can be a valuable seed for further development of computational activities aimed at high school biology students. Further, our experiences may be of value to others teaching computational biology at this level. Our curriculum can be obtained at http://ecsite.cs.colorado.edu/?page_id=149#biology or by contacting the authors.

  19. Computational Systems Chemical Biology

    OpenAIRE

    Oprea, Tudor I.; May, Elebeoba E.; Leitão, Andrei; Tropsha, Alexander

    2011-01-01

    There is a critical need for improving the level of chemistry awareness in systems biology. The data and information related to modulation of genes and proteins by small molecules continue to accumulate at the same time as simulation tools in systems biology and whole body physiologically-based pharmacokinetics (PBPK) continue to evolve. We called this emerging area at the interface between chemical biology and systems biology systems chemical biology, SCB (Oprea et al., 2007).

  20. e-Biologics: Fabrication of Sustainable Electronics with "Green" Biological Materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lovley, Derek R

    2017-06-27

    The growing ubiquity of electronic devices is increasingly consuming substantial energy and rare resources for materials fabrication, as well as creating expansive volumes of toxic waste. This is not sustainable. Electronic biological materials (e-biologics) that are produced with microbes, or designed with microbial components as the guide for synthesis, are a potential green solution. Some e-biologics can be fabricated from renewable feedstocks with relatively low energy inputs, often while avoiding the harsh chemicals used for synthesizing more traditional electronic materials. Several are completely free of toxic components, can be readily recycled, and offer unique features not found in traditional electronic materials in terms of size, performance, and opportunities for diverse functionalization. An appropriate investment in the concerted multidisciplinary collaborative research required to identify and characterize e-biologics and to engineer materials and devices based on e-biologics could be rewarded with a new "green age" of sustainable electronic materials and devices. Copyright © 2017 Lovley.

  1. Biological treatment of concentrated hazardous, toxic, andradionuclide mixed wastes without dilution

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stringfellow, William T.; Komada, Tatsuyuki; Chang, Li-Yang

    2004-06-15

    Approximately 10 percent of all radioactive wastes produced in the U. S. are mixed with hazardous or toxic chemicals and therefore can not be placed in secure land disposal facilities. Mixed wastes containing hazardous organic chemicals are often incinerated, but volatile radioactive elements are released directly into the biosphere. Some mixed wastes do not currently have any identified disposal option and are stored locally awaiting new developments. Biological treatment has been proposed as a potentially safer alternative to incineration for the treatment of hazardous organic mixed wastes, since biological treatment would not release volatile radioisotopes and the residual low-level radioactive waste would no longer be restricted from land disposal. Prior studies have shown that toxicity associated with acetonitrile is a significant limiting factor for the application of biotreatment to mixed wastes and excessive dilution was required to avoid inhibition of biological treatment. In this study, we demonstrate that a novel reactor configuration, where the concentrated toxic waste is drip-fed into a complete-mix bioreactor containing a pre-concentrated active microbial population, can be used to treat a surrogate acetonitrile mixed waste stream without excessive dilution. Using a drip-feed bioreactor, we were able to treat a 90,000 mg/L acetonitrile solution to less than 0.1 mg/L final concentration using a dilution factor of only 3.4. It was determined that the acetonitrile degradation reaction was inhibited at a pH above 7.2 and that the reactor could be modeled using conventional kinetic and mass balance approaches. Using a drip-feed reactor configuration addresses a major limiting factor (toxic inhibition) for the biological treatment of toxic, hazardous, or radioactive mixed wastes and suggests that drip-feed bioreactors could be used to treat other concentrated toxic waste streams, such as chemical warfare materiel.

  2. Biological sample collector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murphy, Gloria A [French Camp, CA

    2010-09-07

    A biological sample collector is adapted to a collect several biological samples in a plurality of filter wells. A biological sample collector may comprise a manifold plate for mounting a filter plate thereon, the filter plate having a plurality of filter wells therein; a hollow slider for engaging and positioning a tube that slides therethrough; and a slide case within which the hollow slider travels to allow the tube to be aligned with a selected filter well of the plurality of filter wells, wherein when the tube is aligned with the selected filter well, the tube is pushed through the hollow slider and into the selected filter well to sealingly engage the selected filter well and to allow the tube to deposit a biological sample onto a filter in the bottom of the selected filter well. The biological sample collector may be portable.

  3. Quantum biological information theory

    CERN Document Server

    Djordjevic, Ivan B

    2016-01-01

    This book is a self-contained, tutorial-based introduction to quantum information theory and quantum biology. It serves as a single-source reference to the topic for researchers in bioengineering, communications engineering, electrical engineering, applied mathematics, biology, computer science, and physics. The book provides all the essential principles of the quantum biological information theory required to describe the quantum information transfer from DNA to proteins, the sources of genetic noise and genetic errors as well as their effects. Integrates quantum information and quantum biology concepts; Assumes only knowledge of basic concepts of vector algebra at undergraduate level; Provides a thorough introduction to basic concepts of quantum information processing, quantum information theory, and quantum biology; Includes in-depth discussion of the quantum biological channel modelling, quantum biological channel capacity calculation, quantum models of aging, quantum models of evolution, quantum models o...

  4. Ins and outs of systems biology vis-à-vis molecular biology: continuation or clear cut?

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Backer, Philippe; De Waele, Danny; Van Speybroeck, Linda

    2010-03-01

    The comprehension of living organisms in all their complexity poses a major challenge to the biological sciences. Recently, systems biology has been proposed as a new candidate in the development of such a comprehension. The main objective of this paper is to address what systems biology is and how it is practised. To this end, the basic tools of a systems biological approach are explored and illustrated. In addition, it is questioned whether systems biology 'revolutionizes' molecular biology and 'transcends' its assumed reductionism. The strength of this claim appears to depend on how molecular and systems biology are characterised and on how reductionism is interpreted. Doing credit to molecular biology and to methodological reductionism, it is argued that the distinction between molecular and systems biology is gradual rather than sharp. As such, the classical challenge in biology to manage, interpret and integrate biological data into functional wholes is further intensified by systems biology's use of modelling and bioinformatics, and by its scale enlargement.

  5. A Converter from the Systems Biology Markup Language to the Synthetic Biology Open Language.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Tramy; Roehner, Nicholas; Zundel, Zach; Myers, Chris J

    2016-06-17

    Standards are important to synthetic biology because they enable exchange and reproducibility of genetic designs. This paper describes a procedure for converting between two standards: the Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML) and the Synthetic Biology Open Language (SBOL). SBML is a standard for behavioral models of biological systems at the molecular level. SBOL describes structural and basic qualitative behavioral aspects of a biological design. Converting SBML to SBOL enables a consistent connection between behavioral and structural information for a biological design. The conversion process described in this paper leverages Systems Biology Ontology (SBO) annotations to enable inference of a designs qualitative function.

  6. The nucleic acid revolution continues - will forensic biology become forensic molecular biology?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gunn, Peter; Walsh, Simon; Roux, Claude

    2014-01-01

    Molecular biology has evolved far beyond that which could have been predicted at the time DNA identity testing was established. Indeed we should now perhaps be referring to "forensic molecular biology." Aside from DNA's established role in identifying the "who" in crime investigations, other developments in medical and developmental molecular biology are now ripe for application to forensic challenges. The impact of DNA methylation and other post-fertilization DNA modifications, plus the emerging role of small RNAs in the control of gene expression, is re-writing our understanding of human biology. It is apparent that these emerging technologies will expand forensic molecular biology to allow for inferences about "when" a crime took place and "what" took place. However, just as the introduction of DNA identity testing engendered many challenges, so the expansion of molecular biology into these domains will raise again the issues of scientific validity, interpretation, probative value, and infringement of personal liberties. This Commentary ponders some of these emerging issues, and presents some ideas on how they will affect the conduct of forensic molecular biology in the foreseeable future.

  7. BiologicalNetworks 2.0 - an integrative view of genome biology data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ponomarenko Julia

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background A significant problem in the study of mechanisms of an organism's development is the elucidation of interrelated factors which are making an impact on the different levels of the organism, such as genes, biological molecules, cells, and cell systems. Numerous sources of heterogeneous data which exist for these subsystems are still not integrated sufficiently enough to give researchers a straightforward opportunity to analyze them together in the same frame of study. Systematic application of data integration methods is also hampered by a multitude of such factors as the orthogonal nature of the integrated data and naming problems. Results Here we report on a new version of BiologicalNetworks, a research environment for the integral visualization and analysis of heterogeneous biological data. BiologicalNetworks can be queried for properties of thousands of different types of biological entities (genes/proteins, promoters, COGs, pathways, binding sites, and other and their relations (interactions, co-expression, co-citations, and other. The system includes the build-pathways infrastructure for molecular interactions/relations and module discovery in high-throughput experiments. Also implemented in BiologicalNetworks are the Integrated Genome Viewer and Comparative Genomics Browser applications, which allow for the search and analysis of gene regulatory regions and their conservation in multiple species in conjunction with molecular pathways/networks, experimental data and functional annotations. Conclusions The new release of BiologicalNetworks together with its back-end database introduces extensive functionality for a more efficient integrated multi-level analysis of microarray, sequence, regulatory, and other data. BiologicalNetworks is freely available at http://www.biologicalnetworks.org.

  8. Biological preconcentrator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manginell, Ronald P [Albuquerque, NM; Bunker, Bruce C [Albuquerque, NM; Huber, Dale L [Albuquerque, NM

    2008-09-09

    A biological preconcentrator comprises a stimulus-responsive active film on a stimulus-producing microfabricated platform. The active film can comprise a thermally switchable polymer film that can be used to selectively absorb and desorb proteins from a protein mixture. The biological microfabricated platform can comprise a thin membrane suspended on a substrate with an integral resistive heater and/or thermoelectric cooler for thermal switching of the active polymer film disposed on the membrane. The active polymer film can comprise hydrogel-like polymers, such as poly(ethylene oxide) or poly(n-isopropylacrylamide), that are tethered to the membrane. The biological preconcentrator can be fabricated with semiconductor materials and technologies.

  9. Systems Biology as an Integrated Platform for Bioinformatics, Systems Synthetic Biology, and Systems Metabolic Engineering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Bor-Sen; Wu, Chia-Chou

    2013-01-01

    Systems biology aims at achieving a system-level understanding of living organisms and applying this knowledge to various fields such as synthetic biology, metabolic engineering, and medicine. System-level understanding of living organisms can be derived from insight into: (i) system structure and the mechanism of biological networks such as gene regulation, protein interactions, signaling, and metabolic pathways; (ii) system dynamics of biological networks, which provides an understanding of stability, robustness, and transduction ability through system identification, and through system analysis methods; (iii) system control methods at different levels of biological networks, which provide an understanding of systematic mechanisms to robustly control system states, minimize malfunctions, and provide potential therapeutic targets in disease treatment; (iv) systematic design methods for the modification and construction of biological networks with desired behaviors, which provide system design principles and system simulations for synthetic biology designs and systems metabolic engineering. This review describes current developments in systems biology, systems synthetic biology, and systems metabolic engineering for engineering and biology researchers. We also discuss challenges and future prospects for systems biology and the concept of systems biology as an integrated platform for bioinformatics, systems synthetic biology, and systems metabolic engineering. PMID:24709875

  10. Systems Biology as an Integrated Platform for Bioinformatics, Systems Synthetic Biology, and Systems Metabolic Engineering

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bor-Sen Chen

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Systems biology aims at achieving a system-level understanding of living organisms and applying this knowledge to various fields such as synthetic biology, metabolic engineering, and medicine. System-level understanding of living organisms can be derived from insight into: (i system structure and the mechanism of biological networks such as gene regulation, protein interactions, signaling, and metabolic pathways; (ii system dynamics of biological networks, which provides an understanding of stability, robustness, and transduction ability through system identification, and through system analysis methods; (iii system control methods at different levels of biological networks, which provide an understanding of systematic mechanisms to robustly control system states, minimize malfunctions, and provide potential therapeutic targets in disease treatment; (iv systematic design methods for the modification and construction of biological networks with desired behaviors, which provide system design principles and system simulations for synthetic biology designs and systems metabolic engineering. This review describes current developments in systems biology, systems synthetic biology, and systems metabolic engineering for engineering and biology researchers. We also discuss challenges and future prospects for systems biology and the concept of systems biology as an integrated platform for bioinformatics, systems synthetic biology, and systems metabolic engineering.

  11. Review of Pasteuria penetrans: Biology, Ecology, and Biological Control Potential.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Z X; Dickson, D W

    1998-09-01

    Pasteuria penetrans is a mycelial, endospore-forming, bacterial parasite that has shown great potential as a biological control agent of root-knot nematodes. Considerable progress has been made during the last 10 years in understanding its biology and importance as an agent capable of effectively suppressing root-knot nematodes in field soil. The objective of this review is to summarize the current knowledge of the biology, ecology, and biological control potential of P. penetrans and other Pasteuria members. Pasteuria spp. are distributed worldwide and have been reported from 323 nematode species belonging to 116 genera of free-living, predatory, plant-parasitic, and entomopathogenic nematodes. Artificial cultivation of P. penetrans has met with limited success; large-scale production of endospores depends on in vivo cultivation. Temperature affects endospore attachment, germination, pathogenesis, and completion of the life cycle in the nematode pseudocoelom. The biological control potential of Pasteuria spp. have been demonstrated on 20 crops; host nematodes include Belonolaimus longicaudatus, Heterodera spp., Meloidogyne spp., and Xiphinema diversicaudatum. Pasteuria penetrans plays an important role in some suppressive soils. The efficacy of the bacterium as a biological control agent has been examined. Approximately 100,000 endospores/g of soil provided immediate control of the peanut root-knot nematode, whereas 1,000 and 5,000 endospores/g of soil each amplified in the host nematode and became suppressive after 3 years.

  12. A timeless biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tozzi, Arturo; Peters, James F; Chafin, Clifford; De Falco, Domenico; Torday, John S

    2018-05-01

    Contrary to claims that physics is timeless while biology is time-dependent, we take the opposite standpoint: physical systems' dynamics are constrained by the arrow of time, while living assemblies are time-independent. Indeed, the concepts of "constraints" and "displacements" shed new light on the role of continuous time flow in life evolution, allowing us to sketch a physical gauge theory for biological systems in long timescales. In the very short timescales of biological systems' individual lives, time looks like "frozen" and "fixed", so that the second law of thermodynamics is momentarily wrecked. The global symmetries (standing for biological constrained trajectories, i.e. the energetic gradient flows dictated by the second law of thermodynamics in long timescales) are broken by local "displacements" where time is held constant, i.e., modifications occurring in living systems. Such displacements stand for brief local forces, able to temporarily "break" the cosmic increase in entropy. The force able to restore the symmetries (called "gauge field") stands for the very long timescales of biological evolution. Therefore, at the very low speeds of life evolution, time is no longer one of the four phase space coordinates of a spacetime Universe: it becomes just a gauge field superimposed to three-dimensional biological systems. We discuss the implications in biology: when assessing living beings, the underrated role of isolated "spatial" modifications needs to be emphasized, living apart the evolutionary role of time. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Computational biology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hartmann, Lars Røeboe; Jones, Neil; Simonsen, Jakob Grue

    2011-01-01

    Computation via biological devices has been the subject of close scrutiny since von Neumann’s early work some 60 years ago. In spite of the many relevant works in this field, the notion of programming biological devices seems to be, at best, ill-defined. While many devices are claimed or proved t...

  14. Mesoscopic biology

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    In this paper we present a qualitative outlook of mesoscopic biology where the typical length scale is of the order of nanometers and the energy scales comparable to thermal energy. Novel biomolecular machines, governed by coded information at the level of DNA and proteins, operate at these length scales in biological ...

  15. Will the Convention on Biological Diversity put an end to biological control?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lenteren, van J.C.; Cock, M.J.W.; Brodeur, J.; Barratt, B.I.P.; Bigler, F.; Bolckmans, K.; Haas, F.; Mason, P.G.; Parra, J.R.P.

    2011-01-01

    Will the Convention on Biological Diversity put an end to biological control? Under the Convention on Biological Diversity countries have sovereign rights over their genetic resources. Agreements governing the access to these resources and the sharing of the benefits arising from their use need to

  16. Mammalian Synthetic Biology: Engineering Biological Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Black, Joshua B; Perez-Pinera, Pablo; Gersbach, Charles A

    2017-06-21

    The programming of new functions into mammalian cells has tremendous application in research and medicine. Continued improvements in the capacity to sequence and synthesize DNA have rapidly increased our understanding of mechanisms of gene function and regulation on a genome-wide scale and have expanded the set of genetic components available for programming cell biology. The invention of new research tools, including targetable DNA-binding systems such as CRISPR/Cas9 and sensor-actuator devices that can recognize and respond to diverse chemical, mechanical, and optical inputs, has enabled precise control of complex cellular behaviors at unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution. These tools have been critical for the expansion of synthetic biology techniques from prokaryotic and lower eukaryotic hosts to mammalian systems. Recent progress in the development of genome and epigenome editing tools and in the engineering of designer cells with programmable genetic circuits is expanding approaches to prevent, diagnose, and treat disease and to establish personalized theranostic strategies for next-generation medicines. This review summarizes the development of these enabling technologies and their application to transforming mammalian synthetic biology into a distinct field in research and medicine.

  17. Integrating quantitative thinking into an introductory biology course improves students' mathematical reasoning in biological contexts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hester, Susan; Buxner, Sanlyn; Elfring, Lisa; Nagy, Lisa

    2014-01-01

    Recent calls for improving undergraduate biology education have emphasized the importance of students learning to apply quantitative skills to biological problems. Motivated by students' apparent inability to transfer their existing quantitative skills to biological contexts, we designed and taught an introductory molecular and cell biology course in which we integrated application of prerequisite mathematical skills with biology content and reasoning throughout all aspects of the course. In this paper, we describe the principles of our course design and present illustrative examples of course materials integrating mathematics and biology. We also designed an outcome assessment made up of items testing students' understanding of biology concepts and their ability to apply mathematical skills in biological contexts and administered it as a pre/postcourse test to students in the experimental section and other sections of the same course. Precourse results confirmed students' inability to spontaneously transfer their prerequisite mathematics skills to biological problems. Pre/postcourse outcome assessment comparisons showed that, compared with students in other sections, students in the experimental section made greater gains on integrated math/biology items. They also made comparable gains on biology items, indicating that integrating quantitative skills into an introductory biology course does not have a deleterious effect on students' biology learning.

  18. Integrating Quantitative Thinking into an Introductory Biology Course Improves Students’ Mathematical Reasoning in Biological Contexts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hester, Susan; Buxner, Sanlyn; Elfring, Lisa; Nagy, Lisa

    2014-01-01

    Recent calls for improving undergraduate biology education have emphasized the importance of students learning to apply quantitative skills to biological problems. Motivated by students’ apparent inability to transfer their existing quantitative skills to biological contexts, we designed and taught an introductory molecular and cell biology course in which we integrated application of prerequisite mathematical skills with biology content and reasoning throughout all aspects of the course. In this paper, we describe the principles of our course design and present illustrative examples of course materials integrating mathematics and biology. We also designed an outcome assessment made up of items testing students’ understanding of biology concepts and their ability to apply mathematical skills in biological contexts and administered it as a pre/postcourse test to students in the experimental section and other sections of the same course. Precourse results confirmed students’ inability to spontaneously transfer their prerequisite mathematics skills to biological problems. Pre/postcourse outcome assessment comparisons showed that, compared with students in other sections, students in the experimental section made greater gains on integrated math/biology items. They also made comparable gains on biology items, indicating that integrating quantitative skills into an introductory biology course does not have a deleterious effect on students’ biology learning. PMID:24591504

  19. Exploring Visuomotor Priming Following Biological and Non-Biological Stimuli

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gowen, E.; Bradshaw, C.; Galpin, A.; Lawrence, A.; Poliakoff, E.

    2010-01-01

    Observation of human actions influences the observer's own motor system, termed visuomotor priming, and is believed to be caused by automatic activation of mirror neurons. Evidence suggests that priming effects are larger for biological (human) as opposed to non-biological (object) stimuli and enhanced when viewing stimuli in mirror compared to…

  20. From biology to mathematical models and back: teaching modeling to biology students, and biology to math and engineering students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiel, Hillel J; McManus, Jeffrey M; Shaw, Kendrick M

    2010-01-01

    We describe the development of a course to teach modeling and mathematical analysis skills to students of biology and to teach biology to students with strong backgrounds in mathematics, physics, or engineering. The two groups of students have different ways of learning material and often have strong negative feelings toward the area of knowledge that they find difficult. To give students a sense of mastery in each area, several complementary approaches are used in the course: 1) a "live" textbook that allows students to explore models and mathematical processes interactively; 2) benchmark problems providing key skills on which students make continuous progress; 3) assignment of students to teams of two throughout the semester; 4) regular one-on-one interactions with instructors throughout the semester; and 5) a term project in which students reconstruct, analyze, extend, and then write in detail about a recently published biological model. Based on student evaluations and comments, an attitude survey, and the quality of the students' term papers, the course has significantly increased the ability and willingness of biology students to use mathematical concepts and modeling tools to understand biological systems, and it has significantly enhanced engineering students' appreciation of biology.

  1. From Biology to Mathematical Models and Back: Teaching Modeling to Biology Students, and Biology to Math and Engineering Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    McManus, Jeffrey M.; Shaw, Kendrick M.

    2010-01-01

    We describe the development of a course to teach modeling and mathematical analysis skills to students of biology and to teach biology to students with strong backgrounds in mathematics, physics, or engineering. The two groups of students have different ways of learning material and often have strong negative feelings toward the area of knowledge that they find difficult. To give students a sense of mastery in each area, several complementary approaches are used in the course: 1) a “live” textbook that allows students to explore models and mathematical processes interactively; 2) benchmark problems providing key skills on which students make continuous progress; 3) assignment of students to teams of two throughout the semester; 4) regular one-on-one interactions with instructors throughout the semester; and 5) a term project in which students reconstruct, analyze, extend, and then write in detail about a recently published biological model. Based on student evaluations and comments, an attitude survey, and the quality of the students' term papers, the course has significantly increased the ability and willingness of biology students to use mathematical concepts and modeling tools to understand biological systems, and it has significantly enhanced engineering students' appreciation of biology. PMID:20810957

  2. Industrial systems biology and its impact on synthetic biology of yeast cell factories

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fletcher, Eugene; Krivoruchko, Anastasia; Nielsen, Jens

    2016-01-01

    Engineering industrial cell factories to effectively yield a desired product while dealing with industrially relevant stresses is usually the most challenging step in the development of industrial production of chemicals using microbial fermentation processes. Using synthetic biology tools......, microbial cell factories such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae can be engineered to express synthetic pathways for the production of fuels, biopharmaceuticals, fragrances, and food flavors. However, directing fluxes through these synthetic pathways towards the desired product can be demanding due to complex...... regulation or poor gene expression. Systems biology, which applies computational tools and mathematical modeling to understand complex biological networks, can be used to guide synthetic biology design. Here, we present our perspective on how systems biology can impact synthetic biology towards the goal...

  3. Dyneins: structure, biology and disease

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    King, Stephen M

    2012-01-01

    .... From bench to bedside, Dynein: Structure, Biology and Disease offers research on fundamental cellular processes to researchers and clinicians across developmental biology, cell biology, molecular biology, biophysics, biomedicine...

  4. The fusion of biology, computer science, and engineering: towards efficient and successful synthetic biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linshiz, Gregory; Goldberg, Alex; Konry, Tania; Hillson, Nathan J

    2012-01-01

    Synthetic biology is a nascent field that emerged in earnest only around the turn of the millennium. It aims to engineer new biological systems and impart new biological functionality, often through genetic modifications. The design and construction of new biological systems is a complex, multistep process, requiring multidisciplinary collaborative efforts from "fusion" scientists who have formal training in computer science or engineering, as well as hands-on biological expertise. The public has high expectations for synthetic biology and eagerly anticipates the development of solutions to the major challenges facing humanity. This article discusses laboratory practices and the conduct of research in synthetic biology. It argues that the fusion science approach, which integrates biology with computer science and engineering best practices, including standardization, process optimization, computer-aided design and laboratory automation, miniaturization, and systematic management, will increase the predictability and reproducibility of experiments and lead to breakthroughs in the construction of new biological systems. The article also discusses several successful fusion projects, including the development of software tools for DNA construction design automation, recursive DNA construction, and the development of integrated microfluidics systems.

  5. A living foundry for Synthetic Biological Materials: A synthetic biology roadmap to new advanced materials

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rosalind A. Le Feuvre

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available Society is on the cusp of harnessing recent advances in synthetic biology to discover new bio-based products and routes to their affordable and sustainable manufacture. This is no more evident than in the discovery and manufacture of Synthetic Biological Materials, where synthetic biology has the capacity to usher in a new Materials from Biology era that will revolutionise the discovery and manufacture of innovative synthetic biological materials. These will encompass novel, smart, functionalised and hybrid materials for diverse applications whose discovery and routes to bio-production will be stimulated by the fusion of new technologies positioned across physical, digital and biological spheres. This article, which developed from an international workshop held in Manchester, United Kingdom, in 2017 [1], sets out to identify opportunities in the new materials from biology era. It considers requirements, early understanding and foresight of the challenges faced in delivering a Discovery to Manufacturing Pipeline for synthetic biological materials using synthetic biology approaches. This challenge spans the complete production cycle from intelligent and predictive design, fabrication, evaluation and production of synthetic biological materials to new ways of bringing these products to market. Pathway opportunities are identified that will help foster expertise sharing and infrastructure development to accelerate the delivery of a new generation of synthetic biological materials and the leveraging of existing investments in synthetic biology and advanced materials research to achieve this goal. Keywords: Synthetic biology, Materials, Biological materials, Biomaterials, Advanced materials

  6. Summary of the Seattle Urban Area Consequence Management Guidance for a Wide-Area Biological Attack

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kirvel, R

    2010-09-13

    A terrorist attack involving a release of biological warfare agent in the Seattle urban area would require decision-makers to make a host of important, and sometimes untested, choices concerning how best to respond and recover. This technical supplement supports the Puget Sound Regional Biological Attack Recovery Plan Annex to the Regional Catastrophic Plan, which structures the region’s response and recovery approach, by providing technical details on how to conduct a biological remediation. More specifically, the technical supplement identifies the principal issues that must be addressed following a wide-area release of aerosolized Bacillus anthracis (B. anthracis) spores; explains the resources that are available to address the release; sets forth strategies to reduce the time required for consequence management; and focuses on remediation options, procedures, and tools that can be implemented today should such an incident occur. The content is intended to be used with the Interim Consequence Management Guidance for a Wide-Area Biological Attack (LLNL 2009). A second and related purpose of this technical supplement is to serve as a detailed guide for other geographical regions interested in formulating their own consequence management plans. This technical supplement is funded by, and was developed as part of, the Interagency Biological Restoration Demonstration (IBRD) program—a collaborative effort among Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, and numerous other Federal, state, and local agencies—to improve the nation’s ability to respond to and recover from a wide-area biological incident. Content of the technical supplement follows the six-phase diagram for responding to and recovering from a biological contamination incident (see Figure 1 on the next page), which represents a consensus scheme developed after multi-agency review and approval. Whereas the focus of the document is on remediation/cleanup activities, the topics of response

  7. Advances in Structural Biology and the Application to Biological Filament Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Popp, David; Koh, Fujiet; Scipion, Clement P M; Ghoshdastider, Umesh; Narita, Akihiro; Holmes, Kenneth C; Robinson, Robert C

    2018-04-01

    Structural biology has experienced several transformative technological advances in recent years. These include: development of extremely bright X-ray sources (microfocus synchrotron beamlines and free electron lasers) and the use of electrons to extend protein crystallography to ever decreasing crystal sizes; and an increase in the resolution attainable by cryo-electron microscopy. Here we discuss the use of these techniques in general terms and highlight their application for biological filament systems, an area that is severely underrepresented in atomic resolution structures. We assemble a model of a capped tropomyosin-actin minifilament to demonstrate the utility of combining structures determined by different techniques. Finally, we survey the methods that attempt to transform high resolution structural biology into more physiological environments, such as the cell. Together these techniques promise a compelling decade for structural biology and, more importantly, they will provide exciting discoveries in understanding the designs and purposes of biological machines. © 2018 The Authors. BioEssays Published by WILEY Periodicals, Inc.

  8. Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ingram, M.; Mason, W. B.; Whipple, G. H.; Howland, J. W.

    1952-04-07

    This report presents a review of present knowledge and concepts of the biological effects of ionizing radiations. Among the topics discussed are the physical and chemical effects of ionizing radiation on biological systems, morphological and physiological changes observed in biological systems subjected to ionizing radiations, physiological changes in the intact animal, latent changes following exposure of biological systems to ionizing radiations, factors influencing the biological response to ionizing radiation, relative effects of various ionizing radiations, and biological dosimetry.

  9. Biology and Economics: Metaphors that Economists usually take from Biology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Danny García Callejas

    2007-10-01

    Full Text Available Adam Smith, Alfred Marshall, Stanley Jevons, Karl Marx, Francois Quesnay and Joseph Schumpeter all have at least one thing in common: they used biological metaphors when speaking about economics. Nonetheless, today, this relation subsists and biology and economics are viewed as complementary sciences that have a lot to gain from joint research in fields like: evolutionary economics, economic growth, cognitive economics and environmental and ecological economics, among others. This paper, divided in four sections, will show this conclusion and explain that biology and economics are more sisters than strangers

  10. Branching processes in biology

    CERN Document Server

    Kimmel, Marek

    2015-01-01

    This book provides a theoretical background of branching processes and discusses their biological applications. Branching processes are a well-developed and powerful set of tools in the field of applied probability. The range of applications considered includes molecular biology, cellular biology, human evolution and medicine. The branching processes discussed include Galton-Watson, Markov, Bellman-Harris, Multitype, and General Processes. As an aid to understanding specific examples, two introductory chapters, and two glossaries are included that provide background material in mathematics and in biology. The book will be of interest to scientists who work in quantitative modeling of biological systems, particularly probabilists, mathematical biologists, biostatisticians, cell biologists, molecular biologists, and bioinformaticians. The authors are a mathematician and cell biologist who have collaborated for more than a decade in the field of branching processes in biology for this new edition. This second ex...

  11. Network Analyses in Systems Biology: New Strategies for Dealing with Biological Complexity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Green, Sara; Serban, Maria; Scholl, Raphael

    2018-01-01

    of biological networks using tools from graph theory to the application of dynamical systems theory to understand the behavior of complex biological systems. We show how network approaches support and extend traditional mechanistic strategies but also offer novel strategies for dealing with biological...... strategies? When and how can network and mechanistic approaches interact in productive ways? In this paper we address these questions by focusing on how biological networks are represented and analyzed in a diverse class of case studies. Our examples span from the investigation of organizational properties...

  12. Biological treatment of concentrated hazardous, toxic, and radionuclide mixed wastes without dilution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stringfellow, William T.; Komada, Tatsuyuki; Chang, Li-Yang

    2004-01-01

    Approximately 10 percent of all radioactive wastes produced in the U. S. are mixed with hazardous or toxic chemicals and therefore can not be placed in secure land disposal facilities. Mixed wastes containing hazardous organic chemicals are often incinerated, but volatile radioactive elements are released directly into the biosphere. Some mixed wastes do not currently have any identified disposal option and are stored locally awaiting new developments. Biological treatment has been proposed as a potentially safer alternative to incineration for the treatment of hazardous organic mixed wastes, since biological treatment would not release volatile radioisotopes and the residual low-level radioactive waste would no longer be restricted from land disposal. Prior studies have shown that toxicity associated with acetonitrile is a significant limiting factor for the application of biotreatment to mixed wastes and excessive dilution was required to avoid inhibition of biological treatment. In this study, we demonstrate that a novel reactor configuration, where the concentrated toxic waste is drip-fed into a complete-mix bioreactor containing a pre-concentrated active microbial population, can be used to treat a surrogate acetonitrile mixed waste stream without excessive dilution. Using a drip-feed bioreactor, we were able to treat a 90,000 mg/L acetonitrile solution to less than 0.1 mg/L final concentration using a dilution factor of only 3.4. It was determined that the acetonitrile degradation reaction was inhibited at a pH above 7.2 and that the reactor could be modeled using conventional kinetic and mass balance approaches. Using a drip-feed reactor configuration addresses a major limiting factor (toxic inhibition) for the biological treatment of toxic, hazardous, or radioactive mixed wastes and suggests that drip-feed bioreactors could be used to treat other concentrated toxic waste streams, such as chemical warfare materiel

  13. Systems Biology-an interdisciplinary approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friboulet, Alain; Thomas, Daniel

    2005-06-15

    System-level approaches in biology are not new but foundations of "Systems Biology" are achieved only now at the beginning of the 21st century [Kitano, H., 2001. Foundations of Systems Biology. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA]. The renewed interest for a system-level approach is linked to the progress in collecting experimental data and to the limits of the "reductionist" approach. System-level understanding of native biological and pathological systems is needed to provide potential therapeutic targets. Examples of interdisciplinary approach in Systems Biology are described in U.S., Japan and Europe. Robustness in biology, metabolic engineering and idiotypic networks are discussed in the framework of Systems Biology.

  14. Molecular biology - Part II: Beneficial liaisons: Radiobiology meets cellular and molecular biology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stevenson, Mary Ann; Coleman, C. Norman

    1997-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this course is to familiarize radiation oncologists with the concepts and terminology of molecular and cellular biology that are especially relevant to radiation oncology. The ability of radiation oncologists to remain current with the new discoveries of modern biology is essential to the development of improved therapeutic strategies and, importantly, to the proper balance between investment in technology and biology. Objective: This year, this Refresher Course is part of a three-part ''series'' including Drs. McKenna and Dritschilo. The objective is to provide continuing education for the academic and practicing radiation oncologist, physicist and biologist in the modern biologic concepts of cancer and its treatment. An effort will be made to relate these general concepts to the clinic by providing a broad view as to potential new biological treatments which might enhance the efficacy of radiation therapy. The specific focus of this Course will vary from year to year. Some of the classic radiation biology models which form the basis of clinical practice and laboratory research will be examined and 'newer' models will be presented which take into account the emerging knowledge of cellular and molecular biology. A few techniques in molecular and cellular biology will be described to the extent necessary to understand their basic concepts and their applicability. Aspects of radiation biology which will be covered include cell cycle, radiation-induced changes in the cellular phenotype, and considerations of the effect of the tumor microenvironment. It is not the expectation that the attendees will become experts in the particular subjects presented. Rather, it is the intent to increase their curiosity as to the new knowledge that is emerging and to demonstrate that these seemingly complicated areas can be understood and appreciated with a modicum of the effort

  15. Molecular biology - Part II: Beneficial liaisons: Radiobiology meets cellular and molecular biology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stevenson, Mary Ann; Coleman, C. Norman

    1996-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this course is to familiarize radiation oncologists with the concepts and terminology of molecular and cellular biology that are especially relevant to radiation oncology. The ability of radiation oncologists to remain current with the new discoveries of modern biology is essential to the development of improved therapeutic strategies and, importantly, to the proper balance between investment in technology and biology. Objective: This year, this Refresher Course is part of a three-part 'series' including Drs. Martin Brown and Amato Giaccia. The objective is to provide continuing education for the academic and practicing radiation oncologist, physicist and biologist in the modern biologic concepts of cancer and its treatment. An effort will be made to relate these general concepts to the clinic by providing a broad view as to potential new biological treatments which might enhance the efficacy of radiation therapy. The specific focus of this Course will vary from year to year. Some of the classic radiation biology models which form the basis of clinical practice and laboratory research will be examined and 'newer' models will be presented which take into account the emerging knowledge of cellular and molecular biology. A few techniques in molecular and cellular biology will be described to the extent necessary to understand their basic concepts and their applicability. Aspects of radiation biology which will be covered include cell cycle, radiation-induced changes in the cellular phenotype, and considerations of the effect of the tumor microenvironment. It is not the expectation that the attendees will become experts in the particular subjects presented. Rather, it is the intent to increase their curiosity as to the new knowledge that is emerging and to demonstrate that these seemingly complicated areas can be understood and appreciated with a modicum of the effort

  16. Towards multidimensional radiotherapy (MD-CRT): biological imaging and biological conformality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ling, C. Clifton; Humm, John; Larson, Steven; Amols, Howard; Fuks, Zvi; Leibel, Steven; Koutcher, Jason A.

