Genome editing in non-model organisms opens new horizons for comparative physiology

For almost 100 years, biologists have made fundamental discoveries using a handful of model organisms that are not representative of the rich diversity found in nature. The advent of CRISPR genome editing now opens up a wide range of new organisms to mechanistic investigation. This increases not only the taxonomic breadth of current research but also the scope of biological problems that are now amenable to study, such as population control of invasive species, management of disease vectors such as mosquitoes, the creation of chimeric animal hosts to grow human organs and even the possibility of resurrecting extinct species such as passenger pigeons and mammoths. Beyond these practical applications, work on non-model organisms enriches our basic understanding of the natural world. This special issue addresses a broad spectrum of biological problems in non-model organisms and highlights the utility of genome editing across levels of complexity from development and physiology to behaviour and evolution

Transition state theory and the dynamics of hard disks

The dynamics of two and five disk systems confined in a square has been studied using molecular dynamics simulations and compared with the predictions of transition state theory. We determine the partition functions Z and Z^\ddagger of transition state theory using a procedure first used by Salsburg and Wood for the pressure. Our simulations show this procedure and transition state theory are in excellent agreement with the simulations. A generalization of the transition state theory to the case of a large number of disks N is made and shown to be in full agreement with simulations of disks moving in a narrow channel. The same procedure for hard spheres in three dimensions leads to the Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann formula for their alpha relaxation time.Comment: 1 new author, new simulations and figures, less speculation. Now 6 pages, 6 figures, 1 animation. Animation may be viewed at http://www.theory.physics.manchester.ac.uk/~godfrey/supplement/activated_dynamics2.htm

Selective attention to conditioned stimuli in human discrimination learning: Untangling the effect of outcome prediction, valence, arousal and uncertainty

What are the neural mechanisms underlying this ability? Are they the same in humans as in other animals? And what are the consequences of damage to this attentional system? These are the questions that this book aims to answer.The preparation of this manuscript was supported by a MRC new investigator award to Lee Hogarth (G0701456)

HB 282 - Preservation of Sexual Assault Evidence

This Act extends the time that law enforcement agencies are required to preserve certain evidence of sexual assault. Physical evidence of a reported sexual assault will be preserved for fifty years, and if there is an arrest, for thirty years from the date of arrest or seven years from the sentence’s completion

Multi-wavelength constraints on cosmic-ray leptons in the Galaxy

Cosmic rays (CRs) interact with the gas, the radiation field and the magnetic field in the Milky Way, producing diffuse emission from radio to gamma rays. Observations of this diffuse emission and comparison with detailed predictions are powerful tools to unveil the CR properties and to study CR propagation. We present various GALPROP CR propagation scenarios based on current CR measurements. The predicted synchrotron emission is compared to radio surveys, and synchrotron temperature maps from WMAP and Planck, while the predicted interstellar gamma-ray emission is compared to Fermi-LAT observations. We show how multi-wavelength observations of the Galactic diffuse emission can be used to help constrain the CR lepton spectrum and propagation. Finally we discuss how radio and microwave data could be used in understanding the diffuse Galactic gamma-ray emission observed with Fermi-LAT, especially at low energies.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures; in Proceedings of the 34th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC 2015), The Hague (The Netherlands); Oral contributio

ALMA observations of 99 GHz free-free and H40α\alpha line emission from star formation in the centre of NGC 253

We present Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array observations of 99.02 GHz free-free and H40$\alpha$ emission from the centre of the nearby starburst galaxy NGC 253. We calculate electron temperatures of 3700-4500 K for the photoionized gas, which agrees with previous measurements. We measure a photoionizing photon production rate of $(3.2\pm0.2)\times10^{53}$ s$^{-1}$ and a star formation rate of $1.73\pm0.12$ M$_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$ within the central 20$\times$10 arcsec, which fall within the broad range of measurements from previous millimetre and radio observations but which are better constrained. We also demonstrate that the dust opacities are ~3 dex higher than inferred from previous near-infrared data, which illustrates the benefits of using millimetre star formation tracers in very dusty sources.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS Letter

Understanding Perceptual Judgment in Autism Spectrum Disorder Using the Drift Diffusion Model

