摘要:

One year and beyond: the excitement continues…Integrative Biologyis now a year old. It is very gratifying to see that the journal is well-received amongst multiple biological disciplines as well as by chemists, physicists and engineers. Many colleagues have acknowledged the need for—and the timeliness of—the journal at various conferences that the editorial board members and the staff attended. Over 800 institutions have already signed up for free access toIntegrative Biologyand we expect this number to rise steadily throughout 2010.The journal celebrated its launch event on 19 April of this year with an evening reception at FASEB’s Experimental Biology 2009 meeting in New Orleans, USA and visits to its exhibition booth were excellent. Overall, the feedback and comments have been extremely encouraging and positive. The journal also sponsored its firstIntegrative Biologylecture by supporting Professor Luis Serrano at the workshop on Evolution and Design of Biomolecular Systems held at Hotel Bonsol, Mallorca Oct. 17–21, 2009.The journal provides a new venue for full papers and reviews fulfilling the three scope criteria of technological innovation, integration and biological insight. We also seek to publish innovative methods that may not yet have been integrated with critical biological systems, but that clearly have the potential to drive biological insight and thus would be of strong interest to the research community. This category of articles will now be highlighted as “Technical Innovations.” Articles featured in this section must provide a sound utility of the technology in the biological world and have clear potential to enable new insights and to impact biological research.The calibre of papers accepted forIntegrative Biologythat address innovation, integration and innovation is extremely high. This solid foundation will be built upon in the next year as visibility and knowledge of the journal expands further. Meeting these criteria has been a major factor in the rejection rate without peer review that stands at almost 50% of the total rejection rate of over 60%. The critical element missing from many of the papers that did not get reviewed is biological innovation, underscoring the need for those who have developed novel technologies and new tools, to work more closely with biologists to realize the full potential of their work. Nevertheless, most of those papers were sound and found a home elsewhere after peer review including over 30 in other RSC journals such asMolecular BioSystems,Lab on a Chip,AnalystandMetallomics.Usage statistics showed thatIntegrative Biologyarticles are accessed frequently with over 26 000 full-text downloads from Jan–July 2009. One review article alone was downloaded nearly 4000 times since publication. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the authors and referees who have made this journal and its rapid success possible.The iBiology Editorial Board members have devoted much time and given much support to the journal. They have not only published their own first class research in the journal but have helped also to promoteIntegrative Biologythroughout 2009. A very big thank you goes to all of them, but especially to David Beebe and Mary Helen Barcellos-Hoff who pre-screened all the manuscripts upon submission and who have overseen the overall quality and scope of the journal.Integrative Biologyis currently being indexed and abstracted in several databases including Thomson ISI (Web of Science, Web of Knowledge, Science Citation Index,etc.), CABI and Cambridge Scientific Abstracts amongst others, and has been accepted for indexing by the US National Library of Medicine (PubMed, Medline). Thomson ISI data indicate that over a third of the papers published were cited within the first 3 months of publication.In 2010, we will expand the world class scientific editors from 2 to 6 (renamed Associate Editors), increase the number of international reviewing editors from 6 to 15 (the Board of Reviewing Editors), and create a high profile board of advisors (the Advisory Board) who will not only advise me and the Associate Editors on the future direction of the journal, but also will act as additional Ambassadors for the journal.We invite all of you to join us in this exciting scientific adventure: Please send us your papers that meet our ‘three i’ criteria and help promote the melding of biology and innovative technologies. It is time ‘to connect’. We are confident that 2010 will see even more exciting developments for the journal and we wish all our authors, referees and readers a very happy and productive new year.Mina BissellChair, Editorial BoardLawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryUniversity of California, Berkeley, CA, USA

ISSN:1757-9694    

DOI:10.1039/b923760g

出版商:RSC    

年代:2009

数据来源: RSC

摘要:

Roger Tsien is an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and a professor at the University of California, San Diego, US. In 2008 he was co-awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the discovery and development of the green fluorescent protein (GFP).

