David P. Hughes and Patrizia d'Ettorre
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199216840
- eISBN:
- 9780191712043
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199216840.003.0017
- Subject:
- Biology, Animal Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
As evidenced by this contributed volume communication is multifarious. It exists among organisms but also between cells and in networks, and even possesses inorganic properties as a result of ...
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As evidenced by this contributed volume communication is multifarious. It exists among organisms but also between cells and in networks, and even possesses inorganic properties as a result of collective organization. The approaches that can be adopted to study communication are similarly varied — from the mechanistic to the functional, and from cell biology to linguistics. This book has formulated the synthesis that this volume has achieved in a personal sociobiological view that encompasses both a reductionist and a systems biology view. The expanding toolbox with which to dissect mechanisms requires a robust interdisciplinary logic and sound theory to achieve the functional balance needed to make further progress in the evolutionary study of communication.Less
As evidenced by this contributed volume communication is multifarious. It exists among organisms but also between cells and in networks, and even possesses inorganic properties as a result of collective organization. The approaches that can be adopted to study communication are similarly varied — from the mechanistic to the functional, and from cell biology to linguistics. This book has formulated the synthesis that this volume has achieved in a personal sociobiological view that encompasses both a reductionist and a systems biology view. The expanding toolbox with which to dissect mechanisms requires a robust interdisciplinary logic and sound theory to achieve the functional balance needed to make further progress in the evolutionary study of communication.
Roger Cousens, Calvin Dytham, and Richard Law
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199299126
- eISBN:
- 9780191715006
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199299126.003.0002
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology, Plant Sciences and Forestry
This chapter considers aspects of the maternal parent, other than the tissues immediately around the seed, which contribute to the distances dispersed by plant propagules. It shows how plant ...
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This chapter considers aspects of the maternal parent, other than the tissues immediately around the seed, which contribute to the distances dispersed by plant propagules. It shows how plant phenotype, the abiotic environment, competition, and herbivory all help to determine where the trajectories of propagules begin. Plant phenology dictates when the force required separating the propagule from its parent is at a minimum, and therefore when the trajectory is likely to begin. This can be critical for the survival of animal vectors as well as for movement of seeds contained in fruits. In some cases, the parent provides an additional force to launch the propagule away from its parent.Less
This chapter considers aspects of the maternal parent, other than the tissues immediately around the seed, which contribute to the distances dispersed by plant propagules. It shows how plant phenotype, the abiotic environment, competition, and herbivory all help to determine where the trajectories of propagules begin. Plant phenology dictates when the force required separating the propagule from its parent is at a minimum, and therefore when the trajectory is likely to begin. This can be critical for the survival of animal vectors as well as for movement of seeds contained in fruits. In some cases, the parent provides an additional force to launch the propagule away from its parent.
Kim Cornish and John Wilding
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195179941
- eISBN:
- 9780199864652
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195179941.001.0001
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Behavioral Neuroscience, Development
What is attention? How does it go wrong? Do attention deficits arise from genes or from the environment? Can we cure it with drugs or training? Are there disorders of attention other than deficit ...
