Article
Robotics
Douglas Blackiston, Sam Kriegman, Josh Bongard, Michael Levin
Summary: Advancements in science and engineering expose the limitations of classical approaches, necessitating the re-evaluation of conceptual categories and resolution of conflicting boundaries to facilitate experimental approaches. This essay addresses critiques regarding the intersection of developmental biology, computer science, and robotics, and explores how recent advances have transformed our understanding across fields. By embracing the convergence of disciplines, the essay argues that insights can be gained on issues of multiscale control and the relationship between form and function, leading to practical applications in regenerative medicine and synthetic living machines.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Angela Montaruli, Lucia Castelli, Antonino Mule, Raffaele Scurati, Fabio Esposito, Letizia Galasso, Eliana Roveda
Summary: Circadian rhythm is crucial in regulating key biological functions, with individual chronotypes influencing preferred times for activity and sleep, impacting health differently. Understanding and addressing these differences helps reduce risks of diseases and sleep disorders.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Anna Di Cosmo, Claudia Pinelli, Anna Scandurra, Massimo Aria, Biagio D'Aniello
Summary: Octopuses are a model species for various scientific studies, and research on them has been increasing from 1985 to 2020. The study utilized bibliometric analysis to track trends in octopus biological research, finding a growth in publications, countries, institutions, and research topics over time. The data provides valuable insights into the changing landscape of octopus studies.
Review
Evolutionary Biology
Arnaud Sentis, Jean-Louis Hemptinne, Alexandra Magro, Yannick Outreman
Summary: The role of evolution in biological control programs is often underestimated, but it is crucial for improving efficiency and resilience. Humans can manipulate natural evolutionary processes to enhance the performance of local biological control agents. However, biological control cannot be simplified as species interactions, as pests and biological control agents are influenced by multiple selective forces.
EVOLUTIONARY APPLICATIONS
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Bartolome Sabater
Summary: This study revises attempts to find and quantify the low entropy of organisms, highlighting the absolute entropy of non-living biomass as the reference point for entropy decreases in living beings. It points out that compartmentation of metabolites and departure from metabolic equilibrium contribute to distinctive reductions in entropy, while DNA and proteins have low informational entropy that is relevant for life and evolution. Additionally, it emphasizes the critical role of photosynthetic conversion of energy in maintaining low entropy in living systems.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Lucy Carter, Aditi Mankad
Summary: Discussions on the responsible advancement of synthetic biology science are in full swing, with calls for greater science investments and inclusive governance processes worldwide. The article shares experiences from Australia and suggests four key actions to pivot synthetic biology towards a more integrated scientific endeavor. These actions include formalizing inclusivity, valuing differing philosophical positions, accepting the persistence required for integration, and promoting meaningful interactions within the scientific community.
FRONTIERS IN BIOENGINEERING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Editorial Material
Computer Science, Theory & Methods
David Camacho, Ma Victoria Luzon, Erik Cambria
Summary: The rapid growth of social media platforms and their associated applications has revolutionized the way billions of people interact on the Web, driving innovations in user-centered applications and efficient data processing techniques. Recent advances in data science and artificial intelligence have made these developments possible, as evidenced by the 12 selected papers in this special issue representing the latest advances in fields like pattern recognition, information fusion, knowledge discovery, and data visualization.
FUTURE GENERATION COMPUTER SYSTEMS-THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ESCIENCE
(2021)
Review
Computer Science, Information Systems
Mehdi Azaouzi, Wassim Mnasri, Lotfi Ben Romdhane
Summary: The growing popularity of social networks presents an opportunity for practical applications, but challenges such as privacy concerns exist. Research methods include diffusion models and influence maximization techniques.
