PHYSIOLOGYNEWS autumn 2004 | number 56 Featuring: Cork Meeting Bristol & Oxford Focused Meetings Living history New series Adaptations to marathon training Training and competition stress A week in the Zambian bush Learning to smell Making old muscles young again Neuroscience books special A publication of the Physiological Society PHYSIOLOGYNEWS Contents Editorial 3 The Society’s dog. ‘Rudolf Magnus gave Cork Meeting Edward Johns 4 me to Charles Sherrington, who gave me Bristol Meeting Sergey Kasparov, Julian Paton 6 to Henry Dale, who gave me to the Alan Garny, David Gavaghan, Peter Kohl, Physiological Society in October 1942’ Oxford Meeting Philip Maini 6 Living History Published quarterly by the Physiological Society A moment of excitement Geoffrey Burnstock 7 Contributions and Queries Executive Editor Features Training and competition stress: effects on immune function and health Linda Rimmer The Physiological Society Mike Gleeson 9 Publications Office Inside the ‘black box’ Henning Wackerhage, Philip Atherton 11 Building 4A, The Michael Young Centre A week in the Zambian Bush Tristan Pocock 13 Purbeck Road Role of villus microcirculation in intestinal absorption: coupling of Cambridge CB2 2HP epithelial with endothelial transport John Pappenheimer, Charles Michel 16 Learning to smell Tim Jacob 18 Tel: +44 (0)1223 400180 Conditions under which systemic lactate may act as a metabolic substrate Fax: +44 (0)1223 246858 for the brain Angus Brown, Malcolm Prior 20 Email: [email protected] Our shape is elastic, modular and held together by carbohydrate strings The Society web server: http://www.physoc.org John Scott 22 Elastin and hypertension: is there a link? Silvia Arribas, Ana Briones, Magazine Editorial Board José González 25 Editor The leaky mitochondrion Kent Sahlin, Michail Tonkonogi, Maria Austin Elliott (University of Manchester) Fernström 27 Members The contribution of steric and electrostatic factors on distribution of Lesley Anson (Nature) macromolecules in the interstitial space Helge Wiig, Christina Gyenge, Laura Blackburn (University of Cambridge) Olav Tenstad 29 Munir Hussain (University of Liverpool) What limits jaw movements during vigorous head movements? John Lee (Rotherham General Hospital) Timothy Miles, Stanley Flavel, Michael Nordstrom 31 Thelma Lovick (University of Birmingham) Making old muscles young again James Ryall, David Plant, Gordon Bill Winlow (Prime Medica, Knutsford) Lynch 33 Maternal stress in pregnancy may affect the cardiovascular system of © 2004 The Physiological Society the child Natalya Igosheva, Vivette Glover 36 ISSN 1476-7996 Affiliate News The Society permits the single copying of Annual Molecular Techniques Workshop, Cork Patricia de Winter 35 individual articles for private study or research. For copying or reproduction for any other purpose, written permission must be sought from the International News Physiological Society. Physiology in Belarus Bill Winlow 37 Cardiovascular Physiology Andrzej Beresewicz, David Eisner, Gerrit Opinions expressed in articles and letters submitted Isenberg, Alex Verkhratsky, Susan Wray, Natalie Middleton 38 by, or commissioned from Members, Affiliates or outside bodies are not necessarily those of the Benevolent Fund Physiological Society. Ella and the Ben Fund Ann Silver 40 The Physiological Society is registered in England Editorial Boards as a company limited by guarantee, Experimental Physiology at FASEB John Coote 43 No 323575. Registered office: PO Box 11319, London WC1X 8WQ Registered Charity No Letters to the Editor 43 211585. Symposium Report Printed by The Lavenham Press Ltd Nociception in vertebrates: anatomy, electrophysiology, genomics and behaviour Lynne Sneddon 44 Transfer News/Promotions 44 Cover photo A hippocampal pyramidal Society News neurone expressing green Biosciences Federation Maggie Leggett 45 fluorescent protein targeted Moving on Maggie Leggett 45 using an adenovirus with a Publications Office 46 neurone-specific promoter in organotypic slice culture. Obituaries Fluorescent neurones remain James Ryder David Cotterrell, Lars McNaughton 46 viable for weeks in vitro and allow superb conditions for live cell confocal imaging and other types of experiments Unbelievable! 47 Neuroscience books special 48 Noticeboard 52 PHYSIOLOGYNEWS Action points (p. 9), molecular adaptations to In this issue endurance exercise (p. 11), and leaky Grants Welcome to the Autumn 2004 mitochondria (p. 27). Muscle Grant schemes have changed. For full Physiology News. physiology is not just for the young information on Members’ and and fit, of course – in age we want to Affiliates’ Grants, Pfizer in vivo One of the most gratifying things for keep our muscle tone, as James Ryall Physiology Grants, Intercalated BSc an editor is to see new features up and and friends discuss on p. 33. Bursaries, Network Interaction Grants, running. This issue we introduce what I Non-Society Symposia Grants, hope will be a recurring feature, Living A second theme is inner – or rather Postgraduate Support Fund information History. History – and physiology has intercellular - space. In this age of cell and the Vacation Studentship Scheme a rich one – is perhaps best heard and molecular physiology, please visit: through the voices of those who were physiologists can be accused of http://www.physoc.org/grants there. Scientists prize their moments of neglecting the spaces between cells. discovery – times when you saw However, we do so at our peril. The Membership applications something new, or first realised structures and macromolecules in these Applications for Full and Affiliate something was going to work – and spaces give us our shape (p. 22), Membership are received throughout Geoff Burnstock kicks off the Living influence the composition of the fluid the year and have no deadlines. A History series on p. 7 by recalling just within the spaces (p. 29), and help decision is normally made within 8-10 such a moment. This issue also sees determine how solute uptake occurs (p. weeks of the Administration Office our second diary (p. 13), where Tris 16). Finally, mis-programming the receiving the application. For full Pocock tells us how a physiologist structures filling these spaces in early details please visit: ended up teaching secondary school life may lead to adult disease (p. 25). science in Zambia – a marked contrast http://www.physoc.org/join to Alan North’s working week that we Plenty of meat and fibre there then! heard about in the last issue. And we have not neglected the body’s Change of address most (self?) important organ, the brain, Members should inform the It is fun to try and spot scientific since on p. 48 we review five recent Administration Office of any changes themes in the magazine, and I think I books in the field of neuroscience. All of address, telephone, fax or email spy at least two this time. One is the in all, we hope, something for address. continuing Olympic-year strand on everyone. Changes can be emailed to: muscle and exercise physiology, where [email protected] or updated online at we learn about exercising in the heat Austin Elliott http://www.physoc.org A moment of excitement ... Physiology News Deadlines Letters and articles and all other contributions for inclusion in the Winter 2004 issue, No. 57, should reach the Publications Office ([email protected]) by 20 September, 2004. 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 either the Executive Editor or a member of the Editorial Group of Physiology News (see contents page for details). Physiology News Online Physiology News is now available on our website: http://www.physoc.org. EDITORIAL PN 3 whopping 0.1%, although of course a government do whatever is necessary to Talking to the public - percentage of my time/salary should encourage you to leave your whose responsibility? also be factored in. laboratories. What can the Society do to help you? Many of these activities will So what do I think we should be doing? be local, and depend on local networks Not mine! I hear you cry. Or: ‘Isn’t that The Society’s best resource is you, our (talking to local media, participation what we pay you for?’ as a grumpy Members. Much as there exists a with café scientifiques, visiting Council member asked me recently. ballooning‘science communication’ schools/local clubs etc). Rather than try Well, perhaps, but there are an awful lot community, the best people to to reinvent the wheel and set up of ‘the public’, and there is only one of communicate about science are active complicated national networks, the me, or my successor. scientists. In my experience ‘science Society should help to raise awareness communicators’ can be anything from of local schemes, share success stories, I should explain. As I am leaving the retired professors who fancy getting on and flexibly provide small amounts of Society to take up a new post with their soapbox, to some kid who has money for Members to use to help you BBSRC (if you’re interested, find out read and possibly failed to understand take part. Perhaps funds for some what on p 45), Austin Elliott asked if I the latest New Scientist. Both can be admin help to free up your time to would like to write this piece. ‘Say good or hopeless, but until that organise/ participate in an event, to what you think needs saying after five community thinks up some way of contribute to a projector for giving years as our External Affairs person’ regulating itself – and even if it does – school talks, or help with course fees if was the commission, which explains then it is you who should be out there. you want training in some form of why you are hearing about Public communication skills. Communication two editorials running. There are two obvious main problems. First, you all have a day job to do. Nationally, there are already several In case you didn’t know, the Society’s Secondly, talking to a lay audience can organisations with which we could strategic plan singles out ‘educating the be a bit daunting.