    2000-01-01

    Purpose: The goals of this study were to survey and summarize the advances in imaging that have potential applications in radiation oncology, and to explore the concept of integrating physical and biological conformality in multidimensional conformal radiotherapy (MD-CRT). Methods and Materials: The advances in three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) have greatly improved the physical conformality of treatment planning and delivery. The development of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) has provided the 'dose painting' or 'dose sculpting' ability to further customize the delivered dose distribution. The improved capabilities of nuclear magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy, and of positron emission tomography, are beginning to provide physiological and functional information about the tumor and its surroundings. In addition, molecular imaging promises to reveal tumor biology at the genotype and phenotype level. These developments converge to provide significant opportunities for enhancing the success of radiotherapy. Results: The ability of IMRT to deliver nonuniform dose patterns by design brings to fore the question of how to 'dose paint' and 'dose sculpt', leading to the suggestion that 'biological' images may be of assistance. In contrast to the conventional radiological images that primarily provide anatomical information, biological images reveal metabolic, functional, physiological, genotypic, and phenotypic data. Important for radiotherapy, the new and noninvasive imaging methods may yield three-dimensional radiobiological information. Studies are urgently needed to identify genotypes and phenotypes that affect radiosensitivity, and to devise methods to image them noninvasively. Incremental to the concept of gross, clinical, and planning target volumes (GTV, CTV, and PTV), we propose the concept of 'biological target volume' (BTV) and hypothesize that BTV can be derived from biological images and that their use may incrementally improve

  17. Answering biological questions: Querying a systems biology database for nutrigenomics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Evelo, C.T.; Bochove, K. van; Saito, J.T.

    2011-01-01

    The requirement of systems biology for connecting different levels of biological research leads directly to a need for integrating vast amounts of diverse information in general and of omics data in particular. The nutritional phenotype database addresses this challenge for nutrigenomics. A

  18. "Protected biological control"- Biological pest management in the greenhouse industry

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pilkington, L.J.; Messelink, G.J.; Lenteren, van J.C.; Mottee, Le K.

    2010-01-01

    This paper briefly describes the foundations and characteristics of biological control in protected cropping and what drivers are behind adoption of this management system within this industry. Examining a brief history of biological control in greenhouses and what makes it a successful management

  19. Tritium biological effects and perspective of the biological study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Komatsu, Kenshi

    1998-01-01

    Since tritium is an emitter of weak β-rays (5.7keV) and is able to bind to DNA, i.e., the most important genome component, the biological effects should be expected to be more profound than that of X-rays and γ-rays. When carcinogenesis, genetical effects and the detriments for fetus and embryo were used as a biological endpoint, most of tritium RBE (relative biological effectiveness) ranged from 1 to 2. The tritium risk in man could be calculated from these RBEs and γ-ray risk for human exposure, which are obtained mainly from the data on Atomic Bomb survivors. However, the exposure modality from environmental tritium should be a chronic irradiation with ultra low dose rate or a fractionated irradiation. We must estimate the tritium effect in man based on biological experiments alone, due to lack of such epidemiological data. Low dose rate experiment should be always accompanied by the statistical problem of data, since their biological effects are fairy low, and they should involve a possible repair system, such as adaptive response (or hormesis effect) and 'Kada effect' observed in bacteria. Here we discuss future works for the tritium assessment in man, such as (1) developing a high radiation sensitive assay system with rodent hybrid cells containing a single human chromosome and also (2) study on mammal DNA repair at molecular levels using a radiosensitive hereditary disease, Nijmegen Breakage Syndrome. (author)

  20. A living foundry for Synthetic Biological Materials: A synthetic biology roadmap to new advanced materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Le Feuvre, Rosalind A; Scrutton, Nigel S

    2018-06-01

    Society is on the cusp of harnessing recent advances in synthetic biology to discover new bio-based products and routes to their affordable and sustainable manufacture. This is no more evident than in the discovery and manufacture of Synthetic Biological Materials , where synthetic biology has the capacity to usher in a new Materials from Biology era that will revolutionise the discovery and manufacture of innovative synthetic biological materials. These will encompass novel, smart, functionalised and hybrid materials for diverse applications whose discovery and routes to bio-production will be stimulated by the fusion of new technologies positioned across physical, digital and biological spheres. This article, which developed from an international workshop held in Manchester, United Kingdom, in 2017 [1], sets out to identify opportunities in the new materials from biology era. It considers requirements, early understanding and foresight of the challenges faced in delivering a Discovery to Manufacturing Pipeline for synthetic biological materials using synthetic biology approaches. This challenge spans the complete production cycle from intelligent and predictive design, fabrication, evaluation and production of synthetic biological materials to new ways of bringing these products to market. Pathway opportunities are identified that will help foster expertise sharing and infrastructure development to accelerate the delivery of a new generation of synthetic biological materials and the leveraging of existing investments in synthetic biology and advanced materials research to achieve this goal.

  1. Frontiers in mathematical biology

    CERN Document Server

    1994-01-01

    Volume 100, which is the final volume of the LNBM series serves to commemorate the acievements in two decades of this influential collection of books in mathematical biology. The contributions, by the leading mathematical biologists, survey the state of the art in the subject, and offer speculative, philosophical and critical analyses of the key issues confronting the field. The papers address fundamental issues in cell and molecular biology, organismal biology, evolutionary biology, population ecology, community and ecosystem ecology, and applied biology, plus the explicit and implicit mathematical challenges. Cross-cuttting issues involve the problem of variation among units in nonlinear systems, and the related problems of the interactions among phenomena across scales of space, time and organizational complexity.

  2. SIMS applications in biological research

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prince, K.E.; Burke, P.T.; Kelly, I.J.

    2000-01-01

    Full text: SIMS has been utilised as a tool for biological research since the early 1970's. SIMS' abilities in isotopic detection with high sensitivity, imaging capabilities at a subcellular level, and the possibility of molecular imaging have been the main areas of interest for biological development. However, whilst hundreds of instruments are available in industrial and university laboratories for semiconductor and materials analysis, only a handful successfully perform biological research. For this reason there is generally a lack of awareness of SIMS by the biological community. Biological SIMS analysis requires a working knowledge of both biology and SIMS. Sample preparation is a critical and time consuming prerequisite for any successful biological SIMS study. In addition, for quantification to be possible a homogeneous, matrix matched standard must be available. Once these difficulties are more widely understood and overcome there will be a greater motivation for the biological community to embrace SIMS as a unique tool in their research. This paper provides an overview of some of the more successful biological SIMS application areas internationally, and summarises the types of biological SIMS requests received by ANSTO

  3. Biology of Blood

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... switch to the Professional version Home Blood Disorders Biology of Blood Overview of Blood Resources In This ... Version. DOCTORS: Click here for the Professional Version Biology of Blood Overview of Blood Components of Blood ...

  4. Mechanical Biological Treatment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bilitewski, B-; Oros, Christiane; Christensen, Thomas Højlund

    2011-01-01

    The basic processes and technologies of composting and anaerobic digestion, as described in the previous chapters, are usually used for specific or source-separated organic waste flows. However, in the 1990s mechanical biological waste treatment technologies (MBT) were developed for unsorted...... or residual waste (after some recyclables removed at the source). The concept was originally to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill, but MBT technologies are today also seen as plants recovering fuel as well as material fractions. As the name suggests the technology combines mechanical treatment...... technologies (screens, sieves, magnets, etc.) with biological technologies (composting, anaerobic digestion). Two main technologies are available: Mechanical biological pretreatment (MBP), which first removes an RDF fraction and then biologically treats the remaining waste before most of it is landfilled...

  5. Industrial systems biology and its impact on synthetic biology of yeast cell factories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fletcher, Eugene; Krivoruchko, Anastasia; Nielsen, Jens

    2016-06-01

    Engineering industrial cell factories to effectively yield a desired product while dealing with industrially relevant stresses is usually the most challenging step in the development of industrial production of chemicals using microbial fermentation processes. Using synthetic biology tools, microbial cell factories such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae can be engineered to express synthetic pathways for the production of fuels, biopharmaceuticals, fragrances, and food flavors. However, directing fluxes through these synthetic pathways towards the desired product can be demanding due to complex regulation or poor gene expression. Systems biology, which applies computational tools and mathematical modeling to understand complex biological networks, can be used to guide synthetic biology design. Here, we present our perspective on how systems biology can impact synthetic biology towards the goal of developing improved yeast cell factories. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2016;113: 1164-1170. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  6. Biological anti-TNF drugs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Prado, Mônica Simon; Bendtzen, Klaus; Andrade, Luis Eduardo Coelho

    2017-01-01

    practice shows a significant percentage of individuals who do not exhibit the desired response. Loss of therapeutic benefit after initial successful response is designated secondary failure. Immune-biological agents are not self-antigens and are therefore potentially immunogenic. Secondary failure...... is frequently caused by antibodies against immune-biologicals, known as anti-drug antibodies (ADA). ADA that neutralize circulating immune-biologicals and/or promote their clearance can reduce treatment efficacy. Furthermore, ADA can induce adverse events by diverse immunological mechanisms. This review...... provides a comprehensive overview of ADA in rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with anti-TNF immune-biologicals, and explores the concept of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) as an effective strategy to improve therapeutic management. Expert opinion: Monitoring circulating ADA and therapeutic immune-biological...

  7. Nutritional Systems Biology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Kasper

    and network biology has the potential to increase our understanding of how small molecules affect metabolic pathways and homeostasis, how this perturbation changes at the disease state, and to what extent individual genotypes contribute to this. A fruitful strategy in approaching and exploring the field...... biology research. The paper also shows as a proof-of-concept that a systems biology approach to diet is meaningful and demonstrates some basic principles on how to work with diet systematic. The second chapter of this thesis we developed the resource NutriChem v1.0. A foodchemical database linking...... sites of diet on the disease pathway. We propose a framework for interrogating the critical targets in colon cancer process and identifying plant-based dietary interventions as important modifiers using a systems chemical biology approach. The fifth chapter of the thesis is on discovering of novel anti...

  8. Mathematical modeling of biological processes

    CERN Document Server

    Friedman, Avner

    2014-01-01

    This book on mathematical modeling of biological processes includes a wide selection of biological topics that demonstrate the power of mathematics and computational codes in setting up biological processes with a rigorous and predictive framework. Topics include: enzyme dynamics, spread of disease, harvesting bacteria, competition among live species, neuronal oscillations, transport of neurofilaments in axon, cancer and cancer therapy, and granulomas. Complete with a description of the biological background and biological question that requires the use of mathematics, this book is developed for graduate students and advanced undergraduate students with only basic knowledge of ordinary differential equations and partial differential equations; background in biology is not required. Students will gain knowledge on how to program with MATLAB without previous programming experience and how to use codes in order to test biological hypothesis.

  9. Upgrading Undergraduate Biology Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Musante, Susan

    2011-01-01

    On many campuses throughout the country, undergraduate biology education is in serious need of an upgrade. During the past few decades, the body of biological knowledge has grown exponentially, and as a research endeavor, the practice of biology has evolved. Education research has also made great strides, revealing many new insights into how…

  10. Fusion of biological membranes

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Pramana – Journal of Physics; Volume 64; Issue 6. Fusion of biological membranes. K Katsov M Müller M Schick. Invited Talks:- Topic 11. Biologically motivated problems (protein-folding models, dynamics at the scale of the cell; biological networks, evolution models, etc.) Volume 64 Issue 6 June 2005 pp ...

  11. Multiscale Biological Materials

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Frølich, Simon

    of multiscale biological systems have been investigated and new research methods for automated Rietveld refinement and diffraction scattering computed tomography developed. The composite nature of biological materials was investigated at the atomic scale by looking at the consequences of interactions between...

  12. Development of the Biology Card Sorting Task to Measure Conceptual Expertise in Biology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Julia I.; Combs, Elijah D.; Nagami, Paul H.; Alto, Valerie M.; Goh, Henry G.; Gourdet, Muryam A. A.; Hough, Christina M.; Nickell, Ashley E.; Peer, Adrian G.; Coley, John D.; Tanner, Kimberly D.

    2013-01-01

    There are widespread aspirations to focus undergraduate biology education on teaching students to think conceptually like biologists; however, there is a dearth of assessment tools designed to measure progress from novice to expert biological conceptual thinking. We present the development of a novel assessment tool, the Biology Card Sorting Task,…

  13. Two Dogmas of Biology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leonore Fleming

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The problem with reductionism in biology is not the reduction, but the implicit attitude of determinism that usually accompanies it. Methodological reductionism is supported by deterministic beliefs, but making such a connection is problematic when it is based on an idea of determinism as fixed predictability. Conflating determinism with predictability gives rise to inaccurate models that overlook the dynamic complexity of our world, as well as ignore our epistemic limitations when we try to model it. Furthermore, the assumption of a strictly deterministic framework is unnecessarily hindering to biology. By removing the dogma of determinism, biological methods, including reductive methods, can be expanded to include stochastic models and probabilistic interpretations. Thus, the dogma of reductionism can be saved once its ties with determinism are severed. In this paper, I analyze two problems that have faced molecular biology for the last 50 years—protein folding and cancer. Both cases demonstrate the long influence of reductionism and determinism on molecular biology, as well as how abandoning determinism has opened the door to more probabilistic and unconstrained reductive methods in biology.

  14. Organic chemistry and biology: chemical biology through the eyes of collaboration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hruby, Victor J

    2009-12-18

    From a scientific perspective, efforts to understand biology including what constitutes health and disease has become a chemical problem. However, chemists and biologists "see" the problems of understanding biology from different perspectives, and this has retarded progress in solving the problems especially as they relate to health and disease. This suggests that close collaboration between chemists and biologists is not only necessary but essential for progress in both the biology and chemistry that will provide solutions to the global questions of biology. This perspective has directed my scientific efforts for the past 45 years, and in this overview I provide my perspective of how the applications of synthetic chemistry, structural design, and numerous other chemical principles have intersected in my collaborations with biologists to provide new tools, new science, and new insights that were only made possible and fruitful by these collaborations.

  15. Radiation biology. Chapter 20

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wondergem, J. [International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna (Austria)

    2014-09-15

    Radiation biology (radiobiology) is the study of the action of ionizing radiations on living matter. This chapter gives an overview of the biological effects of ionizing radiation and discusses the physical, chemical and biological variables that affect dose response at the cellular, tissue and whole body levels at doses and dose rates relevant to diagnostic radiology.

  16. Paradigms for biologically inspired design

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lenau, T. A.; Metzea, A.-L.; Hesselberg, T.

    2018-01-01

    engineering, medical engineering, nanotechnology, photonics,environmental protection and agriculture. However, a major obstacle for the wider use of biologically inspired design isthe knowledge barrier that exist between the application engineers that have insight into how to design suitable productsand......Biologically inspired design is attracting increasing interest since it offers access to a huge biological repository of wellproven design principles that can be used for developing new and innovative products. Biological phenomena can inspireproduct innovation in as diverse areas as mechanical...... the biologists with detailed knowledge and experience in understanding how biological organisms function in theirenvironment. The biologically inspired design process can therefore be approached using different design paradigmsdepending on the dominant opportunities, challenges and knowledge characteristics...

  17. Graphics processing units in bioinformatics, computational biology and systems biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nobile, Marco S; Cazzaniga, Paolo; Tangherloni, Andrea; Besozzi, Daniela

    2017-09-01

    Several studies in Bioinformatics, Computational Biology and Systems Biology rely on the definition of physico-chemical or mathematical models of biological systems at different scales and levels of complexity, ranging from the interaction of atoms in single molecules up to genome-wide interaction networks. Traditional computational methods and software tools developed in these research fields share a common trait: they can be computationally demanding on Central Processing Units (CPUs), therefore limiting their applicability in many circumstances. To overcome this issue, general-purpose Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) are gaining an increasing attention by the scientific community, as they can considerably reduce the running time required by standard CPU-based software, and allow more intensive investigations of biological systems. In this review, we present a collection of GPU tools recently developed to perform computational analyses in life science disciplines, emphasizing the advantages and the drawbacks in the use of these parallel architectures. The complete list of GPU-powered tools here reviewed is available at http://bit.ly/gputools. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press.

  18. Synthetic biology and its alternatives. Descartes, Kant and the idea of engineering biological machines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kogge, Werner; Richter, Michael

    2013-06-01

    The engineering-based approach of synthetic biology is characterized by an assumption that 'engineering by design' enables the construction of 'living machines'. These 'machines', as biological machines, are expected to display certain properties of life, such as adapting to changing environments and acting in a situated way. This paper proposes that a tension exists between the expectations placed on biological artefacts and the notion of producing such systems by means of engineering; this tension makes it seem implausible that biological systems, especially those with properties characteristic of living beings, can in fact be produced using the specific methods of engineering. We do not claim that engineering techniques have nothing to contribute to the biotechnological construction of biological artefacts. However, drawing on Descartes's and Kant's thinking on the relationship between the organism and the machine, we show that it is considerably more plausible to assume that distinctively biological artefacts emerge within a paradigm different from the paradigm of the Cartesian machine that underlies the engineering approach. We close by calling for increased attention to be paid to approaches within molecular biology and chemistry that rest on conceptions different from those of synthetic biology's engineering paradigm. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Neutron in biology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Niimura, Nobuo

    1997-01-01

    Neutron in biology can provide an experimental method of directly locating relationship of proteins and DNA. However, there are relatively few experimental study of such objects since it takes a lot of time to collect a sufficient number of Bragg reflections and inelastic spectra due to the low flux of neutron illuminating the sample. Since a next generation neutron source of JAERI will be 5MW spallation neutron source and its effective neutron flux will be 10 2 to 10 3 times higher than the one of JRR-3M, neutron in biology will open a completely new world for structural biology. (author)

  20. Microgravity Fluids for Biology, Workshop

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griffin, DeVon; Kohl, Fred; Massa, Gioia D.; Motil, Brian; Parsons-Wingerter, Patricia; Quincy, Charles; Sato, Kevin; Singh, Bhim; Smith, Jeffrey D.; Wheeler, Raymond M.

    2013-01-01

    Microgravity Fluids for Biology represents an intersection of biology and fluid physics that present exciting research challenges to the Space Life and Physical Sciences Division. Solving and managing the transport processes and fluid mechanics in physiological and biological systems and processes are essential for future space exploration and colonization of space by humans. Adequate understanding of the underlying fluid physics and transport mechanisms will provide new, necessary insights and technologies for analyzing and designing biological systems critical to NASAs mission. To enable this mission, the fluid physics discipline needs to work to enhance the understanding of the influence of gravity on the scales and types of fluids (i.e., non-Newtonian) important to biology and life sciences. In turn, biomimetic, bio-inspired and synthetic biology applications based on physiology and biology can enrich the fluid mechanics and transport phenomena capabilities of the microgravity fluid physics community.

  1. Synthetic biology and occupational risk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howard, John; Murashov, Vladimir; Schulte, Paul

    2017-03-01

    Synthetic biology is an emerging interdisciplinary field of biotechnology that involves applying the principles of engineering and chemical design to biological systems. Biosafety professionals have done an excellent job in addressing research laboratory safety as synthetic biology and gene editing have emerged from the larger field of biotechnology. Despite these efforts, risks posed by synthetic biology are of increasing concern as research procedures scale up to industrial processes in the larger bioeconomy. A greater number and variety of workers will be exposed to commercial synthetic biology risks in the future, including risks to a variety of workers from the use of lentiviral vectors as gene transfer devices. There is a need to review and enhance current protection measures in the field of synthetic biology, whether in experimental laboratories where new advances are being researched, in health care settings where treatments using viral vectors as gene delivery systems are increasingly being used, or in the industrial bioeconomy. Enhanced worker protection measures should include increased injury and illness surveillance of the synthetic biology workforce; proactive risk assessment and management of synthetic biology products; research on the relative effectiveness of extrinsic and intrinsic biocontainment methods; specific safety guidance for synthetic biology industrial processes; determination of appropriate medical mitigation measures for lentiviral vector exposure incidents; and greater awareness and involvement in synthetic biology safety by the general occupational safety and health community as well as by government occupational safety and health research and regulatory agencies.

  2. Synthetic biology: an emerging engineering discipline.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Allen A; Lu, Timothy K

    2012-01-01

    Over the past decade, synthetic biology has emerged as an engineering discipline for biological systems. Compared with other substrates, biology poses a unique set of engineering challenges resulting from an incomplete understanding of natural biological systems and tools for manipulating them. To address these challenges, synthetic biology is advancing from developing proof-of-concept designs to focusing on core platforms for rational and high-throughput biological engineering. These platforms span the entire biological design cycle, including DNA construction, parts libraries, computational design tools, and interfaces for manipulating and probing synthetic circuits. The development of these enabling technologies requires an engineering mindset to be applied to biology, with an emphasis on generalizable techniques in addition to application-specific designs. This review aims to discuss the progress and challenges in synthetic biology and to illustrate areas where synthetic biology may impact biomedical engineering and human health.

  3. Opportunities in plant synthetic biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cook, Charis; Martin, Lisa; Bastow, Ruth

    2014-05-01

    Synthetic biology is an emerging field uniting scientists from all disciplines with the aim of designing or re-designing biological processes. Initially, synthetic biology breakthroughs came from microbiology, chemistry, physics, computer science, materials science, mathematics, and engineering disciplines. A transition to multicellular systems is the next logical step for synthetic biologists and plants will provide an ideal platform for this new phase of research. This meeting report highlights some of the exciting plant synthetic biology projects, and tools and resources, presented and discussed at the 2013 GARNet workshop on plant synthetic biology.

  4. [Biological agents].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amano, Koichi

    2009-03-01

    There are two types of biological agents for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA); monoclonal antibodies and recombinant proteins. Among the latter, etanercept, a recombinant fusion protein of soluble TNF receptor and IgG was approved in 2005 in Japan. The post-marketing surveillance of 13,894 RA patients revealed the efficacy and safety profiles of etanercept in the Japanese population, as well as overseas studies. Abatacept, a recombinant fusion protein of CTLA4 and IgG, is another biological agent for RA. Two clinical trials disclosed the efficacy of abatacept for difficult-to-treat patients: the AIM for MTX-resistant cases and the ATTAIN for patients who are resistant to anti-TNF. The ATTEST trial suggested abatacept might have more acceptable safety profile than infliximab. These biologics are also promising for the treatment of RA for not only relieving clinical symptoms and signs but retarding structural damage.

  5. Organic Chemistry and Biology: Chemical Biology Through the Eyes of Collaboration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hruby, Victor J.

    2011-01-01

    From a scientific perspective, efforts to understand biology including what constitutes health and disease has become a chemical problem. However, chemists and biologists “see” the problems of understanding biology from different perspectives, and this has retarded progress in solving the problems especially as they relate to health and disease. This suggests that close collaboration between chemists and biologists is not only necessary but essential for progress in both the biology and chemistry that will provide solutions to the global questions of biology. This perspective has directed my scientific efforts for the past 45 years, and in this overview I provide my perspective of how the applications of synthetic chemistry, structural design, and numerous other chemical principles have intersected in my collaborations with biologists to provide new tools, new science, and new insights that were only made possible and fruitful by these collaborations. PMID:20000552

  6. PENGEMBANGAN PENUNTUN PRAKTIKUM BIOLOGI UMUM BERBASIS INKUIRI TERBIMBING MAHASISWA BIOLOGI STKIP PAYAKUMBUH

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sri Nengsi

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available One of supporting the implementation of the practicum is the practical guidence. To increase motivation, activities, and learning outcomes it is used inquiry based practical guide for students are invited to experiment with doing practical activities with scientific. The purpose of this study was to reveal the validity, practicalities, and guiding the resulting effectiveness of guidence inquiry based on the general biology lesson for students of biology education STKIP Payakumbuh. This research is the development of Plomp development model which consists of three phases: problem identification and needs analysis, design development and implementation, evaluation. The results of this study indicate that the development of practical guidance guided inquiry based general biology for students of biology education STKIP Payakumbuh valid, practically and effectively.

  7. Biological couplings: Classification and characteristic rules

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2009-01-01

    The phenomena that biological functions originate from biological coupling are the important biological foundation of multiple bionics and the significant discoveries in the bionic fields. In this paper, the basic concepts related to biological coupling are introduced from the bionic viewpoint. Constitution, classification and characteristic rules of biological coupling are illuminated, the general modes of biological coupling studies are analyzed, and the prospects of multi-coupling bionics are predicted.

  8. Scaffolded biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Minelli, Alessandro

    2016-09-01

    Descriptions and interpretations of the natural world are dominated by dichotomies such as organism vs. environment, nature vs. nurture, genetic vs. epigenetic, but in the last couple of decades strong dissatisfaction with those partitions has been repeatedly voiced and a number of alternative perspectives have been suggested, from perspectives such as Dawkins' extended phenotype, Turner's extended organism, Oyama's Developmental Systems Theory and Odling-Smee's niche construction theory. Last in time is the description of biological phenomena in terms of hybrids between an organism (scaffolded system) and a living or non-living scaffold, forming unit systems to study processes such as reproduction and development. As scaffold, eventually, we can define any resource used by the biological system, especially in development and reproduction, without incorporating it as happens in the case of resources fueling metabolism. Addressing biological systems as functionally scaffolded systems may help pointing to functional relationships that can impart temporal marking to the developmental process and thus explain its irreversibility; revisiting the boundary between development and metabolism and also regeneration phenomena, by suggesting a conceptual framework within which to investigate phenomena of regular hypermorphic regeneration such as characteristic of deer antlers; fixing a periodization of development in terms of the times at which a scaffolding relationship begins or is terminated; and promoting plant galls to legitimate study objects of developmental biology.

  9. Tropical Freshwater Biology

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Tropical Freshwater Biology promotes the publication of scientific contributions in the field of freshwater biology in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. One issue is published annually but this number may be increased. Original research papers and short communications on any aspect of tropical freshwater ...

  10. Biological monitoring of radiation exposure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horneck, G.

    1998-11-01

    Complementary to physical dosimetry, biological dosimetry systems have been developed and applied which weight the different components of environmental radiation according to their biological efficacy. They generally give a record of the accumulated exposure of individuals with high sensitivity and specificity for the toxic agent under consideration. Basically three different types of biological detecting/monitoring systems are available: (i) intrinsic biological dosimeters that record the individual radiation exposure (humans, plants, animals) in measurable units. For monitoring ionizing radiation exposure, in situ biomarkers for genetic (e.g. chromosomal aberrations in human lymphocytes, germ line minisatellite mutation rates) or metabolic changes in serum, plasma and blood (e.g. serum lipids, lipoproteins, lipid peroxides, melatonin, antibody titer) have been used. (ii) Extrinsic biological dosimeters/indicators that record the accumulated dose in biological model systems. Their application includes long-term monitoring of changes in environmental UV radiation and its biological implications as well as dosimetry of personal UV exposure. (iii) Biological detectors/biosensors for genotoxic substances and agents such as bacterial assays (e.g. Ames test, SOS-type test) that are highly sensitive to genotoxins with high specificity. They may be applicable for different aspects in environmental monitoring including the International Space Station.

  11. Anthropic principle in biology and radiation biology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akif'ev, A. P.; Degtyarev, S.V.

    1999-01-01

    It was suggested to add the anthropic principle of the Universe according to which the physical constants of fundamental particles of matter and the laws of their counteraction are those that an appearance of man and mind becomes possible and necessary, with some biological constants to the set of fundamental constants. With reparation of DNA as an example it was shown how a cell ran some parameters of Watson-Crick double helix. It was pointed that the concept of the anthropic principle of the Universe in its full body including biological constants was a key to developing of a unified theory of evolution of the Universe within the limits of scientific creationism [ru

  12. Biological condition gradient: Applying a framework for determining the biological integrity of coral reefs

    Science.gov (United States)

    The goals of the U.S. Clean Water Act (CWA) are to restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of water resources. Although clean water is a goal, another is to safeguard biological communities by defining levels of biological integrity to protect aquatic...

  13. 78 FR 57293 - Distribution of Reference Biological Standards and Biological Preparations

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-09-18

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 42 CFR Part 7 [Docket No. CDC-2013-0013] RIN 0920-AA52 Distribution of Reference Biological Standards and Biological Preparations AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (HHS/CDC), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). ACTION: Confirmation of...

  14. Neutron in biology

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Niimura, Nobuo [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment

    1997-11-01

    Neutron in biology can provide an experimental method of directly locating relationship of proteins and DNA. However, there are relatively few experimental study of such objects since it takes a lot of time to collect a sufficient number of Bragg reflections and inelastic spectra due to the low flux of neutron illuminating the sample. Since a next generation neutron source of JAERI will be 5MW spallation neutron source and its effective neutron flux will be 10{sup 2} to 10{sup 3} times higher than the one of JRR-3M, neutron in biology will open a completely new world for structural biology. (author)

  15. Tracking the emergence of synthetic biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shapira, Philip; Kwon, Seokbeom; Youtie, Jan

    2017-01-01

    Synthetic biology is an emerging domain that combines biological and engineering concepts and which has seen rapid growth in research, innovation, and policy interest in recent years. This paper contributes to efforts to delineate this emerging domain by presenting a newly constructed bibliometric definition of synthetic biology. Our approach is dimensioned from a core set of papers in synthetic biology, using procedures to obtain benchmark synthetic biology publication records, extract keywords from these benchmark records, and refine the keywords, supplemented with articles published in dedicated synthetic biology journals. We compare our search strategy with other recent bibliometric approaches to define synthetic biology, using a common source of publication data for the period from 2000 to 2015. The paper details the rapid growth and international spread of research in synthetic biology in recent years, demonstrates that diverse research disciplines are contributing to the multidisciplinary development of synthetic biology research, and visualizes this by profiling synthetic biology research on the map of science. We further show the roles of a relatively concentrated set of research sponsors in funding the growth and trajectories of synthetic biology. In addition to discussing these analyses, the paper notes limitations and suggests lines for further work.

  16. Microfluidic Technologies for Synthetic Biology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sung Kuk Lee

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Microfluidic technologies have shown powerful abilities for reducing cost, time, and labor, and at the same time, for increasing accuracy, throughput, and performance in the analysis of biological and biochemical samples compared with the conventional, macroscale instruments. Synthetic biology is an emerging field of biology and has drawn much attraction due to its potential to create novel, functional biological parts and systems for special purposes. Since it is believed that the development of synthetic biology can be accelerated through the use of microfluidic technology, in this review work we focus our discussion on the latest microfluidic technologies that can provide unprecedented means in synthetic biology for dynamic profiling of gene expression/regulation with high resolution, highly sensitive on-chip and off-chip detection of metabolites, and whole-cell analysis.

  17. Ground truth methods for optical cross-section modeling of biological aerosols

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalter, J.; Thrush, E.; Santarpia, J.; Chaudhry, Z.; Gilberry, J.; Brown, D. M.; Brown, A.; Carter, C. C.

    2011-05-01

    Light detection and ranging (LIDAR) systems have demonstrated some capability to meet the needs of a fastresponse standoff biological detection method for simulants in open air conditions. These systems are designed to exploit various cloud signatures, such as differential elastic backscatter, fluorescence, and depolarization in order to detect biological warfare agents (BWAs). However, because the release of BWAs in open air is forbidden, methods must be developed to predict candidate system performance against real agents. In support of such efforts, the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab (JHU/APL) has developed a modeling approach to predict the optical properties of agent materials from relatively simple, Biosafety Level 3-compatible bench top measurements. JHU/APL has fielded new ground truth instruments (in addition to standard particle sizers, such as the Aerodynamic particle sizer (APS) or GRIMM aerosol monitor (GRIMM)) to more thoroughly characterize the simulant aerosols released in recent field tests at Dugway Proving Ground (DPG). These instruments include the Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS), the Ultraviolet Aerodynamic Particle Sizer (UVAPS), and the Aspect Aerosol Size and Shape Analyser (Aspect). The SMPS was employed as a means of measuring smallparticle concentrations for more accurate Mie scattering simulations; the UVAPS, which measures size-resolved fluorescence intensity, was employed as a path toward fluorescence cross section modeling; and the Aspect, which measures particle shape, was employed as a path towards depolarization modeling.

  18. The Molecular Biology Capstone Assessment: A Concept Assessment for Upper-Division Molecular Biology Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Couch, Brian A.; Wood, William B.; Knight, Jennifer K.

    2015-01-01

    Measuring students' conceptual understandings has become increasingly important to biology faculty members involved in evaluating and improving departmental programs. We developed the Molecular Biology Capstone Assessment (MBCA) to gauge comprehension of fundamental concepts in molecular and cell biology and the ability to apply these concepts in…

  19. Stochastic Methods in Biology

    CERN Document Server

    Kallianpur, Gopinath; Hida, Takeyuki

    1987-01-01

    The use of probabilistic methods in the biological sciences has been so well established by now that mathematical biology is regarded by many as a distinct dis­ cipline with its own repertoire of techniques. The purpose of the Workshop on sto­ chastic methods in biology held at Nagoya University during the week of July 8-12, 1985, was to enable biologists and probabilists from Japan and the U. S. to discuss the latest developments in their respective fields and to exchange ideas on the ap­ plicability of the more recent developments in stochastic process theory to problems in biology. Eighteen papers were presented at the Workshop and have been grouped under the following headings: I. Population genetics (five papers) II. Measure valued diffusion processes related to population genetics (three papers) III. Neurophysiology (two papers) IV. Fluctuation in living cells (two papers) V. Mathematical methods related to other problems in biology, epidemiology, population dynamics, etc. (six papers) An important f...

  20. Space biology research development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonting, Sjoerd L.

    1993-01-01

    The purpose of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute is to conduct and promote research related activities regarding the search for extraterrestrial life, particularly intelligent life. Such research encompasses the broad discipline of 'Life in the Universe', including all scientific and technological aspects of astronomy and the planetary sciences, chemical evolution, the origin of life, biological evolution, and cultural evolution. The primary purpose was to provide funding for the Principal Investigator to collaborate with the personnel of the SETI Institute and the NASA-Ames Research center in order to plan and develop space biology research on and in connection with Space Station Freedom; to promote cooperation with the international partners in the space station; to conduct a study on the use of biosensors in space biology research and life support system operation; and to promote space biology research through the initiation of an annual publication 'Advances in Space Biology and Medicine'.

  1. Test Results of Level A Suits to Challenge by Chemical and Biological Warfare Agents and Simulants: Summary Report

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Belmonte, Richard B

    1998-01-01

    ...) terrorism incidents. As part of an effective response, people who are responding to an incident will use personal protective equipment to protect them from exposure to chemical agents or biological agents...

  2. FDA Regulation of Follow-On Biologics

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-02-24

    opening a pathway for the approval of follow-on biologics. A biologic is a preparation, such as a drug or a vaccine , that is made from living...2006 Drug Trend Report, April 2006, p. 38. C Biologic vs. Follow-on Biologic A biologic is a preparation, such as a drug or a vaccine , that is...doc9496/s1695.pdf. 19 Thijs J. Giezen, Aukje K. Mantel-Teeuwisse, and Sabine M. J. M. Straus, et al., “Safety-related regulatory actions for biologicals

  3. Towards A Theoretical Biology: Reminiscences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    engaged in since the start of my career at the University of Chicago. Theoretical biology was ... research on theoretical problems in biology. Waddington, an ... aimed at stimulating the development of such a theoretical biology. The role the ...

  4. Network biology: Describing biological systems by complex networks. Comment on "Network science of biological systems at different scales: A review" by M. Gosak et al.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jalili, Mahdi

    2018-03-01

    I enjoyed reading Gosak et al. review on analysing biological systems from network science perspective [1]. Network science, first started within Physics community, is now a mature multidisciplinary field of science with many applications ranging from Ecology to biology, medicine, social sciences, engineering and computer science. Gosak et al. discussed how biological systems can be modelled and described by complex network theory which is an important application of network science. Although there has been considerable progress in network biology over the past two decades, this is just the beginning and network science has a great deal to offer to biology and medical sciences.