ISSN:1757-9694    

DOI:10.1039/b926006b

出版商:RSC    

年代:2009

数据来源: RSC

摘要:

Michael KämpfMichael Kämpf is currently pursuing his PhD at the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering (ETH Zurich) in collaboration with the Centre for Biological Signalling Studies (bioss) at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität in Freiburg, Germany. Prior to that he studied biology at the University of Regensburg and the University of Colorado at Boulder and completed his studies with his thesis about essential steps of N-glycosylation. After that he refocused his research interests to synthetic biology approaches and the construction of smart biomaterials.

ISSN:1757-9694    

DOI:10.1039/b913490e

出版商:RSC    

年代:2009

数据来源: RSC

摘要:

A brief foreword by Mina Bissell:“The last thing we need is another journal!” This is the response many of us give every time someone asks if a particular new journal would be a good idea. Given the multitude of journals that already exist (some of which we hardly even know the names of, let alone find the time to read), the busy lives we all lead and the time it takes to digest what we do read, this is a sentiment I myself have expressed many times.So why have I decided not only to help launch another journal but also to become the Chair of the Editorial Board?The simple answer is that, as someone who switched disciplines from chemistry and bacterial genetics into cell and cancer biology as a postdoctoral fellow,I am convinced that finally the time is right to launch a truly unique and multidisciplinary journal that strives to introduce novel technologies–not for their own sake, but to answer important and significant questions in biology.In 1982, I wrote: “The task of solving the puzzle of how the ECM (microenvironment) regulates gene expression will consume many decades of combined efforts of biologists, chemists and perhaps even engineers and physicists, since the postulated “dynamic reciprocity” undoubtedly is physical as well as biochemical. The magnitude of the puzzle is enormous and the quest for solution will touch upon the fundamental problems in development, differentiation, cancer, aging and disease.” (Bissellet al.,J. Theor. Biol.., 1982,99, 31–68.)Almost three decades later, we are finally ready to integrate, and indeed if the goal is to seek larger advances in biology, then we must “only connect” to other relevant scientific disciplines, especially those that can provide the tools that will give us a much better understanding of biological processes and systems. Many existing paradigms need to be broken down to better understand why we become who we are (biologically), how we maintain tissue specificity with a constant genome in 10 trillions of cells, why and how we age, and why controls break down as we get sick and/or get cancer. No single scientific discipline can answer the complexity of the biological problems that we confront today. These problems are exacerbated by the fact that even within the broad field of biology, biochemists read one set of journals, cell and molecular biologists another, and biophysicists, bioengineers and structural biologists yet others. In journals that do cater to many disciplines such asScienceandNature, the articles come from different disciplines, yet very rarely do they integrate the different disciplines within the same article to answer a new biological problem. Thus, there is a significant need to connect to and involve different disciplines within the same scientific research project, to communicate with members of other disciplines to ensure that there is a clear and common understanding of the problems and issues at hand, and answer outstanding questions from different perspectives. This is essential if we are to introduce, inspire and expose younger scientists to the excitement of discoveries at the interface of disciplines and expertise with one or more of the other sciences.The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is undertaking a new challenge withIntegrative Biology: they are launching this journal with a strong will and determination to make it a huge success. To this end they have committed themselves for the long term and have an excellent track record of launching successful new journals, as well as having a long and well-established history publishing journals since 1841.The RSC has also taken the bold step of making this journal available completely free of charge for the next two years (no page charges, no open access charges and no subscription charges). In order to allowIntegrative Biologypapers to reach the largest possible audience, the RSC is also NIH compliant with respect to deposition of the accepted version and will deposit your paper with PubMed Central on your behalf, if you ask.I am not the only one with a strong belief in this journal as you will see from the list of highly distinguished scientists associated with the Editorial Board from a variety of disciplines. It is also our good fortune to count Professor Roger Tsien, who just won the 2008 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, as one of our Editorial Board members.The content of this first issue exemplifies some of what we are hoping to achieve in terms of “Insight, innovation and integration”—which is not only the motto of this journal but the basic assessment criterion for publication:Insight: what contribution does the paper make to our insight on the biological mechanism/process/phenomenon explored?Innovation: to what extent does the technology used enable the biological insight?Integration: to what extent does the paper demonstrate integration of technology and biology?Editorial Board members are giving this journal their complete backing and “putting their money where their mouth is” as the proverbial saying goes: a number of us have submitted some of our current best papers into these first few issues. The papers have then undergone a pre-screening process before full and vigorous critical assessment by competent reviewers.It is my sincere hope that many of you reading this inaugural editorial will follow suit and consider submission of your own pioneering research that builds a bridge and/or connects to one or more other disciplines.Mina BissellEditorial Board Chair,Integrative Biology, January 2009