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What is attention? How does it go wrong? Do attention deficits arise from genes or from the environment? Can we cure it with drugs or training? Are there disorders of attention other than deficit disorders? The past decade has seen a burgeoning of research on the subject of attention. This research has been facilitated by advances on several fronts: New methods are now available for viewing brain activity in real time, there is expanding information on the complexities of the biochemistry of neural activity, individual genes can be isolated and their functions identified, analysis of the component processes included under the broad umbrella of “attention” has become increasingly sophisticated, and ingenious methods have been devised for measuring typical and atypical development of these processes, from infancy into childhood, and then into adulthood. This book is concerned with attention and its development, both typical and atypical, particularly in disorders with a known genetic etiology or assumed genetic linkage. Tremendous advances across seemingly diverse disciplines — molecular genetics, pediatric neurology, child psychiatry, developmental cognitive neuroscience, and education s— have culminated in a wealth of new methods for elucidating disorders at multiple levels, possibly paving the way for new treatment options. The book uses three specific-yet-interlinking levels of analysis: genetic blueprint (genotype), the developing brain, and the behavioral-cognitive outcomes (phenotype), as the basis for charting the attention profiles of six well-documented neurodevelopmental disorders: ADHD, autism, fragile X syndrome, Down syndrome, Williams syndrome, and 22q11 deletion syndrome.Less
What is attention? How does it go wrong? Do attention deficits arise from genes or from the environment? Can we cure it with drugs or training? Are there disorders of attention other than deficit disorders? The past decade has seen a burgeoning of research on the subject of attention. This research has been facilitated by advances on several fronts: New methods are now available for viewing brain activity in real time, there is expanding information on the complexities of the biochemistry of neural activity, individual genes can be isolated and their functions identified, analysis of the component processes included under the broad umbrella of “attention” has become increasingly sophisticated, and ingenious methods have been devised for measuring typical and atypical development of these processes, from infancy into childhood, and then into adulthood. This book is concerned with attention and its development, both typical and atypical, particularly in disorders with a known genetic etiology or assumed genetic linkage. Tremendous advances across seemingly diverse disciplines — molecular genetics, pediatric neurology, child psychiatry, developmental cognitive neuroscience, and education s— have culminated in a wealth of new methods for elucidating disorders at multiple levels, possibly paving the way for new treatment options. The book uses three specific-yet-interlinking levels of analysis: genetic blueprint (genotype), the developing brain, and the behavioral-cognitive outcomes (phenotype), as the basis for charting the attention profiles of six well-documented neurodevelopmental disorders: ADHD, autism, fragile X syndrome, Down syndrome, Williams syndrome, and 22q11 deletion syndrome.
Patrizia d'Ettorre and Allen J Moore
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199216840
- eISBN:
- 9780191712043
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199216840.003.0005
- Subject:
- Biology, Animal Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
Effective communication, often involving pheromones, is a fundamental component of social life. Communication requires interactions to be expressed and it is convenient to consider communication ...
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Effective communication, often involving pheromones, is a fundamental component of social life. Communication requires interactions to be expressed and it is convenient to consider communication within the context of the theory of interacting phenotypes — those phenotypes that have reduced or no meaning outside of a social context. Pheromonal communication will therefore be subject to social selection and indirect genetic effects and is often highly sophisticated and multifaceted, allowing fine-tuned coordination of messages from senders and receivers. Pheromones can be characterized by nested levels of variation: a multi-component structure in which individual components contain additional source of variation. An integrated understanding of communication by multi-component chemical signals provides insight into the evolution of social signals in general. Insects are ideal model systems to investigate and disentangle the complexity of pheromones and reveal the underestimated potential for reliability that appears to be hidden in chemical signals and their evolutionary stability.Less
Effective communication, often involving pheromones, is a fundamental component of social life. Communication requires interactions to be expressed and it is convenient to consider communication within the context of the theory of interacting phenotypes — those phenotypes that have reduced or no meaning outside of a social context. Pheromonal communication will therefore be subject to social selection and indirect genetic effects and is often highly sophisticated and multifaceted, allowing fine-tuned coordination of messages from senders and receivers. Pheromones can be characterized by nested levels of variation: a multi-component structure in which individual components contain additional source of variation. An integrated understanding of communication by multi-component chemical signals provides insight into the evolution of social signals in general. Insects are ideal model systems to investigate and disentangle the complexity of pheromones and reveal the underestimated potential for reliability that appears to be hidden in chemical signals and their evolutionary stability.
F. Nicholas Braun
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199299188
- eISBN:
- 9780191714979
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199299188.003.0007
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
The extant phylogenetic variability of a given protein contains information about its underlying sequence-fitness landscape, potentially of value to ancestral reconstruction. In extracting such ...
