Early brain growth in Homo erectus and implications for cognitive ability

Humans differ from other primates in their significantly lengthened growth period. The persistence of a fetal pattern of brain growth after birth is another important feature of human development. Here we present the results of an analysis of the 1.8-million-year-old Mojokerto child (Perning 1, Java), the only well preserved skull of a Homo erectus infant, by computed tomography. Comparison with a large series of extant humans and chimpanzees indicates that this individual was about 1 yr (0-1.5 yr) old at death and had an endocranial capacity at 72-84% of an average adult H. erectus. This pattern of relative brain growth resembles that of living apes, but differs from that seen in extant humans. It implies that major differences in the development of cognitive capabilities existed between H. erectus and anatomically modern humans.     

Stratigraphic placement and age of modern humans from Kibish, Ethiopia

In 1967 the Kibish Formation in southern Ethiopia yielded hominid cranial remains identified as early anatomically modern humans, assigned to Homo sapiens. However, the provenance and age of the fossils have been much debated. Here we confirm that the Omo I and Omo II hominid fossils are from similar stratigraphic levels in Member I of the Kibish Formation, despite the view that Omo I is more modern in appearance than Omo II. 40Ar/39Ar ages on feldspar crystals from pumice clasts within a tuff in Member I below the hominid levels place an older limit of 198 +/- 14 kyr (weighted mean age 196 +/- 2 kyr) on the hominids. A younger age limit of 104 +/- 7 kyr is provided by feldspars from pumice clasts in a Member III tuff. Geological evidence indicates rapid deposition of each member of the Kibish Formation. Isotopic ages on the Kibish Formation correspond to ages of Mediterranean sapropels, which reflect increased flow of the Nile River, and necessarily increased flow of the Omo River. Thus the 40Ar/39Ar age measurements, together with the sapropel correlations, indicate that the hominid fossils have an age close to the older limit. Our preferred estimate of the age of the Kibish hominids is 195 +/- 5 kyr, making them the earliest well-dated anatomically modern humans yet described.     

Early dispersal of modern humans in Europe and implications for Neanderthal behaviour

The appearance of anatomically modern humans in Europe and the nature of the transition from the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic are matters of intense debate. Most researchers accept that before the arrival of anatomically modern humans, Neanderthals had adopted several 'transitional' technocomplexes. Two of these, the Uluzzian of southern Europe and the Chatelperronian of western Europe, are key to current interpretations regarding the timing of arrival of anatomically modern humans in the region and their potential interaction with Neanderthal populations. They are also central to current debates regarding the cognitive abilities of Neanderthals and the reasons behind their extinction. However, the actual fossil evidence associated with these assemblages is scant and fragmentary, and recent work has questioned the attribution of the Chatelperronian to Neanderthals on the basis of taphonomic mixing and lithic analysis. Here we reanalyse the deciduous molars from the Grotta del Cavallo (southern Italy), associated with the Uluzzian and originally classified as Neanderthal. Using two independent morphometric methods based on microtomographic data, we show that the Cavallo specimens can be attributed to anatomically modern humans. The secure context of the teeth provides crucial evidence that the makers of the Uluzzian technocomplex were therefore not Neanderthals. In addition, new chronometric data for the Uluzzian layers of Grotta del Cavallo obtained from associated shell beads and included within a Bayesian age model show that the teeth must date to ~45,000-43,000 calendar years before present. The Cavallo human remains are therefore the oldest known European anatomically modern humans, confirming a rapid dispersal of modern humans across the continent before the Aurignacian and the disappearance of Neanderthals.     

A new radiocarbon revolution and the dispersal of modern humans in Eurasia

Radiocarbon dating has been fundamental to the study of human cultural and biological development over the past 50,000 yr. Two recent developments in the methodology of radiocarbon dating show that the speed of colonization of Europe by modern human populations was more rapid than previously believed, and that their period of coexistence with the preceding Neanderthal was shorter.     

Molecular and genetic damage in humans from environmental pollution in Poland.

