My year as President of the ASP is fast drawing to a close, so this is a good time to reflect on the experience. I just received my invitation to the Past-Presidents' Luncheon, so I guess that means I will soon be joining an illustrious group of photobiologists who have had the opportunity to give something back to the science that has meant so much to our careers. Probably the most gratifying part of the job has been the unflinching support I received from the other officers and councilors. I can't remember a single instance of being turned down when I asked someone to assume a responsibility. The ASP has a tremendous reserve of talent that is just waiting to be tapped.
Most recent ASP Presidents could devote themselves to the presidency during the year in office and, upon becoming Past-President in the following year, they took on the task of assembling the program for the next annual meeting. I have not had the luxury of waiting until my term as President expired to begin the job of program chair, because the year that I will be the Past-President is the year of the 13th International Congress of Photobiology, to be held at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco, July 1-6, 2000. ASP will not hold a separate meeting that year but is hosting the international meeting for the Association Internationale de Photobiologie. As program chair for the 13th ICP (also known as Photobiology 2000 or ICP-2K), I have been working with an excellent international program committee that is busy contacting chairs and speakers to complete what we hope will be an outstanding scientific meeting. The effort has been extensive for me and for the committee. I am grateful to all of you who have sent us your ideas and who have said yes when we have asked you to participate. The program, while nearly full, has room for a few hot new topics. If you have an idea, and especially if you are willing to organize a session, we would be glad to hear from you.
This year a Strategic Planning Committee, under the chairmanship of Dan Yarosh, has re-thought the issues affecting the Society and what changes need to be made to thrive in a new and changing environment. The Committee has developed a new strategic plan that will be presented to Council at its meeting in Washington and will then be brought to the Society membership for discussion. This has been an important effort that needs to be repeated every several years to be sure that we are configured to meet new challenges. I am grateful to Dan and the other members of the committee for undertaking the job. We hope you will think about their suggestions and offer your insights. [See page 2. – Ed.]
One of the issues the ASP still needs to grapple with is building a better identity within the Society for certain disaffected components of the photobiology community. There have been efforts in the past to encourage members of all of the various constituencies to remain interested in the functions of the Society, particularly in attending and participating in the annual meeting and in sending their best papers to Photochemistry and Photobiology. Over the past year, I have become acutely aware of the concerns of, e.g., some members of the plant-photobiology community who no longer see the ASP as their primary scientific home. The forging of new connections between these scientists and ASP is an important goal. Reaching that goal will require efforts by all of us, but especially by the concerned members of this community.
Some have suggested to me that there has been a "tilt" within ASP to photomedicine. To the extent that this is true, it results from photobiologists who are interested in photomedicine taking active roles in the Society and sending their papers to the Journal. Any constituency can do the same thing that the photomedicine folks are purported to have done. The "tilt" of the Society in any direction is never dictated from on high but by the members who show up. How do we encourage plant photobiologists or other members with similar concerns to take back their roles in ASP and show up? This is a task that I would like the next Council to consider.
As I hand the gavel over to Chuck Gomer, I want to thank all of you for your confidence in me. I hope I have fulfilled at least some of your expectations. Whatever I and the present officers and councilors haven't done, we leave to the new Council with the assurance that the Society is in good hands.
Nancy Oleinick
James E. Cleaver, Ph.D., whose work has profoundly affected the modern understanding of cancer, was among 60 new members recognized by the National Academy of Sciences for his distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. His research has helped establish the links between DNA damage, repair and cancer. The elections were announced at the Academy's annual meeting on April 27.
Cleaver, professor of pharmaceutical chemistry and dermatology and leader of the Cutaneous Oncology program at the UCSF Cancer Center, is an authority on environmental causes of cancer at the molecular and genetic level. He was the first researcher to demonstrate the link between damage to or instability in DNA and the development of skin cancer. For 30 years, his research has concentrated on genetic regulation of DNA repair from damage caused by radiation and chemical carcinogens.
He is widely known for his studies in the field of photobiology. A major research interest is the condition known as Xeroderma pigmentosum, a genetic predisposition to high levels of sun-induced skin cancers. He has exploited this disease to clarify how ultraviolet light damages DNA, to understand the mechanisms of DNA repair, and to identify the genes involved in this process. He is currently analyzing a protein involved in the natural process of DNA repair.
Among other honors, Cleaver's work in this field earned him the ASP Research Award in 1995.
