Cyclic adenosine monophosphate: function in photoreceptors

Inactivation of adenylate cyclase in outer segments of retinal photoreceptor cells is proportional to the bleaching of rhodopsin. Membranes of the outer segments also contain a particulate, light-insensitive phosphodiesterase of high specific activity. In electrophysiological experiments, application of cyclic adenosine monophosphate along with a methylxanthine mimics the effects of illumination on the photoreceptor cell of the compound eye of Limulus.     

Multiple principal sigma factor homologs in eubacteria: identification of the "rpoD box"

Genes for the principal sigma factor (rpoD genes) of various eubacteria were identified with a synthetic oligonucleotide probe corresponding to a conserved sequence in rpoD gene products of Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis. Multiple rpoD homologs were found in the strains of Micrococcus, Pseudomonas, and Streptomyces, whereas single genes were detected in E. coli, B. subtilis, and Staphylococcus aureus. The four rpoD homologs of Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) were cloned and sequenced. A homologous portion with 13 amino acids was found in the rpoD genes of S. coelicolor A3(2), E. coli, and B. subtilis and was named the "rpoD box."     

Light modulates voltage-dependent potassium channels in limulus ventral photoreceptors

Voltage-dependent outward current measured in the dark is reduced after illumination. This reduction can be blocked by tetraethylammonium and is associated with a decrease in total membrane conductance. The voltage dependence of the current reduced by light is the same as that of the delayed rectifier. These results indicate that light modulates the delayed rectifier. This modulation serves to maintain a stable voltage response to constant illumination.     

The molecular mechanism of thermal noise in rod photoreceptors

Spontaneous electrical signals in the retina's photoreceptors impose a limit on visual sensitivity. Their origin is attributed to a thermal, rather than photochemical, activation of the transduction cascade. Although the mechanism of such a process is under debate, the observation of a relationship between the maximum absorption wavelength (λ(max)) and the thermal activation kinetic constant (k) of different visual pigments (the Barlow correlation) indicates that the thermal and photochemical activations are related. Here we show that a quantum chemical model of the bovine rod pigment provides a molecular-level understanding of the Barlow correlation. The transition state mediating thermal activation has the same electronic structure as the photoreceptor excited state, thus creating a direct link between λ(max) and k. Such a link appears to be the manifestation of intrinsic chromophore features associated with the existence of a conical intersection between its ground and excited states.     

Synaptic transmission between photoreceptors and horizontal cells in the turtle retina

Low calcium, high magnesium, and cobalt hyperpolarize the horizontal cell membrane and suppress the response to light, but only partially affect the response of receptor cells. These observations are consistent with the interpretation that a depolarizing transmitter is released by photoreceptors in darkness. The hyperpolarizing response to light of the horizontal cells would then result from a reduction in the amount of transmitter released.     

Radio noise from towns: measured from an airplane

Measurements of broadband radio noise in the range 73 to 440 megahertz were made over several small Illinois cities during August, September, and December 1972. Results for cities with a population larger than 25,000 are presented as brightness temperatures between 2400 and 9600 degrees Kelvin. Even the smallest villages produce significant noise pollution. There is considerable diurnal variation and some evidence for seasonal variation.     

Economic benefits from research: an example from agriculture

In this article we examine the economic benefits of the long history of public research in agriculture. Agricultural productivity continues to grow. Annual rates of return on research expenditure are of the order of 50 percent. Research oriented to science is profitable when associated with technological research. Decentralization, as in the system of state agricultural experiment stations and substations, has allowed close association of research oriented to science with that oriented to technology and to farming. The high rate of return shows that investment in public research in agriculture is too low. This is at least partially because research benefits spill over to other regions and to consumers, reducing the incentives for local support.     

Spontaneous vesicles formed from hydroxide surfactants: evidence from electron microscopy

Dialkyldimethylammonium hydroxide surfactants are highly soluble in water and form spontaneous stable vesicles. These vesicles can be grown to size with added acid, and appear to provide an ideal membrane mimetic system for the study of fusion and ion transport. These phenomena are a consequence of strong hydration forces that are not necessarily limited to the hydroxide ions. The forces can be used to design a variety of model systems whose behavior differs from that of systems in which double-chained surfactants form insoluble liquid crystalline phases in water and unstable vesicle suspensions on prolonged sonication.     

Global distribution of neutrons from Mars: results from Mars odyssey

Global distributions of thermal, epithermal, and fast neutron fluxes have been mapped during late southern summer/northern winter using the Mars Odyssey Neutron Spectrometer. These fluxes are selectively sensitive to the vertical and lateral spatial distributions of H and CO2 in the uppermost meter of the martian surface. Poleward of +/-60 degrees latitude is terrain rich in hydrogen, probably H2O ice buried beneath tens of centimeter-thick hydrogen-poor soil. The central portion of the north polar cap is covered by a thick CO2 layer, as is the residual south polar cap. Portions of the low to middle latitudes indicate subsurface deposits of chemically and/or physically bound H2O and/or OH.     

Microprocessors: from desktops to supercomputers

Continuing improvements in integrated circuit technology and computer architecture have driven microprocessors to performance levels that rival those of supercomputers-at a fraction of the price. The use of sophisticated memory hierarchies enables microprocessor-based machines to have very large memories built from commodity dynamic random access memory while retaining the high bandwidth and low access time needed in a high-performance machine. Parallel processors composed of these high-performance microprocessors are becoming the supercomputing technology of choice for scientific and engineering applications. The challenges for these new supercomputers have been in developing multiprocessor architectures that are easy to program and that deliver high performance without extraordinary programming efforts by users. Recent progress in multiprocessor architecture has led to ways to meet these challenges.     

Dyscalculia: from brain to education

Recent research in cognitive and developmental neuroscience is providing a new approach to the understanding of dyscalculia that emphasizes a core deficit in understanding sets and their numerosities, which is fundamental to all aspects of elementary school mathematics. The neural bases of numerosity processing have been investigated in structural and functional neuroimaging studies of adults and children, and neural markers of its impairment in dyscalculia have been identified. New interventions to strengthen numerosity processing, including adaptive software, promise effective evidence-based education for dyscalculic learners.     

OCEANOGRAPHY: Tracer from the Sky

The rate of marine photosynthesis is of great importance for the global carbon cycle but is difficult to measure from environmental properties or in vitro. In this Perspective, Bender highlights a study by Luz and Barkan, who exploit the anomalous isotopic composition of molecular oxygen to determine the gross rate of photosynthesis in seawater. The method allows much longer time scales and larger spatial scales to be covered than with traditional oceanographic techniques.     

Protoplasts: preparation from higher plants

Protoplasts can be readily prepared from higher-plant tissue with a concentrated Myrothecium cellulase preparation. An ionic osmoticum produced a higher yield and more viable protoplasts than did the nonionic man nitol osmoticum. Addition of polyuronidases or of ethylenediaminetetra-acetate did not increase the yield. Protoplasts could be prepared from root, leaf, and callus tissue as well as from coleoptiles.