PHYSIOLOGYNEWS spring 2007 | number 66 Meetings Edinburgh Belfast Brazil Also featuring Peter Stanfield’s 10 key papers ... and some music A critical look at Lord Adrian’s 1933 classic Tim Bliss and LTP Physiologists having fun on the road The Journal of Physiology symposia Warning: ethics can kill Education – new feature A publication of The Physiological Society Joint International Meeting with the Brazilian Physiological Society Ribeirao Preto, Brazil 27-30 August 2006 PHYSIOLOGYNEWS Editorial 3 Meetings Perinatal physiology: from uterus to brain Alison Douglas, 4 Mike Ludwig The Society’s dog. ‘Rudolf Magnus gave 5 me to Charles Sherrington, who gave me Ion channels and the microcirculation Graham McGeown, to Henry Dale, who gave me to The Tim Curtis Physiological Society in October 1942’ Images of Brazil inside front cover My 10 key papers Peter Stanfield selects his top 10 ion channel papers ... and 6 Published quarterly by The Physiological Society a piece of music Contributions and Queries Living history Executive Editor What can clinical medicine give back to physiology? 10 Linda Rimmer John Dickinson The Physiological Society Publications Office P O Box 502 A week in the life of ... Cambridge CB1 0AL Frivolous days in the life of physiologists having fun 13 UK Christof Schwiening Tel: +44 (0)1223 400180 From the archives Fax: +44 (0)1223 246858 Afferent impulses in the vagus and their effect on respiration 15 Email: [email protected] John Widdicombe The Society web server: http://www.physoc.org Features Magazine Editorial Board Reactive oxygen species and glucose transport during exercise 16 Editor Marie Sandström, Shi-Jin Zhang, Joseph Bruton, José Silva, Austin Elliott (University of Manchester) Michael Reid, Håkan Westerblad, Abram Katz Members Patricia de Winter (King’s College London) The amazing versatility of hPEPT1 Monica Sala-Rabanal 18 Sarah Hall (Cardiff University) Where is my arm? Uwe Proske 20 Munir Hussain (University of Liverpool) Thought to action: development of temporal signals from 23 John Lee (Rotherham General Hospital) Thelma Lovick (University of Birmingham) topographic maps David Waitzman, Jason Cromer Bill Winlow (Prime Medica, Knutsford/University of Store-operated calcium entry in adult skeletal muscle fibres: the 26 Liverpool) missing clue Bruno Allard, Vincent Jacquemond © 2006 The Physiological Society Peripheral muscle fatigue from hyperoxia to moderate hypoxia – 28 ISSN 1476-7996 a carefully regulated variable? Markus Amann, Jerome Dempsey The Society permits the single copying of individual articles for private study or research. For Going with the flow: just say NO to oxygen radicals 30 copying or reproduction for any other purpose, Henning Morawietz written permission must be sought from The Letters to the Editor 32 Physiological Society ([email protected]). Reports Opinions expressed in articles and letters submitted Special Symposium – Tim Bliss and LTP Samuel Cooke 33 by, or commissioned from, Members, Affiliates or outside bodies are not necessarily those of The World Congress to focus on advances in research methods 35 Physiological Society. and strategies Jon Richmond Affiliate News The Physiological Society is registered in England as a company limited by guarantee: No 323575. Let’s talk about science Rehana Jawadwala 36 Registered office: PO Box 11319, London WC1X To be strong – a Chinese PhD student’s story Meihua He 36 8WQ Registered Charity: No 211585. Education Physiology for schools and colleges Donna Brown 37 Printed by The Lavenham Press Ltd CASE Opinion Forum Liz Bell 38 Cover photos Memorable Members Bernard Katz Liam Burke 39 The Society’s journals Image from The Journal of Physiology Symposium The cortex, interneurones The Journal of Physiology 40 and motoneurones in the control of Experimental Physiology 42 movement to take place in Darwin on Society News Thursday 19 July 2007. See page 40 for details What’s happening in The Society Michael Collis 43 Society Meetings Prem Kumar 44 Parliamentary and Scientific Committee Are patients safe with the NHS? Liz Bell 46 Biosciences Federation Richard Dyer 48 Images from A week in the life of ... (p. 13) Unbelievable! 49 Book Reviews 31, 50 Noticeboard 52 PHYSIOLOGYNEWS Action points Guidelines for contributors In this issue Grants These guidelines are intended to assist Welcome to the first Physiology For full information on Members’ authors in writing their contributions and to News of 2007. and Affiliates’ Travel Grants, reduce the subsequent editing process. The Network Interaction Grants, Non- Editorial Board of Physiology News tries to The best bit of being an editor is to Society Symposia Grants, Vacation ensure that all articles are written in a see new features inaugurated, and I Studentship Scheme, Departmental journalistic style so that they will have an am delighted to say this issue has Seminar Scheme, Centres of immediate interest value for a wide two. The first is a regular column Excellence and Junior Fellowships readership and will be readable and aimed at teachers in schools and visit: http://www.physoc.org/grants comprehensible to non-experts. In colleges, kicked off by The Society’s particular, scientific articles should give a Education Officer Donna Brown. As with all new features, volunteers to Membership applications good overview of a field rather than focus Applications for Full and Affiliate entirely on the authors’ own research. write articles will be needed sooner Membership are received throughout or later (usually sooner), so contact the year and have no deadlines. A Format of articles Donna if you would like to be decision is normally made within The main message or question posed involved. 