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The extant phylogenetic variability of a given protein contains information about its underlying sequence-fitness landscape, potentially of value to ancestral reconstruction. In extracting such information, it is pertinent to focus on coarse-grained traits of sequence with strong physicochemical bearing on the protein's phenotype. This chapter uses phylogenetic data to stake out roughly the landscape for a protein component of spider silk.Less
The extant phylogenetic variability of a given protein contains information about its underlying sequence-fitness landscape, potentially of value to ancestral reconstruction. In extracting such information, it is pertinent to focus on coarse-grained traits of sequence with strong physicochemical bearing on the protein's phenotype. This chapter uses phylogenetic data to stake out roughly the landscape for a protein component of spider silk.
D. Dudley Williams
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198528128
- eISBN:
- 9780191713538
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198528128.003.0005
- Subject:
- Biology, Aquatic Biology
This chapter highlights the seasonality of temporary waters and how this relates to variability in the life cycles of their inhabitants, leading to discussion of phenotypic and genotypic solutions. ...
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This chapter highlights the seasonality of temporary waters and how this relates to variability in the life cycles of their inhabitants, leading to discussion of phenotypic and genotypic solutions. The physiology of desiccation a major stressor in these habitats is reviewed, as are other adaptations of the biota such as cyclical dispersal and colonization. The differences between active and passive strategies of the latter are emphasized.Less
This chapter highlights the seasonality of temporary waters and how this relates to variability in the life cycles of their inhabitants, leading to discussion of phenotypic and genotypic solutions. The physiology of desiccation a major stressor in these habitats is reviewed, as are other adaptations of the biota such as cyclical dispersal and colonization. The differences between active and passive strategies of the latter are emphasized.
H. Frederik Nijhout
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195335903
- eISBN:
- 9780199775446
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195335903.003.0013
- Subject:
- Biology, Animal Biology
This chapter discusses the role of photoperiodism on phenotype expression in insects. Topics covered include general patterns of expression of seasonal morphs in insects, the interaction of ...
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This chapter discusses the role of photoperiodism on phenotype expression in insects. Topics covered include general patterns of expression of seasonal morphs in insects, the interaction of photoperiod and temperature, how photoperiod affects development and morphology, developmental hormones in photoperiodic responses, and the evolution of seasonally plastic traits.Less
This chapter discusses the role of photoperiodism on phenotype expression in insects. Topics covered include general patterns of expression of seasonal morphs in insects, the interaction of photoperiod and temperature, how photoperiod affects development and morphology, developmental hormones in photoperiodic responses, and the evolution of seasonally plastic traits.
David Whitehouse
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195393804
- eISBN:
- 9780199863495
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195393804.003.0012
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Disorders of the Nervous System
The healthcare industry and insurers hope that once accurate and effective gene and brain markers of brain disorders are identified and utilized, patient outcomes will be more successful. This is not ...
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The healthcare industry and insurers hope that once accurate and effective gene and brain markers of brain disorders are identified and utilized, patient outcomes will be more successful. This is not a panacea for cures, but rather a means of bringing more objective approaches for clinicians to offer patients. Some of these approaches may be more convenient for patients to use, making patients more willing to take control and engage in healthier lifestyles, habits and behaviors, perhaps under the guidance of a health care professional. The applications from Personalized Medicine must be cost effective and result in significant improvement, if not a cure. This chapter will review present practical alternatives to expensive and time-consuming assessments, imaging and laboratory measures. These cost-efficient alternatives will integrate clinical, psychological and neuroscience findings and data, and will use the latest information technology advances for distribution and use by the patient and clinician. This pragmatic context of personalized treatment plans is used in this chapter to emphasize that for reimbursement to occur, validated and robust solutions that are cost-effective will be required as a key factor to accelerate personalized medicine.Less
The healthcare industry and insurers hope that once accurate and effective gene and brain markers of brain disorders are identified and utilized, patient outcomes will be more successful. This is not a panacea for cures, but rather a means of bringing more objective approaches for clinicians to offer patients. Some of these approaches may be more convenient for patients to use, making patients more willing to take control and engage in healthier lifestyles, habits and behaviors, perhaps under the guidance of a health care professional. The applications from Personalized Medicine must be cost effective and result in significant improvement, if not a cure. This chapter will review present practical alternatives to expensive and time-consuming assessments, imaging and laboratory measures. These cost-efficient alternatives will integrate clinical, psychological and neuroscience findings and data, and will use the latest information technology advances for distribution and use by the patient and clinician. This pragmatic context of personalized treatment plans is used in this chapter to emphasize that for reimbursement to occur, validated and robust solutions that are cost-effective will be required as a key factor to accelerate personalized medicine.
