Donald E. Canfield

Bio: Donald E. Canfield is an academic researcher from University of Southern Denmark. The author has contributed to research in topics: Sulfate & Anoxic waters. The author has an hindex of 105, co-authored 298 publications receiving 43270 citations. Previous affiliations of Donald E. Canfield include Miami University & Max Planck Society.

The evolution and future of earth's nitrogen cycle

Abstract: Atmospheric reactions and slow geological processes controlled Earth's earliest nitrogen cycle, and by ~2.7 billion years ago, a linked suite of microbial processes evolved to form the modern nitrogen cycle with robust natural feedbacks and controls. Over the past century, however, the development of new agricultural practices to satisfy a growing global demand for food has drastically disrupted the nitrogen cycle. This has led to extensive eutrophication of fresh waters and coastal zones as well as increased inventories of the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N(2)O). Microbial processes will ultimately restore balance to the nitrogen cycle, but the damage done by humans to the nitrogen economy of the planet will persist for decades, possibly centuries, if active intervention and careful management strategies are not initiated.

The Global Carbon Cycle: A Test of Our Knowledge of Earth as a System

Abstract: :Motivated by the rapid increase in atmospheric CO2 due to human activities since the Industrial Revolution, several international scientific research programs have analyzed the role of individual components of the Earth system in the global carbon cycle. Our knowledge of the carbon cycle within the oceans, terrestrial ecosystems, and the atmosphere is sufficiently extensive to permit us to conclude that although natural processes can potentially slow the rate of increase in atmospheric CO 2, there is no natural “savior” waiting to assimilate all the anthropogenically produced CO 2 in the coming century. Our knowledge is insufficient to describe the interactions between the components of the Earth system and the relationship between the carbon cycle and other biogeochemical and climatological processes. Overcoming this limitation requires a systems approach.

A new model for Proterozoic ocean chemistry

Abstract: There was a significant oxidation of the Earth's surface around 2 billion years ago (2 Gyr)1,2,3,4 Direct evidence for this oxidation comes, mostly, from geological records of the redox-sensitive elements Fe and U reflecting the conditions prevailing during weathering1,2,3 The oxidation event was probably driven by an increased input of oxygen to the atmosphere arising from an increased sedimentary burial of organic matter between 23 and 20 Gyr5 This episode was postdated by the final large precipitation of banded iron formations around 18 Gyr1,2 It is generally believed that banded iron formations precipitated from an ocean whose bottom waters contained significant concentrations of dissolved ferrous iron, and that this sedimentation process terminated when aerobic bottom waters developed, oxidizing the iron and thus removing it from solution1,2 In contrast, I argue here that anoxic bottom waters probably persisted until well after the deposition of banded iron formations ceased; I also propose that sulphide, rather than oxygen, was responsible for removing iron from deep ocean water The sulphur-isotope record supports this hypothesis as it indicates increasing concentrations of oceanic sulphate, starting around 23 Gyr6, leading to increasing rates of sulphide production by sulphate reduction The increase in sulphide production became sufficient, around 18 Gyr, to precipitate the total flux of iron into the oceans I suggest that aerobic deep-ocean waters did not develop until the Neoproterozoic era (10 to ∼054 Gyr), in association with a second large oxidation of the Earth's surface This new model is consistent with the emerging view of Precambrian sulphur geochemistry and the chemical events leading to the evolution of animals, and it is fully testable by detailed geochemical analyses of preserved deep-water marine sediments

疟原虫var基因转换速率变化导致抗原变异[英]／Paul H, Robert P, Christodoulou Z, et al//Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

Abstract: 抗原变异可使得多种致病微生物易于逃避宿主免疫应答。表达在感染红细胞表面的恶性疟原虫红细胞表面蛋白1（PfPMP1）与感染红细胞、内皮细胞、树突状细胞以及胎盘的单个或多个受体作用，在黏附及免疫逃避中起关键的作用。每个单倍体基因组var基因家族编码约60种成员，通过启动转录不同的var基因变异体为抗原变异提供了分子基础。

Toward a metabolic theory of ecology

Abstract: Metabolism provides a basis for using first principles of physics, chemistry, and biology to link the biology of individual organisms to the ecology of populations, communities, and ecosystems. Metabolic rate, the rate at which organisms take up, transform, and expend energy and materials, is the most fundamental biological rate. We have developed a quantitative theory for how metabolic rate varies with body size and temperature. Metabolic theory predicts how metabolic rate, by setting the rates of resource uptake from the environment and resource allocation to survival, growth, and reproduction, controls ecological processes at all levels of organization from individuals to the biosphere. Examples include: (1) life history attributes, including devel- opment rate, mortality rate, age at maturity, life span, and population growth rate; (2) population interactions, including carrying capacity, rates of competition and predation, and patterns of species diversity; and (3) ecosystem processes, including rates of biomass production and respiration and patterns of trophic dynamics. Data compiled from the ecological literature strongly support the theoretical predictions. Even- tually, metabolic theory may provide a conceptual foundation for much of ecology, just as genetic theory provides a foundation for much of evolutionary biology.

Solutions for a cultivated planet

Abstract: Increasing population and consumption are placing unprecedented demands on agriculture and natural resources. Today, approximately a billion people are chronically malnourished while our agricultural systems are concurrently degrading land, water, biodiversity and climate on a global scale. To meet the world's future food security and sustainability needs, food production must grow substantially while, at the same time, agriculture's environmental footprint must shrink dramatically. Here we analyse solutions to this dilemma, showing that tremendous progress could be made by halting agricultural expansion, closing 'yield gaps' on underperforming lands, increasing cropping efficiency, shifting diets and reducing waste. Together, these strategies could double food production while greatly reducing the environmental impacts of agriculture.

“Bioinformatics” 특집을 내면서

Abstract: BIOE 402. Medical Technology Assessment. 2 or 3 hours. Bioentrepreneur course. Assessment of medical technology in the context of commercialization. Objectives, competition, market share, funding, pricing, manufacturing, growth, and intellectual property; many issues unique to biomedical products. Course Information: 2 undergraduate hours. 3 graduate hours. Prerequisite(s): Junior standing or above and consent of the instructor.