  5. Marine biology, intertidal ecology, and a new place for biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benson, Keith R

    2015-01-01

    At the present time, there is considerable interest for the physical setting of science, that is, its actual 'place' of practice. Among historians of biology, place has been considered to be a crucial component for the study of ecology. Other historians have noted the 'built' environments (laboratories) for the study of biology along the seashore, even referring to these places in terms more applicable to vacation sites. In this paper, I examine the place of intertidal ecology investigations, both in terms of the physical space and the built space. Part of the examination will investigate the aesthetic aspect of the Pacific Coast, part will evaluate the unique character of the intertidal zone, and part will consider the construction of natural laboratories and built laboratories as characteristic places for biology.

  6. [Biologics and mycobacterial diseases].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsuyuguchi, Kazunari; Matsumoto, Tomoshige

    2013-03-01

    Various biologics such as TNF-alpha inhibitor or IL-6 inhibitor are now widely used for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Many reports suggested that one of the major issues is high risk of developing tuberculosis (TB) associated with using these agents, which is especially important in Japan where tuberculosis still remains endemic. Another concern is the risk of development of nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) diseases and we have only scanty information about it. The purpose of this symposium is to elucidate the role of biologics in the development of mycobacterial diseases and to establish the strategy to control them. First, Dr. Tohma showed the epidemiologic data of TB risks associated with using biologics calculated from the clinical database on National Database of Rheumatic Diseases by iR-net in Japan. He estimated TB risks in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients to be about four times higher compared with general populations and to become even higher by using biologics. He also pointed out a low rate of implementation of QuantiFERON test (QFT) as screening test for TB infection. Next, Dr. Tokuda discussed the issue of NTM disease associated with using biologics. He suggested the airway disease in RA patients might play some role in the development of NTM disease, which may conversely lead to overdiagnosis of NTM disease in RA patients. He suggested that NTM disease should not be uniformly considered a contraindication to treatment with biologics, considering from the results of recent multicenter study showing relatively favorable outcome of NTM patients receiving biologics. Patients with latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) should receive LTBI treatment before starting biologics. Dr. Kato, a chairperson of the Prevention Committee of the Japanese Society for Tuberculosis, proposed a new LTBI guideline including active implementation of LTBI treatment, introducing interferon gamma release assay, and appropriate selection of persons at high risk for

  7. High school and college biology: A multi-level model of the effects of high school biology courses on student academic performance in introductory college biology courses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loehr, John Francis

    The issue of student preparation for college study in science has been an ongoing concern for both college-bound students and educators of various levels. This study uses a national sample of college students enrolled in introductory biology courses to address the relationship between high school biology preparation and subsequent introductory college biology performance. Multi-Level Modeling was used to investigate the relationship between students' high school science and mathematics experiences and college biology performance. This analysis controls for student demographic and educational background factors along with factors associated with the college or university attended. The results indicated that high school course-taking and science instructional experiences have the largest impact on student achievement in the first introductory college biology course. In particular, enrollment in courses, such as high school Calculus and Advanced Placement (AP) Biology, along with biology course content that focuses on developing a deep understanding of the topics is found to be positively associated with student achievement in introductory college biology. On the other hand, experiencing high numbers of laboratory activities, demonstrations, and independent projects along with higher levels of laboratory freedom are associated with negative achievement. These findings are relevant to high school biology teachers, college students, their parents, and educators looking beyond the goal of high school graduation.

  8. Structural Molecular Biology 2017 | SSRL

    Science.gov (United States)

    Highlights Training Workshops & Summer Schools Summer Students Structural Molecular Biology Illuminating experimental driver for structural biology research, serving the needs of a large number of academic and — Our Mission The SSRL Structural Molecular Biology program operates as an integrated resource and has

  9. Data warehousing in molecular biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schönbach, C; Kowalski-Saunders, P; Brusic, V

    2000-05-01

    In the business and healthcare sectors data warehousing has provided effective solutions for information usage and knowledge discovery from databases. However, data warehousing applications in the biological research and development (R&D) sector are lagging far behind. The fuzziness and complexity of biological data represent a major challenge in data warehousing for molecular biology. By combining experiences in other domains with our findings from building a model database, we have defined the requirements for data warehousing in molecular biology.

  10. Quantum Effects in Biological Systems

    CERN Document Server

    2016-01-01

    Since the last decade the study of quantum mechanical phenomena in biological systems has become a vibrant field of research. Initially sparked by evidence of quantum effects in energy transport that is instrumental for photosynthesis, quantum biology asks the question of how methods and models from quantum theory can help us to understand fundamental mechanisms in living organisms. This approach entails a paradigm change challenging the related disciplines: The successful framework of quantum theory is taken out of its low-temperature, microscopic regimes and applied to hot and dense macroscopic environments, thereby extending the toolbox of biology and biochemistry at the same time. The Quantum Effects in Biological Systems conference is a platform for researchers from biology, chemistry and physics to present and discuss the latest developments in the field of quantum biology. After meetings in Lisbon (2009), Harvard (2010), Ulm (2011), Berkeley (2012), Vienna (2013), Singapore (2014) and Florence (2015),...

  11. Virtual lesions of the IFG abolish response facilitation for biological and non-biological cues

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roger D Newman-Norlund

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available Humans are faster to perform a given action following observation of that same action. Converging evidence suggests that the human mirror neuron system (MNS plays an important role in this phenomenon. However, the specificity of the neural mechanisms governing this effect remain controversial. Specialist theories of imitation suggest that biological cues are maximally capable of eliciting imitative facilitation. Generalist models, on the other hand, posit a broader role for the MNS in linking visual stimuli with appropriate responses. In the present study, we investigated the validity of these two theoretical approaches by disrupting the left and right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG during the preparation of congruent (imitative and incongruent (complementary actions cued by either biological (hand or non-biological (static dot stimuli. Delivery of TMS over IFG abolished imitative response facilitation. Critically, this effect was identical whether actions were cued by biological or non-biological stimuli. This finding argues against theories of imitation in which biological stimuli are treated preferentially and stresses the notion of the IFG as a vital center of general perception-action coupling in the human brain.

  12. KREATIVITAS GURU BIOLOGI DALAM MEMETAKAN KOMODITAS HAYATI UNGGULAN LOKAL KE DALAM PEMBELAJARAN BIOLOGI SMA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Asep Agus Sulaeman

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui kreativitas guru Biologi SMA dalam memetakan topik-topik dari berbagai aspek komoditas hayati unggulan lokal melalui penggunaan metode mind map dan mengetahui kemampuan guru dalam memetakan topik-topik komoditas hayati unggulan lokal ke dalam pembelajaran Biologi di SMA. Analisis data kreativitas guru Biologi SMA dilakukan secara deskriptif kuantitatif terhadap mind map dengan menggunakan kriteria sesuai instrumen yang dikembangkan. Adapun analisis data tentang jumlah topik-topik Biologi dan jenis kegiatan pembelajaran berbasis komoditas hayati unggulan lokal dilakukan secara deskriptif kuantatif dan kualitatif. Hasil kajian ini menunjukkan nilai aspek-aspek kreativitas guru Biologi yang tinggi, yaitu kemampuan berpikir asli (91,67, peka terhadap masalah (91,67, kemampuan berpikir lancar (90, kemampuan berpikir luwes (88,33, dan kemampuan berpikir terperinci (86,67. Berdasarkan hasil pemetaan yang dilakukan guru, dapat diidentifikasi 15 topik Biologi SMA yang berkaitan dengan komoditas hayati unggulan lokal di Kabupaten Majalengka. Adapun kegiatan pembelajaran berbasis komoditas hayati unggulan yang diusulkan oleh guru tersebar di masing-masing tingkatan kelas dan semesternya dengan jumlah yang berbeda-beda.

  13. Biological detector and method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sillerud, Laurel; Alam, Todd M; McDowell, Andrew F

    2013-02-26

    A biological detector includes a conduit for receiving a fluid containing one or more magnetic nanoparticle-labeled, biological objects to be detected and one or more permanent magnets or electromagnet for establishing a low magnetic field in which the conduit is disposed. A microcoil is disposed proximate the conduit for energization at a frequency that permits detection by NMR spectroscopy of whether the one or more magnetically-labeled biological objects is/are present in the fluid.

  14. Michael Levitt and Computational Biology

    Science.gov (United States)

    dropdown arrow Site Map A-Z Index Menu Synopsis Michael Levitt and Computational Biology Resources with Michael Levitt, PhD, professor of structural biology at the Stanford University School of Medicine, has function. ... Levitt's early work pioneered computational structural biology, which helped to predict

  15. Cameroon Journal of Experimental Biology

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The Cameroon Journal of Experimental Biology is the official journal of the Cameroon Forum for Biological Sciences (CAFOBIOS). It is an interdisciplinary journal for the publication of original research papers, short communications and review articles in all fields of experimental biology including biochemistry, physiology, ...

  16. Biological Soil Crust Web Site

    Science.gov (United States)

    www.soilcrust.org Crust 101 Advanced Gallery References CCERS site Links Biological Soil Crusts Textbook Corrections Level of Development Index Biological soil crusts are the community of organisms , mosses, liverworts and lichens. A Field Guide to Biological Soil Crusts of Western U.S. Drylands: Common

  17. Paleoreconstruction by biological markers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Seifert, W K; Moldowan, J M

    1981-06-01

    During diagenesis and conversion of the original lipid fraction of biological systems to petroleum hydrocarbons, the following four basic events needed for paleoreconstruction may be monitored by biological markers: (1) sourcing, (2) maturation, (3) migration and (4) biodegradation. Actual cases of applying biological markers to petroleum exploration problems in different parts of the world are demonstrated. Cretaceous- and Phosphoria-sourced oils in the Wyoming Thrust Belt can be distinguished from one another by high quality source fingerprinting of biomarker terpanes using gas chromatography mass spectrometry. Identification of recently discovered biological markers, head-to-head isoprenoids, allows source differentiation between some oils from Sumatra. The degree of crude oil maturation in basins from California, Alaska, Russia, Wyoming and Louisiana can be assessed by specific biomarker ratios (20S/20R sterane epimers). Field evidence from such interpretation is augmented by laboratory pyrolysis of the rock. Extensive migration is documented by biomarkers in several oils. Biological marker results are consistent with the geological setting and add a dimension in assisting the petroleum explorationist towar paleoreconstruction.

  18. Molecular Imaging in Synthetic Biology, and Synthetic Biology in Molecular Imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilad, Assaf A; Shapiro, Mikhail G

    2017-06-01

    Biomedical synthetic biology is an emerging field in which cells are engineered at the genetic level to carry out novel functions with relevance to biomedical and industrial applications. This approach promises new treatments, imaging tools, and diagnostics for diseases ranging from gastrointestinal inflammatory syndromes to cancer, diabetes, and neurodegeneration. As these cellular technologies undergo pre-clinical and clinical development, it is becoming essential to monitor their location and function in vivo, necessitating appropriate molecular imaging strategies, and therefore, we have created an interest group within the World Molecular Imaging Society focusing on synthetic biology and reporter gene technologies. Here, we highlight recent advances in biomedical synthetic biology, including bacterial therapy, immunotherapy, and regenerative medicine. We then discuss emerging molecular imaging approaches to facilitate in vivo applications, focusing on reporter genes for noninvasive modalities such as magnetic resonance, ultrasound, photoacoustic imaging, bioluminescence, and radionuclear imaging. Because reporter genes can be incorporated directly into engineered genetic circuits, they are particularly well suited to imaging synthetic biological constructs, and developing them provides opportunities for creative molecular and genetic engineering.

  19. Biological basis of detoxication

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Caldwell, John; Jakoby, William B

    1983-01-01

    This volume considers that premise that most of the major patterns of biological conversion of foreign compounds are known and may have predictive value in assessing the biological course for novel compounds...

  20. Synthetic biology and metabolic engineering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stephanopoulos, Gregory

    2012-11-16

    Metabolic engineering emerged 20 years ago as the discipline occupied with the directed modification of metabolic pathways for the microbial synthesis of various products. As such, it deals with the engineering (design, construction, and optimization) of native as well as non-natural routes of product synthesis, aided in this task by the availability of synthetic DNA, the core enabling technology of synthetic biology. The two fields, however, only partially overlap in their interest in pathway engineering. While fabrication of biobricks, synthetic cells, genetic circuits, and nonlinear cell dynamics, along with pathway engineering, have occupied researchers in the field of synthetic biology, the sum total of these areas does not constitute a coherent definition of synthetic biology with a distinct intellectual foundation and well-defined areas of application. This paper reviews the origins of the two fields and advances two distinct paradigms for each of them: that of unit operations for metabolic engineering and electronic circuits for synthetic biology. In this context, metabolic engineering is about engineering cell factories for the biological manufacturing of chemical and pharmaceutical products, whereas the main focus of synthetic biology is fundamental biological research facilitated by the use of synthetic DNA and genetic circuits.

  1. From Biology to Mathematical Models and Back: Teaching Modeling to Biology Students, and Biology to Math and Engineering Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiel, Hillel J.; McManus, Jeffrey M.; Shaw, Kendrick M.

    2010-01-01

    We describe the development of a course to teach modeling and mathematical analysis skills to students of biology and to teach biology to students with strong backgrounds in mathematics, physics, or engineering. The two groups of students have different ways of learning material and often have strong negative feelings toward the area of knowledge…

  2. Integrating biological redesign: where synthetic biology came from and where it needs to go.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Way, Jeffrey C; Collins, James J; Keasling, Jay D; Silver, Pamela A

    2014-03-27

    Synthetic biology seeks to extend approaches from engineering and computation to redesign of biology, with goals such as generating new chemicals, improving human health, and addressing environmental issues. Early on, several guiding principles of synthetic biology were articulated, including design according to specification, separation of design from fabrication, use of standardized biological parts and organisms, and abstraction. We review the utility of these principles over the past decade in light of the field's accomplishments in building complex systems based on microbial transcription and metabolism and describe the progress in mammalian cell engineering. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. 78 FR 47319 - Fee Schedule for Reference Biological Standards and Biological Preparations

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-05

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Fee Schedule for Reference Biological Standards and Biological Preparations AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and... for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), located within the Department of Health and Human Services...

  4. Quantum Mechanics predicts evolutionary biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torday, J S

    2018-07-01

    Nowhere are the shortcomings of conventional descriptive biology more evident than in the literature on Quantum Biology. In the on-going effort to apply Quantum Mechanics to evolutionary biology, merging Quantum Mechanics with the fundamentals of evolution as the First Principles of Physiology-namely negentropy, chemiosmosis and homeostasis-offers an authentic opportunity to understand how and why physics constitutes the basic principles of biology. Negentropy and chemiosmosis confer determinism on the unicell, whereas homeostasis constitutes Free Will because it offers a probabilistic range of physiologic set points. Similarly, on this basis several principles of Quantum Mechanics also apply directly to biology. The Pauli Exclusion Principle is both deterministic and probabilistic, whereas non-localization and the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle are both probabilistic, providing the long-sought after ontologic and causal continuum from physics to biology and evolution as the holistic integration recognized as consciousness for the first time. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Molecular biology of the cell

    CERN Document Server

    Alberts, Bruce; Lewis, Julian

    2000-01-01

    Molecular Biology of the Cell is the classic in-dept text reference in cell biology. By extracting the fundamental concepts from this enormous and ever-growing field, the authors tell the story of cell biology, and create a coherent framework through which non-expert readers may approach the subject. Written in clear and concise language, and beautifully illustrated, the book is enjoyable to read, and it provides a clear sense of the excitement of modern biology. Molecular Biology of the Cell sets forth the current understanding of cell biology (completely updated as of Autumn 2001), and it explores the intriguing implications and possibilities of the great deal that remains unknown. The hallmark features of previous editions continue in the Fourth Edition. The book is designed with a clean and open, single-column layout. The art program maintains a completely consistent format and style, and includes over 1,600 photographs, electron micrographs, and original drawings by the authors. Clear and concise concept...

  6. Conservation landmarks: bureau of biological survey and national biological service

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friend, M.

    1995-01-01

    A century separates the recent development of the National Biological Service (NBS) and an early predecessor, the Bureau of Biological Survey (BBS). Both organizations were established at critical crossroads for the conservation of the nation's living biological resources and are conservation landmarks of their times. The BBS of the 192()'s was described as 'a government Bureau of the first rank, handling affairs of great scientific, educational, social, and above all, economic importance throughout the United States and its outlying possessions'' (Cameron 1929:144-145). This stature was achieved at a time of great social, economic, and ecological change. BBS had the vision to pioneer new approaches that led to enhanced understanding of the relation between people, other living things, and the environment. The NBS faces similar challenges to address the issues of the 1990's and beyond.

  7. Functions in Biological Kind Classification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lombrozo, Tania; Rehder, Bob

    2012-01-01

    Biological traits that serve functions, such as a zebra's coloration (for camouflage) or a kangaroo's tail (for balance), seem to have a special role in conceptual representations for biological kinds. In five experiments, we investigate whether and why functional features are privileged in biological kind classification. Experiment 1…

  8. Biological and medical sensor technologies

    CERN Document Server

    Iniewski, Krzysztof

    2012-01-01

    Biological and Medical Sensor Technologies presents contributions from top experts who explore the development and implementation of sensors for various applications used in medicine and biology. Edited by a pioneer in the area of advanced semiconductor materials, the book is divided into two sections. The first part covers sensors for biological applications. Topics include: Advanced sensing and communication in the biological world DNA-derivative architectures for long-wavelength bio-sensing Label-free silicon photonics Quartz crystal microbalance-based biosensors Lab-on-chip technologies fo

  9. Generating Systems Biology Markup Language Models from the Synthetic Biology Open Language.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roehner, Nicholas; Zhang, Zhen; Nguyen, Tramy; Myers, Chris J

    2015-08-21

    In the context of synthetic biology, model generation is the automated process of constructing biochemical models based on genetic designs. This paper discusses the use cases for model generation in genetic design automation (GDA) software tools and introduces the foundational concepts of standards and model annotation that make this process useful. Finally, this paper presents an implementation of model generation in the GDA software tool iBioSim and provides an example of generating a Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML) model from a design of a 4-input AND sensor written in the Synthetic Biology Open Language (SBOL).

  10. Learning Biology with Plant Pathology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carroll, Juliet E.

    This monograph contains 10 plant pathology experiments that were written to correspond to portions of a biology curriculum. Each experiment is suitable to a biology topic and designed to encourage exploration of those biological concepts being taught. Experiments include: (1) The Symptoms and Signs of Disease; (2) Koch's Postulates; (3)…

  11. 37 CFR 1.801 - Biological material.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 37 Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Biological material. 1.801... Biological Material § 1.801 Biological material. For the purposes of these regulations pertaining to the deposit of biological material for purposes of patents for inventions under 35 U.S.C. 101, the term...

  12. Excited states in biological systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cilento, G.; Zinner, K.; Bechara, E.J.H.; Duran, N.; Baptista, R.C. de; Shimizu, Y.; Augusto, O.; Faljoni-Alario, A.; Vidigal, C.C.C.; Oliveira, O.M.M.F.; Haun, M.

    1979-01-01

    Some aspects of bioluminescence related to bioenergetics are discussed: 1. chemical generation of excited species, by means of two general processes: electron transference and cyclic - and linear peroxide cleavage; 2. biological systems capable of generating excited states and 3. biological functions of these states, specially the non-emissive ones (tripletes). The production and the role of non-emissive excited states in biological systems are analysed, the main purpose of the study being the search for non-emissive states. Experiences carried out in biological systems are described; results and conclusions are given. (M.A.) [pt

  13. Toward University Modeling Instruction—Biology: Adapting Curricular Frameworks from Physics to Biology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manthey, Seth; Brewe, Eric

    2013-01-01

    University Modeling Instruction (UMI) is an approach to curriculum and pedagogy that focuses instruction on engaging students in building, validating, and deploying scientific models. Modeling Instruction has been successfully implemented in both high school and university physics courses. Studies within the physics education research (PER) community have identified UMI's positive impacts on learning gains, equity, attitudinal shifts, and self-efficacy. While the success of this pedagogical approach has been recognized within the physics community, the use of models and modeling practices is still being developed for biology. Drawing from the existing research on UMI in physics, we describe the theoretical foundations of UMI and how UMI can be adapted to include an emphasis on models and modeling for undergraduate introductory biology courses. In particular, we discuss our ongoing work to develop a framework for the first semester of a two-semester introductory biology course sequence by identifying the essential basic models for an introductory biology course sequence. PMID:23737628

  14. Toward university modeling instruction--biology: adapting curricular frameworks from physics to biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manthey, Seth; Brewe, Eric

    2013-06-01

    University Modeling Instruction (UMI) is an approach to curriculum and pedagogy that focuses instruction on engaging students in building, validating, and deploying scientific models. Modeling Instruction has been successfully implemented in both high school and university physics courses. Studies within the physics education research (PER) community have identified UMI's positive impacts on learning gains, equity, attitudinal shifts, and self-efficacy. While the success of this pedagogical approach has been recognized within the physics community, the use of models and modeling practices is still being developed for biology. Drawing from the existing research on UMI in physics, we describe the theoretical foundations of UMI and how UMI can be adapted to include an emphasis on models and modeling for undergraduate introductory biology courses. In particular, we discuss our ongoing work to develop a framework for the first semester of a two-semester introductory biology course sequence by identifying the essential basic models for an introductory biology course sequence.

  15. On the limitations of standard statistical modeling in biological systems: a full Bayesian approach for biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gomez-Ramirez, Jaime; Sanz, Ricardo

    2013-09-01

    One of the most important scientific challenges today is the quantitative and predictive understanding of biological function. Classical mathematical and computational approaches have been enormously successful in modeling inert matter, but they may be inadequate to address inherent features of biological systems. We address the conceptual and methodological obstacles that lie in the inverse problem in biological systems modeling. We introduce a full Bayesian approach (FBA), a theoretical framework to study biological function, in which probability distributions are conditional on biophysical information that physically resides in the biological system that is studied by the scientist. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. The Importance of Biological Databases in Biological Discovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baxevanis, Andreas D; Bateman, Alex

    2015-06-19

    Biological databases play a central role in bioinformatics. They offer scientists the opportunity to access a wide variety of biologically relevant data, including the genomic sequences of an increasingly broad range of organisms. This unit provides a brief overview of major sequence databases and portals, such as GenBank, the UCSC Genome Browser, and Ensembl. Model organism databases, including WormBase, The Arabidopsis Information Resource (TAIR), and those made available through the Mouse Genome Informatics (MGI) resource, are also covered. Non-sequence-centric databases, such as Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM), the Protein Data Bank (PDB), MetaCyc, and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), are also discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

  17. Biological treatment of Crohn's disease

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Ole Haagen; Bjerrum, Jacob Tveiten; Seidelin, Jakob Benedict

    2012-01-01

    Introduction of biological agents for the treatment of Crohn's disease (CD) has led to a transformation of the treatment paradigm. Several biological compounds have been approved for patients with CD refractory to conventional treatment: infliximab, adalimumab and certolizumab pegol (and...... natalizumab in several countries outside the European Union). However, despite the use of biologics for more than a decade, questions still remain about the true efficacy and the best treatment regimens - especially about when to discontinue treatment. Furthermore, a need for optimizing treatment...... with biologics still exists, as 20-40% of patients with CD (depending on selection criteria) do not have any relevant response to the current biological agents (i.e. primary failures). A better patient selection might maximize the clinical outcome while minimizing the complications associated with this type...

  18. Synergistic Synthetic Biology: Units in Concert

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trosset, Jean-Yves; Carbonell, Pablo

    2013-01-01

    Synthetic biology aims at translating the methods and strategies from engineering into biology in order to streamline the design and construction of biological devices through standardized parts. Modular synthetic biology devices are designed by means of an adequate elimination of cross-talk that makes circuits orthogonal and specific. To that end, synthetic constructs need to be adequately optimized through in silico modeling by choosing the right complement of genetic parts and by experimental tuning through directed evolution and craftsmanship. In this review, we consider an additional and complementary tool available to the synthetic biologist for innovative design and successful construction of desired circuit functionalities: biological synergies. Synergy is a prevalent emergent property in biological systems that arises from the concerted action of multiple factors producing an amplification or cancelation effect compared with individual actions alone. Synergies appear in domains as diverse as those involved in chemical and protein activity, polypharmacology, and metabolic pathway complementarity. In conventional synthetic biology designs, synergistic cross-talk between parts and modules is generally attenuated in order to verify their orthogonality. Synergistic interactions, however, can induce emergent behavior that might prove useful for synthetic biology applications, like in functional circuit design, multi-drug treatment, or in sensing and delivery devices. Synergistic design principles are therefore complementary to those coming from orthogonal design and may provide added value to synthetic biology applications. The appropriate modeling, characterization, and design of synergies between biological parts and units will allow the discovery of yet unforeseeable, novel synthetic biology applications. PMID:25022769

  19. Synergistic Synthetic Biology: Units in Concert

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Trosset, Jean-Yves; Carbonell, Pablo

    2013-01-01

    Synthetic biology aims at translating the methods and strategies from engineering into biology in order to streamline the design and construction of biological devices through standardized parts. Modular synthetic biology devices are designed by means of an adequate elimination of cross-talk that makes circuits orthogonal and specific. To that end, synthetic constructs need to be adequately optimized through in silico modeling by choosing the right complement of genetic parts and by experimental tuning through directed evolution and craftsmanship. In this review, we consider an additional and complementary tool available to the synthetic biologist for innovative design and successful construction of desired circuit functionalities: biological synergies. Synergy is a prevalent emergent property in biological systems that arises from the concerted action of multiple factors producing an amplification or cancelation effect compared with individual actions alone. Synergies appear in domains as diverse as those involved in chemical and protein activity, polypharmacology, and metabolic pathway complementarity. In conventional synthetic biology designs, synergistic cross-talk between parts and modules is generally attenuated in order to verify their orthogonality. Synergistic interactions, however, can induce emergent behavior that might prove useful for synthetic biology applications, like in functional circuit design, multi-drug treatment, or in sensing and delivery devices. Synergistic design principles are therefore complementary to those coming from orthogonal design and may provide added value to synthetic biology applications. The appropriate modeling, characterization, and design of synergies between biological parts and units will allow the discovery of yet unforeseeable, novel synthetic biology applications.

  20. On the Edge of Mathematics and Biology Integration: Improving Quantitative Skills in Undergraduate Biology Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feser, Jason; Vasaly, Helen; Herrera, Jose

    2013-01-01

    In this paper, the authors describe how two institutions are helping their undergraduate biology students build quantitative competencies. Incorporation of quantitative skills and reasoning in biology are framed through a discussion of two cases that both concern introductory biology courses, but differ in the complexity of the mathematics and the…

  1. Towards physical principles of biological evolution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katsnelson, Mikhail I.; Wolf, Yuri I.; Koonin, Eugene V.

    2018-03-01

    Biological systems reach organizational complexity that far exceeds the complexity of any known inanimate objects. Biological entities undoubtedly obey the laws of quantum physics and statistical mechanics. However, is modern physics sufficient to adequately describe, model and explain the evolution of biological complexity? Detailed parallels have been drawn between statistical thermodynamics and the population-genetic theory of biological evolution. Based on these parallels, we outline new perspectives on biological innovation and major transitions in evolution, and introduce a biological equivalent of thermodynamic potential that reflects the innovation propensity of an evolving population. Deep analogies have been suggested to also exist between the properties of biological entities and processes, and those of frustrated states in physics, such as glasses. Such systems are characterized by frustration whereby local state with minimal free energy conflict with the global minimum, resulting in ‘emergent phenomena’. We extend such analogies by examining frustration-type phenomena, such as conflicts between different levels of selection, in biological evolution. These frustration effects appear to drive the evolution of biological complexity. We further address evolution in multidimensional fitness landscapes from the point of view of percolation theory and suggest that percolation at level above the critical threshold dictates the tree-like evolution of complex organisms. Taken together, these multiple connections between fundamental processes in physics and biology imply that construction of a meaningful physical theory of biological evolution might not be a futile effort. However, it is unrealistic to expect that such a theory can be created in one scoop; if it ever comes to being, this can only happen through integration of multiple physical models of evolutionary processes. Furthermore, the existing framework of theoretical physics is unlikely to suffice

  2. Synthetic Biology and Personalized Medicine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jain, K.K.

    2013-01-01

    Synthetic biology, application of synthetic chemistry to biology, is a broad term that covers the engineering of biological systems with structures and functions not found in nature to process information, manipulate chemicals, produce energy, maintain cell environment and enhance human health. Synthetic biology devices contribute not only to improve our understanding of disease mechanisms, but also provide novel diagnostic tools. Methods based on synthetic biology enable the design of novel strategies for the treatment of cancer, immune diseases metabolic disorders and infectious diseases as well as the production of cheap drugs. The potential of synthetic genome, using an expanded genetic code that is designed for specific drug synthesis as well as delivery and activation of the drug in vivo by a pathological signal, was already pointed out during a lecture delivered at Kuwait University in 2005. Of two approaches to synthetic biology, top-down and bottom-up, the latter is more relevant to the development of personalized medicines as it provides more flexibility in constructing a partially synthetic cell from basic building blocks for a desired task. PMID:22907209

  3. Dual Causality and the Autonomy of Biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bock, Walter J

    2017-03-01

    Ernst Mayr's concept of dual causality in biology with the two forms of causes (proximate and ultimate) continues to provide an essential foundation for the philosophy of biology. They are equivalent to functional (=proximate) and evolutionary (=ultimate) causes with both required for full biological explanations. The natural sciences can be classified into nomological, historical nomological and historical dual causality, the last including only biology. Because evolutionary causality is unique to biology and must be included for all complete biological explanations, biology is autonomous from the physical sciences.

  4. US Competitiveness in Synthetic Biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gronvall, Gigi Kwik

    2015-01-01

    Synthetic biology is an emerging technical field that aims to make biology easier to engineer; the field has applications in strategically important sectors for the US economy. While the United States currently leads in synthetic biology R&D, other nations are heavily investing in order to boost their economies, which will inevitably diminish the US leadership position. This outcome is not entirely negative--additional investments will expand markets--but it is critical that the US government take steps to remain competitive: There are applications from which the US population and economy may benefit; there are specific applications with importance for national defense; and US technical leadership will ensure that US experts have a leading role in synthetic biology governance, regulation, and oversight. Measures to increase competitiveness in S&T generally are broadly applicable for synthetic biology and should be pursued. However, the US government will also need to take action on fundamental issues that will affect the field's development, such as countering anti-GMO (genetically modified organism) sentiments and anti-GMO legislation. The United States should maintain its regulatory approach so that it is the product that is regulated, not the method used to create a product. At the same time, the United States needs to ensure that the regulatory framework is updated so that synthetic biology products do not fall into regulatory gaps. Finally, the United States needs to pay close attention to how synthetic biology applications may be governed internationally, such as through the Nagoya Protocol of the Convention on Biological Diversity, so that beneficial applications may be realized.

  5. From biologically-inspired physics to physics-inspired biology From biologically-inspired physics to physics-inspired biology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kornyshev, Alexei A.

    2010-10-01

    The conference 'From DNA-Inspired Physics to Physics-Inspired Biology' (1-5 June 2009, International Center for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy) that myself and two former presidents of the American Biophysical Society—Wilma Olson (Rutgers University) and Adrian Parsegian (NIH), with the support of an ICTP team (Ralf Gebauer (Local Organizer) and Doreen Sauleek (Conference Secretary)), have organized was intended to establish stronger links between the biology and physics communities on the DNA front. The relationships between them were never easy. In 1997, Adrian published a paper in Physics Today ('Harness the Hubris') summarizing his thoughts about the main obstacles for a successful collaboration. The bottom line of that article was that physicists must seriously learn biology before exploring it and even having an interpreter, a friend or co-worker, who will be cooperating with you and translating the problems of biology into a physical language, may not be enough. He started his story with a joke about a physicist asking a biologist: 'I want to study the brain. Tell me something about it!' Biologist: 'First, the brain consists of two parts, and..' Physicist: 'Stop. You have told me too much.' Adrian listed a few direct avenues where physicists' contributions may be particularly welcome. This gentle and elegantly written paper caused, however, a stormy reaction from Bob Austin (Princeton), published together with Adrian's notes, accusing Adrian of forbidding physicists to attack big questions in biology straightaway. Twelve years have passed and many new developments have taken place in the biologist-physicist interaction. This was something I addressed in my opening conference speech, with my position lying somewhere inbetween Parsegian's and Austin's, which is briefly outlined here. I will first recall certain precepts or 'dogmas' that fly in the air like Valkyries, poisoning those relationships. Since the early seventies when I was a first year Ph

  6. Modular analysis of biological networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaltenbach, Hans-Michael; Stelling, Jörg

    2012-01-01

    The analysis of complex biological networks has traditionally relied on decomposition into smaller, semi-autonomous units such as individual signaling pathways. With the increased scope of systems biology (models), rational approaches to modularization have become an important topic. With increasing acceptance of de facto modularity in biology, widely different definitions of what constitutes a module have sparked controversies. Here, we therefore review prominent classes of modular approaches based on formal network representations. Despite some promising research directions, several important theoretical challenges remain open on the way to formal, function-centered modular decompositions for dynamic biological networks.

  7. Telemetry System of Biological Parameters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jan Spisak

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available The mobile telemetry system of biological parameters serves for reading and wireless data transfer of measured values of selected biological parameters to an outlying computer. It concerns basically long time monitoring of vital function of car pilot.The goal of this projects is to propose mobile telemetry system for reading, wireless transfer and processing of biological parameters of car pilot during physical and psychical stress. It has to be made with respect to minimal consumption, weight and maximal device mobility. This system has to eliminate signal noise, which is created by biological artifacts and disturbances during the data transfer.

  8. PENGEMBANGAN BUKU AJAR BIOLOGI SEL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ritia Rahmawati

    2016-09-01

    Matakuliah Biologi Sel merupakan salah satu matakuliah wajib yang ditempuh oleh mahasiswa tingkat S1 Pendidikan Biologi Universitas Negeri Malang Referensi yang digunakan dalam pembelajaran matakuliah Biologi Sel belum ada referensi yang berbasis penelitian virtual screening dengan bahasa Indonesia sebagai bahasa pengantar. Tujuan penelitian ini yaitu pengembangan buku ajar biologi sel berbasis penelitian bioinformatika. Metode penelitian yang digunakan adalah metode pengembangan Dick and Carey (2009. Hasil penelitian ini yaitu produk berupa buku ajar yang berbasis penelitian virtual screening yang telah dilakukan validasi ahli (ahli materi dan ahli media pembelajaran dengan nilai 80% dan pengguna buku dengan nilai 89%.

  9. The emerging molecular biology toolbox for the study of long noncoding RNA biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fok, Ezio T; Scholefield, Janine; Fanucchi, Stephanie; Mhlanga, Musa M

    2017-10-01

    Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been implicated in many biological processes. However, due to the unique nature of lncRNAs and the consequential difficulties associated with their characterization, there is a growing disparity between the rate at which lncRNAs are being discovered and the assignment of biological function to these transcripts. Here we present a molecular biology toolbox equipped to help dissect aspects of lncRNA biology and reveal functionality. We outline an approach that begins with a broad survey of genome-wide, high-throughput datasets to identify potential lncRNA candidates and then narrow the focus on specific methods that are well suited to interrogate the transcripts of interest more closely. This involves the use of imaging-based strategies to validate these candidates and observe the behaviors of these transcripts at single molecule resolution in individual cells. We also describe the use of gene editing tools and interactome capture techniques to interrogate functionality and infer mechanism, respectively. With the emergence of lncRNAs as important molecules in healthy and diseased cellular function, it remains crucial to deepen our understanding of their biology.

