PHYSIOLOGYNEWS spring 2005 | number 58 IUPS 2005 Images of the Bristol, Nottingham, Oxford and KCL Meetings Also featuring: Living history – the case of the misbehaving circuit 50 years of caveolae Obesity – why all the noise? From tadpole to frog: a tale of two networks The Nobel Prize A publication of the Physiological Society King’s College London Images from and around King’s College London, venue for the Physiological Society Meeting 17-20 December, 2004 (photos by Prem Kumar) More images from the KCL Meeting appear on the inside back cover PHYSIOLOGYNEWS Editorial 3 IUPS 2005 4 Images of KCL Prem Kumar, David Eisner ifc, ibc The Society’s dog. ‘Rudolf Magnus gave Oxford Focused Meeting Denis Noble 5 me to Charles Sherrington, who gave me Nottingham Focused Meeting Paul Greenhaff 6 to Henry Dale, who gave me to the Bristol Focused Meeting Sergey Kasparov, Julian Paton 7 Physiological Society in October 1942’ ‘The Senses’ Karl Gegenfurtner 8 Living History The case of the misbehaving circuit Stanley Salmons 9 Published quarterly by the Physiological Society A summer in the life of ... Giovanni Mann 11 Contributions and Queries Executive Editor Features Linda Rimmer The Nobel Prize Tim Jacob 12 The Physiological Society 50 years of caveolae - a round-up Michael Taggart 13 Publications Office Obesity - why all the noise? Paul Trayhurn 15 Building 4A, The Michael Young Centre Metamorphosis from tadpole to frog: a tale of two networks Denis Purbeck Road Combes, Simon Merrywest, John Simmers, Keith Sillar 17 Cambridge CB2 2HP Impact of the intrauterine environment on respiratory health throughout Tel: +44 (0)1223 400180 life Richard Harding, Megan Cock, Gert Maritz 19 Fax: +44 (0)1223 246858 The interdependence of cell volume and resting membrane potential Email: [email protected] James Fraser, Christopher L-H Huang 21 The Society web server: http://www.physoc.org Mechanosensory transduction in the enteric nervous system Terence Smith, Nick Spencer, Grant Hennig 23 Magazine Editorial Board The fire within: fuel selection in shivering muscles François Haman, Editor Stéphane Legault, Jean-Michel Weber 26 Austin Elliott (University of Manchester) Differential screening of a subtractive cDNA library reveals that maternal Members undernutrition affects fetal heart gene expression Hyungchul Han, Lesley Anson (Nature) Thomas Hansen 28 Laura Blackburn (University of Cambridge) NMDA receptor kinetics are tuned for coincidence detection during Munir Hussain (University of Liverpool) spike-timing dependent synaptic plasticity Björn Kampa, Greg Stuart 29 John Lee (Rotherham General Hospital) Myocardial connexin 43: gap junction-dependent and gap junction­ Thelma Lovick (University of Birmingham) independent effects on ischaemia/reperfusion injury Antonio Rodriguez- Bill Winlow (Prime Medica, Knutsford) Sinovas, David Garcia-Dorado, Alberto Cabestrero, Marisol Ruiz-Meana 31 Endocrine granules David Perrais, Justin Taraska, Wolfhard Almers 33 © 2005 The Physiological Society Exploring connections between the cerebellum and motor cortex in ISSN 1476-7996 humans Jeff Daskalakis, Robert Chen 35 Bilateral interactions between the upper limbs Richard Carson, The Society permits the single copying of Stephan Riek, Winston Byblow 37 individual articles for private study or research. For Fishing for 02 chemoreceptors in vertebrates Michael Jonz, copying or reproduction for any other purpose, Colin Nurse 39 written permission must be sought from the Physiological Society ([email protected]). International News Transport mechanisms across cell membranes David Brown, Opinions expressed in articles and letters submitted Myrtani Pieri 41 by, or commissioned from, Members, Affiliates or outside bodies are not necessarily those of the Physiological Society. Affiliate News When is a young physiologists’ symposium NOT a young physiologists’ The Physiological Society is registered in England symposium? Charlotte Waters 43 as a company limited by guarantee: No 323575. Registered office: PO Box 11319, London WC1X 8WQ The Dead Ringer team clean up at Registered Charity: No 211585. Lastingham Dead Ringer Society 44 Printed by The Lavenham Press Ltd Letters to the Editor 45 Society News Cover photo New Council members Austin Elliott 34 Cover illustration from Combes et al. p. 17 Profiting from Postgraduate Talent 2004 Sarah Blackford 46 Ventral view of metamorphosing stage 61 Xenopus tadpole. G L Brown Lecture Judy Harris, Michael Rennie 47 Background activity is rhythmic Benevolent Fund Joanna Rattray 48 spinal ventral root discharge Deceased Members 48 simultaneously driving tail Where does my future lie? Sai Pathmanathan 48 oscillations during swimming (top Biology in the real world Sai Pathmanathan 48 trace) and limb extension-flexion thrusts (lower traces). What have Council been talking about? Austin Elliott 49 Photography courtesy of Sean Earnshaw, University of St Andrews, Funding boost for graduate training in using a Nikon FM SLR camera with animal research Clare Stanford 40 110 mm macro lens. Unbelievable! 