Patrizia d'Ettorre and Alain Lenoir
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199544639
- eISBN:
- 9780191720192
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199544639.003.0011
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology, Animal Biology
The ability to recognize group members is a key characteristic of social life. Ants are typically very efficient in recognizing non‐group members and they aggressively reject them in order to protect ...
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The ability to recognize group members is a key characteristic of social life. Ants are typically very efficient in recognizing non‐group members and they aggressively reject them in order to protect their colonies. There are a range of different recognition mechanisms including prior association, phenotype matching, and recognition alleles. The concept of kin recognition should be considered different from that of nestmate recognition. Most of the available studies address the nestmate recognition level, namely the discrimination of nestmates from non‐nestmates, independently of actual relatedness. Indirect and direct evidence identify long‐chain cuticular hydrocarbons as the best candidates to act as recognition cues in ants, even if other chemical substances could also play a role, at least in some ant species. The relative importance of genetic and environmental factors on the expression and variation of the cuticular hydrocarbon profile vary among species and is linked to life history strategies.Less
The ability to recognize group members is a key characteristic of social life. Ants are typically very efficient in recognizing non‐group members and they aggressively reject them in order to protect their colonies. There are a range of different recognition mechanisms including prior association, phenotype matching, and recognition alleles. The concept of kin recognition should be considered different from that of nestmate recognition. Most of the available studies address the nestmate recognition level, namely the discrimination of nestmates from non‐nestmates, independently of actual relatedness. Indirect and direct evidence identify long‐chain cuticular hydrocarbons as the best candidates to act as recognition cues in ants, even if other chemical substances could also play a role, at least in some ant species. The relative importance of genetic and environmental factors on the expression and variation of the cuticular hydrocarbon profile vary among species and is linked to life history strategies.
W. Maxwell Cowan, Thomas M. Jessell, and S. Lawrence Zipursky (eds)
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195111668
- eISBN:
- 9780199865833
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195111668.001.0001
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Molecular and Cellular Systems, Development
Although the major features of neural development have been known for nearly a century, it is only relatively recently that the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms have begun to be ...
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Although the major features of neural development have been known for nearly a century, it is only relatively recently that the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms have begun to be uncovered. Among the many factors accountable for the transformation of developmental neurobiology from a largely descriptive to an analytic and mechanistic discipline, two stand out as singularly important. First has been the application of molecular genetic methods to the study of such events and neural induction, the determination of neuronal phenotypes, the establishment of neuronal processes, and the formation of specific patterns of connections. The second factor has been the use of a variety of “model” organisms: each offering particular advantages in the study of one or another developmental process. The pace of new advances often overwhelms experienced workers in the field. This book updates and introduces the subject and also details recent successes in understanding the early events of neural development.Less
Although the major features of neural development have been known for nearly a century, it is only relatively recently that the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms have begun to be uncovered. Among the many factors accountable for the transformation of developmental neurobiology from a largely descriptive to an analytic and mechanistic discipline, two stand out as singularly important. First has been the application of molecular genetic methods to the study of such events and neural induction, the determination of neuronal phenotypes, the establishment of neuronal processes, and the formation of specific patterns of connections. The second factor has been the use of a variety of “model” organisms: each offering particular advantages in the study of one or another developmental process. The pace of new advances often overwhelms experienced workers in the field. This book updates and introduces the subject and also details recent successes in understanding the early events of neural development.
