Bionics （the imitation or abstraction of the ＂inventions＂ of nature） and, to an even greater extent, syn- thetic biology, will be as relevant to engineering development and industry as the silicon chip was over th...Bionics （the imitation or abstraction of the ＂inventions＂ of nature） and, to an even greater extent, syn- thetic biology, will be as relevant to engineering development and industry as the silicon chip was over the last 50 years. Chemical industries already use so-called ＂white biotechnology＂ for new processes, new raw materials, and more sustainable use of resources. Synthetic biology is also used for the devel- opment of second-generation biofuels and for harvesting the sun＇s energy with the help of tailor-made microorganisms or biometrically designed catalysts. The market potential for bionics in medicine, en- gineering processes, and DNA storage is huge. ＂Moonshot＂ projects are already aggressively focusing on diseases and new materials, and a US-led competition is currently underway with the aim of creating a thousand new molecules. This article describes a timeline that starts with current projects and then moves on to code engineering projects and their implications, artificial DNA, signaling molecules, and biological circuitry. Beyond these projects, one of the next frontiers in bionics is the design of synthetic metabolisms that include artificial food chains and foods, and the bioengineering of raw materials; all of which will lead to new insights into biological principles. Bioengineering will be an innovation motor just as digitalization is today. This article discusses pertinent examples of bioengineering, particularly the use of alternative carbon-based biofuels and the techniques and perils of cell modification. Big data, analytics, and massive storage are important factors in this next frontier. Although synthetic biology will be as pervasive and transformative in the next 50 years as digitization and the Intemet are today, its ap- plications and impacts are still in nascent stages. This article provides a general taxonomy in which the development of bioengineering is classified in five stages （DNA analysis, bio-circuits, minimal genomes, protocells, xenobiology） from the familiar to the unknown, with implications for safety and security, in- dustrial development, and the development of bioengineering and biotechnology as an interdisciplinary field. Ethical issues and the importance of a public debate about the consequences of bionics and syn- thetic biology are discussed.展开更多
This paper described the structure and control of a new kind of miniature hexap od bio-robot, analyzed the moving principle of the robot. The robot is based on the principle of bionics, its structure is simple, design...This paper described the structure and control of a new kind of miniature hexap od bio-robot, analyzed the moving principle of the robot. The robot is based on the principle of bionics, its structure is simple, design novel, unique. It can mov e forwards and backwards. The external dimensions of bio-robot is: length 30 mm , width 40 mm, height 20 mm, weight 6.3 g. Some tests about the model robot were made. The experimental results show that the robot has good mobility.展开更多
Responses of 302 mitral/tufted (M/T) cells in the olfactory bulb were recorded from 42 anesthetized freely breathing rats using a 16-channel microwire electrode array.Saturated vapors of four pure chemicals,anisole,ca...Responses of 302 mitral/tufted (M/T) cells in the olfactory bulb were recorded from 42 anesthetized freely breathing rats using a 16-channel microwire electrode array.Saturated vapors of four pure chemicals,anisole,carvone,citral and isoamyl acetate were applied.After aligning spike trains to the initial phase of the inhalation after odor onset,the responses of M/T cells showed transient temporal features including excitatory and inhibitory patterns.Both odor-evoked patterns indicated that mammals recognize odors within a short respiration cycle after odor stimulus.Due to the small amount of information received from a single cell,we pooled results from all responsive M/T cells to study the ensemble activity.The firing rates of the cell ensembles were computed over 100 ms bins and population vectors were constructed.The high dimension vectors were condensed into three dimensions for visualization using principal component analysis.The trajectories of both excitatory and inhibitory cell ensembles displayed strong dynamics during odor stimulation.The distances among cluster centers were enlarged compared to those of the resting state.Thus,we presumed that pictures of odor information sent to higher brain regions were depicted and odor discrimination was completed within the first breathing cycle.展开更多
Batesian mimics are harmless prey species that resemble dangerous ones （models）, and thus receive protection from predators. How such adaptive resemblances evolve is a classical problem in evolutionary biology. Mimi...Batesian mimics are harmless prey species that resemble dangerous ones （models）, and thus receive protection from predators. How such adaptive resemblances evolve is a classical problem in evolutionary biology. Mimicry is typically thought to be difficult to evolve, especially if the model and mimic produce the convergent phenotype through different proximate mecha- nisms. However, mimicry may evolve more readily if mimic and model share similar pathways for producing the convergent phenotype. In such cases, these pathways can be co-opted in ancestral mimic populations to produce high-fidelity mimicry with- out the need for major evolutionary innovations. Here, we show that a Batesian mimic, the scarlet kingsnake Larnpropeltis elap-soides, produces its coloration using the same physiological mechanisms as does its model, the eastern coral snake Micrurus fulvius. Therefore, precise color mimicry may have been able to evolve easily in this system. Generally, we know relatively little about the proximate mechanisms underlying mimicry .展开更多