  10. Approaches to chemical synthetic biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiarabelli, Cristiano; Stano, Pasquale; Anella, Fabrizio; Carrara, Paolo; Luisi, Pier Luigi

    2012-07-16

    Synthetic biology is first represented in terms of two complementary aspects, the bio-engineering one, based on the genetic manipulation of extant microbial forms in order to obtain forms of life which do not exist in nature; and the chemical synthetic biology, an approach mostly based on chemical manipulation for the laboratory synthesis of biological structures that do not exist in nature. The paper is mostly devoted to shortly review chemical synthetic biology projects currently carried out in our laboratory. In particular, we describe: the minimal cell project, then the "Never Born Proteins" and lastly the Never Born RNAs. We describe and critically analyze the main results, emphasizing the possible relevance of chemical synthetic biology for the progress in basic science and biotechnology. Copyright © 2012 Federation of European Biochemical Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Micro-separation toward systems biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Bi-Feng; Xu, Bo; Zhang, Guisen; Du, Wei; Luo, Qingming

    2006-02-17

    Current biology is experiencing transformation in logic or philosophy that forces us to reevaluate the concept of cell, tissue or entire organism as a collection of individual components. Systems biology that aims at understanding biological system at the systems level is an emerging research area, which involves interdisciplinary collaborations of life sciences, computational and mathematical sciences, systems engineering, and analytical technology, etc. For analytical chemistry, developing innovative methods to meet the requirement of systems biology represents new challenges as also opportunities and responsibility. In this review, systems biology-oriented micro-separation technologies are introduced for comprehensive profiling of genome, proteome and metabolome, characterization of biomolecules interaction and single cell analysis such as capillary electrophoresis, ultra-thin layer gel electrophoresis, micro-column liquid chromatography, and their multidimensional combinations, parallel integrations, microfabricated formats, and nano technology involvement. Future challenges and directions are also suggested.

  12. Molecular biology: Self-sustaining chemistry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wrede Paul

    2007-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Molecular biology is an established interdisciplinary field within biology that deals fundamentally with the function of any nucleic acid in the cellular context. The molecular biology section in Chemistry Central Journal focusses on the genetically determined chemistry and biochemistry occuring in the cell. How can thousands of chemical reactions interact smoothly to maintain the life of cells, even in a variable environment? How is this self-sustaining system achieved? These are questions that should be answered in the light of molecular biology and evolution, but with the application of biophysical, physico-chemical, analytical and preparative technologies. As the Section Editor for the molecular biology section in Chemistry Central Journal, I hope to receive manuscripts that present new approaches aimed at better answering and shedding light upon these fascinating questions related to the chemistry of livings cells.

  13. Clinical oncology based upon radiation biology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hirata, Hideki

    2016-01-01

    This paper discussed the biological effects of radiation as physical energy, especially those of X-ray as electromagnetic radiation, by associating the position of clinical oncology with classical radiation cell biology as well as recent molecular biology. First, it described the physical and biological effects of radiation, cell death due to radiation and recovery, radiation effects at tissue level, and location information and dosage information in the radiotherapy of cancer. It also described the territories unresolved through radiation biology, such as low-dose high-sensitivity, bystander effects, etc. (A.O.)

  14. Marine biology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thurman, H.V.; Webber, H.H.

    1984-01-01

    This book discusses both taxonomic and ecological topics on marine biology. Full coverage of marine organisms of all five kingdoms is provided, along with interesting and thorough discussion of all major marine habitats. Organization into six major parts allows flexibility. It also provides insight into important topics such as disposal of nuclear waste at sea, the idea that life began on the ocean floor, and how whales, krill, and people interact. A full-color photo chapter reviews questions, and exercises. The contents are: an overview marine biology: fundamental concepts/investigating life in the ocean; the physical ocean, the ocean floor, the nature of water, the nature and motion of ocean water; general ecology, conditions for life in the sea, biological productivity and energy transfer; marine organisms; monera, protista, mycota and metaphyta; the smaller marine animals, the large animals marine habitats, the intertidal zone/benthos of the continental shelf, the photic zone, the deep ocean, the ocean under stress, marine pollution, appendix a: the metric system and conversion factors/ appendix b: prefixes and suffixes/ appendix c: taxonomic classification of common marine organisms, and glossary, and index

  15. The diversification of developmental biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crowe, Nathan; Dietrich, Michael R; Alomepe, Beverly S; Antrim, Amelia F; ByrneSim, Bay Lauris; He, Yi

    2015-10-01

    In the 1960s, "developmental biology" became the dominant term to describe some of the research that had previously been included under the rubrics of embryology, growth, morphology, and physiology. As scientific societies formed under this new label, a new discipline took shape. Historians, however, have a number of different perspectives on what changes led to this new field of developmental biology and how the field itself was constituted during this period. Using the General Embryological Information Service, a global index of post-World War II development-related research, we have documented and visualized significant changes in the kinds of research that occurred as this new field formed. In particular, our analysis supports the claim that the transition toward developmental biology was marked by a growth in new topics and forms of research. Although many historians privilege the role of molecular biology and/or the molecularization of biology in general during this formative period, we have found that the influence of molecular biology is not sufficient to account for the wide range of new research that constituted developmental biology at the time. Overall, our work creates a robust characterization of the changes that occurred with regard to research on growth and development in the decades following World War II and provides a context for future work on the specific drivers of those changes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. pGLO Mutagenesis: A Laboratory Procedure in Molecular Biology for Biology Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bassiri, Eby A.

    2011-01-01

    A five-session laboratory project was designed to familiarize or increase the laboratory proficiency of biology students and others with techniques and instruments commonly used in molecular biology research laboratories and industries. In this project, the EZ-Tn5 transposon is used to generate and screen a large number of cells transformed with…

  17. Review of domestic radiation biology research

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zheng Chun; Song Lingli; Ai Zihui

    2011-01-01

    Radiation biology research in China during the past ten years are reviewed. It should be noticed that radiation-biology should focus on microdosimetry, microbeam application, and radiation biological mechanism. (authors)

  18. Biological response modifiers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Weller, R.E.

    1991-10-01

    Much of what used to be called immunotherapy is now included in the term biological response modifiers. Biological response modifiers (BRMs) are defined as those agents or approaches that modify the relationship between the tumor and host by modifying the host's biological response to tumor cells with resultant therapeutic effects.'' Most of the early work with BRMs centered around observations of spontaneous tumor regression and the association of tumor regression with concurrent bacterial infections. The BRM can modify the host response in the following ways: Increase the host's antitumor responses through augmentation and/or restoration of effector mechanisms or mediators of the host's defense or decrease the deleterious component by the host's reaction; Increase the host's defenses by the administration of natural biologics (or the synthetic derivatives thereof) as effectors or mediators of an antitumor response; Augment the host's response to modified tumor cells or vaccines, which might stimulate a greater response by the host or increase tumor-cell sensitivity to an existing response; Decrease the transformation and/or increase differentiation (maturation) of tumor cells; or Increase the ability of the host to tolerate damage by cytotoxic modalities of cancer treatment.

  19. A review of multi-threat medical countermeasures against chemical warfare and terrorism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cowan, Fred M; Broomfield, Clarence A; Stojiljkovic, Milos P; Smith, William J

    2004-11-01

    The Multi-Threat Medical Countermeasure (MTMC) hypothesis has been proposed with the aim of developing a single countermeasure drug with efficacy against different pathologies caused by multiple classes of chemical warfare agents. Although sites and mechanisms of action and the pathologies caused by different chemical insults vary, common biochemical signaling pathways, molecular mediators, and cellular processes provide targets for MTMC drugs. This article will review the MTMC hypothesis for blister and nerve agents and will expand the scope of the concept to include other chemicals as well as briefly consider biological agents. The article will also consider how common biochemical signaling pathways, molecular mediators, and cellular processes that contribute to clinical pathologies and syndromes may relate to the toxicity of threat agents. Discovery of MTMC provides the opportunity for the integration of diverse researchers and clinicians, and for the exploitation of cutting-edge technologies and drug discovery. The broad-spectrum nature of MTMC can augment military and civil defense to combat chemical warfare and chemical terrorism.

  20. Synthetic biology: Emerging bioengineering in Indonesia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suhandono, Sony

    2017-05-01

    The development of synthetic biology will shape the new era of science and technology. It is an emerging bioengineering technique involving genetic engineering which can alter the phenotype and behavior of the cell or the new product. Synthetic biology may produce biomaterials, drugs, vaccines, biosensors, and even a recombinant secondary metabolite used in herbal and complementary medicine, such as artemisinin, a malaria drug which is usually extracted from the plant Artemisia annua. The power of synthetic biology has encouraged scientists in Indonesia, and is still in early development. This paper also covers some research from an Indonesian research institute in synthetic biology such as observing the production of bio surfactants and the enhanced production of artemisinin using a transient expression system. Synthetic biology development in Indonesia may also be related to the iGEM competition, a large synthetic biology research competition which was attended by several universities in Indonesia. The application of synthetic biology for drug discovery will be discussed.

  1. Mapping biological systems to network systems

    CERN Document Server

    Rathore, Heena

    2016-01-01

    The book presents the challenges inherent in the paradigm shift of network systems from static to highly dynamic distributed systems – it proposes solutions that the symbiotic nature of biological systems can provide into altering networking systems to adapt to these changes. The author discuss how biological systems – which have the inherent capabilities of evolving, self-organizing, self-repairing and flourishing with time – are inspiring researchers to take opportunities from the biology domain and map them with the problems faced in network domain. The book revolves around the central idea of bio-inspired systems -- it begins by exploring why biology and computer network research are such a natural match. This is followed by presenting a broad overview of biologically inspired research in network systems -- it is classified by the biological field that inspired each topic and by the area of networking in which that topic lies. Each case elucidates how biological concepts have been most successfully ...

  2. World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) Guidelines for Biological Treatment of Schizophrenia, Part 2

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hasan, Alkomiet; Falkai, Peter; Wobrock, Thomas

    2013-01-01

    These updated guidelines are based on a first edition of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) guidelines for biological treatment of schizophrenia published in 2006. For this 2012 revision, all available publications pertaining to the biological treatment of schizoph...

  3. World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) Guidelines for Biological Treatment of Schizophrenia, part 1

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hasan, Alkomiet; Falkai, Peter; Wobrock, Thomas

    2012-01-01

    These updated guidelines are based on a first edition of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry Guidelines for Biological Treatment of Schizophrenia published in 2005. For this 2012 revision, all available publications pertaining to the biological treatment of schizophrenia we...

  4. Psoriasis : implications of biologics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lecluse, L.L.A.

    2010-01-01

    Since the end of 2004 several specific immunomodulating therapies: ‘biologic response modifiers’ or ‘biologics’ have been registered for moderate to severe psoriasis in Europe. This thesis is considering the implications of the introduction of the biologics for psoriasis patients, focusing on safety

  5. The Synthetic Biology Open Language (SBOL) provides a community standard for communicating designs in synthetic biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galdzicki, Michal; Clancy, Kevin P; Oberortner, Ernst; Pocock, Matthew; Quinn, Jacqueline Y; Rodriguez, Cesar A; Roehner, Nicholas; Wilson, Mandy L; Adam, Laura; Anderson, J Christopher; Bartley, Bryan A; Beal, Jacob; Chandran, Deepak; Chen, Joanna; Densmore, Douglas; Endy, Drew; Grünberg, Raik; Hallinan, Jennifer; Hillson, Nathan J; Johnson, Jeffrey D; Kuchinsky, Allan; Lux, Matthew; Misirli, Goksel; Peccoud, Jean; Plahar, Hector A; Sirin, Evren; Stan, Guy-Bart; Villalobos, Alan; Wipat, Anil; Gennari, John H; Myers, Chris J; Sauro, Herbert M

    2014-06-01

    The re-use of previously validated designs is critical to the evolution of synthetic biology from a research discipline to an engineering practice. Here we describe the Synthetic Biology Open Language (SBOL), a proposed data standard for exchanging designs within the synthetic biology community. SBOL represents synthetic biology designs in a community-driven, formalized format for exchange between software tools, research groups and commercial service providers. The SBOL Developers Group has implemented SBOL as an XML/RDF serialization and provides software libraries and specification documentation to help developers implement SBOL in their own software. We describe early successes, including a demonstration of the utility of SBOL for information exchange between several different software tools and repositories from both academic and industrial partners. As a community-driven standard, SBOL will be updated as synthetic biology evolves to provide specific capabilities for different aspects of the synthetic biology workflow.

  6. Biological Dialogues: How to Teach Your Students to Learn Fluency in Biology

    Science.gov (United States)

    May, S. Randolph; Cook, David L.; May, Marilyn K.

    2013-01-01

    Biology courses have thousands of words to learn in order to intelligently discuss the subject and take tests over the material. Biological fluency is an important goal for students, and practical methods based on constructivist pedagogies can be employed to promote it. We present a method in which pairs of students write dialogues from…

  7. Unaffected perceptual thresholds for biological and non-biological form-from-motion perception in autism spectrum conditions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ayse Pinar Saygin

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available Perception of biological motion is linked to the action perception system in the human brain, abnormalities within which have been suggested to underlie impairments in social domains observed in autism spectrum conditions (ASC. However, the literature on biological motion perception in ASC is heterogeneous and it is unclear whether deficits are specific to biological motion, or might generalize to form-from-motion perception.We compared psychophysical thresholds for both biological and non-biological form-from-motion perception in adults with ASC and controls. Participants viewed point-light displays depicting a walking person (Biological Motion, a translating rectangle (Structured Object or a translating unfamiliar shape (Unstructured Object. The figures were embedded in noise dots that moved similarly and the task was to determine direction of movement. The number of noise dots varied on each trial and perceptual thresholds were estimated adaptively. We found no evidence for an impairment in biological or non-biological object motion perception in individuals with ASC. Perceptual thresholds in the three conditions were almost identical between the ASC and control groups.Impairments in biological motion and non-biological form-from-motion perception are not across the board in ASC, and are only found for some stimuli and tasks. We discuss our results in relation to other findings in the literature, the heterogeneity of which likely relates to the different tasks performed. It appears that individuals with ASC are unaffected in perceptual processing of form-from-motion, but may exhibit impairments in higher order judgments such as emotion processing. It is important to identify more specifically which processes of motion perception are impacted in ASC before a link can be made between perceptual deficits and the higher-level features of the disorder.

  8. Understanding Biological Regulation Through Synthetic Biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bashor, Caleb J; Collins, James J

    2018-03-16

    Engineering synthetic gene regulatory circuits proceeds through iterative cycles of design, building, and testing. Initial circuit designs must rely on often-incomplete models of regulation established by fields of reductive inquiry-biochemistry and molecular and systems biology. As differences in designed and experimentally observed circuit behavior are inevitably encountered, investigated, and resolved, each turn of the engineering cycle can force a resynthesis in understanding of natural network function. Here, we outline research that uses the process of gene circuit engineering to advance biological discovery. Synthetic gene circuit engineering research has not only refined our understanding of cellular regulation but furnished biologists with a toolkit that can be directed at natural systems to exact precision manipulation of network structure. As we discuss, using circuit engineering to predictively reorganize, rewire, and reconstruct cellular regulation serves as the ultimate means of testing and understanding how cellular phenotype emerges from systems-level network function. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Biophysics Volume 47 is May 20, 2018. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

  9. Synthetic biology: engineering molecular computers

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN. Geneva

    2018-01-01

    Complicated systems cannot survive the rigors of a chaotic environment, without balancing mechanisms that sense, decide upon and counteract the exerted disturbances. Especially so with living organisms, forced by competition to incredible complexities, escalating also their self-controlling plight. Therefore, they compute. Can we harness biological mechanisms to create artificial computing systems? Biology offers several levels of design abstraction: molecular machines, cells, organisms... ranging from the more easily-defined to the more inherently complex. At the bottom of this stack we find the nucleic acids, RNA and DNA, with their digital structure and relatively precise interactions. They are central enablers of designing artificial biological systems, in the confluence of engineering and biology, that we call Synthetic biology. In the first part, let us follow their trail towards an overview of building computing machines with molecules -- and in the second part, take the case study of iGEM Greece 201...

  10. Finding Hope in Synthetic Biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takala, Tuija

    2017-04-01

    For some, synthetic biology represents great hope in offering possible solutions to many of the world's biggest problems, from hunger to sustainable development. Others remain fearful of the harmful uses, such as bioweapons, that synthetic biology can lend itself to, and most hold that issues of biosafety are of utmost importance. In this article, I will evaluate these points of view and conclude that although the biggest promises of synthetic biology are unlikely to become reality, and the probability of accidents is fairly substantial, synthetic biology could still be seen to benefit humanity by enhancing our ethical understanding and by offering a boost to world economy.

  11. Research progress on space radiation biology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Wenjian; Dang Bingrong; Wang Zhuanzi; Wei Wei; Jing Xigang; Wang Biqian; Zhang Bintuan

    2010-01-01

    Space radiation, particularly induced by the high-energy charged particles, may cause serious injury on living organisms. So it is one critical restriction factor in Manned Spaceflight. Studies have shown that the biological effects of charged particles were associated with their quality, the dose and the different biological end points. In addition, the microgravity conditions may affect the biological effects of space radiation. In this paper we give a review on the biological damage effects of space radiation and the combined biological effects of the space radiation coupled with the microgravity from the results of space flight and ground simulation experiments. (authors)

  12. Synthetic biology: programming cells for biomedical applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hörner, Maximilian; Reischmann, Nadine; Weber, Wilfried

    2012-01-01

    The emerging field of synthetic biology is a novel biological discipline at the interface between traditional biology, chemistry, and engineering sciences. Synthetic biology aims at the rational design of complex synthetic biological devices and systems with desired properties by combining compatible, modular biological parts in a systematic manner. While the first engineered systems were mainly proof-of-principle studies to demonstrate the power of the modular engineering approach of synthetic biology, subsequent systems focus on applications in the health, environmental, and energy sectors. This review describes recent approaches for biomedical applications that were developed along the synthetic biology design hierarchy, at the level of individual parts, of devices, and of complex multicellular systems. It describes how synthetic biological parts can be used for the synthesis of drug-delivery tools, how synthetic biological devices can facilitate the discovery of novel drugs, and how multicellular synthetic ecosystems can give insight into population dynamics of parasites and hosts. These examples demonstrate how this new discipline could contribute to novel solutions in the biopharmaceutical industry.

  13. Philosophy of Systems and Synthetic Biology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Green, Sara

    2017-01-01

    This entry aims to clarify how systems and synthetic biology contribute to and extend discussions within philosophy of science. Unlike fields such as developmental biology or molecular biology, systems and synthetic biology are not easily demarcated by a focus on a specific subject area or level...... of organization. Rather, they are characterized by the development and application of mathematical, computational, and synthetic modeling strategies in response to complex problems and challenges within the life sciences. Proponents of systems and synthetic biology often stress the necessity of a perspective...... that goes beyond the scope of molecular biology and genetic engineering, respectively. With the emphasis on systems and interaction networks, the approaches explicitly engage in one of the oldest philosophical discussions on the relationship between parts and wholes, or between reductionism and holism...

  14. Nuclear radiation in warfare. A SIPRI publication. Strahlungswirkungen beim Einsatz von Kernwaffen. Eine SIPRI-Publikation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rotblat, J.

    1986-01-01

    The subject is covered in chapters, entitled: introduction; digest of nuclear weaponry (characteristics of nuclear weapons; effects of nuclear weapons other than ionizing radiation (fire-ball, fall-out, thermal radiation, blast wave, electromagnetic pulse); the nuclear arms race; war scenarios; biological effects of radiations on man (radiation doses; natural sources of radiation; acute effects of radiation; long-term somatic effects; genetic effects; factors affecting the biological response to radiation; internal exposure; synergistic effects; protection against radiation effects); radiations from nuclear explosions (initial radiation; fall-out; effects of fall-out on animal and plant life; contamination of water and food supplies by fall-out); radiation casualties in a nuclear war; effectiveness of civil defence; other warlike uses of radiation (attacks on civilian nuclear power installations; radiological warfare; terrorist activities); conclusion.

  15. Neutron dosimetry in biology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sigurbjoernsson, B.; Smith, H.H.; Gustafsson, A.

    1965-01-01

    To study adequately the biological effects of different energy neutrons it is necessary to have high-intensity sources which are not contaminated by other radiations, the most serious of which are gamma rays. An effective dosimetry must provide an accurate measure of the absorbed dose, in biological materials, of each type of radiation at any reactor facility involved in radiobiological research. A standardized biological dosimetry, in addition to physical and chemical methods, may be desirable. The ideal data needed to achieve a fully documented dosimetry has been compiled by H. Glubrecht: (1) Energy spectrum and intensity of neutrons; (2) Angular distribution of neutrons on the whole surface of the irradiated object; (3) Additional undesired radiation accompanying the neutrons; (4) Physical state and chemical composition of the irradiated object. It is not sufficient to note only an integral dose value (e.g. in 'rad') as the biological effect depends on the above data

  16. Biophysics and systems biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noble, Denis

    2010-03-13

    Biophysics at the systems level, as distinct from molecular biophysics, acquired its most famous paradigm in the work of Hodgkin and Huxley, who integrated their equations for the nerve impulse in 1952. Their approach has since been extended to other organs of the body, notably including the heart. The modern field of computational biology has expanded rapidly during the first decade of the twenty-first century and, through its contribution to what is now called systems biology, it is set to revise many of the fundamental principles of biology, including the relations between genotypes and phenotypes. Evolutionary theory, in particular, will require re-assessment. To succeed in this, computational and systems biology will need to develop the theoretical framework required to deal with multilevel interactions. While computational power is necessary, and is forthcoming, it is not sufficient. We will also require mathematical insight, perhaps of a nature we have not yet identified. This article is therefore also a challenge to mathematicians to develop such insights.

  17. Biological therapeutics

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Greenstein, Ben; Brook, Daniel A

    2011-01-01

    This introductory textbook covers all the main categories of biological medicines, including vaccines, hormonal preparations, drugs for rheumatoid arthritis and other connective tissue diseases, drugs...

  18. pClone: Synthetic Biology Tool Makes Promoter Research Accessible to Beginning Biology Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, A. Malcolm; Eckdahl, Todd; Cronk, Brian; Andresen, Corinne; Frederick, Paul; Huckuntod, Samantha; Shinneman, Claire; Wacker, Annie; Yuan, Jason

    2014-01-01

    The "Vision and Change" report recommended genuine research experiences for undergraduate biology students. Authentic research improves science education, increases the number of scientifically literate citizens, and encourages students to pursue research. Synthetic biology is well suited for undergraduate research and is a growing area…

  19. On the interplay between mathematics and biology: hallmarks toward a new systems biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bellomo, Nicola; Elaiw, Ahmed; Althiabi, Abdullah M; Alghamdi, Mohammed Ali

    2015-03-01

    This paper proposes a critical analysis of the existing literature on mathematical tools developed toward systems biology approaches and, out of this overview, develops a new approach whose main features can be briefly summarized as follows: derivation of mathematical structures suitable to capture the complexity of biological, hence living, systems, modeling, by appropriate mathematical tools, Darwinian type dynamics, namely mutations followed by selection and evolution. Moreover, multiscale methods to move from genes to cells, and from cells to tissue are analyzed in view of a new systems biology approach. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Workshop Introduction: Systems Biology and Biological Models

    Science.gov (United States)

    As we consider the future of toxicity testing, the importance of applying biological models to this problem is clear. Modeling efforts exist along a continuum with respect to the level of organization (e.g. cell, tissue, organism) linked to the resolution of the model. Generally,...

  1. Biological radioprotector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stefanescu, Ioan; Titescu, Gheorghe; Tamaian, Radu; Haulica, Ion; Bild, Walther

    2002-01-01

    According to the patent description, the biological radioprotector is deuterium depleted water, DDW, produced by vacuum distillation with an isotopic content lower than natural value. It appears as such or in a mixture with natural water and carbon dioxide. It can be used for preventing and reducing the ionizing radiation effects upon humans or animal organisms, exposed therapeutically, professionally or accidentally to radiation. The most significant advantage of using DDW as biological radioprotector results from its way of administration. Indeed no one of the radioprotectors currently used today can be orally administrated, what reduces the patients' compliance to prophylactic administrations. The biological radioprotector is an unnoxious product obtained from natural water, which can be administrated as food additive instead of drinking water. Dose modification factor is according to initial estimates around 1.9, what is a remarkable feature when one takes into account that the product is toxicity-free and side effect-free and can be administrated prophylactically as a food additive. A net radioprotective action of the deuterium depletion was evidenced experimentally in laboratory animals (rats) hydrated with DDW of 30 ppm D/(D+H) concentration as compared with normally hydrated control animals. Knowing the effects of irradiation and mechanisms of the acute radiation disease as well as the effects of administration of radiomimetic chemicals upon cellular lines of fast cell division, it appears that the effects of administrating DDW result from stimulation of the immunity system. In conclusion, the biological radioprotector DDW presents the following advantages: - it is obtained from natural products without toxicity; - it is easy to be administrated as a food additive, replacing the drinking water; - besides radioprotective effects, the product has also immunostimulative and antitumoral effects

  2. Biological Soft Robotics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feinberg, Adam W

    2015-01-01

    In nature, nanometer-scale molecular motors are used to generate force within cells for diverse processes from transcription and transport to muscle contraction. This adaptability and scalability across wide temporal, spatial, and force regimes have spurred the development of biological soft robotic systems that seek to mimic and extend these capabilities. This review describes how molecular motors are hierarchically organized into larger-scale structures in order to provide a basic understanding of how these systems work in nature and the complexity and functionality we hope to replicate in biological soft robotics. These span the subcellular scale to macroscale, and this article focuses on the integration of biological components with synthetic materials, coupled with bioinspired robotic design. Key examples include nanoscale molecular motor-powered actuators, microscale bacteria-controlled devices, and macroscale muscle-powered robots that grasp, walk, and swim. Finally, the current challenges and future opportunities in the field are addressed.

  3. CASPIAN BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. K. Guseynov

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Aim. We present the data on the biological resources of the Caspian Sea, based on the analysis of numerous scientific sources published between years of 1965 and 2011. Due to changes in various biotic and abiotic factors we find it important to discuss the state of the major groups of aquatic biocenosis including algae, crayfish, shrimp, pontogammarus, fish and Caspian seal. Methods. Long-term data has been analyzed on the biology and ecology of the main commercial fish stocks and their projected catches for qualitative and quantitative composition, abundance and biomass of aquatic organisms that make up the food base for fish. Results and discussion. It has been found that the widespread commercial invertebrates in the Caspian Sea are still poorly studied; their stocks are not identified and not used commercially. There is a great concern about the current state of the main commercial fish stocks of the Caspian Sea. A critical challenge is to preserve the pool of biological resources and the restoration of commercial stocks of Caspian fish. For more information about the state of the marine ecosystem in modern conditions, expedition on Caspian Sea should be carried out to study the hydrochemical regime and fish stocks, assessment of sturgeon stocks, as well as the need to conduct sonar survey for sprat stocks. Conclusions. The main condition for preserving the ecosystem of the Caspian Sea and its unique biological resources is to develop and apply environmentally-friendly methods of oil, issuing concerted common fisheries rules in various regions of theCaspian Sea, strengthening of control for sturgeon by all Caspian littoral states. The basic principle of the protection of biological resources is their rational use, based on the preservation of optimal conditions of their natural or artificial reproduction. 

  4. The molecular biology capstone assessment: a concept assessment for upper-division molecular biology students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Couch, Brian A; Wood, William B; Knight, Jennifer K

    2015-03-02

    Measuring students' conceptual understandings has become increasingly important to biology faculty members involved in evaluating and improving departmental programs. We developed the Molecular Biology Capstone Assessment (MBCA) to gauge comprehension of fundamental concepts in molecular and cell biology and the ability to apply these concepts in novel scenarios. Targeted at graduating students, the MBCA consists of 18 multiple-true/false (T/F) questions. Each question consists of a narrative stem followed by four T/F statements, which allows a more detailed assessment of student understanding than the traditional multiple-choice format. Questions were iteratively developed with extensive faculty and student feedback, including validation through faculty reviews and response validation through student interviews. The final assessment was taken online by 504 students in upper-division courses at seven institutions. Data from this administration indicate that the MBCA has acceptable levels of internal reliability (α=0.80) and test-retest stability (r=0.93). Students achieved a wide range of scores with a 67% overall average. Performance results suggest that students have an incomplete understanding of many molecular biology concepts and continue to hold incorrect conceptions previously documented among introductory-level students. By pinpointing areas of conceptual difficulty, the MBCA can provide faculty members with guidance for improving undergraduate biology programs. © 2015 B. A. Couch et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2015 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

  5. Using the Biology Card Sorting Task to Measure Changes in Conceptual Expertise during Postsecondary Biology Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bissonnette, Sarah A.; Combs, Elijah D.; Nagami, Paul H.; Byers, Victor; Fernandez, Juliana; Le, Dinh; Realin, Jared; Woodham, Selina; Smith, Julia I.; Tanner, Kimberly D.

    2017-01-01

    While there have been concerted efforts to reform undergraduate biology toward teaching students to organize their conceptual knowledge like experts, there are few tools that attempt to measure this. We previously developed the Biology Card Sorting Task (BCST), designed to probe how individuals organize their conceptual biological knowledge.…

  6. Biological indication in aquatic ecosystems. Biological indication in limnic and coastal ecosystems - fundamentals, techniques, methodology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gunkel, G.

    1994-01-01

    Biological methods of water quality evaluation today form an integral part of environmental monitoring and permit to continuously monitor the condition of aquatic ecosystems. They indicate both improvements in water quality following redevelopment measures, and the sometimes insidious deterioration of water quality. This book on biological indication in aquatic ecosystems is a compendium of measurement and evaluation techniques for limnic systems by means of biological parameters. At present, however, an intense discussion of biological evaluation techniques is going on, for one thing as a consequence of the German reunification and the need to unify evaluation techniques, and for another because of harmonizations within the European Community. (orig./EF) [de

  7. Mathematical models in biological discovery

    CERN Document Server

    Walter, Charles

    1977-01-01

    When I was asked to help organize an American Association for the Advancement of Science symposium about how mathematical models have con­ tributed to biology, I agreed immediately. The subject is of immense importance and wide-spread interest. However, too often it is discussed in biologically sterile environments by "mutual admiration society" groups of "theoreticians", many of whom have never seen, and most of whom have never done, an original scientific experiment with the biolog­ ical materials they attempt to describe in abstract (and often prejudiced) terms. The opportunity to address the topic during an annual meeting of the AAAS was irresistable. In order to try to maintain the integrity ;,f the original intent of the symposium, it was entitled, "Contributions of Mathematical Models to Biological Discovery". This symposium was organized by Daniel Solomon and myself, held during the 141st annual meeting of the AAAS in New York during January, 1975, sponsored by sections G and N (Biological and Medic...

  8. Synthetic biology, inspired by synthetic chemistry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malinova, V; Nallani, M; Meier, W P; Sinner, E K

    2012-07-16

    The topic synthetic biology appears still as an 'empty basket to be filled'. However, there is already plenty of claims and visions, as well as convincing research strategies about the theme of synthetic biology. First of all, synthetic biology seems to be about the engineering of biology - about bottom-up and top-down approaches, compromising complexity versus stability of artificial architectures, relevant in biology. Synthetic biology accounts for heterogeneous approaches towards minimal and even artificial life, the engineering of biochemical pathways on the organismic level, the modelling of molecular processes and finally, the combination of synthetic with nature-derived materials and architectural concepts, such as a cellular membrane. Still, synthetic biology is a discipline, which embraces interdisciplinary attempts in order to have a profound, scientific base to enable the re-design of nature and to compose architectures and processes with man-made matter. We like to give an overview about the developments in the field of synthetic biology, regarding polymer-based analogs of cellular membranes and what questions can be answered by applying synthetic polymer science towards the smallest unit in life, namely a cell. Copyright © 2012 Federation of European Biochemical Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Quantum biological gravitational wave detectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kopvillem, U.Kh.

    1985-01-01

    A possibility of producing biological detectors of gravitational waves is considered. High sensitivity of biological systems to outer effects can be ensured by existence of molecule subgroups in Dicke states. Existence of clusters in Dicke state-giant electric dipoles (GED) is supposed in the Froehlich theory. Comparison of biological and physical detectors shows that GED systems have unique properties for detection of gravitational waves if the reception range is narrow

  10. The biological effectiveness of antiproton irradiation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holzscheiter, Michael H.; Bassler, Niels; Agazaryan, Nzhde

    2006-01-01

    ever measurements of the biological effectiveness of antiprotons. Materials and methods: V79 cells were suspended in a semi-solid matrix and irradiated with 46.7 MeV antiprotons, 48 MeV protons, or 60Co c-rays. Clonogenic survival was determined as a function of depth along the particle beams. Dose...... and particle fluence response relationships were constructed from data in the plateau and Bragg peak regions of the beams and used to assess the biological effectiveness. Results: Due to uncertainties in antiproton dosimetry we defined a new term, called the biologically effective dose ratio (BEDR), which...... has a higher relative biological effectiveness (RBE). Conclusion: We have produced the first measurements of the biological consequences of antiproton irradiation. These data substantiate theoretical predictions of the biological effects of antiproton annihilation within the Bragg peak, and suggest...

  11. Integrating systems biology models and biomedical ontologies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoehndorf, Robert; Dumontier, Michel; Gennari, John H; Wimalaratne, Sarala; de Bono, Bernard; Cook, Daniel L; Gkoutos, Georgios V

    2011-08-11

    Systems biology is an approach to biology that emphasizes the structure and dynamic behavior of biological systems and the interactions that occur within them. To succeed, systems biology crucially depends on the accessibility and integration of data across domains and levels of granularity. Biomedical ontologies were developed to facilitate such an integration of data and are often used to annotate biosimulation models in systems biology. We provide a framework to integrate representations of in silico systems biology with those of in vivo biology as described by biomedical ontologies and demonstrate this framework using the Systems Biology Markup Language. We developed the SBML Harvester software that automatically converts annotated SBML models into OWL and we apply our software to those biosimulation models that are contained in the BioModels Database. We utilize the resulting knowledge base for complex biological queries that can bridge levels of granularity, verify models based on the biological phenomenon they represent and provide a means to establish a basic qualitative layer on which to express the semantics of biosimulation models. We establish an information flow between biomedical ontologies and biosimulation models and we demonstrate that the integration of annotated biosimulation models and biomedical ontologies enables the verification of models as well as expressive queries. Establishing a bi-directional information flow between systems biology and biomedical ontologies has the potential to enable large-scale analyses of biological systems that span levels of granularity from molecules to organisms.

  12. Biological Clocks & Circadian Rhythms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robertson, Laura; Jones, M. Gail

    2009-01-01

    The study of biological clocks and circadian rhythms is an excellent way to address the inquiry strand in the National Science Education Standards (NSES) (NRC 1996). Students can study these everyday phenomena by designing experiments, gathering and analyzing data, and generating new experiments. As students explore biological clocks and circadian…

  13. Systems Biology and Health Systems Complexity in;

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Donald Combs, C.; Barham, S.R.; Sloot, P.M.A.

    2016-01-01

    Systems biology addresses interactions in biological systems at different scales of biological organization, from the molecular to the cellular, organ, organism, societal, and ecosystem levels. This chapter expands on the concept of systems biology, explores its implications for individual patients

  14. Systems biology: the reincarnation of systems theory applied in biology?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolkenhauer, O

    2001-09-01

    With the availability of quantitative data on the transcriptome and proteome level, there is an increasing interest in formal mathematical models of gene expression and regulation. International conferences, research institutes and research groups concerned with systems biology have appeared in recent years and systems theory, the study of organisation and behaviour per se, is indeed a natural conceptual framework for such a task. This is, however, not the first time that systems theory has been applied in modelling cellular processes. Notably in the 1960s systems theory and biology enjoyed considerable interest among eminent scientists, mathematicians and engineers. Why did these early attempts vanish from research agendas? Here we shall review the domain of systems theory, its application to biology and the lessons that can be learned from the work of Robert Rosen. Rosen emerged from the early developments in the 1960s as a main critic but also developed a new alternative perspective to living systems, a concept that deserves a fresh look in the post-genome era of bioinformatics.

  15. Logical analysis of biological systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mardare, Radu Iulian

    2005-01-01

    R. Mardare, Logical analysis of biological systems. Fundamenta Informaticae, N 64:271-285, 2005.......R. Mardare, Logical analysis of biological systems. Fundamenta Informaticae, N 64:271-285, 2005....

  16. Biology of ionizing radiation effects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ferradini, C.; Pucheault, J.

    1983-01-01

    The present trends in biology of ionizing radiation are reviewed. The following topics are investigated: interaction of ionizing radiations with matter; the radiolysis of water and aqueous solutions; properties of the free radicals intervening in the couples O 2 /H 2 O and H 2 O/H 2 ; radiation chemistry of biological compounds; biological effects of ionizing radiations; biochemical mechanisms involving free radicals as intermediates; applications (biotechnological applications, origins of life) [fr

  17. INNOVATION IN ACCOUNTING BIOLOGIC ASSETS

    OpenAIRE

    Stolуarova M. A.; Shcherbina I. D.

