Environmental Biology a hot subject

*Environmental biology a hot subject*
The Straits Times, 31 Oct 2009
By Grace Chua
*NUS, NTU to offer more courses in recognition of field’s growing value*

ENVIRONMENTAL biology is making a comeback here as well as worldwide, as
universities recognise the discipline’s role in the study of climate change and environmental issues like pollution.

Both the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) plan to revamp their curricula to include more topics in the field, and the latter has applied for funding to set up a Research Centre of Excellence for environmental science.

As NUS’ biological sciences head Paul Matsudaira put it: ‘Singapore is at the epicentre of some of the major and most challenging environmental
problems that have to be addressed.

‘The equatorial location is one asset, since tropical environmental problems are comparatively under-researched.’

Like other biology disciplines such as molecular biology and genetics,
environmental biology is the study of living things, but in terms of their surroundings.

For example, it looks at how pollution and climate change affect species and biodiversity. Thus ecology, ecotoxicology and conservation biology might be considered aspects of environmental biology.

NUS, for instance, is offering several new courses on ecology and
evolutionary biology this year, and in the last two years, it has hired at least four new faculty members in biology.

Meanwhile, NTU’s school of biological sciences has hired several
international faculty members to study microbial ecology, said provost
Bertil Andersson.

NTU’s attention to environmental biology, the school’s expertise in earth sciences and its experience in environmental engineering are all part of a new university-wide Sustainable Earth initiative, which is expected to be launched formally in February next year.

But these changes are not driven solely by university administrations. They have also come about because of rising student interest.

One in five life sciences majors at NUS, for example, now opts for
environmental biology modules, up from 12 per cent seven years ago.

NUS started its integrated life sciences curriculum in 2001 and NTU started its School of Biological Sciences the following year, as part of a nationwide drive to train more students in the field.

But NUS biological sciences graduate Huang Danwei, now 28, felt he was not getting enough training in biodiversity and ecology. So in 2006, he and 10 others met the dean to propose curriculum changes.

The department listened to them, and classes in biodiversity and ecology are now available in the first- and second-year syllabuses.

There is demand for people with taxonomy skills and biodiversity know-how as fields like climate modelling and conservation grow.

For instance, the Agency for Science, Technology and Research’s Institute of High Performance Computing had a recent job posting for a research officer with ‘expertise in data management, database, climate change scenarios and biodiversity’.

But will these changes translate into real environmental policy changes or scientific advances?

Professor Matsudaira said he expects the biggest impact to come from the
development of science-backed environmental policy, where Singapore will
directly influence the Asia-Pacific region.

‘Because we are scientifically strong, we will train students and scientists for jobs in government, research and industry,’ he said.

However, students and universities should not jump on the bandwagon simply because the field is hot, warned National Institute of Education biologist Shawn Lum.

‘We should do it not because it’s a fad, but because as educational
institutions and as a country, we value it as a worthy field and endeavour, and our interest in it is not going to fall by the wayside the moment the next big thing comes along,’ he said.

caiwj@sph.com.sg

Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Creating a graph – online tutorial

Online tutorial for creating a graph by National Education Center for Education Statistics.

Island Biogeography and Evolution

ISLAND BIOGEOGRAPHY AND EVOLUTION: SOLVING A PHYLOGENETIC PUZZLE USING MOLECULAR GENETICS

R.P. Filson

Earth Pulse 2010 by National Geographic

A collection of beautiful graphics, updated figures and statistics in excellent diagrams.

Earth Pulse 2010 by National Geographic

Issues covered:
1. Population
2. Consumption of resource
3. Human Footprint

Life in Fresh Water – Resource by FSC UK

This resource is managed by the field studies council, FSC, an environmental education charity that helps people understand field studies and nature. It has 17 centers across UK and offers A levels field studies for students. Other courses include nature photography.

Had the chance to visit the center and attend a 2 week course there. Must say it is very well run and offers excellent field studies programmes.

It has a whole host of online resources here.

Of particular interest would be the Life in Freshwater which has resources on freshwater ecology, including a species guide to Singapore fauna.

HOME – Yann Arthus-Bertrand

HOME is a beautiful documentary by Yanns Arthus-Bertrand. Narrated by Glen Close, the story of how life began and how humans changed the environment as civilisation progress is beautifully told.

Phylogeny Programs

Phylogeny Programs available online.

Some 385 packages and 52 free servers

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Turtle fossil

Grabbed this from BBC Knowledge Evolution Special

The fossil has only a shell on the underside, supporting the theory that the shell is formed from the backbones and ribs.