Extreme environmental pollution such as that found in the highly industrialized Silesian region of Poland has been associated with increased risk of cancer and adverse reproductive outcomes. Among the most prevalent carcinogenic and mutagenic air pollutants in Silesia are the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) which are largely produced by industrial and residential combustion of coal. Molecular epidemiology aims to prevent disease by using biological markers to identify risks well before clinical onset to allow effective intervention. Here, we use a battery of biological markers to measure molecular and genetic damage in peripheral blood samples from residents of Silesia and from persons living in a rural, less polluted area of Poland. The results show that their exposure to environmental pollution is associated with significant increases in carcinogen-DNA adducts (PAH-DNA and aromatic adducts), in sister chromatid exchange including high-frequency cells, and in chromosomal aberrations as well as a doubling in the frequency of ras oncogene overexpression. We found that aromatic adducts on DNA were significantly correlated with chromosomal mutation, providing us with a molecular link between environmental exposure and a genetic alteration relevant to cancer and reproductive risk.     

空隙中的生长——庄子与芒德勃罗的互读

庄子认为“无”是“道”之本源,“虚”是“道”之禀性,“无”与“虚”蕴藏着勃勃生机。芒德勃罗发现了空集的价值,揭示了自然界虚实相间的生长状态。庄子和芒德勃罗都“以无观有”,认为“无”是“有”潜藏的存在,“无”和“空”是生成万物的根源,在“空隙中生长”是宇宙的常态。芒德勃罗的空集是一种形而下的研究,其指向是现实存在物的实体和空隙合一,是对象性的整体观。庄子之“无”所看重的是人内心世界的空灵,是主客心物合一的非对象性的整体现。     

黑松与松材线虫和拟松材线虫互作早期超氧自由基研究

为探讨黑松受不同毒力松材线虫与无毒拟松材线虫侵染后,超氧自由基(O2.-)在互作早期对松材线虫病发生发展的作用,采用2年生黑松接种强毒、弱毒松材线虫与无毒拟松材线虫,于接种后4、12、24、48、72、96、120 h对受侵染黑松的茎干和针叶取样测定。结果表明:黑松受不同毒力供试线虫侵染后体内O2.-和SOD活性变化差异显著。接种后12 h,松树茎、叶中的O2.-均出现第1次突增,茎部突增的强度与供试线虫毒力呈负相关,在针叶内O2.-出现第2次突增,且无毒拟松材线虫处理(48 h)的启动时间早于强毒松材线虫(72 h)的。SOD活性在接种无毒拟松材线虫的松树茎、叶中出现两次突增,而接种强毒松材线虫的处理仅出现1次突增。3种处理黑松茎、叶的Mn-SOD含量在24 h后第1次突增,且接种无毒拟松材线虫的高于接种强毒松材线虫的。O2.-与SOD的变化趋势在一定程度上呈正相关关系,但SOD的特异变化滞后于O2.-的变化。由此可见,超氧自由基可能是松树受松材线虫侵染后进行信号转导的重要桥梁物质。     

Determination of linear alkylbenzenesulfonates in modern sediments from core Zhu-9 and its significance

High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) has the advantages of rapid analysis and high sensitivity. In the present study a suitable analytical condition has been established for HPLC, and the LAS in modern sediments from core Zhu-9 at the Pearl River mouth has been determined by HPLC. The concentrations of C12-LAS homologues are the highest. The sedimentation flux of C12-LAS was correlated with the average flow of the Xijiang and Beijiangrivers: the higher the flow rate, the larger the C12-LAS sedimentation flux. This shows that the more rapidly the river flows, the shorter the LAS will stay in freshwater, the less the extent of biodegradation, the larger the C12-LAS sedimentation flux in the core Zhu-9.     

Analysis of carbon isotope in phytoliths from C3 and C4 plants and modern soils

The analysis of carbon isotope in phytoliths from modern plants and surface soils in China shows that the values of carbon isotope are consistent with those from C3 and C4 plants,and the processes of photosynthesis of the original plants can be clearly identified by carbon isotope in phytoliths.The value of carbon isotope varied from -23.8‰ to -28‰,with the maximum distributed in the latitude zone from 34° N to 40° N in North China and East China areas,and the minimum in the Northeast China and South China regions.The values of carbon of phytoliths tend to increase from low to high and then reduce to low value again as the latitude increases.In the same latitude zone,the carbon isotope in phytoliths from grassland soil under the trees is obviously lower than that from grassland soil without any trees with the difference of 1‰-2‰.     