Objective: Two-alternative forced-choice tasks are widely used to gain insight into specific areas of enhancement or impairment in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Data arising from these tasks have been used to support myriad theories regarding the integrity, or otherwise, of particular brain areas or cognitive processes in ASD. The drift diffusion model (DDM) provides an account of the underlying processes which give rise to accuracy and reaction time (RT) distributions, and parameterizes these processes in terms which have direct psychological interpretation. Importantly, the DDM provides further insight into the origin of potential group differences in task performance. Here, for the first time, we used the DDM to investigate perceptual decision making in ASD. Method: Adults with (N = 25) and without ASD (N = 32) performed an orientation discrimination task. A drift diffusion model was applied to the full RT distributions. Results: Participants with ASD responded more slowly than controls, the groups did not differ in accuracy. Modeled parameters indicated that: (a) participants with ASD were more cautious than controls (wider boundary separation); (b) nondecision time was increased in ASD; and (c) the quality of evidence extracted from the stimulus (drift rate) did not vary between groups. Conclusions: Taking the behavioral data in isolation would suggest reduced perceptual sensitivity in ASD. However, DDM results indicated that despite response slowing, there was no evidence of differential perceptual sensitivity between participants with and without ASD. Future use of the DDM in investigations of perception and cognition in ASD is highly recommended. (PsycINFO Database Recor

Spitzer 70 Micron Source Counts in GOODS-North

We present ultradeep Spitzer 70 μm observations of GOODS-North (Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey). For the first time, the turnover in the 70 μm Euclidean-normalized differential source counts is observed. We derive source counts down to a flux density of 1.2 mJy. From the measured source counts and fluctuation analysis, we estimate a power-law approximation of the faint 70 μm source counts of dN/dS ∝ S^−1.6, consistent with that observed for the faint 24 μm sources. An extrapolation of the 70 μm source counts to zero flux density implies a total extragalactic background light (EBL) of 7.4 ± 1.9 nW m^−2 sr^−1. The source counts above 1.2 mJy account for about 60% of the estimated EBL. From fluctuation analysis, we derive a photometric confusion level of σc = 0.30 ± 0.15 mJy (q = 5) for the Spitzer 70 μm band

IR-correlated 31 GHz radio emission from Orion East

Lynds dark cloud LDN1622 represents one of the best examples of anomalous dust emission, possibly originating from small spinning dust grains. We present Cosmic Background Imager (CBI) 31 GHz data of LDN1621, a diffuse dark cloud to the north of LDN1622 in a region known as Orion East. A broken ring with diameter g\approx 20 arcmin of diffuse emission is detected at 31 GHz, at \approx 20-30 mJy beam$^{-1}$ with an angular resolution of \approx 5 arcmin. The ring-like structure is highly correlated with Far Infra-Red emission at $12-100 \mu$m with correlation coefficients of r \approx 0.7-0.8, significant at $\sim10\sigma$. Multi-frequency data are used to place constraints on other components of emission that could be contributing to the 31 GHz flux. An analysis of the GB6 survey maps at 4.85 GHz yields a $3\sigma$ upper limit on free-free emission of 7.2 mJy beam$^{-1}$ (\la 30 per cent of the observed flux) at the CBI resolution. The bulk of the 31 GHz flux therefore appears to be mostly due to dust radiation. Aperture photometry, at an angular resolution of 13 arcmin and with an aperture of diameter 30 arcmin, allowed the use of IRAS maps and the {\it WMAP} 5-year W-band map at 93.5 GHz. A single modified blackbody model was fitted to the data to estimate the contribution from thermal dust, which amounts to \sim$10 per cent at 31 GHz. In this model, an excess of 1.52\pm 0.66 Jy (2.3\sigma) is seen at 31 GHz. Future high frequency$\sim$100-1000 GHz data, such as those from the {\it Planck} satellite, are required to accurately determine the thermal dust contribution at 31 GHz. Correlations with the IRAS$100 \mu$m gave a coupling coefficient of$18.1\pm4.4 \mu$K (MJy/sr)$^{-1}$, consistent with the values found for LDN1622.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, 3 tables, submitted to MNRA