Application of phage display to high throughput antibody generation and characterization.

We have created a high quality phage display library containing over 1010 human antibodies and describe its use in the generation of antibodies on an unprecedented scale. We have selected, screened and sequenced over 38,000 recombinant antibodies to 292 antigens, yielding over 7,200 unique clones. 4,400 antibodies were characterized by specificity testing and detailed sequence analysis and the data/clones are available online. Sensitive detection was demonstrated in a bead based flow cytometry assay. Furthermore, positive staining by immunohistochemistry on tissue microarrays was found for 37% (143/381) of antibodies. Thus, we have demonstrated the potential of and illuminated the issues associated with genome-wide monoclonal antibody generation.RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are

Early Atomic Models - From Mechanical to Quantum (1904-1913)

A complete history of early atomic models would fill volumes, but a reasonably coherent tale of the path from mechanical atoms to the quantum can be told by focusing on the relevant work of three great contributors to atomic physics, in the critically important years between 1904 and 1913: J. J. Thomson, Ernest Rutherford and Niels Bohr. We first examine the origins of Thomson's mechanical atomic models, from his ethereal vortex atoms in the early 1880's, to the myriad "corpuscular" atoms he proposed following the discovery of the electron in 1897. Beyond predictions for the periodicity of the elements, the application of Thomson's atoms to problems in scattering and absorption led to quantitative predictions that were confirmed by experiments with high-velocity electrons traversing thin sheets of metal. Still, the much more massive and energetic {\alpha}-particles being studied by Rutherford were better suited for exploring the interior of the atom, and careful measurements on the angular dependence of their scattering eventually allowed him to infer the existence of an atomic nucleus. Niels Bohr was particularly troubled by the radiative instability inherent to any mechanical atom, and succeeded in 1913 where others had failed in the prediction of emission spectra, by making two bold hypotheses that were in contradiction to the laws of classical physics, but necessary in order to account for experimental facts.Comment: 58 Pages + References, 8 Figures. Accepted for publication in the European Physical Journal H (Historical Perspectives on Contemporary Physics). V2 - minor typos corrected and a footnote added to p.2

Positive biodiversity-productivity relationship predominant in global forests

The biodiversity-productivity relationship (BPR) is foundational to our understanding of the global extinction crisis and its impacts on ecosystem functioning. Understanding BPR is critical for the accurate valuation and effective conservation of biodiversity. Using ground-sourced data from 777,126 permanent plots, spanning 44 countries and most terrestrial biomes, we reveal a globally consistent positive concave-down BPR, showing that continued biodiversity loss would result in an accelerating decline in forest productivity worldwide. The value of biodiversity in maintaining commercial forest productivity alone - US$166 billion to 490 billion per year according to our estimation - is more than twice what it would cost to implement effective global conservation. This highlights the need for a worldwide reassessment of biodiversity values, forest management strategies, and conservation priorities.Peer Reviewe

Native diversity buffers against severity of non-native tree invasions

Determining the drivers of non-native plant invasions is critical for managing native ecosystems and limiting the spread of invasive species1,2. Tree invasions in particular have been relatively overlooked, even though they have the potential to transform ecosystems and economies3,4. Here, leveraging global tree databases5–7, we explore how the phylogenetic and functional diversity of native tree communities, human pressure and the environment influence the establishment of non-native tree species and the subsequent invasion severity. We find that anthropogenic factors are key to predicting whether a location is invaded, but that invasion severity is underpinned by native diversity, with higher diversity predicting lower invasion severity. Temperature and precipitation emerge as strong predictors of invasion strategy, with non-native species invading successfully when they are similar to the native community in cold or dry extremes. Yet, despite the influence of these ecological forces in determining invasion strategy, we find evidence that these patterns can be obscured by human activity, with lower ecological signal in areas with higher proximity to shipping ports. Our global perspective of non-native tree invasion highlights that human drivers influence non-native tree presence, and that native phylogenetic and functional diversity have a critical role in the establishment and spread of subsequent invasions

Global Forest Biodiversity Initiative (GFBI)- Dataset Global#1

Data underpinning the Research Article entitled Positive Biodiversity–Productivity Relationship Predominant in Global Forest

Mapping tree density at a global scale

The global extent and distribution of forest trees is central to our understanding of the terrestrial biosphere. We provide the first spatially continuous map of forest tree density at a global scale. This map reveals that the global number of trees is approximately 3.04 trillion, an order of magnitude higher than the previous estimate. Of these trees, approximately 1.39 trillion exist in tropical and subtropical forests, with 0.74 trillion in boreal regions and 0.61 trillion in temperate regions. Biome-level trends in tree density demonstrate the importance of climate and topography in controlling local tree densities at finer scales, as well as the overwhelming effect of humans across most of the world. Based on our projected tree densities, we estimate that over 15 billion trees are cut down each year, and the global number of trees has fallen by approximately 46% since the start of human civilization