COMPUTER SCIENCE REVIEW
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Juan I. Canale, Sebastian Apesteguia, Pablo A. Gallina, Jonathan Mitchell, Nathan D. Smith, Thomas M. Cullen, Akiko Shinya, Alejandro Haluza, Federico A. Gianechini, Peter J. Makovicky
Summary: This research report introduces a new species of giant carnivorous dinosaur called Meraxes gigas, which has almost complete forelimbs and provides new evidence for the trend of forelimb reduction in theropod dinosaurs. The research also reveals that the diversity of carcharodontosaurids reached its peak before extinction, and the evolution rate of facial ornamentation may be linked to social signaling.
Review
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Tajammul Hussain, Ganga Jeena, Thanet Pitakbut, Nikolay Vasilev, Oliver Kayser
Summary: This review analyzed the historical transitions of cannabis research, from herbal medicine to illicit drug to legalized medicinal product, as well as the newage applications of cannabis extracts for treating COVID-19 inflammation. It also discussed the legal influences of cannabis cultivation on medicinal, pharmaceutical, and biotechnological research.
Article
Mathematics, Interdisciplinary Applications
Paulo C. Ventura, Eric K. Tokuda, Luciano da F. Costa, Francisco A. Rodrigues
Summary: Mathematical models, especially epidemic models, are fundamental for studying the course of diseases and planning control policies. This study proposes a numerical approximation approach using a Markov chain method to predict the long-term prevalence of a disease in metapopulations with an attraction landscape. The results are compared to a mathematic-analytical approach and show substantial agreement. The study also investigates the impact of different levels of attraction landscapes on disease propagation and the local scale of the population.
CHAOS SOLITONS & FRACTALS
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Marek Glowka, Tomasz Krawczyk
Summary: The production of 1,2-propanediol is facing significant challenges in the chemical industry due to the increasing demand and environmental regulations. The traditional method is energy intensive, therefore sustainable routes using renewable raw materials are becoming more attractive. This perspective reviews the current research and patents on 1,2-propanediol production, discussing alternative pathways, such as glycerol hydrogenolysis and biotechnological methods, and modern methods like chromium-free catalytic systems and multifunctional catalysts. Biobased 1,2-propanediol has the potential to replace traditional petroleum-derived 1,2-propanediol with environmental and economic benefits.
ACS SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY & ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Alexander V. Spirov, Ekaterina M. Myasnikova
Summary: Structurally and functionally isolated domains in biological macromolecular evolution are similar to building blocks in evolutionary computation. Preserving the already found domains is a significant challenge in both biology and evolutionary computation. Multiple approaches from synthetic biology and evolutionary computation can be integrated to solve more complex problems in vitro.
IEEE-ACM TRANSACTIONS ON COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY AND BIOINFORMATICS
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Seongchan Kim, Taegon Oh, Hyojin Lee, Jwa-Min Nam
Summary: This article reviews the various types of nanoparticles used as delivery vehicles in clinical therapeutic applications, discussing their advantageous properties and functions, as well as the issues and limitations. The strategies to overcome biological barriers and harsh physiological conditions are summarized, and green synthesis methods and their environmental impacts are introduced and discussed. The article also provides perspectives on the biocompatibility, toxicity and environmental consequences of nanoparticles developed for biomedical applications.
MATERIALS CHEMISTRY FRONTIERS
(2022)
Article
History & Philosophy Of Science
Richard Lauer, Kareem Khalifa
Summary: This article explores the ontology of race, addressing the questions of whether races exist and what they are. It argues that social-scientific methods are better than traditional philosophical methods in ruling out fictional stories about race, and questions the practice of sharply distinguishing social-scientific and ordinary-language conceptions of race.