ISSN:1757-9694    

DOI:10.1039/b819961m

出版商:RSC    

年代:2009

数据来源: RSC

摘要:

It is with great excitement and some trepidation that we launchIntegrative Biology, oriBiology. We believe thatiBiologyfills an essential role at this critical juncture in time as the power of integrating technology and biology is becoming apparent. While the promise and potential of integrative biology is clear, the rate at which the integration occurs and thus, the rate at which biological advances are made is limited in part by the cultural differences (including publishing habits) between the biological and physical/engineering sciences. The culture of academia often creates distinct and separate publishing venues with little cross talk. Thus, methods and tools are often developed either without appropriate biological input or without appropriate biological validation. In short, there is still a gap in language and culture that slows progress.iBiologyaims to bridge that gap by creating a venue for work where technological innovation provides fundamental biological insights not possible with traditional approaches. As technology brings us the ability to control and manipulate the biological environment in more and more precise ways, it is increasingly important that the tool makers understand the biological implications of the tool. Thus,iBiologywill also welcome identification and insights of the biological effects of a technology or method. Furthermore,iBiologywill promote mathematical modeling that tests and extends experimental data obtained from multiple sources. But fundamentally it is the biology that must drive the development of new tools and methods. Function must triumph over style—it is function that leads to improvements in knowledge. Biological insights derived from the use of physical approaches, principles and tools have the potential to redefine our understanding of complexity in biology.iBiologyseeks to publish biological insights that result from astute integration of functional technology with biological inquiry. Ultimately, biological and physical scientists must work in concert to achieve the appropriate mix of function and application to advance biological discovery. Additional topic examples can be found in the instructions for authors.iBiologyis broad in technological and biological scope within a dimensional framework in physical terms from the macro scale to the nano scale, or in biological terms from the multicellular to the molecular. Contributions must present insight, innovation and integration in a way that interests both the biological and physical scientist—this is a non-trivial task, but it is essential to foster this interface if advances are to move from technical demonstration to biological impact. In this first issue, we have some outstanding examples of insight, innovation and integration. The identification and study of stem cells is a hot topic that benefits from new approaches featured in this issue. Lutolfet al.(DOI:10.1039/b815718a) create arrays of artificial niches that reveal insights into the regulatory mechanisms of hematopoietic stem cells while LaBargeet al.(DOI:10.1039/b816472j) use similar concepts to help to distinguish between the role of cell–cell and cell–ECM interactions in controlling mammary gland progenitor cell fate. Fernandez-Gonzalezet al.(DOI:10.1039/b816933k) take an integrative approach by combining image acquisition, processing and analysis to create a multiscale approach to uncover unique subpopulation of putative stem cells. The application of technology creates opportunities to move biology rapidly. Gabiet al.(DOI:10.1039/b814237h) provide new insights into the interactions of applied currents and cell viability. Irimiaet al.(DOI:10.1039/b814329c) use microfluidics to advance the ability to perform transcriptome analysis on limited samples enabling new approaches to pathway identification. We are aware of the challenges in straddling the disciplines that often have different standards, norms and approaches—but we believe the potential gains in an interdisciplinary journal that weds innovative technology to cutting edge biological problems are worth the effort. We have assembled a committed and involved editorial board whose broad expertise will truly serve the integrative community. We look forward to your contributions, suggestions and involvement iniBiology.Mary Helen Barcellos-HoffDavid BeebeScientific Editors,Integrative Biology

ISSN:1757-9694    

DOI:10.1039/b818604a

出版商:RSC    

年代:2009

数据来源: RSC

摘要:

