The coevolution of choosiness and cooperation

Explaining the rise and maintenance of cooperation is central to our understanding of biological systems and human societies. When an individual's cooperativeness is used by other individuals as a choice criterion, there can be competition to be more generous than others, a situation called competitive altruism. The evolution of cooperation between non-relatives can then be driven by a positive feedback between increasing levels of cooperativeness and choosiness. Here we use evolutionary simulations to show that, in a situation where individuals have the opportunity to engage in repeated pairwise interactions, the equilibrium degree of cooperativeness depends critically on the amount of behavioural variation that is being maintained in the population by processes such as mutation. Because our model does not invoke complex mechanisms such as negotiation behaviour, it can be applied to a wide range of species. The results suggest an important role of lifespan in the evolution of cooperation.     

Insect paralysis by baculovirus-mediated expression of a mite neurotoxin gene.

Female mites of the species Pyemotes tritici inject an extremely potent venom into their insect prey that causes muscle-contraction and paralysis. These mites are able to paralyse insects 150,000 times their size and their venom is effective in a broad range of insect species. A toxin (TxP-I) associated with the mite venom apparatus causes immediate muscle-contractive paralysis when injected into insects but not mice. In this report, we describe the cloning, sequencing and expression of a complementary DNA (Tox-34) encoding TxP-I. Insect cells infected with a recombinant baculovirus (vEV-Tox34) expressing Tox-34 secrete three polypeptides related to TxP-I which cause paralysis on injection. Larvae infected with vEV-Tox34 become paralysed during infection, thus reflecting the potential application of this toxin gene in insect biocontrol methods. The toxin gene expression system will also allow further exploration of the neurophysiological basis of its insect-specific effects.     

Antagonistic coevolution between the sexes in a group of insects

In coevolutionary 'arms races' between the sexes, the outcome of antagonistic interactions may remain at an evolutionary standstill. The advantage gained by one sex, with any evolutionary exaggeration of arms, is expected to be matched by analogous counteradaptations in the other sex. This fundamental coevolutionary process may thus be hidden from the evolutionist's eye, and no natural examples are known. We have studied the effects of male and female armament (clasping and anti-clasping morphologies) on the outcome of antagonistic mating interactions in 15 species of water strider, using a combination of experimental and phylogenetic comparative methods. Here we present, by assessing the independent effects of both species-specific level of arms escalation and small imbalances in the amounts of arms between the sexes within species, the consequences of a sexual arms race. Evolutionary change in the balance of armament between males and females, but not in the species-specific level of escalation, has resulted in evolutionary change in the outcome of sexually antagonistic interactions such as mating rate.     

Electron pockets in the Fermi surface of hole-doped high-Tc superconductors

High-temperature superconductivity in copper oxides occurs when the materials are chemically tuned to have a carrier concentration intermediate between their metallic state at high doping and their insulating state at zero doping. The underlying evolution of the electron system in the absence of superconductivity is still unclear, and a question of central importance is whether it involves any intermediate phase with broken symmetry. The Fermi surface of the electronic states in the underdoped 'YBCO' materials YBa2Cu3O(y) and YBa2Cu4O8 was recently shown to include small pockets, in contrast with the large cylinder that characterizes the overdoped regime, pointing to a topological change in the Fermi surface. Here we report the observation of a negative Hall resistance in the magnetic-field-induced normal state of YBa2Cu3O(y) and YBa2Cu4O8, which reveals that these pockets are electron-like rather than hole-like. We propose that these electron pockets most probably arise from a reconstruction of the Fermi surface caused by the onset of a density-wave phase, as is thought to occur in the electron-doped copper oxides near the onset of antiferromagnetic order. Comparison with materials of the La2CuO4 family that exhibit spin/charge density-wave order suggests that a Fermi surface reconstruction also occurs in those materials, pointing to a generic property of high-transition-temperature (T(c)) superconductors.     

信息与物质的相互作用

以人类语言与人脑共同进化为例,阐述了信息与物质之间可能存在的一种相互作用．阐述了为人类语言与人脑的共同进化提供证据的已有研究结果,包括人类脑皮层语言区、人类语言和人脑进化过程、人类语言进化的遗传学基础．以此为基础,建立了一个动力学模型,刻画了人类语言发展和人脑发育的相互促进过程:语言发展水平可通过语言相关的基因突变所导致的脑功能进步来提高,而突变基因能否被正向选择取决于语言发展水平,只有满足一定条件的突变基因才能被正向选择．因此,人类语言和人脑经历了一个共同进化过程,该过程为分析信息与物质的相互作用提供了一个途径．      

脆蛇转录组序列的分析和系统发育定位(英文)

脆蛇是一种类似于蛇但是又具有蜥蜴的特征的爬行动物,这些矛盾的特性与脆蛇的系统发育分类学有密切的关系.脆蛇在传统中药中也有很多治疗作用.基于这些方面,本研究利用高通量测序方法对脆蛇胃肠道的转录组序列进行检测,组装和注释.最终获得4.6 Gbp高质量的数据,组装获得58 959个单一的基因,其中35 708(60.56%)个单一基因与数据库的基因相匹配.为了确定脆蛇与蛇和蜥蜴的同源进化关系,对同源基因家族和系统进化树进行了分析,结果显示脆蛇的转录组序列更接近于蛇而不是蜥蜴.除此之外还鉴定了10 613 cSSR标签,其中1 644个标签根据严格的标准能够用至少一个引物获得.本研究第一次揭示了脆蛇胃肠道的转录组序列,确定其在系统发育学上的定位.这些序列和标签为脆蛇的研究提供了重要的资源.     

浅谈两种无限观的对立统一

本文在介绍两种无限观的基础上,提出了两种无限观对立统一的观点,并用事例表明：正是两种无限观同时存在,对立统一,才使得生活、数学如此完美。     

朱砂叶螨危害初期豇豆幼苗叶片PPO、PAL及POD的研究

对朱砂叶螨(Tetranychus cinnabarinus(Boisduval))危害后豇豆(Vigna sinensis)幼苗叶片PPO、PAL和POD活性及同工酶进行了研究。结果显示：随着危害时间延长，处理叶片PPO、PAL和POD的活性与对照相比均升高，差异显著，且两处理之间也存在显著差异；POD同工酶电泳结果显示，随着危害程度的增大，除了部分同工酶谱带加强外，还诱导产生了新的同工酶谱带。     

二种植绥螨对朱砂叶螨利他素定位反应的比较

利用嗅觉仪测定智利小植绥螨和拟长钝绥螨对其猎物朱砂叶螨所释放的利他素的定向行为并作了比较研究，阐明了与这二种植绥螨的定位反应有关的刺激源是除雄螨以外不同发育阶段的叶螨及其分泌物和排泄物，而与叶螨的寄主植物无关，不同植绥螨对同一种叶螨不同发育阶段产生的利他素源反应有着一定的种间特异性。     

威尔逊云室的发明

通过对C.T.R.威尔逊研究和改进云室的过程的考察,说明"云室"的功能随着其结构的变化而发生变化:从模拟日晕现象到研究凝结的规律及电子电量的测定;威尔逊利用云室拍出的α粒子引起云室内气体凝聚的痕迹与H.A.布拉格想象中的α粒子径迹进行比较,得到惊人的、相似的结果后,云室就成为了观测基本粒子径迹的主要仪器.