    2016-01-01

    The article describes the innovations in the classification and measurement of biological assets according to IFRS (IAS) 41 "Agriculture". The difficulties faced by agricultural producers using standard, set out in article. The classification based on the adopted amendments, according to which the fruit-bearing plants, previously accounted for as biological assets are measured at fair value are included in the category of fixed assets. The structure of biological assets and main means has bee...

  18. Institute for Genomics and Systems Biology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Institute for Genomics and Systems Biology Discover. Predict. Improve. Advancing Human and , 2015 See all Research Papers Featured Video Introduction to Systems Biology Video: Introduction to Systems Biology News Jack Gilbert Heading UChicago Startup that Aims to Predict Behavior of Trillions of

  19. Biological fuel cells and their applications

    OpenAIRE

    Shukla, AK; Suresh, P; Berchmans, S; Rajendran, A

    2004-01-01

    One type of genuine fuel cell that does hold promise in the long-term is the biological fuel cell. Unlike conventional fuel cells, which employ hydrogen, ethanol and methanol as fuel, biological fuel cells use organic products produced by metabolic processes or use organic electron donors utilized in the growth processes as fuels for current generation. A distinctive feature of biological fuel cells is that the electrode reactions are controlled by biocatalysts, i.e. the biological redox-reac...

  20. Synthetic biology as red herring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Preston, Beth

    2013-12-01

    It has become commonplace to say that with the advent of technologies like synthetic biology the line between artifacts and living organisms, policed by metaphysicians since antiquity, is beginning to blur. But that line began to blur 10,000 years ago when plants and animals were first domesticated; and has been thoroughly blurred at least since agriculture became the dominant human subsistence pattern many millennia ago. Synthetic biology is ultimately only a late and unexceptional offshoot of this prehistoric development. From this perspective, then, synthetic biology is a red herring, distracting us from more thorough philosophical consideration of the most truly revolutionary human practice-agriculture. In the first section of this paper I will make this case with regard to ontology, arguing that synthetic biology crosses no ontological lines that were not crossed already in the Neolithic. In the second section I will construct a parallel case with regard to cognition, arguing that synthetic biology as biological engineering represents no cognitive advance over what was required for domestication and the new agricultural subsistence pattern it grounds. In the final section I will make the case with regard to human existence, arguing that synthetic biology, even if wildly successful, is not in a position to cause significant existential change in what it is to be human over and above the massive existential change caused by the transition to agriculture. I conclude that a longer historical perspective casts new light on some important issues in philosophy of technology and environmental philosophy. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Mathematical methods in biology and neurobiology

    CERN Document Server

    Jost, Jürgen

    2014-01-01

    Mathematical models can be used to meet many of the challenges and opportunities offered by modern biology. The description of biological phenomena requires a range of mathematical theories. This is the case particularly for the emerging field of systems biology. Mathematical Methods in Biology and Neurobiology introduces and develops these mathematical structures and methods in a systematic manner. It studies:   • discrete structures and graph theory • stochastic processes • dynamical systems and partial differential equations • optimization and the calculus of variations.   The biological applications range from molecular to evolutionary and ecological levels, for example:   • cellular reaction kinetics and gene regulation • biological pattern formation and chemotaxis • the biophysics and dynamics of neurons • the coding of information in neuronal systems • phylogenetic tree reconstruction • branching processes and population genetics • optimal resource allocation • sexual recombi...

  2. The common extremalities in biology and physics maximum energy dissipation principle in chemistry, biology, physics and evolution

    CERN Document Server

    Moroz, Adam

    2011-01-01

    This book is the first unified systemic description of dissipative phenomena, taking place in biology, and non-dissipative (conservative) phenomena, which is more relevant to physics. Fully updated and revised, this new edition extends our understanding of nonlinear phenomena in biology and physics from the extreme / optimal perspective. The first book to provide understanding of physical phenomena from a biological perspective and biological phenomena from a physical perspective Discusses emerging fields and analysis Provides examples.

  3. Metabolomics: Definitions and Significance in Systems Biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klassen, Aline; Faccio, Andréa Tedesco; Canuto, Gisele André Baptista; da Cruz, Pedro Luis Rocha; Ribeiro, Henrique Caracho; Tavares, Marina Franco Maggi; Sussulini, Alessandra

    2017-01-01

    Nowadays, there is a growing interest in deeply understanding biological mechanisms not only at the molecular level (biological components) but also the effects of an ongoing biological process in the organism as a whole (biological functionality), as established by the concept of systems biology. Within this context, metabolomics is one of the most powerful bioanalytical strategies that allow obtaining a picture of the metabolites of an organism in the course of a biological process, being considered as a phenotyping tool. Briefly, metabolomics approach consists in identifying and determining the set of metabolites (or specific metabolites) in biological samples (tissues, cells, fluids, or organisms) under normal conditions in comparison with altered states promoted by disease, drug treatment, dietary intervention, or environmental modulation. The aim of this chapter is to review the fundamentals and definitions used in the metabolomics field, as well as to emphasize its importance in systems biology and clinical studies.

  4. PSL Chemical Biology Symposia First 2016 Edition: When Chemistry and Biology Share the Language of Discovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gautier, Arnaud; Rodriguez, Raphaël

    2017-05-18

    Chemical biology, the science of understanding biological processes at the molecular level, has grown exponentially with the development of chemical strategies to manipulate and quantify biology with unprecedented precision. Recent advances presented at the Université Paris Sciences et Lettres symposium are discussed. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  5. A Brief Introduction to Chinese Biological Abstracts

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2005-01-01

    Chinese Biological Abstracts sponsored by the Library, the Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, the Biological Documentation and Information Network, all of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, commenced publication in 1987 and was initiated to provide access to the Chinese information in the field of biology.

  6. Assessing biological invasions in European Seas: Biological traits of the most widespread non-indigenous species

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cardeccia, Alice; Marchini, Agnese; Occhipinti-Ambrogi, Anna; Galil, Bella; Gollasch, Stephan; Minchin, Dan; Narščius, Aleksas; Olenin, Sergej; Ojaveer, Henn

    2018-02-01

    The biological traits of the sixty-eight most widespread multicellular non-indigenous species (MWNIS) in European Seas: Baltic Sea, Western European Margin of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea were examined. Data for nine biological traits was analyzed, and a total of 41 separate categories were used to describe the biological and ecological functions of these NIS. Our findings show that high dispersal ability, high reproductive rate and ecological generalization are the biological traits commonly associated with MWNIS. The functional groups that describe most of the 68 MWNIS are: photoautotrophic, zoobenthic (both sessile and motile) and nektonic predatory species. However, these 'most widespread' species comprise a wide range of taxa and biological trait profiles; thereby a clear "identikit of a perfect invader" for marine and brackish environments is difficult to define. Some traits, for example: "life form", "feeding method" and "mobility", feature multiple behaviours and strategies. Even species introduced by a single pathway, e.g. vessels, feature diverse biological trait profiles. MWNIS likely to impact community organization, structure and diversity are often associated with brackish environments. For many traits ("life form", "sociability", "reproductive type", "reproductive frequency", "haploid and diploid dispersal" and "mobility"), the categories mostly expressed by the impact-causing MWNIS do not differ substantially from the whole set of MWNIS.

  7. Biological effects of particle radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sakamoto, Kiyohiko

    1988-01-01

    Conventional radiations such as photons, gamma rays or electrons show several physical or biological disadvantages to bring tumors to cure, therefore, more and more attentions is being paid to new modalitie such as fast neutrons, protons, negative pions and heavy ions, which are expected to overcome some of the defects of the conventional radiations. Except for fast neutrons, these particle radiations show excellet physical dose localization in tissue, moreover, in terms of biological effects, they demonstrate several features compared to conventional radiations, namely low oxygen enhancement ratio, high value of relative biological effectiveness, smaller cellular recovery, larger therapeutic gain factor and less cell cycle dependency in radiation sensitivity. In present paper the biological effects of particle radiations are shown comparing to the effects of conventional radiations. (author)

  8. Knowledge base and functionality of concepts of some Filipino biology teachers in five biology topics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barquilla, Manuel B.

    2018-01-01

    This mixed research, is a snapshot of some Filipino Biology teachers' knowledge structure and how their concepts of the five topics in Biology (Photosynthesis, Cellular Respiration, human reproductive system, Mendelian genetics and NonMendelian genetics) functions and develops inside a biology classroom. The study focuses on the six biology teachers and a total of 222 students in their respective classes. Of the Six (6) teachers, three (3) are under the Science curriculum and the other three (3) are under regular curriculum in both public and private schools in Iligan city and Lanao del Norte, Philippines. The study utilized classroom discourses, concept maps, interpretative case-study method, bracketing method, and concept analysis for qualitative part; the quantitative part uses a nonparametric statistical tool, Kendall's tau Coefficient for determining relationship and congruency while measures of central tendencies and dispersion (mean, and standard deviation) for concept maps scores interpretation. Knowledge Base of Biology teachers were evaluated by experts in field of specialization having a doctorate program (e.g. PhD in Genetics) and PhD Biology candidates. The data collection entailed seven (7) months immersion: one (1) month for preliminary phase for the researcher to gain teachers' and students' confidence and the succeeding six (6) months for main observation and data collection. The evaluation of teachers' knowledge base by experts indicated that teachers' knowledge of (65%) is lower than the minimum (75%) recommended by ABD-el-Khalick and Boujaoude (1997). Thus, the experts believe that content knowledge of the teachers is hardly adequate for their teaching assignment. Moreover, the teachers in this study do not systematically use reallife situation to apply the concepts they teach. They can identify concepts too abstract for their student; however, they seldom use innovative ways to bring the discussion to their students' level of readiness and

  9. Biological and Chemical Warfare

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    tar" making delivery into enemy lines surer and more accurate. ..... ceptible to antibiotic drugs, antibiotic-resist- ant strains occur ... means of a early warning system based on an automatic alarm ... given immediately by intramuscular injec- tion.

  10. Cyber warfare and electronic warfare integration in the operational environment of the future: cyber electronic warfare

    Science.gov (United States)

    Askin, Osman; Irmak, Riza; Avsever, Mustafa

    2015-05-01

    For the states with advanced technology, effective use of electronic warfare and cyber warfare will be the main determining factor of winning a war in the future's operational environment. The developed states will be able to finalize the struggles they have entered with a minimum of human casualties and minimum cost thanks to high-tech. Considering the increasing number of world economic problems, the development of human rights and humanitarian law it is easy to understand the importance of minimum cost and minimum loss of human. In this paper, cyber warfare and electronic warfare concepts are examined in conjunction with the historical development and the relationship between them is explained. Finally, assessments were carried out about the use of cyber electronic warfare in the coming years.

  11. Is Our Biology to Blame?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Scott

    1977-01-01

    Brief analyses of three recent examples of biological determinism: sex roles, overpopulation, and sociobiology, are presented in this article. Also a brief discussion of biological determinism and education is presented. (MR)

  12. Student Teachers' Conceptions of Teaching Biology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Subramaniam, Karthigeyan

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate prospective biology teachers' conceptions of teaching biology and identify how these conceptions revealed their strategies for helping their future students' learning of biology. The study utilized drawings, narratives and interviews to investigate the nature of the prospective biology…

  13. Synthetic biology between technoscience and thing knowledge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gelfert, Axel

    2013-06-01

    Synthetic biology presents a challenge to traditional accounts of biology: Whereas traditional biology emphasizes the evolvability, variability, and heterogeneity of living organisms, synthetic biology envisions a future of homogeneous, humanly engineered biological systems that may be combined in modular fashion. The present paper approaches this challenge from the perspective of the epistemology of technoscience. In particular, it is argued that synthetic-biological artifacts lend themselves to an analysis in terms of what has been called 'thing knowledge'. As such, they should neither be regarded as the simple outcome of applying theoretical knowledge and engineering principles to specific technological problems, nor should they be treated as mere sources of new evidence in the general pursuit of scientific understanding. Instead, synthetic-biological artifacts should be viewed as partly autonomous research objects which, qua their material-biological constitution, embody knowledge about the natural world-knowledge that, in turn, can be accessed via continuous experimental interrogation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Radiation biology for the non-biologist

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Myers, D.K.

    1978-06-01

    This colloquium introduces some of the general concepts used in cell biology and in the study of the effects of ionizing radiation on living organisms. The present research activities in radiation biology in the Biology Branch at the Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories cover a broad range of interests in the entire chain of events by which the initial radiation-induced changes in the living cell are translated into significant biological effects, including the eventual production of cancers and hereditary defects. The main theme of these research activities is an understanding of the mechanisms by which radiation damage to DNA (the carrier of hereditary information in all living organisms) can be actively repaired by the living cell. Advances in our understanding of these processes have broad implications for other areas of biology but also bear directly on the assessment of the biological hazards of ionizing radiation. The colloquium concludes with a brief discussion of the hazards of low-level radiation. (author)

  15. HIGHLY SELECTIVE SENSORS FOR CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WARFARE AGENTS, INSECTICIDES AND VOCS BASED ON A MOLECULAR SURFACE IMPRINTING TECHNIQUE

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abstract was given as an oral platform presentation at the Pittsburgh Conference, Orlando FL (March 5-9, 2006). Research described is the development of sensors based on molecular surface imprinting. Applications include the monitoring of chemical and biological agents and inse...

  16. 9 CFR 114.6 - Mixing biological products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Mixing biological products. 114.6... BIOLOGICAL PRODUCTS § 114.6 Mixing biological products. Each biological product, when in liquid form, shall be mixed thoroughly in a single container. During bottling operations, the product shall be...

  17. A critical analysis of the new biology and the biological revolution: their impact - from medicine to evolution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dev, Sukhendu B

    2010-01-01

    In this article, I critically analyze the impact of the new biology and the biological revolution. I argue that indiscriminate use of the words such as 'interdisciplinary,' 'integrative,' and 'revolution' has caused only confusion when applied to biology. The recent debate, especially after the exploding field of systems biology, has brought back the controversy whether molecular biology is reductionist or holistic. I look at the issues involved critically. I discuss the problem of defining the word 'gene' and argue that recent attempts to redefine the central dogma of molecular biology about the information flow from DNA to RNA to protein are not justified. I support my view with comments from the scientist who discovered RNA splicing. Several aspects of evo-devo, a new branch of biology, are discussed. I give examples from this evolution-developmental biology to show how some of Darwin's inspired guesses have had resounding victory when it was found that specific genes during embryonic development of the Galapagos finches decided the size and shape of their beaks. I discuss the recent publications which show that the conditions in the island, such as wet to dry to wet season, can bring about evolutionary changes from year to year. Thus it is essential to monitor both short and long-term evolutionary changes to get the full picture of evolution.

  18. Editorial overview : Systems biology for biotechnology

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Heinemann, Matthias; Pilpel, Yitzhak

    About 15 years ago, systems biology was introduced as a novel approach to biological research. On the one side, its introduction was a result of the recognition that through solely the reductionist approach, we would ulti- mately not be able to understand how biological systems function as a whole.

  19. 9 CFR 311.39 - Biological residues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Biological residues. 311.39 Section... Biological residues. Carcasses, organs, or other parts of carcasses of livestock shall be condemned if it is determined that they are adulterated because of the presence of any biological residues. ...

  20. Systems biology in critical-care nursing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schallom, Lynn; Thimmesch, Amanda R; Pierce, Janet D

    2011-01-01

    Systems biology applies advances in technology and new fields of study including genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics to the development of new treatments and approaches of care for the critically ill and injured patient. An understanding of systems biology enhances a nurse's ability to implement evidence-based practice and to educate patients and families on novel testing and therapies. Systems biology is an integrated and holistic view of humans in relationship with the environment. Biomarkers are used to measure the presence and severity of disease and are rapidly expanding in systems biology endeavors. A systems biology approach using predictive, preventive, and participatory involvement is being utilized in a plethora of conditions of critical illness and injury including sepsis, cancer, pulmonary disease, and traumatic injuries.

  1. Biology task group

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1981-01-01

    The accomplishments of the task group studies over the past year are reviewed. The purposes of biological investigations, in the context of subseabed disposal, are: an evaluation of the dose to man; an estimation of effects on the ecosystem; and an estimation of the influence of organisms on and as barriers to radionuclide migration. To accomplish these ends, the task group adopted the following research goals: (1) acquire more data on biological accumulation of specific radionuclides, such as those of Tc, Np, Ra, and Sr; (2) acquire more data on transfer coefficients from sediment to organism; (3) Calculate mass transfer rates, construct simple models using them, and estimate collective dose commitment; (4) Identify specific pathways or transfer routes, determine the rates of transfer, and make dose limit calculations with simple models; (5) Calculate dose rates to and estimate irradiation effects on the biota as a result of waste emplacement, by reference to background irradiation calculations. (6) Examine the effect of the biota on altering sediment/water radionuclide exchange; (7) Consider the biological data required to address different accident scenarios; (8) Continue to provide the basic biological information for all of the above, and ensure that the system analysis model is based on the most realistic and up-to-date concepts of marine biologists; and (9) Ensure by way of free exchange of information that the data used in any model are the best currently available

  2. Biological Effects of Radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jatau, B.D.; Garba, N.N.; Yusuf, A.M.; Yamusa, Y. A.; Musa, Y.

    2013-01-01

    In earlier studies, researchers aimed a single particle at the nucleus of the cell where DNA is located. Eighty percent of the cells shot through the nucleus survived. This contradicts the belief that if radiation slams through the nucleus, the cell will die. But the bad news is that the surviving cells contained mutations. Cells have a great capacity to repair DNA, but they cannot do it perfectly. The damage left behind in these studies from a single particle of alpha radiation doubled the damage that is already there. This proved, beyond a shadow of doubt, those there biological effects occur as a result of exposure to radiation, Radiation is harmful to living tissue because of its ionizing power in matter. This ionization can damage living cells directly, by breaking the chemical bonds of important biological molecules (particularly DNA), or indirectly, by creating chemical radicals from water molecules in the cells, which can then attack the biological molecules chemically. At some extent these molecules are repaired by natural biological processes, however, the effectiveness of this repair depends on the extent of the damage. The interaction of ionizing with the human body, arising either from external sources outside the body or from internal contamination of the body by radioactive materials, leads to the biological effects which may later show up as a clinical symptoms. Basically, this formed the baseline of this research to serve as a yardstick for creating awareness about radiation and its resulting effects.

  3. Greek Secondary School Students' Views about Biology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mavrikaki, Evangelia; Koumparou, Helen; Kyriakoudi, Margarita; Papacharalampous, Irene; Trimandili, Maria

    2012-01-01

    This paper aims to give a picture of Greek students' views about biology and some of the factors that affect them. A questionnaire measuring students' intrinsic motivation to learn biology, individual interest in biology and perceived difficulty of biology, along with information about students' gender, level, parents' occupation and educational…

  4. American Institute of Biological Sciences

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Staff Issues AIBS Position Statements Funding for the Biological Sciences Supporting Scientific Collections Advocating for Research Policy ... Public Policy Leadership Award Graduate students in the biological sciences who have demonstrated initiative and leadership in ...

  5. To the problem of biological risk

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vasilenko, I.Ya.; Moskalev, Yu.I.

    1977-01-01

    Biological hazard of iodine-129 intake of the man organism is estimated. Data on the iodine-129 biological effect on men and animals are considered. Iodine-129 biological effect on a critical organ-man thyroid gland - as well as genetic danger of its intake by the man organism is also estimated

  6. Synthetic Biology: Mapping the Scientific Landscape

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oldham, Paul; Hall, Stephen; Burton, Geoff

    2012-01-01

    This article uses data from Thomson Reuters Web of Science to map and analyse the scientific landscape for synthetic biology. The article draws on recent advances in data visualisation and analytics with the aim of informing upcoming international policy debates on the governance of synthetic biology by the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. We use mapping techniques to identify how synthetic biology can best be understood and the range of institutions, researchers and funding agencies involved. Debates under the Convention are likely to focus on a possible moratorium on the field release of synthetic organisms, cells or genomes. Based on the empirical evidence we propose that guidance could be provided to funding agencies to respect the letter and spirit of the Convention on Biological Diversity in making research investments. Building on the recommendations of the United States Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues we demonstrate that it is possible to promote independent and transparent monitoring of developments in synthetic biology using modern information tools. In particular, public and policy understanding and engagement with synthetic biology can be enhanced through the use of online interactive tools. As a step forward in this process we make existing data on the scientific literature on synthetic biology available in an online interactive workbook so that researchers, policy makers and civil society can explore the data and draw conclusions for themselves. PMID:22539946

  7. On nonepistemic values in conservation biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baumgaertner, Bert; Holthuijzen, Wieteke

    2017-02-01

    Conservation biology is a uniquely interdisciplinary science with strong roots in ecology, but it also embraces a value-laden and mission-oriented framework. This combination of science and values causes conservation biology to be at the center of critique regarding the discipline's scientific credibility-especially the division between the realms of theory and practice. We identify this dichotomy between seemingly objective (fact-based) and subjective (value-laden) practices as the measure-value dichotomy, whereby measure refers to methods and analyses used in conservation biology (i.e., measuring biodiversity) and value refers to nonepistemic values. We reviewed and evaluated several landmark articles central to the foundation of conservation biology and concepts of biodiversity with respect to their attempts to separate measures and values. We argue that the measure-value dichotomy is false and that conservation biology can make progress in ways unavailable to other disciplines because its practitioners are tasked with engaging in both the realm of theory and the realm of practice. The entanglement of measures and values is by no means a weakness of conservation biology. Because central concepts such as biodiversity contain both factual and evaluative aspects, conservation biologists can make theoretical progress by examining, reviewing, and forming the values that are an integral part of those concepts. We suggest that values should be included and analyzed with respect to the methods, results, and conclusions of scientific work in conservation biology. © 2016 Society for Conservation Biology.

  8. Synthetic Biology for Specialty Chemicals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Markham, Kelly A; Alper, Hal S

    2015-01-01

    In this review, we address recent advances in the field of synthetic biology and describe how those tools have been applied to produce a wide variety of chemicals in microorganisms. Here we classify the expansion of the synthetic biology toolbox into three different categories based on their primary function in strain engineering-for design, for construction, and for optimization. Next, focusing on recent years, we look at how chemicals have been produced using these new synthetic biology tools. Advances in producing fuels are briefly described, followed by a more thorough treatment of commodity chemicals, specialty chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and nutraceuticals. Throughout this review, an emphasis is placed on how synthetic biology tools are applied to strain engineering. Finally, we discuss organism and host strain diversity and provide a future outlook in the field.

  9. Calculating life? Duelling discourses in interdisciplinary systems biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calvert, Jane; Fujimura, Joan H

    2011-06-01

    A high profile context in which physics and biology meet today is in the new field of systems biology. Systems biology is a fascinating subject for sociological investigation because the demands of interdisciplinary collaboration have brought epistemological issues and debates front and centre in discussions amongst systems biologists in conference settings, in publications, and in laboratory coffee rooms. One could argue that systems biologists are conducting their own philosophy of science. This paper explores the epistemic aspirations of the field by drawing on interviews with scientists working in systems biology, attendance at systems biology conferences and workshops, and visits to systems biology laboratories. It examines the discourses of systems biologists, looking at how they position their work in relation to previous types of biological inquiry, particularly molecular biology. For example, they raise the issue of reductionism to distinguish systems biology from molecular biology. This comparison with molecular biology leads to discussions about the goals and aspirations of systems biology, including epistemic commitments to quantification, rigor and predictability. Some systems biologists aspire to make biology more similar to physics and engineering by making living systems calculable, modelable and ultimately predictable-a research programme that is perhaps taken to its most extreme form in systems biology's sister discipline: synthetic biology. Other systems biologists, however, do not think that the standards of the physical sciences are the standards by which we should measure the achievements of systems biology, and doubt whether such standards will ever be applicable to 'dirty, unruly living systems'. This paper explores these epistemic tensions and reflects on their sociological dimensions and their consequences for future work in the life sciences. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. OWL Reasoning Framework over Big Biological Knowledge Network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Huajun; Chen, Xi; Gu, Peiqin; Wu, Zhaohui; Yu, Tong

    2014-01-01

    Recently, huge amounts of data are generated in the domain of biology. Embedded with domain knowledge from different disciplines, the isolated biological resources are implicitly connected. Thus it has shaped a big network of versatile biological knowledge. Faced with such massive, disparate, and interlinked biological data, providing an efficient way to model, integrate, and analyze the big biological network becomes a challenge. In this paper, we present a general OWL (web ontology language) reasoning framework to study the implicit relationships among biological entities. A comprehensive biological ontology across traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and western medicine (WM) is used to create a conceptual model for the biological network. Then corresponding biological data is integrated into a biological knowledge network as the data model. Based on the conceptual model and data model, a scalable OWL reasoning method is utilized to infer the potential associations between biological entities from the biological network. In our experiment, we focus on the association discovery between TCM and WM. The derived associations are quite useful for biologists to promote the development of novel drugs and TCM modernization. The experimental results show that the system achieves high efficiency, accuracy, scalability, and effectivity. PMID:24877076

  11. Genomes, Phylogeny, and Evolutionary Systems Biology

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Medina, Monica

    2005-03-25

    With the completion of the human genome and the growing number of diverse genomes being sequenced, a new age of evolutionary research is currently taking shape. The myriad of technological breakthroughs in biology that are leading to the unification of broad scientific fields such as molecular biology, biochemistry, physics, mathematics and computer science are now known as systems biology. Here I present an overview, with an emphasis on eukaryotes, of how the postgenomics era is adopting comparative approaches that go beyond comparisons among model organisms to shape the nascent field of evolutionary systems biology.

  12. Perception of biological motion in visual agnosia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elisabeth eHuberle

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Over the past twenty-five years, visual processing has been discussed in the context of the dual stream hypothesis consisting of a ventral (‘what' and a dorsal ('where' visual information processing pathway. Patients with brain damage of the ventral pathway typically present with signs of visual agnosia, the inability to identify and discriminate objects by visual exploration, but show normal perception of motion perception. A dissociation between the perception of biological motion and non-biological motion has been suggested: Perception of biological motion might be impaired when 'non-biological' motion perception is intact and vice versa. The impact of object recognition on the perception of biological motion remains unclear. We thus investigated this question in a patient with severe visual agnosia, who showed normal perception of non-biological motion. The data suggested that the patient's perception of biological motion remained largely intact. However, when tested with objects constructed of coherently moving dots (‘Shape-from-Motion’, recognition was severely impaired. The results are discussed in the context of possible mechanisms of biological motion perception.

  13. Classification of Recombinant Biologics in the EU

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Klein, Kevin; De Bruin, Marie L; Broekmans, Andre W

    2015-01-01

    BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Biological medicinal products (biologics) are subject to specific pharmacovigilance requirements to ensure that biologics are identifiable by brand name and batch number in adverse drug reaction (ADR) reports. Since Member States collect ADR data at the national level...... of biologics by national authorities responsible for ADR reporting. METHODS: A sample list of recombinant biologics from the European Medicines Agency database of European Public Assessment Reports was created to analyze five Member States (Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the UK) according...

  14. Evolutionary cell biology: two origins, one objective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lynch, Michael; Field, Mark C; Goodson, Holly V; Malik, Harmit S; Pereira-Leal, José B; Roos, David S; Turkewitz, Aaron P; Sazer, Shelley

    2014-12-02

    All aspects of biological diversification ultimately trace to evolutionary modifications at the cellular level. This central role of cells frames the basic questions as to how cells work and how cells come to be the way they are. Although these two lines of inquiry lie respectively within the traditional provenance of cell biology and evolutionary biology, a comprehensive synthesis of evolutionary and cell-biological thinking is lacking. We define evolutionary cell biology as the fusion of these two eponymous fields with the theoretical and quantitative branches of biochemistry, biophysics, and population genetics. The key goals are to develop a mechanistic understanding of general evolutionary processes, while specifically infusing cell biology with an evolutionary perspective. The full development of this interdisciplinary field has the potential to solve numerous problems in diverse areas of biology, including the degree to which selection, effectively neutral processes, historical contingencies, and/or constraints at the chemical and biophysical levels dictate patterns of variation for intracellular features. These problems can now be examined at both the within- and among-species levels, with single-cell methodologies even allowing quantification of variation within genotypes. Some results from this emerging field have already had a substantial impact on cell biology, and future findings will significantly influence applications in agriculture, medicine, environmental science, and synthetic biology.

  15. Patterns of Care for Biologic-Dosing Outliers and Nonoutliers in Biologic-Naive Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delate, Thomas; Meyer, Roxanne; Jenkins, Daniel

    2017-08-01

    Although most biologic medications for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have recommended fixed dosing, actual biologic dosing may vary among real-world patients, since some patients can receive higher (high-dose outliers) or lower (low-dose outliers) doses than what is recommended in medication package inserts. To describe the patterns of care for biologic-dosing outliers and nonoutliers in biologic-naive patients with RA. This was a retrospective, longitudinal cohort study of patients with RA who were not pregnant and were aged ≥ 18 and 110% of the approved dose in the package insert at any time during the study period. Baseline patient profiles, treatment exposures, and outcomes were collected during the 180 days before and up to 2 years after biologic initiation and compared across index biologic outlier groups. Patients were followed for at least 1 year, with a subanalysis of those patients who remained as members for 2 years. This study included 434 RA patients with 1 year of follow-up and 372 RA patients with 2 years of follow-up. Overall, the vast majority of patients were female (≈75%) and had similar baseline characteristics. Approximately 10% of patients were outliers in both follow-up cohorts. ETN patients were least likely to become outliers, and ADA patients were most likely to become outliers. Of all outliers during the 1-year follow-up, patients were more likely to be a high-dose outlier (55%) than a low-dose outlier (45%). Median 1- and 2-year adjusted total biologic costs (based on wholesale acquisition costs) were higher for ADA and ETA nonoutliers than for IFX nonoutliers. Biologic persistence was highest for IFX patients. Charlson Comorbidity Index score, ETN and IFX index biologic, and treatment with a nonbiologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) before biologic initiation were associated with becoming high- or low-dose outliers (c-statistic = 0.79). Approximately 1 in 10 study patients with RA was identified as a

  16. Some nonlinear challenges in biology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mosconi, Francesco; Julou, Thomas; Desprat, Nicolas; Sinha, Deepak Kumar; Allemand, Jean-François; Croquette, Vincent; Bensimon, David

    2008-01-01

    Driven by a deluge of data, biology is undergoing a transition to a more quantitative science. Making sense of the data, building new models, asking the right questions and designing smart experiments to answer them are becoming ever more relevant. In this endeavour, nonlinear approaches can play a fundamental role. The biochemical reactions that underlie life are very often nonlinear. The functional features exhibited by biological systems at all levels (from the activity of an enzyme to the organization of a colony of ants, via the development of an organism or a functional module like the one responsible for chemotaxis in bacteria) are dynamically robust. They are often unaffected by order of magnitude variations in the dynamical parameters, in the number or concentrations of actors (molecules, cells, organisms) or external inputs (food, temperature, pH, etc). This type of structural robustness is also a common feature of nonlinear systems, exemplified by the fundamental role played by dynamical fixed points and attractors and by the use of generic equations (logistic map, Fisher–Kolmogorov equation, the Stefan problem, etc.) in the study of a plethora of nonlinear phenomena. However, biological systems differ from these examples in two important ways: the intrinsic stochasticity arising from the often very small number of actors and the role played by evolution. On an evolutionary time scale, nothing in biology is frozen. The systems observed today have evolved from solutions adopted in the past and they will have to adapt in response to future conditions. The evolvability of biological system uniquely characterizes them and is central to biology. As the great biologist T Dobzhansky once wrote: 'nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution'. (open problem)

  17. Where Synthetic Biology Meets ET

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rothschild, Lynn J.

    2016-01-01

    Synthetic biology - the design and construction of new biological parts and systems and the redesign of existing ones for useful purposes - has the potential to transform fields from pharmaceuticals to fuels. Our lab has focused on the potential of synthetic biology to revolutionize all three major parts of astrobiology: Where do we come from? Where are we going? and Are we alone? For the first and third, synthetic biology is allowing us to answer whether the evolutionary narrative that has played out on planet earth is likely to have been unique or universal. For example, in our lab we are re-evolving the biosynthetic pathways of amino acids in order to understand potential capabilities of an early organism with a limited repertoire of amino acids and developing techniques for the recovery of metals from spent electronics on other planetary bodies. And what about the limits for life? Can we create organisms that expand the envelope for life? In the future synthetic biology will play an increasing role in human activities both on earth, in fields as diverse as human health and the industrial production of novel bio-composites. Beyond earth, we will rely increasingly on biologically-provided life support, as we have throughout our evolutionary history. In order to do this, the field will build on two of the great contributions of astrobiology: studies of the origin of life and life in extreme environments.

  18. Inverse problems in systems biology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Engl, Heinz W; Lu, James; Müller, Stefan; Flamm, Christoph; Schuster, Peter; Kügler, Philipp

    2009-01-01

    Systems biology is a new discipline built upon the premise that an understanding of how cells and organisms carry out their functions cannot be gained by looking at cellular components in isolation. Instead, consideration of the interplay between the parts of systems is indispensable for analyzing, modeling, and predicting systems' behavior. Studying biological processes under this premise, systems biology combines experimental techniques and computational methods in order to construct predictive models. Both in building and utilizing models of biological systems, inverse problems arise at several occasions, for example, (i) when experimental time series and steady state data are used to construct biochemical reaction networks, (ii) when model parameters are identified that capture underlying mechanisms or (iii) when desired qualitative behavior such as bistability or limit cycle oscillations is engineered by proper choices of parameter combinations. In this paper we review principles of the modeling process in systems biology and illustrate the ill-posedness and regularization of parameter identification problems in that context. Furthermore, we discuss the methodology of qualitative inverse problems and demonstrate how sparsity enforcing regularization allows the determination of key reaction mechanisms underlying the qualitative behavior. (topical review)

  19. Synthetic biology, metaphors and responsibility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McLeod, Carmen; Nerlich, Brigitte

    2017-08-29

    Metaphors are not just decorative rhetorical devices that make speech pretty. They are fundamental tools for thinking about the world and acting on the world. The language we use to make a better world matters; words matter; metaphors matter. Words have consequences - ethical, social and legal ones, as well as political and economic ones. They need to be used 'responsibly'. They also need to be studied carefully - this is what we want to do through this editorial and the related thematic collection. In the context of synthetic biology, natural and social scientists have become increasingly interested in metaphors, a wave of interest that we want to exploit and amplify. We want to build on emerging articles and books on synthetic biology, metaphors of life and the ethical and moral implications of such metaphors. This editorial provides a brief introduction to synthetic biology and responsible innovation, as well as a comprehensive review of literature on the social, cultural and ethical impacts of metaphor use in genomics and synthetic biology. Our aim is to stimulate an interdisciplinary and international discussion on the impact that metaphors can have on science, policy and publics in the context of synthetic biology.

  20. A roadmap for island biology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Patino, Jairo; Whittaker, Robert J.; Borges, Paulo A.V.

    2017-01-01

    Aims: The 50th anniversary of the publication of the seminal book, The Theory of Island Biogeography, by Robert H. MacArthur and Edward O. Wilson, is a timely moment to review and identify key research foci that could advance island biology. Here, we take a collaborative horizon-scanning approach...... to identify 50 fundamental questions for the continued development of the field. Location: Worldwide. Methods: We adapted a well-established methodology of horizon scanning to identify priority research questions in island biology, and initiated it during the Island Biology 2016 conference held in the Azores......); global change (5); conservation and management policies (5); and invasive alien species (4). Main conclusions: Collectively, this cross-disciplinary set of topics covering the 50 fundamental questions has the potential to stimulate and guide future research in island biology. By covering fields ranging...

  1. Biological design in science classrooms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott, Eugenie C.; Matzke, Nicholas J.