Chair of the Editorial Board—Professor Mina BissellProfessor Bissell is a pioneer in the area of the role of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and microenvironment in the regulation of tissue-specific function with special emphasis on breast cancer, where she has changed some established paradigms. She earned an A.B. with honors in Chemistry from Harvard/Radcliffe College and a PhD in bacterial genetics from Harvard University. She joined the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in 1972, became Director of Cell & Molecular Biology in 1988, and was appointed Director of all of Life Sciences in 1992. Upon stepping down as the Life Sciences Division Director, she was named a Distinguished Scientist. She is also the Office of Biological & Environmental Research/US Department of Energy (DOE) Distinguished Scientist Fellow in Life Sciences.Professor Bissell has authored more than 300 publications, is a member of 5 international scientific boards, and is on the editorial board of a dozen scientific journals, includingSciencemagazine. She has given more than 90 ‘named and distinguished’ lectures. Her awards include the Lawrence Award and Medal, the Mellon Award from the University of Pittsburgh, the Eli Lilly/Clowes Award from AACR, the first “Innovator Award” of the US Department of Defense (DOD) for breast cancer research, the Brinker Award from the Komen Foundation, the Discovery Health Channel Medical Honor and Medal, the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center Ted Couch Lectureship and Award, the Pezcoller Foundation–AACR International Award for Cancer Research, the 2008 Excellence in Science Award from FASEB. She has been awarded the 2008 Mina J. Bissell Award by the University of Porto and the 2008 American Cancer Society's Medal of Honor for Basic Research Award.Professor Bissell was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. She served as President of the American Society of Cell Biology and the International Society of Differentiation. She has received honorary doctorates from the Pierre & Marie Curie University in Paris and the University of Copenhagen.Scientific Editor—Professor Mary Helen Barcellos-HoffImages have been a major data source for Scientific Editor Mary Helen Barcellos-Hoff throughout her training and career. As an undergraduate at the University of Chicago, she conducted neuroanatomy studies using electron microscopy. She obtained her doctorate in Experimental Pathology at the University of California, San Francisco, for studies in cell interactions during brain cancer therapy, and postgraduate research at the University of California, Berkeley, on functional analysis of mammary lactation. She and collaborators at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory developed imaging bioinformatic tools for high throughput microscopy. The goal is a systems biology analysis of radiation effects and consequences that integrates image information and functional data. She moved her lab to New York University’s Langone School of Medicine in 2008. Her current research program focuses on how ionizing radiation alters multicellular interactions during cancer development.Scientific Editor—Professor David BeebeDavid J. Beebe is a Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is also a member of the UW Comprehensive Cancer Center, Stem Cell Program, Materials Science Program, Biotechnology Training Program, Genomic Sciences Training Program and serves on the steering committee of the Stem Cell Training Program. He is the recipient of the IEEE EMBS Early Career Achievement Award, theLab on a ChipRoyal Society of Chemistry/Corning, Pioneers of Miniaturization Prize, the Romnes Award at UW-Madison and is a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. He has also served as an Associate Editor for theJournal of MicroElectroMechanical Systems, theJournal of Biomechanical Engineering, and is currently on the Editorial Board ofLab on a Chip. Professor Beebe is a co-founder of Vitae LLC, Salus LLC and Ratio Inc. Past research topics have included development of non-traditional autonomous microfluidic devices and systems, and the study of cell and embryo development in microenvironments. David’s current interests center around the creation and use of microfluidic tools to understand cancer biology and improve cancer diagnosis and monitoring. His migration to more biological focused research was facilitated by a five year NIH “retraining” award in cancer biology.Editorial Board member—Professor Roger TsienRoger Y. Tsien, born in 1952, received his A.B. in Chemistry and Physics from Harvard College in 1972. He received his PhD in Physiology in 1977 from the University of Cambridge and remained as a Research Fellow until 1981. He then became an Assistant, Associate, then full Professor at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1989 he moved to the University of California, San Diego, where he is an Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Professor in the Departments of Pharmacology and Chemistry & Biochemistry. His honors include First Prize in the Westinghouse Science Talent Search (1968), the Searle