文摘Bionics （the imitation or abstraction of the ＂inventions＂ of nature） and, to an even greater extent, syn- thetic biology, will be as relevant to engineering development and industry as the silicon chip was over the last 50 years. Chemical industries already use so-called ＂white biotechnology＂ for new processes, new raw materials, and more sustainable use of resources. Synthetic biology is also used for the devel- opment of second-generation biofuels and for harvesting the sun＇s energy with the help of tailor-made microorganisms or biometrically designed catalysts. The market potential for bionics in medicine, en- gineering processes, and DNA storage is huge. ＂Moonshot＂ projects are already aggressively focusing on diseases and new materials, and a US-led competition is currently underway with the aim of creating a thousand new molecules. This article describes a timeline that starts with current projects and then moves on to code engineering projects and their implications, artificial DNA, signaling molecules, and biological circuitry. Beyond these projects, one of the next frontiers in bionics is the design of synthetic metabolisms that include artificial food chains and foods, and the bioengineering of raw materials; all of which will lead to new insights into biological principles. Bioengineering will be an innovation motor just as digitalization is today. This article discusses pertinent examples of bioengineering, particularly the use of alternative carbon-based biofuels and the techniques and perils of cell modification. Big data, analytics, and massive storage are important factors in this next frontier. Although synthetic biology will be as pervasive and transformative in the next 50 years as digitization and the Intemet are today, its ap- plications and impacts are still in nascent stages. This article provides a general taxonomy in which the development of bioengineering is classified in five stages （DNA analysis, bio-circuits, minimal genomes, protocells, xenobiology） from the familiar to the unknown, with implications for safety and security, in- dustrial development, and the development of bioengineering and biotechnology as an interdisciplinary field. Ethical issues and the importance of a public debate about the consequences of bionics and syn- thetic biology are discussed.
文摘This paper described the structure and control of a new kind of miniature hexap od bio-robot, analyzed the moving principle of the robot. The robot is based on the principle of bionics, its structure is simple, design novel, unique. It can mov e forwards and backwards. The external dimensions of bio-robot is: length 30 mm , width 40 mm, height 20 mm, weight 6.3 g. Some tests about the model robot were made. The experimental results show that the robot has good mobility.
基金Project (Nos. 30970765 and 81027003) supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China
文摘Responses of 302 mitral/tufted (M/T) cells in the olfactory bulb were recorded from 42 anesthetized freely breathing rats using a 16-channel microwire electrode array.Saturated vapors of four pure chemicals,anisole,carvone,citral and isoamyl acetate were applied.After aligning spike trains to the initial phase of the inhalation after odor onset,the responses of M/T cells showed transient temporal features including excitatory and inhibitory patterns.Both odor-evoked patterns indicated that mammals recognize odors within a short respiration cycle after odor stimulus.Due to the small amount of information received from a single cell,we pooled results from all responsive M/T cells to study the ensemble activity.The firing rates of the cell ensembles were computed over 100 ms bins and population vectors were constructed.The high dimension vectors were condensed into three dimensions for visualization using principal component analysis.The trajectories of both excitatory and inhibitory cell ensembles displayed strong dynamics during odor stimulation.The distances among cluster centers were enlarged compared to those of the resting state.Thus,we presumed that pictures of odor information sent to higher brain regions were depicted and odor discrimination was completed within the first breathing cycle.
基金We thank Karin Pfennig, Ver6nica Rodriguez-Moncalvo, Lisa Bono, and three anonymous refe-rees for helpful comments. Antonio Serrato helped with specimen collection. Chris Willett and Erin Burch aided with spectroscopy, and Vicky Madden and Steven Ray provided TEM services. Ken Wray kindly furnished coral snake speci-mens. Animal research was conducted under UNC IACUC permit 11-108. Funding was provided by the National Science Foundation （DEB-1110385 and DEB - 1019479）.
文摘Batesian mimics are harmless prey species that resemble dangerous ones （models）, and thus receive protection from predators. How such adaptive resemblances evolve is a classical problem in evolutionary biology. Mimicry is typically thought to be difficult to evolve, especially if the model and mimic produce the convergent phenotype through different proximate mecha- nisms. However, mimicry may evolve more readily if mimic and model share similar pathways for producing the convergent phenotype. In such cases, these pathways can be co-opted in ancestral mimic populations to produce high-fidelity mimicry with- out the need for major evolutionary innovations. Here, we show that a Batesian mimic, the scarlet kingsnake Larnpropeltis elap-soides, produces its coloration using the same physiological mechanisms as does its model, the eastern coral snake Micrurus fulvius. Therefore, precise color mimicry may have been able to evolve easily in this system. Generally, we know relatively little about the proximate mechanisms underlying mimicry .
