scholarly journals Reproducible Science

2010 ◽  
Vol 78 (12) ◽  
pp. 4972-4975 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arturo Casadevall ◽  
Ferric C. Fang

ABSTRACT The reproducibility of an experimental result is a fundamental assumption in science. Yet, results that are merely confirmatory of previous findings are given low priority and can be difficult to publish. Furthermore, the complex and chaotic nature of biological systems imposes limitations on the replicability of scientific experiments. This essay explores the importance and limits of reproducibility in scientific manuscripts.

Author(s):  
Henry S. Slayter

Electron microscopic methods have been applied increasingly during the past fifteen years, to problems in structural molecular biology. Used in conjunction with physical chemical methods and/or Fourier methods of analysis, they constitute powerful tools for determining sizes, shapes and modes of aggregation of biopolymers with molecular weights greater than 50, 000. However, the application of the e.m. to the determination of very fine structure approaching the limit of instrumental resolving power in biological systems has not been productive, due to various difficulties such as the destructive effects of dehydration, damage to the specimen by the electron beam, and lack of adequate and specific contrast. One of the most satisfactory methods for contrasting individual macromolecules involves the deposition of heavy metal vapor upon the specimen. We have investigated this process, and present here what we believe to be the more important considerations for optimizing it. Results of the application of these methods to several biological systems including muscle proteins, fibrinogen, ribosomes and chromatin will be discussed.


Author(s):  
Y. Kikuchi ◽  
N. Hashikawa ◽  
F. Uesugi ◽  
E. Wakai ◽  
K. Watanabe ◽  
...  

In order to measure the concentration of arsenic atoms in nanometer regions of arsenic doped silicon, the HOLZ analysis is carried out underthe exact [011] zone axis observation. In previous papers, it is revealed that the position of two bright lines in the outer SOLZ structures on the[011] zone axis is little influenced by the crystal thickness and the background intensity caused by inelastic scattering electrons, but is sensitive to the concentration of As atoms substitutbnal for Siatomic site.As the result, it becomes possible to determine the concentration of electrically activated As atoms in silicon within an observed area by means of the simple fitting between experimental result and dynamical simulatioan. In the present work, in order to investigate the distribution of electrically activated As in silicon, the outer HOLZ analysis is applied using a nanometer sized probe of TEM equipped with a FEG.Czodiralsld-gown<100>orientated p-type Si wafers with a resistivity of 10 Ώ cm are used for the experiments.TheAs+ implantation is performed at a dose of 5.0X1015cm-2at 25keV.


Author(s):  
Nicholas J Severs

In his pioneering demonstration of the potential of freeze-etching in biological systems, Russell Steere assessed the future promise and limitations of the technique with remarkable foresight. Item 2 in his list of inherent difficulties as they then stood stated “The chemical nature of the objects seen in the replica cannot be determined”. This defined a major goal for practitioners of freeze-fracture which, for more than a decade, seemed unattainable. It was not until the introduction of the label-fracture-etch technique in the early 1970s that the mould was broken, and not until the following decade that the full scope of modern freeze-fracture cytochemistry took shape. The culmination of these developments in the 1990s now equips the researcher with a set of effective techniques for routine application in cell and membrane biology.Freeze-fracture cytochemical techniques are all designed to provide information on the chemical nature of structural components revealed by freeze-fracture, but differ in how this is achieved, in precisely what type of information is obtained, and in which types of specimen can be studied.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 435-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Addy Pross

Despite the considerable advances in molecular biology over the past several decades, the nature of the physical–chemical process by which inanimate matter become transformed into simplest life remains elusive. In this review, we describe recent advances in a relatively new area of chemistry, systems chemistry, which attempts to uncover the physical–chemical principles underlying that remarkable transformation. A significant development has been the discovery that within the space of chemical potentiality there exists a largely unexplored kinetic domain which could be termed dynamic kinetic chemistry. Our analysis suggests that all biological systems and associated sub-systems belong to this distinct domain, thereby facilitating the placement of biological systems within a coherent physical/chemical framework. That discovery offers new insights into the origin of life process, as well as opening the door toward the preparation of active materials able to self-heal, adapt to environmental changes, even communicate, mimicking what transpires routinely in the biological world. The road to simplest proto-life appears to be opening up.


2009 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Astrid Wichmann ◽  
Detlev Leutner

Seventy-nine students from three science classes conducted simulation-based scientific experiments. They received one of three kinds of instructional support in order to encourage scientific reasoning during inquiry learning: (1) basic inquiry support, (2) advanced inquiry support including explanation prompts, or (3) advanced inquiry support including explanation prompts and regulation prompts. Knowledge test as well as application test results show that students with regulation prompts significantly outperformed students with explanation prompts (knowledge: d = 0.65; application: d = 0.80) and students with basic inquiry support only (knowledge: d = 0.57; application: d = 0.83). The results are in line with a theoretical focus on inquiry learning according to which students need specific support with respect to the regulation of scientific reasoning when developing explanations during experimentation activities.


1865 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 32-35
Author(s):  
James Glaisher

1986 ◽  
Vol 47 (C8) ◽  
pp. C8-127-C8-133
Author(s):  
R. F. PETTIFER ◽  
C. HERMES
Keyword(s):  

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