Scholar Award (1983), the Artois-Baillet-Latour Health Prize (1995), the Gairdner Foundation International Award (1995), the Award for Creative Invention from the American Chemical Society (2002), the Heineken Prize in Biochemistry and Biophysics (2002), the Wolf Prize in Medicine (shared with Robert Weinberg, 2004), Rosenstiel Award (2006), and the E. B. Wilson Medal from the American Society for Cell Biology (shared with M. Chalfie, 2008). Professor Tsien was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2008 for the discovery and development of the green fluorescent protein (GFP). He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society. Professor Tsien is best known for designing and building molecules that either report or perturb signal transduction inside living cells. These molecules, created by organic synthesis or by engineering naturally fluorescent proteins, have enabled many new insights into signalingviacalcium, sodium, pH, cyclic nucleotides, nitric oxide, inositol polyphosphates, membrane and redox potential changes, protein phosphorylation, active export of proteins from the nucleus, and gene transcription. He is now developing new ways to target contrast agents and therapeutic agents to tumor cells based on their expression of extracellular proteases.Editorial Board member—Professor Philip DayPhilip Day graduated with a PhD degree from the Wolfson Research Laboratories, University of Birmingham, UK. During 1995–1997 at Oxford University he developed very high throughput PCR for the Human Genome Mapping Project, Wellcome Trust. This was followed by novel studies related to high throughput sequencing and gene micro-arrays with Professor Sir Edwin Southern. Later he established a Functional Genomics Unit, at the Kinderspital, University of Zurich. His studies employ innovative strategies to enable precise quantitative measurements of nucleic acids (often incorporating miniaturisation and microfluidics) which are related to meaningful biomedical interpretation. His studies aim to help unravel the complexities of tissue heterogeneity and contribute to the increased applications of systems biology. In 2004 he was elected to Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, and in 2006 he was made Principal Investigator at the Manchester Interdisciplinary Biocentre. Between 2006 and 2007 he was appointed visiting Professor of Applied Molecular Biology and Biochemistry with the Institute for Spectrometry and Spectrochemistry, Dortmund, Germany. He is presently Reader in Quantitative Analytical Genomics, University of Manchester, UK.Editorial Board member—Professor Mehmet TonerProfessor Mehmet Toner is a Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and also a Professor of Health Sciences and Technology at Harvard-Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Division of Health Sciences and Technology. Professor Toner received a Bachelor of Science degree from Istanbul Technical University and a MS degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), both in Mechanical Engineering. Subsequently he completed his PhD degree in Medical Engineering at Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology in 1989. Professor Toner’s research interests include tissue engineering and preservation, and micro/nanosystems in clinical medicine. Professor Toner has received funding from NIH, NSF, DARPA, the Whitaker Foundation, the National Textile Center, and many industrial outfits. Professor Toner serves on the Scientific Advisory Boards of multiple biotechnology and medical device companies as well as being a co-founder of several start-up companies. He has published over 200 scientific publications and has delivered over 350 invited and scientific meeting presentations.Editorial Board member—Professor Luke LeeProfessor Luke P. Lee is the Lloyd Distinguished Professor of Bioengineering at UC Berkeley. He is also Director of the Biomolecular Nanotechnology Center and Co-Director of the Berkeley Sensor & Actuator Center. He was Chair Professor in Systems Nanobiology at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH, Zurich). He received both his BA in Biophysics and PhD in Applied Physics/Bioengineering from UC Berkeley. His current research interests are molecular & single cell biophysics, molecular diagnostics, and biologically-inspired photonics–optofluidics–electronics technology and science (BioPOETS) for mobile healthcare systems. Professor Lee has authored and co-authored over 200 papers on nanospectroscopic imaging, bionanophotonics, microfluidic quantitative biology, single cell biology, molecular diagnostics, biologically inspired optofluidic systems, BioMEMS, superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs), SQUID-based biosensors, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and bioelectronic nanogap sensors for label-free biomolecular detection.Editorial Board member—Professor John McCarthyJohn McCarthy started his research career studying the biochemistry and biophysics of electron transport-dependent ATP synthesis. In subsequent years as a postdoc and then group leader in Germany, he worked on prokaryotic posttranscriptional