			Home About us Contact

Modern Biology (modern + biology)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Life Sciences	75%

Selected Abstracts

Annelids in Modern Biology

MARINE ECOLOGY, Issue 3 2010
Adriana Giangrande
No abstract is available for this article. [source]

The genome-centric concept: resynthesis of evolutionary theory

BIOESSAYS, Issue 5 2009
Henry H. Q. Heng
Abstract Modern biology has been heavily influenced by the gene-centric concept. Paradoxically, this very concept , on which bioresearch is based , is challenged by the success of gene-based research in terms of explaining evolutionary theory. To overcome this major roadblock, it is essential to establish new theories, to not only solve the key puzzles presented by the gene-centric concept, but also to provide a conceptual framework that allows the field to grow. This paper discusses a number of paradoxes and illustrates how they can be addressed by the genome-centric concept in order to further resynthesize evolutionary theory. In particular, methodological breakthroughs that analyze genome evolution are discussed. The multiple interactions among different levels of a complex system provide the key to understanding the relationship between self-organization and natural selection. Darwinian natural selection applies to the biological level due to its unique genetic and heterogeneous features, but does not simply or directly apply to either the lower non-living level or higher intellectual society level. At the complex bio-system level, the genome context (the entire package of genes and their genomic physical relationship or genomic topology), not the individual genes, defines the system and serves as the principle selection platform for evolution. [source]

Microcapsules Containing a Biomolecular Motor for ATP Biosynthesis,

ADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 15 2008
Qiang He
Abstract Over the past two decades, advances in modern biology and nanotechnology have enabled a rapid development in the design and building of biomimetic functional materials. ATP synthase is one of the most extensively studied molecular machines because it can be used as a rotary motor in the design of novel nanodevices and it can also continuously synthesize ATP in an artificial environment. A lot of research efforts have focused on assembling ATP synthase in biomimetic systems so that a complex cellular process can be constructed in a controllable manner. As we summarize here, layer-by-layer assembled microcapsules have proved to be a suitable cellular mimetic structure, which can be applied for engineering active biomimetic systems with a cellular process. An added benefit is that these assembled microcapsules can be used as bioenergy containers and thus ATP supply on demand. [source]

A combined approach to the phylogeny of Cephalopoda (Mollusca)

CLADISTICS, Issue 5 2004
A. R. Lindgren
Cephalopoda represents a highly diverse group of molluscs, ranging in habitat from coastal regions to deep benthic waters. While cephalopods remain at the forefront of modern biology, in providing insight into fields such as neurobiology and population genetics, little is known about the relationships within the group. This study provides a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of Cephalopoda (Mollusca) using a combination of molecular and morphological data. Four loci (three nuclear 18S rRNA, fragments of 28S rRNA and histone H3 and one mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I) were combined with 101 morphological characters to test the relationships of 60 species of cephalopods, with emphasis within Decabrachia (squids and cuttlefishes). Individual and combined data sets were analyzed using the direct optimization method, with parsimony as the optimality criterion. Analyses were repeated for 12 different parameter sets accounting for a range of indel/change and transversion/transition cost ratios. Most analyses support the monophyly of Cephalopoda, Nautiloidea, Coleoidea and Decabrachia, however, the monophyly of Octobrachia was refuted due to the lack of support for a Cirroctopoda + Octopoda group. When analyzing all molecular evidence in combination and for total evidence analyses, Vampyromorpha formed the sister group to Decabrachia under the majority of parameters, while morphological data and some individual data sets supported a sister relationship between Vampyromorpha and Octobrachia. Within Decabrachia, a relationship between the sepioids Idiosepiida, Sepiida, Sepiolida and the teuthid Loliginidae was supported. Spirulida fell within the teuthid group in most analyses, further rendering Teuthida paraphyletic. Relationships within Decabrachia and specifically Oegopsida were found to be highly parameter-dependent. © The Willi Hennig Society 2004. [source]