    2007-01-01

    Although evolutionary biology is replete with explanations for complex biological structures, scientists concerned about evolution education have been forced to confront “intelligent design” (ID), which rejects a natural origin for biological complexity. The content of ID is a subset of the claims made by the older “creation science” movement. Both creationist views contend that highly complex biological adaptations and even organisms categorically cannot result from natural causes but require a supernatural creative agent. Historically, ID arose from efforts to produce a form of creationism that would be less vulnerable to legal challenges and that would not overtly rely upon biblical literalism. Scientists do not use ID to explain nature, but because it has support from outside the scientific community, ID is nonetheless contributing substantially to a long-standing assault on the integrity of science education. PMID:17494747

  2. The relativity of biological function.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laubichler, Manfred D; Stadler, Peter F; Prohaska, Sonja J; Nowick, Katja

    2015-12-01

    Function is a central concept in biological theories and explanations. Yet discussions about function are often based on a narrow understanding of biological systems and processes, such as idealized molecular systems or simple evolutionary, i.e., selective, dynamics. Conflicting conceptions of function continue to be used in the scientific literature to support certain claims, for instance about the fraction of "functional DNA" in the human genome. Here we argue that all biologically meaningful interpretations of function are necessarily context dependent. This implies that they derive their meaning as well as their range of applicability only within a specific theoretical and measurement context. We use this framework to shed light on the current debate about functional DNA and argue that without considering explicitly the theoretical and measurement contexts all attempts to integrate biological theories are prone to fail.

  3. Towards biologically conformal radiation therapy (BCRT): Selective IMRT dose escalation under the guidance of spatial biology distribution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang Yong; Xing Lei

    2005-01-01

    It is well known that the spatial biology distribution (e.g., clonogen density, radiosensitivity, tumor proliferation rate, functional importance) in most tumors and sensitive structures is heterogeneous. Recent progress in biological imaging is making the mapping of this distribution increasingly possible. The purpose of this work is to establish a theoretical framework to quantitatively incorporate the spatial biology data into intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) inverse planning. In order to implement this, we first derive a general formula for determining the desired dose to each tumor voxel for a known biology distribution of the tumor based on a linear-quadratic model. The desired target dose distribution is then used as the prescription for inverse planning. An objective function with the voxel-dependent prescription is constructed with incorporation of the nonuniform dose prescription. The functional unit density distribution in a sensitive structure is also considered phenomenologically when constructing the objective function. Two cases with different hypothetical biology distributions are used to illustrate the new inverse planning formalism. For comparison, treatments with a few uniform dose prescriptions and a simultaneous integrated boost are also planned. The biological indices, tumor control probability (TCP) and normal tissue complication probability (NTCP), are calculated for both types of plans and the superiority of the proposed technique over the conventional dose escalation scheme is demonstrated. Our calculations revealed that it is technically feasible to produce deliberately nonuniform dose distributions with consideration of biological information. Compared with the conventional dose escalation schemes, the new technique is capable of generating biologically conformal IMRT plans that significantly improve the TCP while reducing or keeping the NTCPs at their current levels. Biologically conformal radiation therapy (BCRT

  4. Chapter 5:Biological Properties of Wood

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rebecca E. Ibach

    2013-01-01

    There are numerous biological degradations that wood is exposed to in various environments. Biological damage occurs when a log, sawn product, or final product is not stored, handled, or designed properly. Biological organisms such as bacteria, mold, stain, decay fungi, insects, and marine borers depend heavily on temperature and moisture conditions to grow. Figure 5.1...

  5. Mesoscopic models of biological membranes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Venturoli, M.; Sperotto, Maria Maddalena; Kranenburg, M.

    2006-01-01

    Phospholipids are the main components of biological membranes and dissolved in water these molecules self-assemble into closed structures, of which bilayers are the most relevant from a biological point of view. Lipid bilayers are often used, both in experimental and by theoretical investigations...... to coarse grain a biological membrane. The conclusion of this comparison is that there can be many valid different strategies, but that the results obtained by the various mesoscopic models are surprisingly consistent. A second objective of this review is to illustrate how mesoscopic models can be used...

  6. Basic radiotherapy physics and biology

    CERN Document Server

    Chang, David S; Das, Indra J; Mendonca, Marc S; Dynlacht, Joseph R

    2014-01-01

    This book is a concise and well-illustrated review of the physics and biology of radiation therapy intended for radiation oncology residents, radiation therapists, dosimetrists, and physicists. It presents topics that are included on the Radiation Therapy Physics and Biology examinations and is designed with the intent of presenting information in an easily digestible format with maximum retention in mind. The inclusion of mnemonics, rules of thumb, and reader-friendly illustrations throughout the book help to make difficult concepts easier to grasp. Basic Radiotherapy Physics and Biology is a

  7. Destruction of chemical warfare surrogates using a portable atmospheric pressure plasma jet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Škoro, Nikola; Puač, Nevena; Živković, Suzana; Krstić-Milošević, Dijana; Cvelbar, Uroš; Malović, Gordana; Petrović, Zoran Lj.

    2018-01-01

    Today's reality is connected with mitigation of threats from the new chemical and biological warfare agents. A novel investigation of cold plasmas in contact with liquids presented in this paper demonstrated that the chemically reactive environment produced by atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) is potentially capable of rapid destruction of chemical warfare agents in a broad spectrum. The decontamination of three different chemical warfare agent surrogates dissolved in liquid is investigated by using an easily transportable APPJ. The jet is powered by a kHz signal source connected to a low-voltage DC source and with He as working gas. The detailed investigation of electrical properties is performed for various plasmas at different distances from the sample. The measurements of plasma properties in situ are supported by the optical spectrometry measurements, whereas the high performance liquid chromatography measurements before and after the treatment of aqueous solutions of Malathion, Fenitrothion and Dimethyl Methylphosphonate. These solutions are used to evaluate destruction and its efficiency for specific neural agent simulants. The particular removal rates are found to be from 56% up to 96% during 10 min treatment. The data obtained provide basis to evaluate APPJ's efficiency at different operating conditions. The presented results are promising and could be improved with different operating conditions and optimization of the decontamination process.

  8. Advances in radiation biology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lett, J.T.; Ehmann, U.K.; Cox, A.B.

    1987-01-01

    The classical period of radiation biology is coming to a close. Such change always occurs at a time when the ideas and concepts that promoted the burgeoning of an infant science are no longer adequate. This volume covers a number of areas in which new ideas and research are playing a vital role, including cellular radiation sensitivity, radioactive waste disposal, and space radiation biology

  9. A Brief Introduction to Chinese Biological Abstracts

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2005-01-01

    Chinese Biological Abstracts (CBA), a state-level indexing and abstracting journal published monthly, is jointly sponsored by the Library of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences as well as the Biological Information Network of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, published and distributed by the Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, and approved by the State Scientific and Technological Commission.

  10. The Relationship between Grade 11 Palestinian Attitudes toward Biology and Their Perceptions of the Biology Learning Environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeidan, Afif

    2010-01-01

    The aims of the study were to investigate (a) the relationship between the attitudes toward biology and perceptions of the biology learning environment among grade 11 students in Tulkarm District, Palestine and (b) the effect of gender and residence of these students on their attitudes toward biology and on their perceptions of the biology…

  11. Bragg Curve, Biological Bragg Curve and Biological Issues in Space Radiation Protection with Shielding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Honglu, Wu; Cucinotta, F.A.; Durante, M.; Lin, Z.; Rusek, A.

    2006-01-01

    The space environment consists of a varying field of radiation particles including high-energy ions, with spacecraft shielding material providing the major protection to astronauts from harmful exposure. Unlike low-LET gamma or X-rays, the presence of shielding does not always reduce the radiation risks for energetic charged particle exposure. Since the dose delivered by the charged particle increases sharply as the particle approaches the end of its range, a position known as the Bragg peak, the Bragg curve does not necessarily represent the biological damage along the particle traversal since biological effects are influenced by the track structure of both primary and secondary particles. Therefore, the biological Bragg curve is dependent on the energy and the type of the primary particle, and may vary for different biological endpoints. To achieve a Bragg curve distribution, we exposed cells to energetic heavy ions with the beam geometry parallel to a monolayer of fibroblasts. Qualitative analyses of gamma-H2AX fluorescence, a known marker of DSBs, indicated increased clustering of DNA damage before the Bragg peak, enhanced homogenous distribution at the peak, and provided visual evidence of high linear energy transfer (LET) particle traversal of cells beyond the Bragg peak. A quantitative biological response curve generated for micronuclei (MN) induction across the Bragg curve did not reveal an increased yield of MN at the location of the Bragg peak. However, the ratio of mono-to bi-nucleated cells, which indicates inhibition in cell progression, increased at the Bragg peak location. These results, along with other biological concerns, show that space radiation protection with shielding can be a complicated issue.

  12. Piecewise deterministic processes in biological models

    CERN Document Server

    Rudnicki, Ryszard

    2017-01-01

    This book presents a concise introduction to piecewise deterministic Markov processes (PDMPs), with particular emphasis on their applications to biological models. Further, it presents examples of biological phenomena, such as gene activity and population growth, where different types of PDMPs appear: continuous time Markov chains, deterministic processes with jumps, processes with switching dynamics, and point processes. Subsequent chapters present the necessary tools from the theory of stochastic processes and semigroups of linear operators, as well as theoretical results concerning the long-time behaviour of stochastic semigroups induced by PDMPs and their applications to biological models. As such, the book offers a valuable resource for mathematicians and biologists alike. The first group will find new biological models that lead to interesting and often new mathematical questions, while the second can observe how to include seemingly disparate biological processes into a unified mathematical theory, and...

  13. Quantification of biologically effective environmental UV irradiance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horneck, G.

    To determine the impact of environmental UV radiation on human health and ecosystems demands monitoring systems that weight the spectral irradiance according to the biological responses under consideration. In general, there are three different approaches to quantify a biologically effective solar irradiance: (i) weighted spectroradiometry where the biologically weighted radiometric quantities are derived from spectral data by multiplication with an action spectrum of a relevant photobiological reaction, e.g. erythema, DNA damage, skin cancer, reduced productivity of terrestrial plants and aquatic foodweb; (ii) wavelength integrating chemical-based or physical dosimetric systems with spectral sensitivities similar to a biological response curve; and (iii) biological dosimeters that directly weight the incident UV components of sunlight in relation to the effectiveness of the different wavelengths and to interactions between them. Most biological dosimeters, such as bacteria, bacteriophages, or biomolecules, are based on the UV sensitivity of DNA. If precisely characterized, biological dosimeters are applicable as field and personal dosimeters.

  14. Intangible life functorial connections in relational biology

    CERN Document Server

    Louie, A H

    2017-01-01

    This rare publication continues an exploratory journey in relational biology, a study of biology in terms of the organization of networked connections in living systems. It builds on the author’s two earlier monographs which looked at the epistemology of life and the ontogeny of life. Here the emphasis is on the intangibility of life, that the real nature of living systems is conveyed not by their tangible material basis but by their intangible inherent processes.    Relational biology is the approach that hails ‘function dictates structure’; it is mathematics decoded into biological realizations. Therefore, the work begins with a concise introduction to category theory, equiping the reader with the mathematical metalanguage of relation biology. The book is organized around three parts:   Part I is a comprehensive study of the most important functor in relational biology, the power set functor.  The author lays the set-theoretic foundations of the functorial connections in relational biology, explor...

  15. Aging in a Relativistic Biological Space-Time

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Davide Maestrini

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Here we present a theoretical and mathematical perspective on the process of aging. We extend the concepts of physical space and time to an abstract, mathematically-defined space, which we associate with a concept of “biological space-time” in which biological dynamics may be represented. We hypothesize that biological dynamics, represented as trajectories in biological space-time, may be used to model and study different rates of biological aging. As a consequence of this hypothesis, we show how dilation or contraction of time analogous to relativistic corrections of physical time resulting from accelerated or decelerated biological dynamics may be used to study precipitous or protracted aging. We show specific examples of how these principles may be used to model different rates of aging, with an emphasis on cancer in aging. We discuss how this theory may be tested or falsified, as well as novel concepts and implications of this theory that may improve our interpretation of biological aging.

  16. Synthetic Biology and the Translational Imperative.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heidari Feidt, Raheleh; Ienca, Marcello; Elger, Bernice Simone; Folcher, Marc

    2017-12-18

    Advances at the interface between the biological sciences and engineering are giving rise to emerging research fields such as synthetic biology. Harnessing the potential of synthetic biology requires timely and adequate translation into clinical practice. However, the translational research enterprise is currently facing fundamental obstacles that slow down the transition of scientific discoveries from the laboratory to the patient bedside. These obstacles including scarce financial resources and deficiency of organizational and logistic settings are widely discussed as primary impediments to translational research. In addition, a number of socio-ethical considerations inherent in translational research need to be addressed. As the translational capacity of synthetic biology is tightly linked to its social acceptance and ethical approval, ethical limitations may-together with financial and organizational problems-be co-determinants of suboptimal translation. Therefore, an early assessment of such limitations will contribute to proactively favor successful translation and prevent the promising potential of synthetic biology from remaining under-expressed. Through the discussion of two case-specific inventions in synthetic biology and their associated ethical implications, we illustrate the socio-ethical challenges ahead in the process of implementing synthetic biology into clinical practice. Since reducing the translational lag is essential for delivering the benefits of basic biomedical research to society at large and promoting global health, we advocate a moral obligation to accelerating translational research: the "translational imperative."

  17. [Cybernetics and biology].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vasil'ev, G F

    2013-01-01

    Owing to methodical disadvantages, the theory of control still lacks the potential for the analysis of biological systems. To get the full benefit of the method in addition to the algorithmic model of control (as of today the only used model in the theory of control) a parametric model of control is offered to employ. The reasoning for it is explained. The approach suggested provides the possibility to use all potential of the modern theory of control for the analysis of biological systems. The cybernetic approach is shown taking a system of the rise of glucose concentration in blood as an example.

  18. Neutron structural biology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Niimura, Nobuo

    1999-01-01

    Neutron structural biology will be one of the most important fields in the life sciences which will interest human beings in the 21st century because neutrons can provide not only the position of hydrogen atoms in biological macromolecules but also the dynamic molecular motion of hydrogen atoms and water molecules. However, there are only a few examples experimentally determined at present because of the lack of neutron source intensity. Next generation neutron source scheduled in JAERI (Performance of which is 100 times better than that of JRR-3M) opens the life science of the 21st century. (author)

  19. Treatment of slaughter wastewater by coagulation sedimentation-anaerobic biological filter and biological contact oxidation process

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, M.; Yu, P. F.; Fu, J. X.; Ji, X. Q.; Jiang, T.

    2017-08-01

    The optimal process parameters and conditions for the treatment of slaughterhouse wastewater by coagulation sedimentation-AF - biological contact oxidation process were studied to solve the problem of high concentration organic wastewater treatment in the production of small and medium sized slaughter plants. The suitable water temperature and the optimum reaction time are determined by the experiment of precipitation to study the effect of filtration rate and reflux ratio on COD and SS in anaerobic biological filter and the effect of biofilm thickness and gas water ratio on NH3-N and COD in biological contact oxidation tank, and results show that the optimum temperature is 16-24°C, reaction time is 20 min in coagulating sedimentation, the optimum filtration rate is 0.6 m/h, and the optimum reflux ratio is 300% in anaerobic biological filter reactor. The most suitable biological film thickness range of 1.8-2.2 mm and the most suitable gas water ratio is 12:1-14:1 in biological contact oxidation pool. In the coupling process of continuous operation for 80 days, the average effluent’s mass concentrations of COD, TP and TN were 15.57 mg/L, 40 mg/L and 0.63 mg/L, the average removal rates were 98.93%, 86.10%, 88.95%, respectively. The coupling process has stable operation effect and good effluent quality, and is suitable for the industrial application.

  20. Analyzing the Biology on the System Level

    OpenAIRE

    Tong, Wei

    2016-01-01

    Although various genome projects have provided us enormous static sequence information, understanding of the sophisticated biology continues to require integrating the computational modeling, system analysis, technology development for experiments, and quantitative experiments all together to analyze the biology architecture on various levels, which is just the origin of systems biology subject. This review discusses the object, its characteristics, and research attentions in systems biology,...

  1. Multiple Realizability and Biological Laws

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Raerinne, Jani P.; Eronen, Markus I.

    2012-01-01

    We critically analyze Alexander Rosenberg's argument based on the multiple realizability of biological properties that there are no biological laws. The argument is intuitive and suggestive. Nevertheless, a closer analysis reveals that the argument rests on dubious assumptions about the nature of

  2. DATABASES DEVELOPED IN INDIA FOR BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gitanjali Yadav

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The complexity of biological systems requires use of a variety of experimental methods with ever increasing sophistication to probe various cellular processes at molecular and atomic resolution. The availability of technologies for determining nucleic acid sequences of genes and atomic resolution structures of biomolecules prompted development of major biological databases like GenBank and PDB almost four decades ago. India was one of the few countries to realize early, the utility of such databases for progress in modern biology/biotechnology. Department of Biotechnology (DBT, India established Biotechnology Information System (BTIS network in late eighties. Starting with the genome sequencing revolution at the turn of the century, application of high-throughput sequencing technologies in biology and medicine for analysis of genomes, transcriptomes, epigenomes and microbiomes have generated massive volumes of sequence data. BTIS network has not only provided state of the art computational infrastructure to research institutes and universities for utilizing various biological databases developed abroad in their research, it has also actively promoted research and development (R&D projects in Bioinformatics to develop a variety of biological databases in diverse areas. It is encouraging to note that, a large number of biological databases or data driven software tools developed in India, have been published in leading peer reviewed international journals like Nucleic Acids Research, Bioinformatics, Database, BMC, PLoS and NPG series publication. Some of these databases are not only unique, they are also highly accessed as reflected in number of citations. Apart from databases developed by individual research groups, BTIS has initiated consortium projects to develop major India centric databases on Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Rice and Mango, which can potentially have practical applications in health and agriculture. Many of these biological

  3. Selected factors associated with achievement of biology preparatory students and their follow-up to higher level biology courses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biermann, Carol A.; Sarinsky, Gary B.

    This study was undertaken to determine whether a biology preparatory course given at an urban community college was helping students to develop the proper skills and background necessary for them to successfully complete follow-up courses in biology. A group of students who enrolled in a biology preparatory course, and subsequently, a follow-up anatomy and physiology or general biology course (experimental group) was compared to a group of students who should have registered for the preparatory course, but who enrolled directly into the anatomy and physiology or general biology course (control group). It was shown that there was no significant difference in their anatomy and physiology or general biology grades. Furthermore, only 16% of the initial group of preparatory students enrolled in and passed a follow-up biology course. Examination of the preparatory group using discriminant analysis ascertained that mathematics score was the principle discriminator between pass/fail groups. A stepwise multiple regression analysis of the variables explaining the preparatory grade showed that mathematics score, reading score, and type of high school degree explained 33% of the variance. Of the students who did pass the preparatory course and enrolled in a follow-up biology class, their preparatory grade was a good predictor of their achievement (measured by follow-up course grade), as determined by multiple regression.

  4. ChemProt: a disease chemical biology database

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Taboureau, Olivier; Nielsen, Sonny Kim; Audouze, Karine Marie Laure

    2011-01-01

    Systems pharmacology is an emergent area that studies drug action across multiple scales of complexity, from molecular and cellular to tissue and organism levels. There is a critical need to develop network-based approaches to integrate the growing body of chemical biology knowledge with network...... biology. Here, we report ChemProt, a disease chemical biology database, which is based on a compilation of multiple chemical-protein annotation resources, as well as disease-associated protein-protein interactions (PPIs). We assembled more than 700 000 unique chemicals with biological annotation for 30...... evaluation of environmental chemicals, natural products and approved drugs, as well as the selection of new compounds based on their activity profile against most known biological targets, including those related to adverse drug events. Results from the disease chemical biology database associate citalopram...

  5. The Latin American Biological Dosimetry Network (LBDNet)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garcia, O.; Lamadrid, A.I.; Gonzalez, J.E.; Romero, I.; Mandina, T.; Di Giorgio, M.; Radl, A.; Taja, M.R.; Sapienza, C.E.; Deminge, M.M.; Fernandez Rearte, J.; Stuck Oliveira, M.; Valdivia, P.; Guerrero-Carbajal, C.; Arceo Maldonado, C.; Cortina Ramirez, G.E.; Espinoza, M.; Martinez-Lopez, W.; Di Tomasso, M.

    2016-01-01

    Biological Dosimetry is a necessary support for national radiation protection programmes and emergency response schemes. The Latin American Biological Dosimetry Network (LBDNet) was formally founded in 2007 to provide early biological dosimetry assistance in case of radiation emergencies in the Latin American Region. Here are presented the main topics considered in the foundational document of the network, which comprise: mission, partners, concept of operation, including the mechanism to request support for biological dosimetry assistance in the region, and the network capabilities. The process for network activation and the role of the coordinating laboratory during biological dosimetry emergency response is also presented. This information is preceded by historical remarks on biological dosimetry cooperation in Latin America. A summary of the main experimental and practical results already obtained by the LBDNet is also included. (authors)

  6. Applicability of Computational Systems Biology in Toxicology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kongsbak, Kristine Grønning; Hadrup, Niels; Audouze, Karine Marie Laure

    2014-01-01

    be used to establish hypotheses on links between the chemical and human diseases. Such information can also be applied for designing more intelligent animal/cell experiments that can test the established hypotheses. Here, we describe how and why to apply an integrative systems biology method......Systems biology as a research field has emerged within the last few decades. Systems biology, often defined as the antithesis of the reductionist approach, integrates information about individual components of a biological system. In integrative systems biology, large data sets from various sources...... and databases are used to model and predict effects of chemicals on, for instance, human health. In toxicology, computational systems biology enables identification of important pathways and molecules from large data sets; tasks that can be extremely laborious when performed by a classical literature search...

  7. Omics/systems biology and cancer cachexia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallagher, Iain J; Jacobi, Carsten; Tardif, Nicolas; Rooyackers, Olav; Fearon, Kenneth

    2016-06-01

    Cancer cachexia is a complex syndrome generated by interaction between the host and tumour cells with a background of treatment effects and toxicity. The complexity of the physiological pathways likely involved in cancer cachexia necessitates a holistic view of the relevant biology. Emergent properties are characteristic of complex systems with the result that the end result is more than the sum of its parts. Recognition of the importance of emergent properties in biology led to the concept of systems biology wherein a holistic approach is taken to the biology at hand. Systems biology approaches will therefore play an important role in work to uncover key mechanisms with therapeutic potential in cancer cachexia. The 'omics' technologies provide a global view of biological systems. Genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, lipidomics and metabolomics approaches all have application in the study of cancer cachexia to generate systems level models of the behaviour of this syndrome. The current work reviews recent applications of these technologies to muscle atrophy in general and cancer cachexia in particular with a view to progress towards integration of these approaches to better understand the pathology and potential treatment pathways in cancer cachexia. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  8. Culture, Urbanism and Changing Human Biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schell, L M

    2014-04-03

    Anthropologists have long known that human activity driven by culture changes the environment. This is apparent in the archaeological record and through the study of the modern environment. Perhaps the largest change since the paleolithic era is the organization of human populations in cities. New environments can reshape human biology through evolution as shown by the evolution of the hominid lineage. Evolution is not the only process capable of reshaping our biology. Some changes in our human biology are adaptive and evolutionary while others are pathological. What changes in human biology may be wrought by the modern urban environment? One significant new change in the environment is the introduction of pollutants largely through urbanization. Pollutants can affect human biology in myriad ways. Evidence shows that human growth, reproduction, and cognitive functioning can be altered by some pollutants, and altered in different ways depending on the pollutant. Thus, pollutants have significance for human biologists and anthropologists generally. Further, they illustrate the bio-cultural interaction characterizing human change. Humans adapt by changing the environment, a cultural process, and then change biologically to adjust to that new environment. This ongoing, interactive process is a fundamental characteristic of human change over the millennia.

  9. Systems Biology

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    IAS Admin

    study and understand the function of biological systems, particu- larly, the response of such .... understand the organisation and behaviour of prokaryotic sys- tems. ... relationship of the structure of a target molecule to its ability to bind a certain ...

  10. A comparison of biological and cultural evolution

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    the intellectual and moral characters of man have emerged as results of biological ..... tural selection is at least partly based on conscious action. In cultural evolution .... Transfer of information in biological and cultural evolution. In biological.

  11. The Ethics of Synthetic Biology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christiansen, Andreas

    The dissertation analyses and discusses a number of ethical issues that have been raised in connection with the development of synthetic biology. Synthetic biology is a set of new techniques for DNA-level design and construction of living beings with useful properties. The dissertation especially...

  12. Biological dosimetry of irradiation accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Durand, V.; Chambrette, V.; Le Roy, A.; Paillole, N.; Sorokine, I.; Voisin, P.

    1994-01-01

    The biological dosimetry in radiation protection allows to evaluate the received dose by a potentially irradiated person from biological markers such chromosomal abnormalities. The technologies of Hybridization In Situ by Fluorescence (F.I.S.H) allow the detection of steady chromosomal aberrations of translocation type

  13. Brassinosteroids: synthesis and biological activities

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Oklešťková, Jana; Rárová, Lucie; Kvasnica, Miroslav; Strnad, Miroslav

    2015-01-01

    Roč. 14, č. 6 (2015), s. 1053-1072 ISSN 1568-7767 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LO1204 Institutional support: RVO:61389030 Keywords : Brassinosteroids * Chemical synthesis * Plant biological activity Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology Impact factor: 2.686, year: 2015

  14. Ten questions about systems biology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Joyner, Michael J; Pedersen, Bente K

    2011-01-01

    to understand how whole animals adapt to the real world. We argue that a lack of fluency in these concepts is a major stumbling block for what has been narrowly defined as 'systems biology' by some of its leading advocates. We also point out that it is a failure of regulation at multiple levels that causes many......In this paper we raise 'ten questions' broadly related to 'omics', the term systems biology, and why the new biology has failed to deliver major therapeutic advances for many common diseases, especially diabetes and cardiovascular disease. We argue that a fundamentally narrow and reductionist...

  15. Ten questions about systems biology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Joyner, Michael J; Pedersen, Bente K

    2011-01-01

    In this paper we raise 'ten questions' broadly related to 'omics', the term systems biology, and why the new biology has failed to deliver major therapeutic advances for many common diseases, especially diabetes and cardiovascular disease. We argue that a fundamentally narrow and reductionist...... to understand how whole animals adapt to the real world. We argue that a lack of fluency in these concepts is a major stumbling block for what has been narrowly defined as 'systems biology' by some of its leading advocates. We also point out that it is a failure of regulation at multiple levels that causes many...

  16. New Approaches in Cancer Biology Can Inform the Biology Curriculum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Lynda; Gordon, Diana; Zelinski, Mary

    2018-03-01

    Students tend to be very interested in medical issues that affect them and their friends and family. Using cancer as a hook, the ART of Reproductive Medicine: Oncofertility curriculum (free, online, and NIH sponsored) has been developed to supplement the teaching of basic biological concepts and to connect biology and biomedical research. This approach allows integration of up-to-date information on cancer and cancer treatment, cell division, male and female reproductive anatomy and physiology, cryopreservation, fertility preservation, stem cells, ethics, and epigenetics into an existing biology curriculum. Many of the topics covered in the curriculum relate to other scientific disciplines, such as the latest developments in stem cell research including tissue bioengineering and gene therapy for inherited mitochondrial disease, how epigenetics occurs chemically to affect gene expression or suppression and how it can be passed down through the generations, and the variety of biomedical careers students could pursue. The labs are designed to be open-ended and inquiry-based, and extensions to the experiments are provided so that students can explore questions further. Case studies and ethical dilemmas are provided to encourage thoughtful discussion. In addition, each chapter of the curriculum includes links to scientific papers, additional resources on each topic, and NGSS alignment.

  17. Topics in mathematical biology

    CERN Document Server

    Hadeler, Karl Peter

    2017-01-01

    This book analyzes the impact of quiescent phases on biological models. Quiescence arises, for example, when moving individuals stop moving, hunting predators take a rest, infected individuals are isolated, or cells enter the quiescent compartment of the cell cycle. In the first chapter of Topics in Mathematical Biology general principles about coupled and quiescent systems are derived, including results on shrinking periodic orbits and stabilization of oscillations via quiescence. In subsequent chapters classical biological models are presented in detail and challenged by the introduction of quiescence. These models include delay equations, demographic models, age structured models, Lotka-Volterra systems, replicator systems, genetic models, game theory, Nash equilibria, evolutionary stable strategies, ecological models, epidemiological models, random walks and reaction-diffusion models. In each case we find new and interesting results such as stability of fixed points and/or periodic orbits, excitability...

  18. Relative biological efficiency of 592 MeV protons. Analysis of the biological effect of secondary radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Legeay, G.; Baarli, J.

    1968-01-01

    The relative biological efficiency (RBE) of high energy protons is of importance because of their effects in the field of radioprotection around large accelerators and during space-flights. The nature of the interactions between 592 MeV protons and biological tissues makes it necessary to take into consideration the contribution of secondary radiation to the biological effect. Since it is not possible to obtain from a synchrotron a beam having a sufficiently large cross-section to irradiate large animals, one has to resort to certain devices concerning the mode of exposure when small laboratory animals are used. By irradiating rats individually and in groups, and by using the lethal test as a function of time, the authors show that the value of the RBE is different for animals of the same species having the same biological parameters. Thus there appears an increase in the biological effect due to secondary radiation produced in nuclear cascades which develop in a large volume, for example that of a human being. (author) [fr

  19. [History of the Strasbourg Society of Biology].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antony, Pierre; Romier, Christophe; Mantz, Jean-Marie

    2017-01-01

    The Society of Biology of Strasbourg (SBS) is a learned society that was created in 1919 based on the model of the Society of Biology of which it is a subsidiary. Like its Parisian colleague, SBS aims at diffusing and promoting scientific knowledge in biology. To achieve this goal, SBS initiated since its creation a dialogue interface between researchers in biology and physicians, and more recently with other scientific disciplines, industry and the civil society. At the dawn of its first century, the Society of Biology of Strasbourg must continue to reinvent itself to pursue its development and to fulfil its mission of sharing scientific knowledge. This work continues in strong collaboration with our partners that share with SBS the willingness to foster excellence in biological research in Strasbourg, its region and beyond. © Société de Biologie, 2017.

  20. Biological Effectiveness of Antiproton Annihilation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Maggiore, C.; Agazaryan, N.; Bassler, N.

    2004-01-01

    from the annihilation of antiprotons produce an increase in ‘‘biological dose’’ in the vicinity of the narrow Bragg peak for antiprotons compared to protons. This experiment is the first direct measurement of the biological effects of antiproton annihilation. The background, description, and status...

  1. Heuristic Strategies in Systems Biology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fridolin Gross

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Systems biology is sometimes presented as providing a superior approach to the problem of biological complexity. Its use of ‘unbiased’ methods and formal quantitative tools might lead to the impression that the human factor is effectively eliminated. However, a closer look reveals that this impression is misguided. Systems biologists cannot simply assemble molecular information and compute biological behavior. Instead, systems biology’s main contribution is to accelerate the discovery of mechanisms by applying models as heuristic tools. These models rely on a variety of idealizing and simplifying assumptions in order to be efficient for this purpose. The strategies of systems biologists are similar to those of experimentalists in that they attempt to reduce the complexity of the discovery process. Analyzing and comparing these strategies, or ‘heuristics’, reveals the importance of the human factor in computational approaches and helps to situate systems biology within the epistemic landscape of the life sciences.

  2. Agent-based modelling in synthetic biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gorochowski, Thomas E

    2016-11-30

    Biological systems exhibit complex behaviours that emerge at many different levels of organization. These span the regulation of gene expression within single cells to the use of quorum sensing to co-ordinate the action of entire bacterial colonies. Synthetic biology aims to make the engineering of biology easier, offering an opportunity to control natural systems and develop new synthetic systems with useful prescribed behaviours. However, in many cases, it is not understood how individual cells should be programmed to ensure the emergence of a required collective behaviour. Agent-based modelling aims to tackle this problem, offering a framework in which to simulate such systems and explore cellular design rules. In this article, I review the use of agent-based models in synthetic biology, outline the available computational tools, and provide details on recently engineered biological systems that are amenable to this approach. I further highlight the challenges facing this methodology and some of the potential future directions. © 2016 The Author(s).

  3. Biology of Leptoypha hospita (Hemiptera: Tingidae), a Potential Biological Control Agent of Chinese Privet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yanzhuo Zhang; James L. Hanula; Scott Horn; Kristine Braman; Jianghua Sun

    2011-01-01

    The biology of Leptoypha hospita Drake et Poor (Hemiptera: Tingidae), a potential biological control agent from China for Chinese privet, Ligustrum sinense Lour., was studied in quarantine in the United States. Both nymphs and adults feed on Chinese privet mesophyll cells that lead to a bleached appearance of leaves and dieback of branch tips. L. hospita has five...

  4. Improving biological efficiency of Oyster mushroom, Pleurotus ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences ... Yield improvement were observed in both pigeon pea and sunflower seed cake supplemented treatments with the highest mycelium vigor (91.65%) and biological ... Keywords: biological efficiency, compost, mycelium vigor, pigeon pea, sunflower seed cake

  5. Network Reconstruction of Dynamic Biological Systems

    OpenAIRE

    Asadi, Behrang

    2013-01-01

    Inference of network topology from experimental data is a central endeavor in biology, since knowledge of the underlying signaling mechanisms a requirement for understanding biological phenomena. As one of the most important tools in bioinformatics area, development of methods to reconstruct biological networks has attracted remarkable attention in the current decade. Integration of different data types can lead to remarkable improvements in our ability to identify the connectivity of differe...

  6. Hanford Site Biological Resources Mitigation Strategy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sackschewsky, Michael R

    2003-01-01

    The Biological Resources Mitigation Strategy (BRMiS), as part of a broader biological resource policy, is designed to aid the U.S. Department of Energy, Richland Operations Office (DOE-RL) in balancing its primary missions of waste cleanup, technology development, and economic diversification with its stewardship responsibilities for the biological resources it administers. This strategy will be applied to all DOE-RL programs as well as all contractor and subcontractor activities

  7. Opportunities in Biological Sciences; [VGM Career Horizons Series].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winter, Charles A.

    This book provides job descriptions and discusses career opportunities in various fields of the biological sciences. These fields include: (1) biotechnology, genetics, biomedical engineering, microbiology, mycology, systematic biology, marine and aquatic biology, botany, plant physiology, plant pathology, ecology, and wildlife biology; (2) the…

  8. Static Analysis for Systems Biology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielson, Flemming; Nielson, Hanne Riis; Rosa, D. Schuch da

    2004-01-01

    This paper shows how static analysis techniques can help understanding biological systems. Based on a simple example we illustrate the outcome of performing three different analyses extracting information of increasing precision. We conclude by reporting on the potential impact and exploitation o...... of these techniques in systems biology....

  9. From Biology to Quality (BQ)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Michael Engelbrecht; Ingerslev, Hans-Christian

    2011-01-01

    “Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skilful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives.” (William A. Foster) The quality of fish meat is dependent upon a wide range of biological and non-biological ...