control, with a major focus on the diverse set of mechanisms controlling expression of theatpoperon inEscherichia coli. Expression of this operon was found to be regulated by a combination of controls exerted at the levels of translation initiation, translational coupling and mRNA decay, thus enabling correct assembly of a membrane-associated H+–ATPase with the highly complex stoichiometry α3β3γ1δ1ϵ1a1b2c10. Novel principles of posttranscriptional control were elucidated and also applied to various challenges in biotechnology.In the early nineties, the research focus of the McCarthy group switched to posttranscriptional control in eukaryotic systems. Working with bothSaccharomyces cerevisiaeand mammalian cells, the main themes addressed were the mechanisms underlying posttranscriptional control by structural elements (including uORFs, protein-binding sites and aptamer-binding sites) in the untranslated regions of mRNAs, the mechanism of selenocysteine incorporation, the structure and function of eukaryotic initiation factors (eIFs) and of translational regulators, and the structure and function of the yeast ribosome. Highlights have included the discovery of uORF-mediated control of mRNA decay in yeast (including the yeastYAPgenes), quantitative characterization of the influence of phosphorylation on the mechanism of translational regulationvia4E-binding proteins, reports on structurally and functionally novel cap-binding proteins inSchizosaccharomyces pombe, single molecule analysis of the forces and dynamics of ribosomal scanning, a ground breaking 3D reconstruction of the eukaryotic 43S complex (together with Gilbert/Stuart, Oxford), and elucidation of the molecular principles underlying ribosome recruitment to the mRNA 5′ capviathe eIF4F complex (together with Gross/Wagner, Harvard). The McCarthy group has also been active in developing new biophysical and biochemical tools, including SPR methods for studying RNA–protein interactions, and single molecule imaging and manipulation methods for studying the eukaryotic ribosome. Currently, the McCarthy group utilises methods from biophysics, molecular biology and systems biology to study posttranscriptional control in yeast, and has initiated a number of synthetic biology projects in yeast andE. coli.The above work has been published in more than 100 papers in international peer-reviewed journals and has resulted in 5 patents. Professor McCarthy has edited three books and a journal issue (on biophysical techniques in the journalMethods). He has directed or co-directed a series of international conferences (8) and advanced lecture courses (4) on various aspects of the posttranscriptional control of gene expression and quantitative bioscience (funded by NATO Scientific Affairs Division, EMBO, FEBS and industry).While in Germany, he led joint projects with fourteen of the leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies in Europe. Since returning to the UK, he has collaborated with Merck and Pfizer, and currently has collaborative projects with Tepnel (Warrington) on developing immobilised ribosome-based assay systems and with Akubio (Cambridge) on applications of biosensor technology.John McCarthy is Chair of the Chemical Biology Interface Forum (and Fellow) of the Royal Society of Chemistry, chairs the Royal Society Grants Committee Board F, and is on the John Innes Centre Governing Council. He was Chair of the Department of Biomolecular Sciences at UMIST (1998–2000). Since 1998, he has led a new initiative to promote research at the interface between bioscience and the physical sciences, engineering and mathematics: the Manchester Interdisciplinary Biocentre (MIB). He has been Director of the MIB since 2004. The MIB building (£38 million) opened in 2006, and will house up to 75 research groups. Professor McCarthy was the recipient of a Wolfson-Royal Society Merit Award in 2002, and has recently been awarded a BBSRC Professorial Fellowship.Editor, Integration column—Professor Matthias LutolfMatthias P. Lutolf is Assistant Professor and head of the Laboratory of Stem Cell Bioengineering (LSCB) at the EPF Lausanne (since spring 2007). He carried out his PhD studies at the ETH Zurich from 1999 to 2003, where he developed a novel class of biologically responsive synthetic materials for tissue engineering, resulting in several highly cited publications and four internationally issued patents. In 2005, Lutolf joined the Baxter Laboratory in Genetic Pharmacology at Stanford University School of Medicine. He was awarded a Leukemia and Lymphoma Society fellowship (2006) for his research on microenvironmental regulation of hematopoietic stem cells. He recently received a prestigious European Young Investigator (EURYI) award. His current research is focused on developing and utilizing novel technologies to biochemically and structurally deconstructin vivoadult stem cell niches, and reconstruct themin vitro. These well-defined artificial stem cell niches are expected to yield insights into the dynamics of stem cell fate changes in response to extrinsic protein signals, and may spawn new strategies for stem cell-based therapies and tissue engineering.