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Last Ant Standing – Science Daily

Excellent example on Altruism.

Last Ant Standing

By Charles Choi
ScienceNOW Daily News
23 September 2008

Every night, the Brazilian ant Forelius pusillus takes self-sacrifice to a whole new level. At sunset, the colony protects its nest by sealing off the entrances with sand, and a few ants remain outside to complete the job. Unable to reenter, they die by the next morning–making them the first known example of a suicidal defense that is preemptive rather than a response to immediate danger.
Social insects are well-known for their willingness to die for their colonies; a number of bees, wasps, and ants succumb after their stings lodge in targets and break off. But until now, these insects were thought to engage in such suicide missions only when enemies were present.

Behavioral ecologist Adam Tofilski of the Agricultural University of Krakow, Poland, and his colleagues were studying how F. pusillus dispersed sand in a sugar cane field near São Simão in Brazil when they saw that as many as eight ants remained outside the sealed nests. These ants weren’t stragglers: They deliberately helped hide the entrances, spending up to 50 minutes carrying and kicking sand into the hole until it was indistinguishable from its surroundings.

Come morning, when the nest reopened, these ants were nowhere to be seen. The researchers found out why when they plucked ants left behind into a plastic bowl: Only six of 23 survived the night. These findings, which will appear in the November issue of the journal American Naturalist, show that staying outside was suicidal. “In a colony with many thousands of workers, losing a few workers each evening to improve nest defense would be favored by natural selection,” said co-author Francis Ratnieks, an insect biologist at the University of Sussex, U.K.
The ants stuck outside might be old or sick, Tofilski conjectured. Thus, they may have essentially sacrificed themselves for the greater good, being more expendable members of the colony. Still, community ecologist Michael Kaspari of the University of Oklahoma, Norman, who did not participate in this study, noted that F. pusillus is “very, very flimsy” and that even young, healthy ants could easily die if left behind. “They might have burned through all their sugar or dehydrated outside the buffered environments of their nests,” he explained.

It remains a puzzle what the ants are guarding their colonies against. Kaspari speculated that F. pusillus might be hiding from large, roaming colonies of army ants. Uncovering the pressures that drive this self-sacrifice could shed light on the evolution of altruism, Kaspari added.

Antibiotic resistance mechanism in bacteria found

Scientists have found that nitric oxide produced by the bacteria eliminates some key effects of a wide range of antibiotics.

The latest research, done by a team at New York University, showed that in bacteria the production of nitric oxide – a small molecule made up of one nitrogen and one oxygen atom – increased their resistance to antibiotics.

This could very likely advance the science in dealing with antibiotic resistance bacteria.

Full report here by BBC News.

Antibiotic resistance clue found

US scientists have uncovered a defence mechanism in bacteria that allows them to fend off the threat of antibiotics.

It is hoped the findings could help researchers boost the effectiveness of existing treatments.

The study published in Science found that nitric oxide produced by the bacteria eliminates some key effects of a wide range of antibiotics.

One UK expert said inhibiting nitric oxide synthesis could be an important advance for tackling tricky infections.

Antibiotic resistance, for example with MRSA, is a growing problem and experts have long warned of the need to develop new treatments.

“ Here, we have a short cut, where we don’t have to invent new antibiotics ”
Dr Evgeny Nudler, study leader

The latest research, done by a team at New York University, showed that in bacteria the production of nitric oxide – a small molecule made up of one nitrogen and one oxygen atom – increased their resistance to antibiotics.

They found the enzymes responsible for producing nitric oxide were activated specifically in response to the presence of the antibiotics.

They also showed that nitric oxide alleviates damage caused by the drugs as well as helping to neutralise many of the toxic compounds within the antibiotic.

The researchers then showed that eliminating nitric oxide production in the bacteria allowed the antibiotics to work at lower, less toxic doses.

More effective

Study leader, Dr Evgeny Nudler, said developing new medicines to fight antibiotic resistance, such as that seen with MRSA is a “huge hurdle”.

“Here, we have a short cut, where we don’t have to invent new antibiotics.

“Instead we can enhance the activity of well-established ones, making them more effective at lower doses.

Dr Matthew Dryden, consultant in microbiology and communicable disease at Royal Hampshire County Hospital and general secretary of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, said if the enzyme which creates nitric oxide could be inhibited, it could suppress the ability of the bacteria to counteract antibiotics.

“This would be a useful therapeutic advance, especially as we are running out of new classes of antibiotics and there is less antibiotic development in general.”

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/8248020.stm