7 days of the Administration Office should be introduced in the first paragraph. The second new feature is ‘From the receiving the application. For full The background for the topic should then be Archives’, where John Widdicombe details please visit: established, leading up to the final looks back at a classic paper, http://www.physoc.org/join conclusion. recalling when he first read it and comparing his reactions then and Change of address Length of articles now. If you fancy writing about a Members should inform the This will be determined by the subject matter paper that stands out in your Administration Office of any changes and agreed with the Executive Editor. memory, or if you have mused about of address, telephone, fax or email writing a ‘My 10 Key Papers’ but address. Submission of articles felt 10 was 9 too many, now is your Changes can be emailed to: Authors should submit articles as a Word chance. Again, volunteers please! [email protected] or updated online document attached to an email. Illustrations This issue also has a 10 Key Papers, at http://www.physoc.org should be sent as separate attachments (see below) and not embedded in the text. this time ion channel papers chosen by Peter Stanfield, and a Living Illustrations and authors’ photographs History – not for the squeamish! – Authors are encouraged to submit diagrams, from John Dickinson. We also have Physiology News drawings, photographs or other artwork with seven scientific News and Views Deadlines their articles or to suggest appropriate features, a Week in the Life of a illustrations. A photograph of the author(s) physiologist on the road, plus Letters and articles and all other should also accompany submissions, if meeting reports, Society news and contributions for inclusion in the possible. Illustrations and photographs may book reviews. Summer 2007 issue, No. 67, should be colour or black and white, prints, reach the Publications Office transparencies or tif/jpeg files with a Finally, I am a great fan of historical ([email protected]) by 23 April minimum resolution of 300 dpi. articles, and the longer I work in 2007. Short news items are Electronic colour figures should be saved in physiology, the more amazed I am encouraged, and can usually be CMYK mode. by just how much the pioneers in included as late copy if space various fields achieved with permits. References primitive and often self-built Suggestions for articles Authors are requested to keep the number equipment. But historical articles Suggestions for future articles are of references to a minimum – preferably no also provide wonderful unexpected welcome. Please contact either the more than two or three. Please cite all glimpses of people. For us normal Executive Editor or a member of the references in the style of The Journal of bunglers it is good to know that even Editorial Board of Physiology News Physiology (see Instructions to Authors 2005 the scientific immortals couldn’t do (see contents page for details). at http://www.physoc.org) everything perfectly, so I treasure the revelation that Bernard Katz wasn’t the greatest micropipette puller (see Physiology News Online Liam Burke’s memoir). Heroes Physiology News is now available on should be human too. The Society’s web site: http://www.physoc.org. Austin Elliott EDITORIAL PN 3 Real science needs you much as a matter of routine, misquoted, most cases the original source – press misunderstood, and misappropriated. And that release or published paper – of a ridiculous people on the receiving end of it – the public – media science story is easy to find, and the As 2007 dawns, a straw poll of the issues are misinformed and misled. errors in how it has been misreported are not facing The Physiological Society and its that subtle.. However, unless there is Members might include, inter alia: the The usual reaction from scientists is a weary something of a change of heart it seems upcoming Research Assessment Exercise; the shrug of the shoulders. unlikely that the UK scientific establishment impact of full economic costing for grant will ‘go public’ in quite this way, so we will applications to government–funded bodies, I would like to offer a counter-view. Rather probably have to rely on bloggers like the particularly the Research Councils; and the than shrugging, we should be doing excellent Ben Goldacre in The Guardian (3) or looming Tsunami (at least for learned societies something.