Constraints on hydrothermal processes and water exchange in Lake Vostok from helium isotopes

Lake Vostok, the largest subglacial lake in Antarctica, is covered by the East Antarctic ice sheet, which varies in thickness between 3,750 and 4,100 m (ref. 1). At a depth of 3,539 m in the drill hole at Vostok station, sharp changes in stable isotopes and the gas content of the ice delineate the boundary between glacier ice and ice accreted through re-freezing of lake water. Unlike most gases, helium can be incorporated into the crystal structure of ice during freezing, making helium isotopes in the accreted ice a valuable source of information on lake environment. Here we present helium isotope measurements from the deep section of the Vostok ice core that encompasses the boundary between the glacier ice and accreted ice, showing that the accreted ice is enriched by a helium source with a radiogenic isotope signature typical of an old continental province. This result rules out any significant hydrothermal energy input into the lake from high-enthalpy mantle processes, which would be expected to produce a much higher 3He/4He ratio. Based on the average helium flux for continental areas, the helium budget of the lake leads to a renewal time of the lake of the order of 5,000 years.     

影响空心莲子草镰刀菌生长发育的几个重要因子分析

在原有试验发现空心莲子镰刀菌草生长产孢对光照、通气及淹水与否不敏感的基础上,该研究进一步测定营养培养基、温度和酸碱度因子对空心莲子草镰刀菌生长发育的影响.研究结果表明,这3个因子对此真菌菌落生长、分生孢子产生和萌发都有极显著的作用,所以认为它们是影响真菌生长发育的关键因子.真菌菌落生长和产孢的温度范围为15℃～30℃,在25℃时生长最快而产孢最多;分生孢子萌发的适温范围是20℃～35℃,在30℃时萌发率显著高于其它温度处理.对6种培养基的测定结果显示,真菌在马铃薯葡萄糖培养基(PDA)、胡萝卜培养基(CAA)、空心莲子草根茎煎汁培养基(ARS)和空心莲子草叶片煎汁培养基(ALA)上都能够正常生长、产孢和萌发,而在清水洋菜培养基(WA)上不能生长发育,但是马铃薯蔗糖琼脂(PSA)是该真菌的最佳培养基.菌落生长和产孢的适宜酸碱度范围是pH 4.5～pH 11.0,最适约为pH 7.0,在pH 4.0和pH 12.0时生长和产孢都明显减缓;分生孢子萌发适宜的酸碱度范围为pH 4.0～pH 9.0,在pH 10.0～pH 12.0范围内孢子不能萌发.由此可见,在25℃和pH 7.0条件下使用PSA,是空心莲子草镰刀菌的最佳培养条件.     

盐芥TOR基因的克隆及对盐芥生长发育的影响

雷帕霉素靶蛋白(TOR)在调节动植物的生长及新陈代谢方面起重要作用.为进一步研究植物中TOR的作用,对盐芥TOR基因进行克隆,采用聚合酶链式反应和cDNA末端快速扩增技术等分子生物学方法获得盐芥TOR基因的cDNA全长及基因组全长,构建了ThTOR基因沉默植物表达载体并成功获得盐芥ThTOR基因沉默的转基因株系.结果表...     

大白菜籽苗的苗龄及生长条件对子叶离体培养不定芽再生的影响

以大白菜自交系ＡＢ－８１为试材,对籽苗的苗龄以及生长条件如光照,播种基本培养基及蔗糖浓度等外界因子对子叶离体培养不定芽再生的影响进行了研究。３￣４ｄ苗龄和子叶不定芽再生能力最强;０￣２％的蔗糖浓度优于４％￣６％的蔗糖浓度,播种的基本培养基为１／４ＭＳ对子叶的不定芽再生最为有利,籽苗在２０００ｌｘ左右的日光下比在２９００ｌｘ或１２００ｌｘ荧光下培养更利于子叶的不定芽再生。