  10. Marine Biology and Human Affairs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Russell, F. S.

    1976-01-01

    Marine biology has become an important area for study throughout the world. The author of this article discusses some of the important discoveries and fields of research in marine biology that are useful for mankind. Topics include food from the sea, fish farming, pesticides, pollution, and conservation. (MA)

  11. From systems biology to systems biomedicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antony, Paul M A; Balling, Rudi; Vlassis, Nikos

    2012-08-01

    Systems Biology is about combining theory, technology, and targeted experiments in a way that drives not only data accumulation but knowledge as well. The challenge in Systems Biomedicine is to furthermore translate mechanistic insights in biological systems to clinical application, with the central aim of improving patients' quality of life. The challenge is to find theoretically well-chosen models for the contextually correct and intelligible representation of multi-scale biological systems. In this review, we discuss the current state of Systems Biology, highlight the emergence of Systems Biomedicine, and highlight some of the topics and views that we think are important for the efficient application of Systems Theory in Biomedicine. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. The use of nuclear reactor in radiation biology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ujeno, Yowri

    1991-01-01

    The Kyoto University Reactor (KUR) is widely used not only in biology, but also in applied biology, today. These studies were surveyed in the present paper and the future possibility to use KUR in radiation biology was discussed. The researches on the effects of thermal neutrons on various normal tissues, the biological effects of neutrons except thermal neutrons, especially intermediate neutrons between thermal and high speed neutrons or cold neutrons, the adaptive response of cells to thermal neutron radiation, the application of nuclear reactor-produced radionuclides including 195m Pt to biology, and the mutation in botanical science and so on, should be continued using nuclear reactor. The necessity of nuclear reactor in biology and applied biology is emphasized. (author)

  13. Dissipative structures and biological rhythms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldbeter, Albert

    2017-10-01

    Sustained oscillations abound in biological systems. They occur at all levels of biological organization over a wide range of periods, from a fraction of a second to years, and with a variety of underlying mechanisms. They control major physiological functions, and their dysfunction is associated with a variety of physiological disorders. The goal of this review is (i) to give an overview of the main rhythms observed at the cellular and supracellular levels, (ii) to briefly describe how the study of biological rhythms unfolded in the course of time, in parallel with studies on chemical oscillations, (iii) to present the major roles of biological rhythms in the control of physiological functions, and (iv) the pathologies associated with the alteration, disappearance, or spurious occurrence of biological rhythms. Two tables present the main examples of cellular and supracellular rhythms ordered according to their period, and their role in physiology and pathophysiology. Among the rhythms discussed are neural and cardiac rhythms, metabolic oscillations such as those occurring in glycolysis in yeast, intracellular Ca++ oscillations, cyclic AMP oscillations in Dictyostelium amoebae, the segmentation clock that controls somitogenesis, pulsatile hormone secretion, circadian rhythms which occur in all eukaryotes and some bacteria with a period close to 24 h, the oscillatory dynamics of the enzymatic network driving the cell cycle, and oscillations in transcription factors such as NF-ΚB and tumor suppressors such as p53. Ilya Prigogine's concept of dissipative structures applies to temporal oscillations and allows us to unify within a common framework the various rhythms observed at different levels of biological organization, regardless of their period and underlying mechanism.

  14. Assessment procedures results of training in biology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena A. Galkina

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available The article describes the procedures for evaluating the results of training in biology. The mechanisms for monitoring the learning outcomes of a biology teacher are presented. Examples of algorithms for procedures for evaluating learning outcomes in biology are demonstrated.

  15. Review of Biological Network Data and Its Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Donghyeon Yu

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Studying biological networks, such as protein-protein interactions, is key to understanding complex biological activities. Various types of large-scale biological datasets have been collected and analyzed with high-throughput technologies, including DNA microarray, next-generation sequencing, and the two-hybrid screening system, for this purpose. In this review, we focus on network-based approaches that help in understanding biological systems and identifying biological functions. Accordingly, this paper covers two major topics in network biology: reconstruction of gene regulatory networks and network-based applications, including protein function prediction, disease gene prioritization, and network-based genome-wide association study.

  16. Comparing biological networks via graph compression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hayashida Morihiro

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Comparison of various kinds of biological data is one of the main problems in bioinformatics and systems biology. Data compression methods have been applied to comparison of large sequence data and protein structure data. Since it is still difficult to compare global structures of large biological networks, it is reasonable to try to apply data compression methods to comparison of biological networks. In existing compression methods, the uniqueness of compression results is not guaranteed because there is some ambiguity in selection of overlapping edges. Results This paper proposes novel efficient methods, CompressEdge and CompressVertices, for comparing large biological networks. In the proposed methods, an original network structure is compressed by iteratively contracting identical edges and sets of connected edges. Then, the similarity of two networks is measured by a compression ratio of the concatenated networks. The proposed methods are applied to comparison of metabolic networks of several organisms, H. sapiens, M. musculus, A. thaliana, D. melanogaster, C. elegans, E. coli, S. cerevisiae, and B. subtilis, and are compared with an existing method. These results suggest that our methods can efficiently measure the similarities between metabolic networks. Conclusions Our proposed algorithms, which compress node-labeled networks, are useful for measuring the similarity of large biological networks.

  17. WE-B-304-03: Biological Treatment Planning

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Orton, C.

    2015-01-01

    The ultimate goal of radiotherapy treatment planning is to find a treatment that will yield a high tumor control probability (TCP) with an acceptable normal tissue complication probability (NTCP). Yet most treatment planning today is not based upon optimization of TCPs and NTCPs, but rather upon meeting physical dose and volume constraints defined by the planner. It has been suggested that treatment planning evaluation and optimization would be more effective if they were biologically and not dose/volume based, and this is the claim debated in this month’s Point/Counterpoint. After a brief overview of biologically and DVH based treatment planning by the Moderator Colin Orton, Joseph Deasy (for biological planning) and Charles Mayo (against biological planning) will begin the debate. Some of the arguments in support of biological planning include: this will result in more effective dose distributions for many patients DVH-based measures of plan quality are known to have little predictive value there is little evidence that either D95 or D98 of the PTV is a good predictor of tumor control sufficient validated outcome prediction models are now becoming available and should be used to drive planning and optimization Some of the arguments against biological planning include: several decades of experience with DVH-based planning should not be discarded we do not know enough about the reliability and errors associated with biological models the radiotherapy community in general has little direct experience with side by side comparisons of DVH vs biological metrics and outcomes it is unlikely that a clinician would accept extremely cold regions in a CTV or hot regions in a PTV, despite having acceptable TCP values Learning Objectives: To understand dose/volume based treatment planning and its potential limitations To understand biological metrics such as EUD, TCP, and NTCP To understand biologically based treatment planning and its potential limitations

  18. Biologics in pediatric psoriasis - efficacy and safety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dogra, Sunil; Mahajan, Rahul

    2018-01-01

    Childhood psoriasis is a special situation that is a management challenge for the treating dermatologist. As is the situation with traditional systemic agents, which are commonly used in managing severe psoriasis in children, the biologics are being increasingly used in the recalcitrant disease despite limited data on long term safety. Areas covered: We performed an extensive literature search to collect evidence-based data on the use of biologics in pediatric psoriasis. The relevant literature published from 2000 to September 2017 was obtained from PubMed, using the MeSH words 'biologics', 'biologic response modifiers' and 'treatment of pediatric/childhood psoriasis'. All clinical trials, randomized double-blind or single-blind controlled trials, open-label studies, retrospective studies, reviews, case reports and letters concerning the use of biologics in pediatric psoriasis were screened. Articles covering the use of biologics in pediatric psoriasis were screened and reference lists in the selected articles were scrutinized to identify other relevant articles that had not been found in the initial search. Articles without relevant information about biologics in general (e.g. its mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics and adverse effects) and its use in psoriasis in particular were excluded. We screened 427 articles and finally selected 41 relevant articles. Expert opinion: The available literature on the use of biologics such as anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α agents, and anti-IL-12/23 agents like ustekinumab suggests that these are effective and safe in managing severe pediatric psoriasis although there is an urgent need to generate more safety data. Dermatologists must be careful about the potential adverse effects of the biologics before administering them to children with psoriasis. It is likely that with rapidly evolving scenario of biologics in psoriasis, these will prove to be very useful molecules particularly in managing severe and recalcitrant

  19. Thermal Stabilization of Biologics with Photoresponsive Hydrogels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sridhar, Balaji V; Janczy, John R; Hatlevik, Øyvind; Wolfson, Gabriel; Anseth, Kristi S; Tibbitt, Mark W

    2018-03-12

    Modern medicine, biological research, and clinical diagnostics depend on the reliable supply and storage of complex biomolecules. However, biomolecules are inherently susceptible to thermal stress and the global distribution of value-added biologics, including vaccines, biotherapeutics, and Research Use Only (RUO) proteins, requires an integrated cold chain from point of manufacture to point of use. To mitigate reliance on the cold chain, formulations have been engineered to protect biologics from thermal stress, including materials-based strategies that impart thermal stability via direct encapsulation of the molecule. While direct encapsulation has demonstrated pronounced stabilization of proteins and complex biological fluids, no solution offers thermal stability while enabling facile and on-demand release from the encapsulating material, a critical feature for broad use. Here we show that direct encapsulation within synthetic, photoresponsive hydrogels protected biologics from thermal stress and afforded user-defined release at the point of use. The poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-based hydrogel was formed via a bioorthogonal, click reaction in the presence of biologics without impact on biologic activity. Cleavage of the installed photolabile moiety enabled subsequent dissolution of the network with light and release of the encapsulated biologic. Hydrogel encapsulation improved stability for encapsulated enzymes commonly used in molecular biology (β-galactosidase, alkaline phosphatase, and T4 DNA ligase) following thermal stress. β-galactosidase and alkaline phosphatase were stabilized for 4 weeks at temperatures up to 60 °C, and for 60 min at 85 °C for alkaline phosphatase. T4 DNA ligase, which loses activity rapidly at moderately elevated temperatures, was protected during thermal stress of 40 °C for 24 h and 60 °C for 30 min. These data demonstrate a general method to employ reversible polymer networks as robust excipients for thermal stability of complex

  20. Spatial Modeling Tools for Cell Biology

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Przekwas, Andrzej; Friend, Tom; Teixeira, Rodrigo; Chen, Z. J; Wilkerson, Patrick

    2006-01-01

    .... Scientific potentials and military relevance of computational biology and bioinformatics have inspired DARPA/IPTO's visionary BioSPICE project to develop computational framework and modeling tools for cell biology...

  1. Human papillomavirus molecular biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harden, Mallory E; Munger, Karl

    Human papillomaviruses are small DNA viruses with a tropism for squamous epithelia. A unique aspect of human papillomavirus molecular biology involves dependence on the differentiation status of the host epithelial cell to complete the viral lifecycle. A small group of these viruses are the etiologic agents of several types of human cancers, including oral and anogenital tract carcinomas. This review focuses on the basic molecular biology of human papillomaviruses. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Computational aspects of systematic biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lilburn, Timothy G; Harrison, Scott H; Cole, James R; Garrity, George M

    2006-06-01

    We review the resources available to systematic biologists who wish to use computers to build classifications. Algorithm development is in an early stage, and only a few examples of integrated applications for systematic biology are available. The availability of data is crucial if systematic biology is to enter the computer age.

  3. Querying Large Biological Network Datasets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gulsoy, Gunhan

    2013-01-01

    New experimental methods has resulted in increasing amount of genetic interaction data to be generated every day. Biological networks are used to store genetic interaction data gathered. Increasing amount of data available requires fast large scale analysis methods. Therefore, we address the problem of querying large biological network datasets.…

  4. IAEA biological reference materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parr, R.M.; Schelenz, R.; Ballestra, S.

    1988-01-01

    The Analytical Quality Control Services programme of the IAEA encompasses a wide variety of intercomparisons and reference materials. This paper reviews only those aspects of the subject having to do with biological reference materials. The 1988 programme foresees 13 new intercomparison exercises, one for major, minor and trace elements, five for radionuclides, and seven for stable isotopes. Twenty-two natural matrix biological reference materials are available: twelve for major, minor and trace elements, six for radionuclides, and four for chlorinated hydrocarbons. Seven new intercomparisons and reference materials are in preparation or under active consideration. Guidelines on the correct use of reference materials are being prepared for publication in 1989 in consultation with other major international producers and users of biological reference materials. The IAEA database on available reference materials is being updated and expanded in scope, and a new publication is planned for 1989. (orig.)

  5. Wireless Biological Electronic Sensors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Yue

    2017-10-09

    The development of wireless biological electronic sensors could open up significant advances for both fundamental studies and practical applications in a variety of areas, including medical diagnosis, environmental monitoring, and defense applications. One of the major challenges in the development of wireless bioelectronic sensors is the successful integration of biosensing units and wireless signal transducers. In recent years, there are a few types of wireless communication systems that have been integrated with biosensing systems to construct wireless bioelectronic sensors. To successfully construct wireless biological electronic sensors, there are several interesting questions: What types of biosensing transducers can be used in wireless bioelectronic sensors? What types of wireless systems can be integrated with biosensing transducers to construct wireless bioelectronic sensors? How are the electrical sensing signals generated and transmitted? This review will highlight the early attempts to address these questions in the development of wireless biological electronic sensors.

  6. Biological flue gas desulfurization

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Buisman, C.J.N.; Dijkman, H.; Wijte, G.; Prins, W.L.; Verbraak, P.; Hartog, H.A.J. den [Paper B.V. Blak (Netherlands)

    1995-08-01

    A new biological flue gas desulfurization process (BIO-FGD) producing sulphur as a by-product was invented by Paques BV and Hoogens Technical Services in 1993. Sulphur dioxide is absorbed from flue gas using a combination of a sodium based scrubber and two biological reactors, an anaerobic and an aerobic biological reactor. The article describes the process and its evaluation in a pilot plant at 2 MW scale, designed to remove 6 kg/hr SO{sub 2} of the 2 million m{sup 3}/hr of flue gas produced at the 600 MW coal fired power station Amer-8 situated in Geertruidenberg in the south of the Netherlands. Research so far has proved the process works successfully and at low cost. A second pilot plant due to start-up in May 1995 will provide data on scale up and further information on sulphur recovery. 5 refs., 5 figs.

  7. Biological trade and markets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hammerstein, Peter; Noë, Ronald

    2016-02-05

    Cooperation between organisms can often be understood, like trade between merchants, as a mutually beneficial exchange of services, resources or other 'commodities'. Mutual benefits alone, however, are not sufficient to explain the evolution of trade-based cooperation. First, organisms may reject a particular trade if another partner offers a better deal. Second, while human trade often entails binding contracts, non-human trade requires unwritten 'terms of contract' that 'self-stabilize' trade and prevent cheating even if all traders strive to maximize fitness. Whenever trading partners can be chosen, market-like situations arise in nature that biologists studying cooperation need to account for. The mere possibility of exerting partner choice stabilizes many forms of otherwise cheatable trade, induces competition, facilitates the evolution of specialization and often leads to intricate forms of cooperation. We discuss selected examples to illustrate these general points and review basic conceptual approaches that are important in the theory of biological trade and markets. Comparing these approaches with theory in economics, it turns out that conventional models-often called 'Walrasian' markets-are of limited relevance to biology. In contrast, early approaches to trade and markets, as found in the works of Ricardo and Cournot, contain elements of thought that have inspired useful models in biology. For example, the concept of comparative advantage has biological applications in trade, signalling and ecological competition. We also see convergence between post-Walrasian economics and biological markets. For example, both economists and biologists are studying 'principal-agent' problems with principals offering jobs to agents without being sure that the agents will do a proper job. Finally, we show that mating markets have many peculiarities not shared with conventional economic markets. Ideas from economics are useful for biologists studying cooperation but need

  8. World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) Guidelines for Biological Treatment of Schizophrenia. Part 3

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hasan, Alkomiet; Falkai, Peter; Wobrock, Thomas

    2015-01-01

    These updated guidelines are based on the first edition of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) guidelines for biological treatment of schizophrenia published in the years 2005 and 2006. For this 2015 revision, all available publications pertaining to the biological...... treatment of schizophrenia were reviewed systematically to allow for an evidence-based update. These guidelines provide evidence-based practice recommendations which are clinically and scientifically relevant. They are intended to be used by all physicians diagnosing and treating patients with schizophrenia...

  9. Marine Biology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dewees, Christopher M.; Hooper, Jon K.

    1976-01-01

    A variety of informational material for a course in marine biology or oceanology at the secondary level is presented. Among the topics discussed are: food webs and pyramids, planktonic blooms, marine life, plankton nets, food chains, phytoplankton, zooplankton, larval plankton and filter feeders. (BT)

  10. Biological origins of color categorization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skelton, Alice E; Catchpole, Gemma; Abbott, Joshua T; Bosten, Jenny M; Franklin, Anna

    2017-05-23

    The biological basis of the commonality in color lexicons across languages has been hotly debated for decades. Prior evidence that infants categorize color could provide support for the hypothesis that color categorization systems are not purely constructed by communication and culture. Here, we investigate the relationship between infants' categorization of color and the commonality across color lexicons, and the potential biological origin of infant color categories. We systematically mapped infants' categorical recognition memory for hue onto a stimulus array used previously to document the color lexicons of 110 nonindustrialized languages. Following familiarization to a given hue, infants' response to a novel hue indicated that their recognition memory parses the hue continuum into red, yellow, green, blue, and purple categories. Infants' categorical distinctions aligned with common distinctions in color lexicons and are organized around hues that are commonly central to lexical categories across languages. The boundaries between infants' categorical distinctions also aligned, relative to the adaptation point, with the cardinal axes that describe the early stages of color representation in retinogeniculate pathways, indicating that infant color categorization may be partly organized by biological mechanisms of color vision. The findings suggest that color categorization in language and thought is partially biologically constrained and have implications for broader debate on how biology, culture, and communication interact in human cognition.

  11. Electron holography of biological samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simon, P; Lichte, H; Formanek, P; Lehmann, M; Huhle, R; Carrillo-Cabrera, W; Harscher, A; Ehrlich, H

    2008-01-01

    In this paper, we summarise the development of off-axis electron holography on biological samples starting in 1986 with the first results on ferritin from the group of Tonomura. In the middle of the 1990s strong interest was evoked, but then stagnation took place because the results obtained at that stage did not reach the contrast and the resolution achieved by conventional electron microscopy. To date, there exist only a few ( approximately 12) publications on electron holography of biological objects, thus this topic is quite small and concise. The reason for this could be that holography is mostly established in materials science by physicists. Therefore, applications for off-axis holography were powerfully pushed forward in the area of imaging, e.g. electric or magnetic micro- and nanofields. Unstained biological systems investigated by means of off-axis electron holography up to now are ferritin, tobacco mosaic virus, a bacterial flagellum, T5 bacteriophage virus, hexagonal packed intermediate layer of bacteria and the Semliki Forest virus. New results of the authors on collagen fibres and surface layer of bacteria, the so-called S-layer 2D crystal lattice are presented in this review. For the sake of completeness, we will shortly discuss in-line holography of biological samples and off-axis holography of materials related to biological systems, such as biomaterial composites or magnetotactic bacteria.

  12. Monod and the spirit of molecular biology

    OpenAIRE

    Morange , Michel

    2015-01-01

    International audience; The founders of molecular biology shared views on the place of biology within science, as well as on the relations of molecular biology to Darwinism. Jacques Monod was no exception, but the study of his writings is particularly interesting because he expressed his point of view very clearly and pushed the implications of some of his choices further than most of his contemporaries. The spirit of molecular biology is no longer the same as in the 1960s but, interestingly,...

  13. Using the biological literature a practical guide

    CERN Document Server

    Schmidt, Diane

    2014-01-01

    IntroductionSearching the Biological LiteratureGeneral SourcesAssociationsBibliographiesClassification, Nomenclature, and SystematicsDictionaries and EncyclopediasDirectoriesField GuidesSeriesFull-Text SourcesGeneral WorksGuides for young ScientistsGuides to the LiteratureHandbooksHistoriesMathematics and StatisticsMethods and TechniquesTextbooks and TreatisesWriting GuidesPeriodicalsReviews of the LiteratureAbstracts and IndexesBiochemistry and BiophysicsMolecular and Cellular BiologyGenetics, Biotechnology, and Developmental BiologyMicrobiology and ImmunologyEcology, Evolution, and Animal BehaviorPlant BiologyAnatomy and PhysiologyEntomologyZoologyIndex.

  14. The emerging age of cell-free synthetic biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Mark Thomas; Wilding, Kristen M; Hunt, Jeremy M; Bennett, Anthony M; Bundy, Bradley C

    2014-08-25

    The engineering of and mastery over biological parts has catalyzed the emergence of synthetic biology. This field has grown exponentially in the past decade. As increasingly more applications of synthetic biology are pursued, more challenges are encountered, such as delivering genetic material into cells and optimizing genetic circuits in vivo. An in vitro or cell-free approach to synthetic biology simplifies and avoids many of the pitfalls of in vivo synthetic biology. In this review, we describe some of the innate features that make cell-free systems compelling platforms for synthetic biology and discuss emerging improvements of cell-free technologies. We also select and highlight recent and emerging applications of cell-free synthetic biology. Copyright © 2014 Federation of European Biochemical Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Radiation biology: a century of hopes and disappointments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, B.B.

    1998-01-01

    In the history of science, radiation biology will rank perhaps as the most popular subject to have attracted researchers from many disciplines of basic as well as applied sciences. Apart from the excitement arising in clinics relating to radiation treatment of cancers the tragedies in Hiroshima and Nagasaki brought numerous scientists together to investigate the harmful biological effects of ionizing radiation. It is then radiation biology picked up a great momentum. It started developing in two different directions what may be called basic radiation biology and radiation biology applied to radiotherapy of cancer. While great strides were being made in basic radiation biology trying to understand the biological effects of radiation and mechanisms thereof, clinical aspect remained confined mainly to the medical fraternity where empiricalism became the rule

  16. 9 CFR 112.6 - Packaging biological products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Packaging biological products. 112.6... AGRICULTURE VIRUSES, SERUMS, TOXINS, AND ANALOGOUS PRODUCTS; ORGANISMS AND VECTORS PACKAGING AND LABELING § 112.6 Packaging biological products. (a) Each multiple-dose final container of a biological product...

  17. Development of Quantitative Real-Time PCR Assays for Detection and Quantification of Surrogate Biological Warfare Agents in Building Debris and Leachate▿

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saikaly, Pascal E.; Barlaz, Morton A.; de los Reyes, Francis L.

    2007-01-01

    Evaluation of the fate and transport of biological warfare (BW) agents in landfills requires the development of specific and sensitive detection assays. The objective of the current study was to develop and validate SYBR green quantitative real-time PCR (Q-PCR) assays for the specific detection and quantification of surrogate BW agents in synthetic building debris (SBD) and leachate. Bacillus atrophaeus (vegetative cells and spores) and Serratia marcescens were used as surrogates for Bacillus anthracis (anthrax) and Yersinia pestis (plague), respectively. The targets for SYBR green Q-PCR assays were the 16S-23S rRNA intergenic transcribed spacer (ITS) region and recA gene for B. atrophaeus and the gyrB, wzm, and recA genes for S. marcescens. All assays showed high specificity when tested against 5 ng of closely related Bacillus and Serratia nontarget DNA from 21 organisms. Several spore lysis methods that include a combination of one or more of freeze-thaw cycles, chemical lysis, hot detergent treatment, bead beat homogenization, and sonication were evaluated. All methods tested showed similar threshold cycle values. The limit of detection of the developed Q-PCR assays was determined using DNA extracted from a pure bacterial culture and DNA extracted from sterile water, leachate, and SBD samples spiked with increasing quantities of surrogates. The limit of detection for B. atrophaeus genomic DNA using the ITS and B. atrophaeus recA Q-PCR assays was 7.5 fg per PCR. The limits of detection of S. marcescens genomic DNA using the gyrB, wzm, and S. marcescens recA Q-PCR assays were 7.5 fg, 75 fg, and 7.5 fg per PCR, respectively. Quantification of B. atrophaeus vegetative cells and spores was linear (R2 > 0.98) over a 7-log-unit dynamic range down to 101 B. atrophaeus cells or spores. Quantification of S. marcescens (R2 > 0.98) was linear over a 6-log-unit dynamic range down to 102 S. marcescens cells. The developed Q-PCR assays are highly specific and sensitive and can

  18. The Defense Science Board 2001 Summer Study on Defense Science and Technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    2002-05-01

    HIT” The threat of biological weapons arises in part from a decades-old megatrend in the life sciences. New advances in molecular biology, genetics...99 The Technology Landscape Today.................................... 101 Biological Warfare Defense...planning and programming, today’s environment comprises a broader, more diffuse set of concerns: terrorism, biological warfare, regional tensions

  19. A Friendly-Biological Reactor SIMulator (BioReSIM for studying biological processes in wastewater treatment processes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raul Molina

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Biological processes for wastewater treatments are inherently dynamic systems because of the large variations in the influent wastewater flow rate, concentration composition and the adaptive behavior of the involved microorganisms. Moreover, the sludge retention time (SRT is a critical factor to understand the bioreactor performances when changes in the influent or in the operation conditions take place. Since SRT are usually in the range of 10-30 days, the performance of biological reactors needs a long time to be monitored in a regular laboratory demonstration, limiting the knowledge that can be obtained in the experimental lab practice. In order to overcome this lack, mathematical models and computer simulations are useful tools to describe biochemical processes and predict the overall performance of bioreactors under different working operation conditions and variations of the inlet wastewater composition. The mathematical solution of the model could be difficult as numerous biochemical processes can be considered. Additionally, biological reactors description (mass balance, etc. needs models represented by partial or/and ordinary differential equations associated to algebraic expressions, that require complex computational codes to obtain the numerical solutions. Different kind of software for mathematical modeling can be used, from large degree of freedom simulators capable of free models definition (as AQUASIM, to closed predefined model structure programs (as BIOWIN. The first ones usually require long learning curves, whereas the second ones could be excessively rigid for specific wastewater treatment systems. As alternative, we present Biological Reactor SIMulator (BioReSIM, a MATLAB code for the simulation of sequencing batch reactors (SBR and rotating biological contactors (RBC as biological systems of suspended and attached biomass for wastewater treatment, respectively. This BioReSIM allows the evaluation of simple and complex

  20. The Latin American Biological Dosimetry Network (LBDNet).

    Science.gov (United States)

    García, O; Di Giorgio, M; Radl, A; Taja, M R; Sapienza, C E; Deminge, M M; Fernández Rearte, J; Stuck Oliveira, M; Valdivia, P; Lamadrid, A I; González, J E; Romero, I; Mandina, T; Guerrero-Carbajal, C; ArceoMaldonado, C; Cortina Ramírez, G E; Espinoza, M; Martínez-López, W; Di Tomasso, M

    2016-09-01

    Biological Dosimetry is a necessary support for national radiation protection programmes and emergency response schemes. The Latin American Biological Dosimetry Network (LBDNet) was formally founded in 2007 to provide early biological dosimetry assistance in case of radiation emergencies in the Latin American Region. Here are presented the main topics considered in the foundational document of the network, which comprise: mission, partners, concept of operation, including the mechanism to request support for biological dosimetry assistance in the region, and the network capabilities. The process for network activation and the role of the coordinating laboratory during biological dosimetry emergency response is also presented. This information is preceded by historical remarks on biological dosimetry cooperation in Latin America. A summary of the main experimental and practical results already obtained by the LBDNet is also included. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  1. Human biological rhythm in traditional Chinese medicine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tianxing Zhang

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM has a comprehensive and thorough understanding of biological rhythm. Biological rhythm is an inherent connotation of “harmony between human and nature”, one of the thoughts in TCM. TCM discusses emphatically circadian rhythm, syzygial rhythm and seasonal rhythm, and particularly circadian and seasonal rhythms. Theories of Yin Yang and Five Elements are the principles and methods, with which TCM understands biological rhythms. Based on theories in TCM, biological rhythm in essence is a continuous variation of the human body state synchronized with natural rhythms, and theories of Yin Yang and Five Elements are both language tools to describe this continuous variation and theoretical tools for its investigation and application. The understandings of biological rhythm in TCM can be applied to etiology, health care, disease control and treatment. Many understandings in TCM have been confirmed by modern research and clinical reports, but there are still some pending issues. TCM is distinguished for its holistic viewpoint on biological rhythms.

  2. The potential of standards-based agriculture biology as an alternative to traditional biology in California

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sellu, George Sahr

    schools. Thoron & Meyer (2011) suggested that research into the contribution of integrated science courses toward higher test scores yielded mixed results. This finding may have been due in part to the fact that integrated science courses only incorporate select topics into agriculture education courses. In California, however, agriculture educators have developed standards-based courses such as Agriculture Biology (AgBio) that cover the same content standards as core traditional courses such as traditional biology. Students in both AgBio and traditional biology take the same standardized biology test. This is the first time there has been an opportunity for a fair comparison and a uniform metric for an agriscience course such as AgBio to be directly compared to traditional biology. This study will examine whether there are differences between AgBio and traditional biology with regard to standardized test scores in biology. Furthermore, the study examines differences in perception between teachers and students regarding teaching and learning activities associated with higher achievement in science. The findings of the study could provide a basis for presenting AgBio as a potential alternative to traditional biology. The findings of this study suggest that there are no differences between AgBio and traditional biology students with regard to standardized biology test scores. Additionally, the findings indicate that co-curricular activities in AgBio could contribute higher student achievement in biology. However, further research is required to identify specific activities in AgBio that contribute to higher achievement in science.

  3. Biology and Mechanics of Blood Flows Part I: Biology

    CERN Document Server

    Thiriet, Marc

    2008-01-01

    Biology and Mechanics of Blood Flows presents the basic knowledge and state-of-the-art techniques necessary to carry out investigations of the cardiovascular system using modeling and simulation. Part I of this two-volume sequence, Biology, addresses the nanoscopic and microscopic scales. The nanoscale corresponds to the scale of biochemical reaction cascades involved in cell adaptation to mechanical stresses among other stimuli. The microscale is the scale of stress-induced tissue remodeling associated with acute or chronic loadings. The cardiovascular system, like any physiological system, has a complicated three-dimensional structure and composition. Its time dependent behavior is regulated, and this complex system has many components. In this authoritative work, the author provides a survey of relevant cell components and processes, with detailed coverage of the electrical and mechanical behaviors of vascular cells, tissues, and organs. Because the behaviors of vascular cells and tissues are tightly coupl...

  4. Dominating biological networks.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tijana Milenković

    Full Text Available Proteins are essential macromolecules of life that carry out most cellular processes. Since proteins aggregate to perform function, and since protein-protein interaction (PPI networks model these aggregations, one would expect to uncover new biology from PPI network topology. Hence, using PPI networks to predict protein function and role of protein pathways in disease has received attention. A debate remains open about whether network properties of "biologically central (BC" genes (i.e., their protein products, such as those involved in aging, cancer, infectious diseases, or signaling and drug-targeted pathways, exhibit some topological centrality compared to the rest of the proteins in the human PPI network.To help resolve this debate, we design new network-based approaches and apply them to get new insight into biological function and disease. We hypothesize that BC genes have a topologically central (TC role in the human PPI network. We propose two different concepts of topological centrality. We design a new centrality measure to capture complex wirings of proteins in the network that identifies as TC those proteins that reside in dense extended network neighborhoods. Also, we use the notion of domination and find dominating sets (DSs in the PPI network, i.e., sets of proteins such that every protein is either in the DS or is a neighbor of the DS. Clearly, a DS has a TC role, as it enables efficient communication between different network parts. We find statistically significant enrichment in BC genes of TC nodes and outperform the existing methods indicating that genes involved in key biological processes occupy topologically complex and dense regions of the network and correspond to its "spine" that connects all other network parts and can thus pass cellular signals efficiently throughout the network. To our knowledge, this is the first study that explores domination in the context of PPI networks.

  5. Innovations in Undergraduate Chemical Biology Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Dyke, Aaron R; Gatazka, Daniel H; Hanania, Mariah M

    2018-01-19

    Chemical biology derives intellectual vitality from its scientific interface: applying chemical strategies and perspectives to biological questions. There is a growing need for chemical biologists to synergistically integrate their research programs with their educational activities to become holistic teacher-scholars. This review examines how course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are an innovative method to achieve this integration. Because CUREs are course-based, the review first offers strategies for creating a student-centered learning environment, which can improve students' outcomes. Exemplars of CUREs in chemical biology are then presented and organized to illustrate the five defining characteristics of CUREs: significance, scientific practices, discovery, collaboration, and iteration. Finally, strategies to overcome common barriers in CUREs are considered as well as future innovations in chemical biology education.

  6. Applications of Microfluidics in Quantitative Biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bai, Yang; Gao, Meng; Wen, Lingling; He, Caiyun; Chen, Yuan; Liu, Chenli; Fu, Xiongfei; Huang, Shuqiang

    2018-05-01

    Quantitative biology is dedicated to taking advantage of quantitative reasoning and advanced engineering technologies to make biology more predictable. Microfluidics, as an emerging technique, provides new approaches to precisely control fluidic conditions on small scales and collect data in high-throughput and quantitative manners. In this review, the authors present the relevant applications of microfluidics to quantitative biology based on two major categories (channel-based microfluidics and droplet-based microfluidics), and their typical features. We also envision some other microfluidic techniques that may not be employed in quantitative biology right now, but have great potential in the near future. © 2017 Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Biotechnology Journal Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.

  7. Introducing Biological Microdosimetry for Ionising Radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Scott, B.R.; Schoellnberger, H.

    2000-01-01

    Microdosimetry is important for radiation protection, for understanding mechanisms of radiation action, and for radiation risk assessment. This article introduces a generic, Monte Carlo based approach to biological microdosimetry for ionising radiation. Our Monte Carlo analyses are carried out with a widely used Crystal Ball software. The approach to biological microdosimetry presented relates to quantal biological effects data (e.g. cell survival, mutagenesis, neoplastic transformation) for which there is an initial linear segment to the dose-response curve. The macroscopic dose data considered were selected such that is could be presumed that the vast majority of cells at risk have radiation dose delivered to their critical target. For cell killing, neoplastic transformation, and mutagenesis, the critical biological target for radiation is presumed to be DNA. Our approach to biological microdosimetry does not require detailed information about the mass, volume, and shape of the critical biological target. Further, one does not have to know what formal distribution function applies to the microdose distribution. However, formal distributions are required for the biological data used to derive the non-parametric microdose distributions. Here, we use the binomial distribution to characterise the variability in the number of cells affected by a fixed macroscopic dose. Assuming this variability to arise from variability in the microscopic dose to the critical biological target, a non-parametric microdose distribution is generated by the standard Monte Carlo method. The non-parametric distribution is then fitted using a set of formal distributions (beta, exponential, extreme value, gamma, logistic, log-normal, normal, Pareto, triangular, uniform, and Weibull). The best fit is then evaluated based on statistical criteria (chi-square test). To demonstrate the application of biological microdosimetry, the standard Monte Carlo method is used with radiobiological data for

  8. Introducing Biological Microdosimetry for Ionising Radiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Scott, B.R.; Schoellnberger, H

    2000-07-01

    Microdosimetry is important for radiation protection, for understanding mechanisms of radiation action, and for radiation risk assessment. This article introduces a generic, Monte Carlo based approach to biological microdosimetry for ionising radiation. Our Monte Carlo analyses are carried out with a widely used Crystal Ball software. The approach to biological microdosimetry presented relates to quantal biological effects data (e.g. cell survival, mutagenesis, neoplastic transformation) for which there is an initial linear segment to the dose-response curve. The macroscopic dose data considered were selected such that is could be presumed that the vast majority of cells at risk have radiation dose delivered to their critical target. For cell killing, neoplastic transformation, and mutagenesis, the critical biological target for radiation is presumed to be DNA. Our approach to biological microdosimetry does not require detailed information about the mass, volume, and shape of the critical biological target. Further, one does not have to know what formal distribution function applies to the microdose distribution. However, formal distributions are required for the biological data used to derive the non-parametric microdose distributions. Here, we use the binomial distribution to characterise the variability in the number of cells affected by a fixed macroscopic dose. Assuming this variability to arise from variability in the microscopic dose to the critical biological target, a non-parametric microdose distribution is generated by the standard Monte Carlo method. The non-parametric distribution is then fitted using a set of formal distributions (beta, exponential, extreme value, gamma, logistic, log-normal, normal, Pareto, triangular, uniform, and Weibull). The best fit is then evaluated based on statistical criteria (chi-square test). To demonstrate the application of biological microdosimetry, the standard Monte Carlo method is used with radiobiological data for

  9. VISUALIZATION OF BIOLOGICAL TISSUE IMPEDANCE PARAMETERS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. I. Bankov

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective. Investigation the opportunity for measurement of biological tissue impedance to visualize its parameters.Materials and methods. Studies were undertook on the experimental facility, consists of registrating measuring cell, constructed from flat inductors system, formed in oscillatory circuit, herewith investigated biological tissue is the part of this oscillatory circuit. An excitation of oscillatory circuit fulfilled by means of exciter inductor which forms impulse complex modulated electromagnetic field (ICM EMF. The measurement process and visualizations provided by set of certificated instruments: a digital oscillograph AKTAKOM ADS-2221MV, a digital generator АКТАКОМ AWG-4150 (both with software and a gauge RLC E7-22. Comparative dynamic studies of fixed volume and weight pig’s blood, adipose tissue, muscular tissue impedance were conducted by contact versus contactless methods. Contactless method in contrast to contact method gives opportunity to obtain the real morphological visualization of biological tissue irrespective of their nature.Results. Comparison of contact and contactless methods of impedance measurement shows that the inductance to capacitance ratio X(L / X(C was equal: 17 – for muscular tissue, 4 – for blood, 1 – for adipose tissue. It demonstrates the technical correspondence of both impedance registration methods. If propose the base relevance of X (L and X (C parameters for biological tissue impedance so contactless measurement method for sure shows insulating properties of adipose tissue and high conductivity for blood and muscular tissue in fixed volume-weight parameters. Registration of biological tissue impedance complex parameters by contactless method with the help of induced ICM EMF in fixed volume of biological tissue uncovers the most important informative volumes to characterize morphofunctional condition of biological tissue namely X (L / X (C.Conclusion. Contactless method of biological

  10. Biological Control in Brazil: an overview

    OpenAIRE

    Parra,José Roberto Postali

    2014-01-01

    The use of Biological Control methods is on the increase, mainly as a result of the mobilization of human resources in entomology studies since the establishment of graduate programs in this country in the 1960s. This review approaches the retrospective of Biological Control in Brazil in recent decades, with an emphasis on the "culture of applying agrochemicals" adopted by Brazilian growers, which constrains progress in this area. Successful cases of Biological Control have been reported on i...