ISSN:1757-9694    

DOI:10.1039/b818898j

出版商:RSC    

年代:2009

数据来源: RSC

摘要:

ForewordIn this first issue ofIntegrative Biologywe are introducing a column that provides a perspective on topics at the interface of biology and engineering. Six articles per year, written by outstanding young scientists or established leaders in their fields, will cover emerging tools for biologists, tools that facilitate new types of experiments that most biologists are currently not able to do. The focus will be on technologies and approaches (both experimental and theoretical) that are readily accessible and sufficiently robust for any biology lab to apply.In this first column entitled ‘Microfluidic high-throughput screening’, Sebastian Maerkl reviews microfluidic approaches for performing high-throughput screening experiments on-chip. This rapidly growing area promises to revolutionize the way biological screens are performed in the future.Matthias Lutolf, Editor, Integration column

ISSN:1757-9694    

DOI:10.1039/b819762h

出版商:RSC    

年代:2008

数据来源: RSC

摘要:

Jaime CastilloJaime Castillo received his PhD degree in 2005 at the Department of Biotechnology, Lund University, Sweden. His PhD work involved the fabrication of electrochemical biosensors for the detection of compounds of biomedical importance using cellular models. He currently holds a position as Postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Micro and Nanotechnology, DTU Nanotech, Technical University of Denmark. His research focuses on micro and nanotechnologies for the development of biosensing devices for biomedical applications. A strong focus is currently set on manipulation, characterization and integration of biological nanotubes and nanofibers with micro and nanostructures for the development of bioelectronic devices.

ISSN:1757-9694    

DOI:10.1039/b814549k

出版商:RSC    

年代:2008

数据来源: RSC

摘要:

Insight, innovation, integrationHyperactive platelets are observed in conditions where circulatory ATP levels derived from erythrocytes (ERYs) are either low (e.g., diabetes, cystic fibrosis, pulmonary hypertension) or high, as in sickle cell disease due to hemolysis. ATP-mediated platelet homeostasis has not been thoroughly studied due to the desensitizing nature of platelet ATP receptors and a lack of tools enabling a molecular-level examination of their physiological behavior. Here, using such conventional techniques as microscopy, atomic absorption spectroscopy, and aggregometry, evidence is provided suggesting that ATP can exist as an activator or inhibitor of platelet function. Validation of the platelet function was performed by integrating these standard tools with a multi-cellular microfluidic platform to showcase the physiological effect and corresponding mechanisms involving ATP.

ISSN:1757-9694    

DOI:10.1039/b909873a

出版商:RSC    

年代:2009

数据来源: RSC

摘要:

Insight, innovation, integrationRaman tweezers can be used to trap and interrogate single eukaryotic cells to provide a Raman spectrum of their chemical components. The technique promises to be a powerful aid to cell biologists and integrative biology because it allows species such as proteins, nucleic acids, amides and lipids to be identified in an isolated cell that is free from the influence of other cells and extrinsic factors such as inter-cell signalling events. Furthermore dynamic changes in cell composition can be observed with higher spatial resolution than obtainable with infrared spectra. An exciting application of the technique can be found in the characterisation of eukaryotic cells in different states of development such as cancer cells. Even though their Raman spectra are similar it is possible to discriminate between different cancer and non-cancer cell lines using advanced statistical treatments of their Raman spectra. The combined features of chemical identification under dynamic conditions with high enough spatial resolution to follow events at the sub-cellular level without recourse to labelling therefore offer great potential for future imaging in cell biology.

ISSN:1757-9694    

DOI:10.1039/b815253e

出版商:RSC    

年代:2008

数据来源: RSC