Gravity And The Behavior Of Unicellular Organisms

Unicellular organisms use gravity as an environmental guide to reach and stay in regions optimal for their growth and reproduction. These single cells play a significant role in food webs and these factors together make the effects of gravity on unicellular organisms a fascinating and important subject for scientific study. In addition, they present valuable model systems for studying the mechanisms of gravity perception, a topic of increasing interest in these days of experimentation in space. This book reveals how single cells achieve the same sensoric capacity as multicellular organisms like plants or animals. It reviews the field, discussing the historical background, ecological significance and related physiology of unicellular organisms, as well as various experimental techniques and models with which to study them. Those working on the biology of unicellular organisms, as well as in related areas of gravitational and space science will find this book of value.

This book summarizes what is currently known about gravity sensing and response mechanisms in microorganisms, fungi, lower and higher plants; starting from the historical eye-opening experiments from the 19th century up to today’s extremely rapid advancing cellular, molecular and biotechnological research. All forms of life are constantly exposed to gravity and it can be assumed that almost all organisms have developed sensors and respond in one way or the other to the unidirectional acceleration force,this books shows us some of these different ways. The book is written for plant biologists and microbiologists as well as scientists interested in space and gravitational biology.

This volume of the series Space Life Sciences provides insights into the latest findings of gravity research and the effect of gravity on biological systems, specifically on a cellular and molecular level. It starts by explaining the underlying physics of gravity and presenting some novel ideas on the basic principles of gravity perception. It then goes on to discuss how, in response to gravity perception, secondary messengers such as calcium and hydrogen peroxide, might control responses further downstream, like gene and protein expression and modulation. Further, it describes the consequences for animal and plant cells as well as for metabolism. Written by experts in the field, this book is a valuable resource for students and researchers in biochemistry, medicine and biomedicine, wanting to gain a solid understanding of membrane biology, secondary messenger function and gene and protein expression, specifically in the context of gravity.

Our anatomy and physiology have been completely shaped by Earth's gravity. All body systems function in synergy with this unseen force. Yet, as we journey further and longer into space, our bodies must conform to a new reality, wherein gravity is absent or reduced, cosmic radiation threatens and our social and familial connections become distant. Into Space: A Journey of How Humans Adapt and Live in Microgravity gives an overview of some of the physiological, anatomical and cellular changes that occur in space and their effects on different body systems, such as the cardiovascular and musculoskeletal, and touches on cultural and psychosocial aspects of leaving behind family and the safety of Earth. It further addresses the complexity of manned space flights, showing how interdisciplinary this subject is and discussing the challenges that space physiologists, physicians and scientists must face as humans seek to conquer the final frontier.

Heat and mass transfer is the core science for many industrial processes as well as technical and scientific devices. Automotive, aerospace, power generation (both by conventional and renewable energies), industrial equipment and rotating machinery, materials and chemical processing, and many other industries are requiring heat and mass transfer processes. Since the early studies in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, there has been tremendous technical progress and scientific advances in the knowledge of heat and mass transfer, where modeling and simulation developments are increasingly contributing to the current state of the art. Heat and Mass Transfer - Advances in Science and Technology Applications aims at providing researchers and practitioners with a valuable compendium of significant advances in the field.

This much-needed book is the first definitive volume on Euglena in twenty-fire years, offering information on its atypical biochemistry, cell and molecular biology, and potential biotechnology applications. This volume gathers together contributions from well-known experts, who in many cases played major roles in elucidating the phenomenon discussed. Presented in three parts, the first section of this comprehensive book describes novel biochemical pathways which in some instances have an atypical subcellular localization. The second section details atypical cellular mechanisms of organelle protein import, organelle nuclear genome interdependence, gene regulation and expression that provides insights into the evolutionary origins of eukaryotic cells. The final section discusses how biotechnologists have capitalized on the novel cellular and biochemical features of Euglena to produce value added products. Euglena: Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology will provide essential reading for cell and molecular biologists with interests in evolution, novel biochemical pathways, organelle biogenesis and algal biotechnology. Readers will come away from this volume with a full understanding of the complexities of the Euglena as well as new realizations regarding the diversity of cellular processes yet to be discovered.

Habitability of the Universe before Earth: Astrobiology: Exploring Life on Earth and Beyond (series) examines the times and places—before life existed on Earth—that might have provided suitable environments for life to occur, addressing the question: Is life on Earth de novo, or derived from previous life? The universe changed considerably during the vast epoch between the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago and the first evidence of life on Earth 4.3 billion years ago, providing significant time and space to contemplate where, when and under what circumstances life might have arisen. No other book covers this cosmic time period from the point of view of its potential for life. The series covers a broad range of topics encompassing laboratory and field research into the origins and evolution of life on Earth, life in extreme environments and the search for habitable environments in our solar system and beyond, including exoplanets, exomoons and astronomical biosignatures. Provides multiple hypotheses on the origin of life and distribution of living organisms in space Explores the diversity of physical environments that may support the origin and evolution of life Integrates contemporary views in biology and cosmology, and provides reasons that life is far more mobile in space than most people expect Includes access to a companion web site featuring supplementary information such as animated computer simulations