Article
Ecology
Andrew D. Clark, Dominik Deffner, Kevin Laland, John Odling-Smee, John Endler
AMERICAN NATURALIST
(2020)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Kevin N. Laland, Wataru Toyokawa, Thomas Oudman
EVOLUTION & DEVELOPMENT
(2020)
Article
Ecology
Thomas Oudman, Kevin Laland, Graeme Ruxton, Ingunn Tombre, Paul Shimmings, Jouke Prop
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2020)
Article
Zoology
Camille A. Troisi, William J. E. Hoppitt, Carlos R. Ruiz-Miranda, Kevin N. Laland
Summary: The family Callitrichidae, known for large food transfers from adults to infants, may also have a teaching function through these transfers. While novel foods were not more successfully transferred than familiar ones, previous experience with the food by the donor increased transfer success. Food transfers influenced the foraging choices of young tamarins, indicating the role of social learning in their development.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Mike M. Webster, Kevin N. Laland
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2020)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Elena Miu, Ned Gulley, Kevin N. Laland, Luke Rendell
Editorial Material
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kevin N. Laland
Review
Psychology
Kevin Laland, Amanda Seed
Summary: Researchers evaluated candidate traits that may support human unique cognition, finding that humans possess unusually potent capabilities in many cognitive domains. They believe that the superior cognitive performance of humans is formed through interactions and reinforcement between different cognitive domains.
ANNUAL REVIEW OF PSYCHOLOGY, VOL 72
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Karina Vanadzina, Andre Phillips, Bonnie Martins, Kevin N. Laland, Michael M. Webster, Catherine Sheard
Summary: The study found that egg size in marine fish is related to environmental factors and parental body size, while hatch size is influenced by food supply and reproductive strategy. Species with parental care or demersal egg development yield larger hatchlings. Hatch size evolution is associated with care provision and parental body size.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2021)
Article
History & Philosophy Of Science
John Dupre
Summary: Organisms are a type of process, and their behaviors are examples of processes producing changes. Causation is seen as the interaction of processes, a capacity inherent in the process, rather than the instantiation of universal laws. This approach, which builds on criticisms of determinism and universal causality, can be applied to both living and non-living worlds.
Article
History & Philosophy Of Science
John Dupre, Sabina Leonelli
Summary: Whether we live in a world of autonomous things or a world of interconnected processes, modern biology supports the latter view. Understanding the practices and outputs of science in a dynamic world, especially in an emergency like the COVID-19 pandemic, requires considering the role of reification in the research process. Reification, which involves identifying stable features in a constantly changing world, is a necessary component of inquiry and can take on two forms - means reification and target reification. Failure to recognize these forms of reification and their role in scientific inquiry can have serious consequences for how knowledge is interpreted and used.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL FOR PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Karina Vanadzina, Sally E. Street, Susan D. Healy, Kevin N. Laland, Catherine Sheard
Summary: The size of a bird's nest plays a crucial role in reproductive success and is influenced by various factors. The primary function of the nest is to protect offspring from the environment and predators. Studies have shown that bird species in colder habitats at higher latitudes build larger nests with thicker walls, but these larger nests are more vulnerable to predation. Nest size can also be influenced by sexual selection as it signals parental quality. This study also found that nest size is associated with environmental factors, geographical factors, and life-history traits.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Geography, Physical
Dov Corenblit, Bruno Corbara, Kevin Lala, Jonathan D. Phillips, Arnaud Pocheville, Erwan Roussel, Johannes Steiger, Heather A. Viles
Summary: Biogeomorphology should challenge the traditional dichotomy between living and non-living Earth surface systems, by exploring the interrelationships between eco-evolutionary models, genes, organisms, and the environment. Genes are considered as the foundational units of evolution, influencing and manufacturing the biological and physical environments within or outside organisms.
EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS
(2023)
Article
Biology
Catherine Sheard, Sally E. Street, Caitlin Evans, Kevin N. Lala, Susan D. Healy, Shoko Sugasawa
Summary: The evolution of behavior can both influence and be influenced by morphology. This study investigates the relationship between beak shape and nest building materials in birds using a global database and random forest models. The results show that beak morphology, diet, and access to materials can predict nest material use with moderate to high accuracy, although the relationship is influenced by phylogenetic signal and sampling biases.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Experimental
Murillo Pagnotta, Kevin N. Laland, Moreno Coco
