The genomes of two key bumblebee species with primitive eusocial organization

Background: The shift from solitary to social behavior is one of the major evolutionary transitions. Primitively eusocial bumblebees are uniquely placed to illuminate the evolution of highly eusocial insect societies. Bumblebees are also invaluable natural and agricultural pollinators, and there is widespread concern over recent population declines in some species. High-quality genomic data will inform key aspects of bumblebee biology, including susceptibility to implicated population viability threats. Results: We report the high quality draft genome sequences of Bombus terrestris and Bombus impatiens, two ecologically dominant bumblebees and widely utilized study species. Comparing these new genomes to those of the highly eusocial honeybee Apis mellifera and other Hymenoptera, we identify deeply conserved similarities, as well as novelties key to the biology of these organisms. Some honeybee genome features thought to underpin advanced eusociality are also present in bumblebees, indicating an earlier evolution in the bee lineage. Xenobiotic detoxification and immune genes are similarly depauperate in bumblebees and honeybees, and multiple categories of genes linked to social organization, including development and behavior, show high conservation. Key differences identified include a bias in bumblebee chemoreception towards gustation from olfaction, and striking differences in microRNAs, potentially responsible for gene regulation underlying social and other traits. Conclusions: These two bumblebee genomes provide a foundation for post-genomic research on these key pollinators and insect societies. Overall, gene repertoires suggest that the route to advanced eusociality in bees was mediated by many small changes in many genes and processes, and not by notable expansion or depauperation

Repositioning of the global epicentre of non-optimal cholesterol

High blood cholesterol is typically considered a feature of wealthy western countries(1,2). However, dietary and behavioural determinants of blood cholesterol are changing rapidly throughout the world(3) and countries are using lipid-lowering medications at varying rates. These changes can have distinct effects on the levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and non-HDL cholesterol, which have different effects on human health(4,5). However, the trends of HDL and non-HDL cholesterol levels over time have not been previously reported in a global analysis. Here we pooled 1,127 population-based studies that measured blood lipids in 102.6 million individuals aged 18 years and older to estimate trends from 1980 to 2018 in mean total, non-HDL and HDL cholesterol levels for 200 countries. Globally, there was little change in total or non-HDL cholesterol from 1980 to 2018. This was a net effect of increases in low- and middle-income countries, especially in east and southeast Asia, and decreases in high-income western countries, especially those in northwestern Europe, and in central and eastern Europe. As a result, countries with the highest level of non-HDL cholesterol-which is a marker of cardiovascular riskchanged from those in western Europe such as Belgium, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Malta in 1980 to those in Asia and the Pacific, such as Tokelau, Malaysia, The Philippines and Thailand. In 2017, high non-HDL cholesterol was responsible for an estimated 3.9 million (95% credible interval 3.7 million-4.2 million) worldwide deaths, half of which occurred in east, southeast and south Asia. The global repositioning of lipid-related risk, with non-optimal cholesterol shifting from a distinct feature of high-income countries in northwestern Europe, north America and Australasia to one that affects countries in east and southeast Asia and Oceania should motivate the use of population-based policies and personal interventions to improve nutrition and enhance access to treatment throughout the world.Peer reviewe

Abstracts from the 8th International Conference on cGMP Generators, Effectors and Therapeutic Implications

This work was supported by a restricted research grant of Bayer AG

Los Golfos et Deprisa, deprisa de Carlos Saura: de la conquête impossible du centre par la marge à l´omniprésence de la périphérie

Los golfos and Deprisa, deprisa by Carlos Saura: from the impossible conquest of the centre by the margin to the omnipresence of the periphery These two works from the Spanish filmmaker introduce a group of offenders living in the outskirts of Madrid. The margin plays a central role in both films but their narratological mechanism is to a large extent different. In Los golfos (1959), Opera prima of the director, the city and margin spaces are symbolically represented on a horizontal axis, in a centripetal dynamic, from the periphery to the centre of which the bullring is synecdoche. In Deprisa, deprisa (1980), the overall narration moves from the centre towards the periphery and even beyond in a dynamic of dispersal. While the margin is omnipresent in this film, the centre only has a ghostly presence-absence.Los golfos y Deprisa, Deprisa de Carlos Saura: De la conquista imposible del centro por el margen a la omnipresencia de la periferia Estas dos obras del cineasta español ponen cada una en escena a un grupo de delincuentes que vive en los barrios periféricos de Madrid. El espacio del margen es fundamental en las dos películas, pero el funcionamiento narratológico de las dos obras es distinto. En Los golfos (1959), opera prima del director, los espacios de la ciudad y del margen se representan simbólicamente en un eje horizontal, en una dinámica centrípeta, de la periferia hacia el centro del que la plaza de toros es una sinécdoque. En Deprisa, deprisa (1980), el movimiento narrativo general de la película empieza en el centro para dirigirse a la periferia e incluso más allá en una dinámica de dispersión. En esta película, el centro ya no es sino una presencia-ausencia fantasmal mientras que el espacio del margen es omnipresente

The Whitings’ Concepts of Culture and How They Have Fared in Contemporary Psychology and Anthropology

This article presents a brief intellectual biography of John and Beatrice Whiting, followed by an examination of five key ideas that they put forward to the fields of psychology and anthropology through their theoretical and empirical writings. These key ideas are (a) the assumption of the psychic unity of humankind, (b) the cultural learning environment, (c) the psychocultural model, (d) the synergistic relationship of the disciplines of psychology and anthropology, and (e) the role of mothers as agents of social change through child-rearing roles as well as through various other ways they guide change in the communities and learning environments of their families and children. The authors provide readers with an introduction to several aspects of the Whitings’ contributions to social science and an evaluation of the Whitings’ enduring intellectual legacy