  11. A Critical Perspective on Synthetic Biology

    OpenAIRE

    Michel Morange

    2009-01-01

    Synthetic biology emerged around 2000 as a new biological discipline. It shares with systems biology the same modular vision of organisms, but is more concerned with applications than with a better understanding of the functioning of organisms. A herald of this new discipline is Craig Venter who aims to create an artificial microorganism with the minimal genome compatible with life and to implement into it different 'functional modules' to generate new micro-organisms adapted to specific task...

  12. Radiation chemistry in development and research of radiation biology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Min Rui

    2010-01-01

    During the establishment and development of radiation biology, radiation chemistry acts like bridge which units the spatial and temporal insight coming from radiation physics with radiation biology. The theory, model, and methodology of radiation chemistry play an important role in promoting research and development of radiation biology. Following research development of radiation biology effects towards systems radiation biology the illustration and exploration both diversity of biological responses and complex process of biological effect occurring remain to need the theory, model, and methodology come from radiation chemistry. (authors)

  13. Biological timekeeping

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lloyd, David

    2016-01-01

    , the networks that connect differenttime domains and the oscillations, rhythms and biological clocks that coordinate andsynchronise the complexity of the living state.“It is the pattern maintained by this homeostasis, which is the touchstone ofour personal identity. Our tissues change as we live: the food we...

  14. Environmental biology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tschumi, P.A.

    1981-01-01

    Environmental biology illustrates the functioning of ecosystems and the dynamics of populations with many examples from limnology and terrestrial ecology. On this basis, present environmental problems are analyzed. The present environmental crisis is seen as a result of the failure to observe ecological laws. (orig.) [de

  15. Physical models of biological information and adaptation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stuart, C I

    1985-04-07

    The bio-informational equivalence asserts that biological processes reduce to processes of information transfer. In this paper, that equivalence is treated as a metaphor with deeply anthropomorphic content of a sort that resists constitutive-analytical definition, including formulation within mathematical theories of information. It is argued that continuance of the metaphor, as a quasi-theoretical perspective in biology, must entail a methodological dislocation between biological and physical science. It is proposed that a general class of functions, drawn from classical physics, can serve to eliminate the anthropomorphism. Further considerations indicate that the concept of biological adaptation is central to the general applicability of the informational idea in biology; a non-anthropomorphic treatment of adaptive phenomena is suggested in terms of variational principles.

  16. Indoor biological pollution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bressa, G.

    2000-01-01

    Inside buildings - besides the umpteen toxic substances emanating from materials and appliances used daily for the most assorted activities - there are may be a number of different pathogenic micro-organisms able to cause diseases and respiratory system infections. Indoor pollution caused by biological agents may be due not only to living microorganisms, but also to dead ones or to the produce of their metabolism as well as to allergens. The most efficient precautionary measure against biological agents is to ventilate the rooms one lives in. In case of air-conditioning, it's good rule to keep air pipes dry and clean, renewing filters at regular intervals in order to avoid fungi and bacteria from settling in [it

  17. Integrating interactive computational modeling in biology curricula.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tomáš Helikar

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available While the use of computer tools to simulate complex processes such as computer circuits is normal practice in fields like engineering, the majority of life sciences/biological sciences courses continue to rely on the traditional textbook and memorization approach. To address this issue, we explored the use of the Cell Collective platform as a novel, interactive, and evolving pedagogical tool to foster student engagement, creativity, and higher-level thinking. Cell Collective is a Web-based platform used to create and simulate dynamical models of various biological processes. Students can create models of cells, diseases, or pathways themselves or explore existing models. This technology was implemented in both undergraduate and graduate courses as a pilot study to determine the feasibility of such software at the university level. First, a new (In Silico Biology class was developed to enable students to learn biology by "building and breaking it" via computer models and their simulations. This class and technology also provide a non-intimidating way to incorporate mathematical and computational concepts into a class with students who have a limited mathematical background. Second, we used the technology to mediate the use of simulations and modeling modules as a learning tool for traditional biological concepts, such as T cell differentiation or cell cycle regulation, in existing biology courses. Results of this pilot application suggest that there is promise in the use of computational modeling and software tools such as Cell Collective to provide new teaching methods in biology and contribute to the implementation of the "Vision and Change" call to action in undergraduate biology education by providing a hands-on approach to biology.

  18. Integrating interactive computational modeling in biology curricula.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Helikar, Tomáš; Cutucache, Christine E; Dahlquist, Lauren M; Herek, Tyler A; Larson, Joshua J; Rogers, Jim A

    2015-03-01

    While the use of computer tools to simulate complex processes such as computer circuits is normal practice in fields like engineering, the majority of life sciences/biological sciences courses continue to rely on the traditional textbook and memorization approach. To address this issue, we explored the use of the Cell Collective platform as a novel, interactive, and evolving pedagogical tool to foster student engagement, creativity, and higher-level thinking. Cell Collective is a Web-based platform used to create and simulate dynamical models of various biological processes. Students can create models of cells, diseases, or pathways themselves or explore existing models. This technology was implemented in both undergraduate and graduate courses as a pilot study to determine the feasibility of such software at the university level. First, a new (In Silico Biology) class was developed to enable students to learn biology by "building and breaking it" via computer models and their simulations. This class and technology also provide a non-intimidating way to incorporate mathematical and computational concepts into a class with students who have a limited mathematical background. Second, we used the technology to mediate the use of simulations and modeling modules as a learning tool for traditional biological concepts, such as T cell differentiation or cell cycle regulation, in existing biology courses. Results of this pilot application suggest that there is promise in the use of computational modeling and software tools such as Cell Collective to provide new teaching methods in biology and contribute to the implementation of the "Vision and Change" call to action in undergraduate biology education by providing a hands-on approach to biology.

  19. Plant biology in the future.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bazzaz, F A

    2001-05-08

    In the beginning of modern plant biology, plant biologists followed a simple model for their science. This model included important branches of plant biology known then. Of course, plants had to be identified and classified first. Thus, there was much work on taxonomy, genetics, and physiology. Ecology and evolution were approached implicitly, rather than explicitly, through paleobotany, taxonomy, morphology, and historical geography. However, the burgeoning explosion of knowledge and great advances in molecular biology, e.g., to the extent that genes for specific traits can be added (or deleted) at will, have created a revolution in the study of plants. Genomics in agriculture has made it possible to address many important issues in crop production by the identification and manipulation of genes in crop plants. The current model of plant study differs from the previous one in that it places greater emphasis on developmental controls and on evolution by differential fitness. In a rapidly changing environment, the current model also explicitly considers the phenotypic variation among individuals on which selection operates. These are calls for the unity of science. In fact, the proponents of "Complexity Theory" think there are common algorithms describing all levels of organization, from atoms all the way to the structure of the universe, and that when these are discovered, the issue of scaling will be greatly simplified! Plant biology must seriously contribute to, among other things, meeting the nutritional needs of the human population. This challenge constitutes a key part of the backdrop against which future evolution will occur. Genetic engineering technologies are and will continue to be an important component of agriculture; however, we must consider the evolutionary implications of these new technologies. Meeting these demands requires drastic changes in the undergraduate curriculum. Students of biology should be trained in molecular, cellular, organismal

  20. Archives: Egyptian Journal of Biology

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Items 1 - 17 of 17 ... Archives: Egyptian Journal of Biology. Journal Home > Archives: Egyptian Journal of Biology. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads. Username, Password, Remember me, or Register · Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives. 1 - 17 of 17 Items ...

  1. Actinides: why are they important biologically

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Durbin, P.W.

    1978-01-01

    The following topics are discussed: actinide elements in energy systems; biological hazards of the actinides; radiation protection standards; and purposes of actinide biological research with regard to toxicity, metabolism, and therapeutic regimens

  2. Observations on the biological cold fusion or the biological transmutation of elements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Komaki, Hisatoki

    1993-01-01

    In previous paper, the author, with Prof. Dr. C. Louis KERVRAN, suggested the probable occurrence of the biological cold fusion or the biological transmutation of elements. In order to confirm the phenomena, under the more controlled condition, potassium, magnesium, iron and calcium were determined in cells of Aspergillus niger IFO 4066, Penicillium chrysogenum IFO 4689, Rhizopus nigricans IFO 5781, Mucor rouxii IFO 0396, Saccharomyces cerevisiae IFO 0308, Torulopsis utilis IFO 0396, Saccharomyces ellipsoideus IFO 0213 and Hansenula anomala IFO 0118 cultured in normal medium and media deficient in one of potassium, magnesium iron or calcium. Values of potassium 1890-2650 μg, magnesium 380-510 μg, iron 95-120 μg, and calcium 60-95 μg were obtained per g dried cells cultured in each deficient medium, while potassium 8650-11050 μg, magnesium 1920-2160 μg, iron 510-680 μg, and calcium 380-450 μg were found per g dried cells obtained by cultivation in the normal medium. The author would like to suggest the probable occurrence of the phenomena relevant to biological cold fusion. (author)

  3. Anal Sphincter Augmentation Using Biological Material.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alam, Nasra N; Narang, Sunil K; Köckerling, Ferdinand; Daniels, Ian R; Smart, Neil J

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the use of biological materials in the augmentation of the anal sphincter either as part of an overlapping sphincter repair (OSR) or anal bulking procedure. A systematic search of PubMed was conducted using the search terms "anal bulking agents," "anal sphincter repair," or "overlapping sphincter repair." Five studies using biological material as part of an overlapping sphincter repair (OSR) or as an anal bulking agent were identified. 122 patients underwent anal bulking with a biological material. Anorectal physiology was conducted in 27 patients and demonstrated deterioration in maximum resting pressure, and no significant change in maximum squeeze increment. Quality of life scores (QoLs) demonstrated improvements at 6 weeks and 6 months, but this had deteriorated at 12 months of follow up. Biological material was used in 23 patients to carry out an anal encirclement procedure. Improvements in QoLs were observed in patients undergoing OSR as well as anal encirclement using biological material. Incontinence episodes decreased to an average of one per week from 8 to 10 preoperatively. Sphincter encirclement with biological material has demonstrated improvements in continence and QoLs in the short term compared to traditional repair alone. Long-term studies are necessary to determine if this effect is sustained. As an anal bulking agent the benefits are short-term.

  4. Comparison of Learner Involvement in Biology Laboratory ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Performance in the biology practical paper has been poor at Kenya national examinations in the past five years (1998-2002). This may imply a lack of emphasis on the teaching of biology through the process-based approach. This study investigated the level of learner involvement in biology practical investigations in ...

  5. Application of neutrons in biology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cser, L.

    1982-01-01

    Applications of neutron scattering to determine the structure of biological macromolecules are reviewed. A theoretical and experimental introduction to neutron scattering and its mathematical description is given. The analysis of crystal structure using neutron scattering and the problem of Fourier reconstruction of structure are discussed. Some special problems concerning biological materials are described. The isotope effect of neutron scattering is applied to determine and identify the hydrogen atoms in biological macromolecules. Some examples illustrating the structure determination of amino acids and proteins are given. Mathematical methods of evaluation of small angle neutron scattering experiments and applications to investigate E. coli ribosome are described. New developments and new research trends are also reviewed. (D.Gy.)

  6. Cold Spring Harbor symposia on quantitative biology: Volume 51, Molecular biology of /ital Homo sapiens/

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1986-01-01

    This volume is the second part of a collection of papers submitted by the participants to the 1986 Cold Spring Harbor Symposium on Quantitative Biology entitled Molecular Biology of /ital Homo sapiens/. The 49 papers included in this volume are grouped by subject into receptors, human cancer genes, and gene therapy. (DT)

  7. Learning Cell Biology as a Team: A Project-Based Approach to Upper-Division Cell Biology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wright, Robin; Boggs, James

    2002-01-01

    To help students develop successful strategies for learning how to learn and communicate complex information in cell biology, we developed a quarter-long cell biology class based on team projects. Each team researches a particular human disease and presents information about the cellular structure or process affected by the disease, the cellular…

  8. Applications of synchrotron radiation in biology and medicine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khole, V.

    1988-01-01

    This paper discusses the important role of synchrotron radiation in dealing with problems in various branches of biology and medicine, viz. molecular biology, molecular biophysics, biochemistry, cell biology, X-ray microscopy, molecular surgery, medical diagnostics (angiography, X-ray radiography, forensic medicine, element analysis), environmental biology, pollution control and photobiology. (author). 15 refs., 9 figs

  9. Bringing the Real World into the Biology Curriculum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewis, Jenny

    2006-01-01

    This study followed a small but diverse group of biology teachers through the first two years of the pilot for a new Advanced Level Biology course--Salters-Nuffield Advanced Biology. SNAB aims to modernise A-level Biology using real world contexts and examples as the starting point, promoting conceptual understanding rather than factual recall,…

  10. Textbooks for biology applied in schools in Russia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sergey Vitalevich Sumatokhin

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available This article describes textbooks that are used in the teaching of biology in schools in Russia. The characteristics of designing biological programme content are presented. The school textbook, as a book, consists of a system of texts, illustrations, apparatus for acquiring knowledge (methodical apparatus and elements for orientation in the presented contents. In the textbook of biology, different types of texts are distinguished: basic, additional, explanatory. In Russia, biology textbooks for the school public more than ten publishers. A set of biology textbooks, ensuring the continuity of the study of biology in grades 5-9 (10-11 is called the subject line. Authors of different subject lines of textbooks differently select and structure the content of biological education. Depending on the approach to the structuring of the educational material, all subject lines of textbooks can be divided into two groups (system-structural approach and functional approach. These approaches can have a linear or concentric content structure. Each teacher has the right to choose from the variety of subject lines of biology textbooks those that most satisfy his needs.

  11. Toward synthesizing executable models in biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisher, Jasmin; Piterman, Nir; Bodik, Rastislav

    2014-01-01

    Over the last decade, executable models of biological behaviors have repeatedly provided new scientific discoveries, uncovered novel insights, and directed new experimental avenues. These models are computer programs whose execution mechanistically simulates aspects of the cell's behaviors. If the observed behavior of the program agrees with the observed biological behavior, then the program explains the phenomena. This approach has proven beneficial for gaining new biological insights and directing new experimental avenues. One advantage of this approach is that techniques for analysis of computer programs can be applied to the analysis of executable models. For example, one can confirm that a model agrees with experiments for all possible executions of the model (corresponding to all environmental conditions), even if there are a huge number of executions. Various formal methods have been adapted for this context, for example, model checking or symbolic analysis of state spaces. To avoid manual construction of executable models, one can apply synthesis, a method to produce programs automatically from high-level specifications. In the context of biological modeling, synthesis would correspond to extracting executable models from experimental data. We survey recent results about the usage of the techniques underlying synthesis of computer programs for the inference of biological models from experimental data. We describe synthesis of biological models from curated mutation experiment data, inferring network connectivity models from phosphoproteomic data, and synthesis of Boolean networks from gene expression data. While much work has been done on automated analysis of similar datasets using machine learning and artificial intelligence, using synthesis techniques provides new opportunities such as efficient computation of disambiguating experiments, as well as the ability to produce different kinds of models automatically from biological data.

  12. The next step in biology: a periodic table?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dhar, Pawan K

    2007-08-01

    Systems biology is an approach to explain the behaviour of a system in relation to its individual components. Synthetic biology uses key hierarchical and modular concepts of systems biology to engineer novel biological systems. In my opinion the next step in biology is to use molecule-to-phenotype data using these approaches and integrate them in the form a periodic table. A periodic table in biology would provide chassis to classify, systematize and compare diversity of component properties vis-a-vis system behaviour. Using periodic table it could be possible to compute higher- level interactions from component properties. This paper examines the concept of building a bio-periodic table using protein fold as the fundamental unit.

  13. GPSR: A Resource for Genomics Proteomics and Systems Biology

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    GPSR: A Resource for Genomics Proteomics and Systems Biology · Simple Calculation Programs for Biology Immunological Methods · Simple Calculation Programs for Biology Methods in Molecular Biology · Simple Calculation Programs for Biology Other Methods · PowerPoint Presentation · Slide 6 · Slide 7 · Prediction of ...

  14. Biological clocks: riding the tides.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de la Iglesia, Horacio O; Johnson, Carl Hirschie

    2013-10-21

    Animals with habitats in the intertidal zone often display biological rhythms that coordinate with both the tidal and the daily environmental cycles. Two recent studies show that the molecular components of the biological clocks mediating tidal rhythms are likely different from the phylogenetically conserved components that mediate circadian (daily) rhythms. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Biology and Water Pollution Control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warren, Charles E.

    Within this text, the reader is attuned to the role biology can and should play in combating the alarming increase in water pollution. Both the urgency of the problem and the biological techniques that are being developed to cope with the water pollution crisis are scrutinized; what is and is not known about the problem is explained; past,…

  16. Structural Biology Guides Antibiotic Discovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Polyak, Steven

    2014-01-01

    Modern drug discovery programs require the contribution of researchers in a number of specialist areas. One of these areas is structural biology. Using X-ray crystallography, the molecular basis of how a drug binds to its biological target and exerts its mode of action can be defined. For example, a drug that binds into the active site of an…

  17. Biological digestion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rosevear, A.

    1988-01-01

    This paper discusses the biological degradation of non-radioactive organic material occurring in radioactive wastes. The biochemical steps are often performed using microbes or isolated enzymes in combination with chemical steps and the aim is to oxidise the carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and sulphur to their respective oxides. (U.K.)

  18. Skin Cancer: Biology, Risk Factors & Treatment

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... turn Javascript on. Feature: Skin Cancer Skin Cancer: Biology, Risk Factors & Treatment Past Issues / Summer 2013 Table ... Articles Skin Cancer Can Strike Anyone / Skin Cancer: Biology, Risk Factors & Treatment / Timely Healthcare Checkup Catches Melanoma ...

  19. Defining the Synthetic Biology Supply Chain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frazar, Sarah L; Hund, Gretchen E; Bonheyo, George T; Diggans, James; Bartholomew, Rachel A; Gehrig, Lindsey; Greaves, Mark

    Several recent articles have described risks posed by synthetic biology and spurred vigorous discussion in the scientific, commercial, and government communities about how to best detect, prevent, regulate, and respond to these risks. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's (PNNL) deep experience working with dual-use technologies for the nuclear industry has shown that analysis of supply chains can reveal security vulnerabilities and ways to mitigate security risk without hindering beneficial research and commerce. In this article, a team of experts in synthetic biology, data analytics, and national security describe the overall supply chain surrounding synthetic biology to illustrate new insights about the effectiveness of current regulations, the possible need for different screening approaches, and new technical solutions that could help identify or mitigate risks in the synthetic biology supply chain.

  20. Systems Biology Knowledgebase for a New Era in Biology A Genomics:GTL Report from the May 2008 Workshop

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gregurick, S.; Fredrickson, J. K.; Stevens, R.

    2009-03-01

    Biology has entered a systems-science era with the goal to establish a predictive understanding of the mechanisms of cellular function and the interactions of biological systems with their environment and with each other. Vast amounts of data on the composition, physiology, and function of complex biological systems and their natural environments are emerging from new analytical technologies. Effectively exploiting these data requires developing a new generation of capabilities for analyzing and managing the information. By revealing the core principles and processes conserved in collective genomes across all biology and by enabling insights into the interplay between an organism's genotype and its environment, systems biology will allow scientific breakthroughs in our ability to project behaviors of natural systems and to manipulate and engineer managed systems. These breakthroughs will benefit Department of Energy (DOE) missions in energy security, climate protection, and environmental remediation.

  1. Making evolutionary biology a basic science for medicine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nesse, Randolph M.; Bergstrom, Carl T.; Ellison, Peter T.; Flier, Jeffrey S.; Gluckman, Peter; Govindaraju, Diddahally R.; Niethammer, Dietrich; Omenn, Gilbert S.; Perlman, Robert L.; Schwartz, Mark D.; Thomas, Mark G.; Stearns, Stephen C.; Valle, David

    2010-01-01

    New applications of evolutionary biology in medicine are being discovered at an accelerating rate, but few physicians have sufficient educational background to use them fully. This article summarizes suggestions from several groups that have considered how evolutionary biology can be useful in medicine, what physicians should learn about it, and when and how they should learn it. Our general conclusion is that evolutionary biology is a crucial basic science for medicine. In addition to looking at established evolutionary methods and topics, such as population genetics and pathogen evolution, we highlight questions about why natural selection leaves bodies vulnerable to disease. Knowledge about evolution provides physicians with an integrative framework that links otherwise disparate bits of knowledge. It replaces the prevalent view of bodies as machines with a biological view of bodies shaped by evolutionary processes. Like other basic sciences, evolutionary biology needs to be taught both before and during medical school. Most introductory biology courses are insufficient to establish competency in evolutionary biology. Premedical students need evolution courses, possibly ones that emphasize medically relevant aspects. In medical school, evolutionary biology should be taught as one of the basic medical sciences. This will require a course that reviews basic principles and specific medical applications, followed by an integrated presentation of evolutionary aspects that apply to each disease and organ system. Evolutionary biology is not just another topic vying for inclusion in the curriculum; it is an essential foundation for a biological understanding of health and disease. PMID:19918069

  2. [Side effects of biologic therapies in psoriasis].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Altenburg, A; Augustin, M; Zouboulis, C C

    2018-04-01

    The introduction of biologics has revolutionized the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. Due to the continuous expansion of biological therapies for psoriasis, it is particularly important to acknowledge efficacy and safety of the compounds not only in clinical trials but also in long-term registry-based observational studies. Typical side effects and significant risks of antipsoriatic biologic therapies considering psoriatic control groups are presented. A selective literature search was conducted in PubMed and long-term safety studies of the psoriasis registries PsoBest, PSOLAR and BADBIR were evaluated. To assess the long-term safety of biologics, the evaluation of the course of large patient cohorts in long-term registries is of particular medical importance. Newer biologic drugs seem to exhibit a better safety profile than older ones.

  3. Chemical warfare protection for the cockpit of future aircraft

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pickl, William C.

    1988-01-01

    Currently systems are being developed which will filter chemical and biological contaminants from crew station air. In order to maximize the benefits of these systems, a method of keeping the cockpit contaminant free during pilot ingress and egress is needed. One solution is to use a rectangular plastic curtain to seal the four edges of the canopy frame to the canopy sill. The curtain is stored in a tray which is recessed into the canopy sill and unfolds in accordion fashion as the canopy is raised. A two way zipper developed by Calspan could be used as an airlock between the pilot's oversuit and the cockpit. This system eliminates the pilot's need for heavy and restrictive CB gear because he would never be exposed to the chemical warfare environment.

  4. Biological dysrhythm in remitted bipolar I disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iyer, Aishwarya; Palaniappan, Pradeep

    2017-12-01

    Recent treatment guidelines support treatment of biological rhythm abnormalities as a part of treatment of bipolar disorder, but still, literature examining various domains (Sleep, Activity, Social, and Eating) of biological rhythm and its clinical predictors are less. The main aim of our study is to compare various domains of biological rhythm among remitted bipolar I subjects and healthy controls. We also explored for any association between clinical variables and biological rhythm among bipolar subjects. 40 subjects with Bipolar I disorder and 40 healthy controls who met inclusion and exclusion criteria were recruited for the study. Diagnoses were ascertained by a qualified psychiatrist using MINI 5.0. Sociodemographic details, biological rhythm (BRIAN-Biological Rhythm Interview of assessment in Neuropsychiatry) and Sleep functioning (PSQI- Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index) were assessed in all subjects. Mean age of the Bipolar subjects and controls were 41.25±11.84years and 38.25±11.25 years respectively. Bipolar subjects experienced more biological rhythm disturbance when compared to healthy controls (total BRIAN score being 34.25±9.36 vs 28.2±6.53) (p=0.002). Subsyndromal depressive symptoms (HDRS) had significant positive correlation with BRIAN global scores(r=0.368, p=0.02). Linear regression analysis showed that number of episodes which required hospitalization (β=0.601, t=3.106, P=0.004), PSQI (β=0.394, t=2.609, p=0.014), HDRS (β=0.376, t=2.34, t=0.036) explained 31% of variance in BRIAN scores in remitted bipolar subjects. Biological rhythm disturbances seem to persist even after clinical remission of bipolar illness. More studies to look into the impact of subsyndromal depressive symptoms on biological rhythm are needed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. [Synthetic biology and rearrangements of microbial genetic material].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Quan-Feng; Wang, Qian; Qi, Qing-Sheng

    2011-10-01

    As an emerging discipline, synthetic biology has shown great scientific values and application prospects. Although there have been many reviews of various aspects on synthetic biology over the last years, this article, for the first time, attempted to discuss the relationship and difference between microbial genetics and synthetic biology. We summarized the recent development of synthetic biology in rearranging microbial genetic materials, including synthesis, design and reduction of genetic materials, standardization of genetic parts and modularization of genetic circuits. The relationship between synthetic biology and microbial genetic engineering was also discussed in the paper.

  6. 42 CFR 409.13 - Drugs and biologicals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Drugs and biologicals. 409.13 Section 409.13 Public... § 409.13 Drugs and biologicals. (a) Except as specified in paragraph (b) of this section, Medicare pays for drugs and biologicals as inpatient hospital or inpatient CAH services only if— (1) They represent...

  7. Biological Effects of Neutron and Proton Irradiations. Vol. II. Proceedings of the Symposium on Biological Effects of Neutron Irradiations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1964-01-01

    During recent years the interest in biological effects caused by neutrons has been increasing steadily as a result of the rapid development of neutron technology and the great number of neutron sources being used. Neutrons, because of their specific physical characteristics and biological effects, form a special type of radiation hazard but, at the same time, are a prospective tool for applied radiobiology. This Symposium, held in Brookhaven at the invitation of the United States Government from 7-11 October 1963, provided an opportunity for scientists to discuss the experimental information at present available on the biological action of neutrons and to evaluate future possibilities. It was a sequel to the Symposium on Neutron Detection, Dosimetry and Standardization, which was organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency in December 1962 at Harwell. The Symposium was attended by 128 participants from 17 countries and 6 international organizations. Fifty-four papers were presented. The following subjects were discussed in various sessions: (1) Dosimetry. Estimation of absorbed dose of neutrons in biological material. (2) Biological effects of high-energy protons. (3) Cellular and genetic effects. (4) Pathology of neutron irradiation, including acute and chronic radiation syndromes (mortality, anatomical and histological changes, biochemical and metabolic disturbances) and delayed consequences. (5) Relative biological effectiveness of neutrons evaluated by different biological tests. A Panel on Biophysical Considerations in Neutron Experimentation, with special emphasis on informal discussions, was organized during the Symposium. The views of the Panel are recorded in Volume II of the Proceedings. Many reports were presented on the important subject of the relative effectiveness of the biological action of neutrons, as well as on the general pathology of neutron irradiation and the cellular and genetic effects related to it. Three survey papers considered

  8. Perspective: Reaches of chemical physics in biology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gruebele, Martin; Thirumalai, D.

    2013-01-01

    Chemical physics as a discipline contributes many experimental tools, algorithms, and fundamental theoretical models that can be applied to biological problems. This is especially true now as the molecular level and the systems level descriptions begin to connect, and multi-scale approaches are being developed to solve cutting edge problems in biology. In some cases, the concepts and tools got their start in non-biological fields, and migrated over, such as the idea of glassy landscapes, fluorescence spectroscopy, or master equation approaches. In other cases, the tools were specifically developed with biological physics applications in mind, such as modeling of single molecule trajectories or super-resolution laser techniques. In this introduction to the special topic section on chemical physics of biological systems, we consider a wide range of contributions, all the way from the molecular level, to molecular assemblies, chemical physics of the cell, and finally systems-level approaches, based on the contributions to this special issue. Chemical physicists can look forward to an exciting future where computational tools, analytical models, and new instrumentation will push the boundaries of biological inquiry. PMID:24089712

  9. Perspective: Reaches of chemical physics in biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gruebele, Martin; Thirumalai, D

    2013-09-28

    Chemical physics as a discipline contributes many experimental tools, algorithms, and fundamental theoretical models that can be applied to biological problems. This is especially true now as the molecular level and the systems level descriptions begin to connect, and multi-scale approaches are being developed to solve cutting edge problems in biology. In some cases, the concepts and tools got their start in non-biological fields, and migrated over, such as the idea of glassy landscapes, fluorescence spectroscopy, or master equation approaches. In other cases, the tools were specifically developed with biological physics applications in mind, such as modeling of single molecule trajectories or super-resolution laser techniques. In this introduction to the special topic section on chemical physics of biological systems, we consider a wide range of contributions, all the way from the molecular level, to molecular assemblies, chemical physics of the cell, and finally systems-level approaches, based on the contributions to this special issue. Chemical physicists can look forward to an exciting future where computational tools, analytical models, and new instrumentation will push the boundaries of biological inquiry.

  10. Biological-based and physical-based optimization for biological evaluation of prostate patient's plans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sukhikh, E.; Sheino, I.; Vertinsky, A.

    2017-09-01

    Modern modalities of radiation treatment therapy allow irradiation of the tumor to high dose values and irradiation of organs at risk (OARs) to low dose values at the same time. In this paper we study optimal radiation treatment plans made in Monaco system. The first aim of this study was to evaluate dosimetric features of Monaco treatment planning system using biological versus dose-based cost functions for the OARs and irradiation targets (namely tumors) when the full potential of built-in biological cost functions is utilized. The second aim was to develop criteria for the evaluation of radiation dosimetry plans for patients based on the macroscopic radiobiological criteria - TCP/NTCP. In the framework of the study four dosimetric plans were created utilizing the full extent of biological and physical cost functions using dose calculation-based treatment planning for IMRT Step-and-Shoot delivery of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in prostate case (5 fractions per 7 Gy).

  11. Biosecurity and Open-Source Biology: The Promise and Peril of Distributed Synthetic Biological Technologies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans, Nicholas G; Selgelid, Michael J

    2015-08-01

    In this article, we raise ethical concerns about the potential misuse of open-source biology (OSB): biological research and development that progresses through an organisational model of radical openness, deskilling, and innovation. We compare this organisational structure to that of the open-source software model, and detail salient ethical implications of this model. We demonstrate that OSB, in virtue of its commitment to openness, may be resistant to governance attempts.

  12. The Biology of Cancer Health Disparities

    Science.gov (United States)

    These examples show how biology contributes to health disparities (differences in disease incidence and outcomes among distinct racial and ethnic groups, ), and how biological factors interact with other relevant factors, such as diet and the environment.

  13. Biological transportation networks: Modeling and simulation

    KAUST Repository

    Albi, Giacomo; Artina, Marco; Foransier, Massimo; Markowich, Peter A.

    2015-01-01

    We present a model for biological network formation originally introduced by Cai and Hu [Adaptation and optimization of biological transport networks, Phys. Rev. Lett. 111 (2013) 138701]. The modeling of fluid transportation (e.g., leaf venation

  14. Preservice Biology Teachers' Conceptions about the Tentative Nature of Theories and Models in Biology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reinisch, Bianca; Krüger, Dirk

    2018-01-01

    In research on the nature of science, there is a need to investigate the role and status of different scientific knowledge forms. Theories and models are two of the most important knowledge forms within biology and are the focus of this study. During interviews, preservice biology teachers (N = 10) were asked about their understanding of theories…

  15. Joining Forces: The Chemical Biology-Medicinal Chemistry Continuum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plowright, Alleyn T; Ottmann, Christian; Arkin, Michelle; Auberson, Yves P; Timmerman, Henk; Waldmann, Herbert

    2017-09-21

    The scientific advances being made across all disciplines are creating ever-increasing opportunities to enhance our knowledge of biological systems and how they relate to human disease. One of the central driving forces in discovering new medicines is medicinal chemistry, where the design and synthesis of novel compounds has led to multiple drugs. Chemical biology, sitting at the interface of many disciplines, has now emerged as a major contributor to the understanding of biological systems and is becoming an integral part of drug discovery. Bringing chemistry and biology much closer and blurring the boundaries between disciplines is creating new opportunities to probe and understand biology; both disciplines play key roles and need to join forces and work together effectively to synergize their impact. The power of chemical biology will then reach its full potential and drive innovation, leading to the discovery of transformative medicines to treat patients. Advances in cancer biology and drug discovery highlight this potential. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Interfacing DNA nanodevices with biology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vinther, Mathias; Kjems, Jørgen

    2016-01-01

    in biology and biomedicine acting as a molecular ‘nanorobot’ or smart drug interacting with the cellular machinery. In this review, we will explore and examine the perspective of DNA nanotechnology for such use. We summarize which requirements DNA nanostructures must fulfil to function in cellular...... environments and inside living organisms. In addition, we highlight recent advances in interfacing DNA nanostructures with biology....

  17. Synthetic biology of polyketide synthases

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yuzawa, Satoshi; Backman, Tyler W.H.; Keasling, Jay D.

    2018-01-01

    ). The modules are composed of enzymatic domains that share sequence and functional similarity across all known PKSs. We have used the nomenclature of synthetic biology to classify the enzymatic domains and modules as parts and devices, respectively, and have generated detailed lists of both. In addition, we...... realize the potential that synthetic biology approaches bring to this class of molecules....

  18. Compartmental study of biological systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moretti, J.L.

    1975-01-01

    The compartmental analysis of biological system is dealt with on several chapters devoted successively to: terminology; a mathematical and symbolic account of a system at equilibrium; different compartment systems; analysis of the experimental results. For this it is pointed out that the application of compartmental systems to biological phenomena is not always without danger. Sometimes the compartmental system established in a reference subject fails to conform in the patient. The compartments can divide into two or join together, completely changing the aspect of the system so that parameters calculated with the old model become entirely false. The conclusion is that the setting up of a compartmental system to represent a biological phenomenon is a tricky undertaking and the results must be constantly criticized and questioned [fr

  19. "Biology Education"--An Emerging Interdisciplinary Area of Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rutledge, Michael

    2013-01-01

    The growing number of faculty positions in biology education, the formation of professional societies focused specifically on biology education, and the increasing number of publications in biology education over the past decade

  20. Severe and acute complications of biologics in psoriasis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oussedik, Elias; Patel, Nupur U; Cash, Devin R; Gupta, Angela S; Feldman, Steven R

    2017-12-01

    Biologic therapies have revolutionized the approach to immune-mediated diseases such as psoriasis. Due to their favorable safety profiles and excellent efficacy, biologic agents are considered the gold standard for moderate-to-severe psoriasis. The aim of this paper is to saliently review the severe and acute complications of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved biologic agents for psoriasis. Reviewed agents include tumor necrosis factor alpha inhibitors (etanercept, infliximab, and adalimumab), interleukin 12/23 inhibitors (ustekinumab), and interleukin 17 (IL-17) inhibitors (secukinumab and ixekizumab). While malignancies, serious infections, and major adverse cardiovascular events have been reported, their association with biologic therapy are not hypothesized as causal. However, IL-17 inhibitors appear to cause exacerbations and new cases of inflammatory bowel disease. While more long-term studies are warranted in understanding the biologic's long-term side effect profile, short-term studies have confirmed that the biologics are some of the safest treatment options for psoriasis. Nevertheless, certain populations yield higher risk to acute complications with the biologics than others - physicians must use their judgement and vigilance when monitoring and treating patients undergoing therapy with biological agents.