Bioactive substances with anti-neoplastic efficacy from marine invertebrates:Porifera and Coelenterata

An ever increasing demand for new lead compounds in the pharmaceutical industry has led scientists to search for natural bioactive products.Based on this extensive research,marine invertebrates now represent a rich source of novel substances with significant antineoplastic activities.As the current approach of synthesizing new and chemically modifying old drugs seems to have slowed down,and the identification of new anticancer drugs is not too promising,a new approach is clearly needed.The objective of this review is to present up-to-date data on these newer compounds.Based on the data summarized in this short review,it is clear that marine invertebrates represent an extremely important source of compounds with potential anti-cancer effects.Considering that we tested only a tiny number of Porifera and Coelenterata,the best is yet to come.

陕西宁强地区早寒武世磷酸盐化Punctatus新材料

描记在陕西南部宽川铺地区的灯影组宽川铺段的震旦-寒武系界线附近发现的具五辐对称特征磷酸盐化Punctatus新种———Punctatus triangulicostalissp.nov.(三角隆脊瘤点壳)。新种的锥体由5条放射状排列的锥脊组成,柱体由5纵列等间隔排列的三角隆脊组成,构成了完美的五辐对称生物体。同时描记的有PunctatusemeiensisHe,1980,新种与它的显著区别是具有与锥顶5条放射脊相对应的5纵列三角隆脊。新种呈三维立体保存,暗示生物体内部已具有一定的硬化程度,而锥体表层及柱状体表面的三角隆脊为磷酸盐化软组织。形态功能分析表明,Punctatus在分类上可能更接近于腔肠动物的水螅型。