50 Book Reviews 50 Noticeboard 18 PHYSIOLOGYNEWS Action points Guidelines for contributors In this issue Grants These guidelines are intended to assist This issue of Physiology News contains For full information on Members’ authors in writing their contributions and to several examples of the serendipity on which reduce the subsequent editing process. The and Affiliates’ Grants, Pfizer in vivo science often depends. A trained mind asking Physiology Grants, Network Editorial Group of Physiology News tries to the right questions is essential in research, Interaction Grants, Non-Society ensure that all articles are written in a but serendipity and chance play a role too. A Symposia Grants, Postgraduate journalistic style so that they will have an thought in the right place; a totally immediate interest value for a wide Support Fund information and the unexpected observation; a chance finding readership and will be readable and that leads somewhere unforeseen. Vacation Studentship Scheme visit: comprehensible to non-experts. In http://www.physoc.org/grants particular, scientific articles should give a For me personally this is a big part of the good overview of a field rather than focus attraction of doing research, and also part of Membership applications entirely on the authors’ own research. what makes research and its history Applications for Full and Affiliate interesting to read about. In Living History, Stanley Salmons gives an example of Membership are received throughout Format of articles The main message or question posed should be serendipity when he describes how a simple the year and have no deadlines. A introduced in the first paragraph. The background malfunctioning circuit took him down many decision is normally made within 8­ for the topic should then be established, leading new scientific avenues, and even into cardiac 10 weeks of the Administration up to the final conclusion. surgery. Office receiving the application. For Length of articles Sometimes, of course, it can take a long time full details please visit: This will be determined by the subject matter and for a serendipitous finding to be fully http://www.physoc.org/join agreed with the Editorial Administrator. appreciated. As Mike Taggart describes on p. 13, it has taken caveolae 50 years, but Submission of articles Change of address they definitely seem to have made it from Authors should submit articles as a Word morphological curiosity to centre stage in Members should inform the document attached to an email. Illustrations cell biology. Administration Office of any changes should be sent as separate attachments (see below) of address, telephone, fax or email and not embedded in the text. Another of the charms of research is that nothing is ever set in stone. Paradigms address. Illustrations and authors’ photographs change, and even in the best-explored areas Authors are encouraged to submit diagrams, Changes can be emailed to: there are new ideas to be found, and new [email protected] or updated online drawings, photographs or other artwork with their articles or to suggest appropriate illustrations. A ways of looking at things, as Fraser and at http://www.physoc.org photograph of the author(s) should also Huang explore for the GHK equation (p. 21). accompany submissions, if possible. Illustrations and photographs may be colour or black and Aside from those brief highlights, we have a white, prints, transparencies or tif/jpeg files with a full issue's worth of science News and minimum resolution of 300 dpi. Electronic Views, Features, and Society news. We Physiology News colour figures should be saved in CMYK mode. preview some IUPS and San Diego attractions, introduce you to your new Deadlines References Council members on p. 34 and highlight Authors are requested to keep the number of what the Council has been talking about on Letters and articles and all other references to a minimum – preferably no more contributions for inclusion in the p. 49. Plus the joys (?) of research than two or three. Please cite all references in the committees and themes in Unbelievable! Summer 2005 issue, No. 59, should style of The Journal of Physiology (see Happy Easter. reach the Publications Office Instructions to Authors 2005 at Austin Elliott ([email protected]) by 20 April, http://www.physoc.org) 2005. Short news items are encouraged and can usually be included as late copy if space permits. Suggestions for articles Suggestions for future articles are welcome. Please contact