Fluoroacetic acid is known to lead to inhibition of aconitase and block both the Krebs and glyoxylate cycles. In this study, we discovered it to be a potent and specific inhibitor of reproduction in a bioassay using the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Fluoroacetic acid added to the growth medium reduced reproduction in the second generation by 50% at concentrations 3,000 times lower than the c...

Many theories have sought to explain the evolution of sex, but the question remains unanswered owing to the scarcity of compelling empirical tests. Here we summarize the results of two of our published studies investigating the evolution of sex using digital organisms. We used these evolving programs to test the hypothesis that sexual reproduction is advantageous in changing environments. We fo...

We have refined vibrational force fields for polypeptides that permit excellent reproduction of the normal mode frequencies of such molecules. This is demonstrated in the present study, in which 80 IR and Raman bands of crystalline triglycine between 1800 and 200 cm-’ are reproduced with an average error of 6 cm-‘. A deuterated sample is shown by normal mode analysis to have remained protonated...

The life history of medflies is characterized by two physiological modes with different demographic schedules of fertility and survival: a waiting mode in which both mortality and reproduction are low and a reproductive mode in which mortality is very low at the onset of egg laying but accelerates as eggs are laid. Medflies stay in waiting mode when they are fed only sugar. When fed protein, a ...

The quality of low frequency audio reproduction in small spaces has always been problematic. For some time, methods have been suggested in order to optimise this reproduction. Many such methods have been based upon objective metrics which remain unproven from a subjective perspective. Whilst perception has been studied, this thesis identifies a research gap for more thorough testing. A series o...