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JournalISSN: 0090-5542

Basic life sciences 

Springer Nature
About: Basic life sciences is an academic journal. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): DNA & DNA repair. It has an ISSN identifier of 0090-5542. Over the lifetime, 1942 publications have been published receiving 24288 citations.


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Book ChapterDOI
TL;DR: It is not unreasonable to expect on the basis of present data that the healthy life span can be increased by 5-10 or more years by keeping body weight down, at a level compatible with a sense of well-being, while ingesting diets adequate in essential nutrients but designed to minimize random free radical reactions in the body.
Abstract: Aging is the progressive accumulation of changes with time that are associated with or responsible for the ever-increasing susceptibility to disease and death which accompanies advancing age. These time-related changes are attributed to the aging process. The nature of the aging process has been the subject of considerable speculation. Accumulating evidence now indicates that the sum of the deleterious free radical reactions going on continuously throughout the cells and tissues constitutes the aging process or is a major contributor to it. In mammalian systems the free radical reactions are largely those involving oxygen. Dietary manipulations expected to lower the rate of production of free radical reaction damage have been shown (i) to increase the life span of mice, rats, fruit flies, nematodes, and rotifers, as well as the "life span" of neurospora; (ii) to inhibit development of some forms of cancer; (iii) to enhance humoral and cell-mediated immune responses; and (iv) to slow development of amyloidosis and the autoimmune disorders of NZB and NZB/NZW mice. In addition, studies strongly suggest that free radical reactions play a significant role in the deterioration of the cardiovascular and central nervous systems with age. The free radical theory of aging provides reasonable explanations for age-associated phenomena, including (i) the relationship of the average life spans of mammalian species to their basal metabolic rates, (ii) the clustering of degenerative diseases in the terminal part of the life span, (iii) the beneficial effect of food restriction on life span, (iv) the greater longevity of females, and (v) the increase in autoimmune manifestations with age. It is not unreasonable to expect on the basis of present data that the healthy life span can be increased by 5-10 or more years by keeping body weight down, at a level compatible with a sense of well-being, while ingesting diets adequate in essential nutrients but designed to minimize random free radical reactions in the body.

690 citations

Book ChapterDOI
TL;DR: The SOS repair hypothesis has already served as the working hypothesis for many experiments, and some speculations are presented to stimulate further discussions and experimental tests.
Abstract: A hypothesis was proposed several years ago that Escherichia coli possesses an inducible DNA repair system (“SOS repair”) which is also responsible for induced mutagenesis. Some characteristics of the SOS repair are (1) it is induced or activated following damage to DNA, (2) it requires de novo protein synthesis, (3) it requires several genetic functions of which the best-studied are recA + and lex + of E. coli, and (4) the physiological and genetic requirements for the expression of SOS repair are suspiciously similar to those necessary for the prophage induction. The SOS repair hypothesis has already served as the working hypothesis for many experiments, some of which are briefly reviewed. Also, some speculations are presented to stimulate further discussions and experimental tests.

656 citations

Book ChapterDOI
TL;DR: A quick survey of this topic takes us back to the first relevant studies on angiosperms during the thirties: Hagerup (1) and Tischler (2) demonstrated a frequency increase of polyploids from southern to northern latitudes and interpreted it as the result of greater hardiness of polyPLoids under extreme ecological conditions.
Abstract: Since Polyploidy has been recognized as a widespread and common phenomenon among eukaryotes, particularly higher plants, biologists have been interested in possible causal connections between Polyploidy and distribution, and have tried to present relevant generalizations and “rules.” A quick historical survey of this topic takes us back to the first relevant studies on angiosperms during the thirties: Hagerup (1) and Tischler (2) demonstrated a frequency increase of polyploids from southern to northern latitudes and interpreted it as the result of greater hardiness of polyploids under extreme ecological conditions. Manton (3), on the basis of her studies on Biscutella in glaciated and unglaciated areas in Europe, was the first to stress the better colonizing potential of polyploids. The further elaboration of this question in the forties and fifties can be exemplified by contributions from A. and D. Love (4,5), Stebbins (6,7), and many others. During the same time studies concerned with Polyploidy and distribution were extended to some animal and other plant groups (cf. contributions in this Conference), foremost to the pteridophytes, again by Manton (8). Her finding of very high chromosome base numbers in many fern plants paved the way to our understanding of paleoPolyploidy, a phenomenon to which publications by Favarger (9) and S. and G. Mangenot (10) have further contributed during the sixties.

299 citations

Book ChapterDOI
TL;DR: A review of polyploidy within species populations is given in this paper, with a focus on a few individuals from one or several populations and thus illustrating only a fraction of the extant genomic diversity in most species.
Abstract: Polyploidy in populations of well-differentiated plant species is now widely recognized (1,2). Most reports, however, are limited to a few individuals from one or several populations and thereby illustrate only a fraction of the extant genomic diversity in most species. They rarely purport populational dynamics involving Polyploidy as an evolutionary process. Nevertheless, there are recent notable exceptions and these will be utilized freely in this review of Polyploidy within species populations.

259 citations

Journal Article
TL;DR: In this article, the major commercial Tannins in the context of their industrial use are discussed and a discussion of the chemistry and properties of these major commercial tannins can be found.
Abstract: Introduction: Reflections on the Chemistry and Affinities of the Major Commercial Tannins in the Context of their Industrial Use D.G. Roux. Biogenesis and Synthesis: Enzymes in the Biosynthesis of Hydrolyzable Tannins G.G. Gross. Biosynthesis of Flavenoids G. Hrazdina. Chemical Properties: Gallic Acid at its Metabolites E. Haslam. Chinquapinic Acid M. Adamczeski, et al. Biological Significance: Plant Phenolics as Expressions of Biological Diversity O.R. Gottlieb. Pharmacologically Active Tannins Isolated from Medicinal Plants T. Okuda, et al. Commercial Significance: Flavor, Color, and Stability in Fruit Products A.G.H. Lea. Tannins and the Qualities of Wines V.L. Singleton. Conclusions: Concluding Remarks P.E. Laks, R.W. Hemmingway. 54 additional articles. Index.

189 citations

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Performance
Metrics
No. of papers from the Journal in previous years
YearPapers
199929
199622
199411
1993130
199213
199138