From the BW HealthWire, April 28, 1999
"Civilization is a race between education and catastrophe." – H.G. Wells
| President-elect: | J. Woodland Hastings | |
| Secretary: | Helene Z. Hill | |
| Councilor, Division 1: | Lisa Kelly1 | |
| Councilors-at-Large: | Dianne E. Godar1 | |
| Marianne Krieg-Kowald1 | ||
| Kathryn W. Woodburn1 | ||
| David A. Bellnier2 | ||
| Andrew J. Rainbow2 |
ASP News is published quarterly by the American Society for Photobiology
BioTech Park—Suite 9
1021 Fifteenth Street
Augusta, Georgia 30901
Editor: John S. Connolly, Ph.D.
SCIENTIFIC EDITING SERVICES
P.O. Box 16222
Golden, Colorado
(303) 278-3622
(303) 278-0086 (fax)
Connolly@SciEdServ.com
Congratulations to our new officers, and many thanks to all the candidates for your willingness to serve our Society.
Margaret Kripke, Chair, Nominations Committee
1three-year term; 2one-year term (replacement)
ERRATA
Alert reader Bob Knox (University of Rochester) spotted my error in numbering the issues following publication of the Spring 1999 issue. The Fall 1998 issue should have been #168; therefore, the Winter 1998 and Spring 1999 issues should be renumbered as 169 and 170, respectively. I regret this blunder. My apologies also to John Hearst, whose name was misspelled on page 10 of the Spring 1999 issue. – Ed.
As we prepare to host the 13th International Congress on Photobiology in San Francisco in July 2000, ASP has never been stronger. This is therefore a good time to take stock of our position and plan for the future.
The Publications Committee, fresh from closing a new contract with Allen Press, has produced a CD containing four volumes and two years (Volumes 63-66, 1996-1997) of Photochemistry and Photobiology. Not only does this simplify storage, but the CD has its own search engine for quick indexing. Annual production of these CDs covering subsequent years will continue so subscribers will have the most up-to-date access to the pages of our Journal. The Committee is also about to complete an agreement for electronic publication of P&P, which will be available on our Web page starting next year. In Washington, the Council will act on a recommendation that members be able to choose either the printed or the electronic version of the Journal at no additional cost.
The Council's Strategic Planning Committee has made recommendations to its parent body suggesting future directions in Society policy. These recommendations cover ways to strengthen membership and meeting attendance, methods to improve education and visibility for photobiology in the U.S., and means to apply our strong financial position to accomplish these goals. One example is continued preparation of position papers such as the one on "Solar UV and Health" that will be presented for ratification at the 1999 annual meeting in Washington. This Committee's proposals and the contemplation they provoke will provide a roadmap for ASP in the next millennium.
I want to thank the other members of the Strategic Planning Committee for their commitment to this effort: Rosalie Crouch, Craig Elmets, Frank Gasparro, Margaret Kripke, Nancy Oleinick, and Joan Roberts.
Daniel Yarosh
Treasurer
"I don't understand why people are afraid of new ideas. I'm frightened
of old ones."
– John Cage
PHOTOSCIENCES WORKSHOP IN CUBA
This first workshop on photosciences (Taller de Fotociencias) in Cuba was organized by a committee headed by Dr. Elena Vigil from the Institute of Materials and Reagents (IMRE), and was held at the University of Havana on February 15-19, 1999. The meeting was opened by a wonderful concert in the main aula of the University, which included some typical Cuban music, followed by words of welcome from University officers.
The meeting offered for the first time the possibility of exchanging ideas with all scientists working in Cuba on various aspects of the interactions of light and matter, from basic research to applied projects. During the first day, from 12:45 to 3:00 pm, each of the various Cuban groups briefly introduced its work, which was more fully presented in the posters shown on Tuesday and Wednesday. Various aspects of work in the photosciences in Cuba were displayed, including development of commercial lasers for surface cleaning and etching; analytical spectrometric devices for measurements of sugar content in sugar refineries; polarimeters for the sugar and pharmaceutical industries; photobiological work with algae; plant-physiology research; photoelectrochemistry with semiconductors; theoretical work on pyrrolic macrocycles; laser therapy of sports injuries; and photonics and medicine in general, to mention only some of the work presented in the approximately 60 posters.
The lectures presented by foreign and Cuban researchers were (in order): S.E. Braslavsky, Germany: "Photoinduced protein movements in biological photoreceptors;" E. Clementi, Universite Louis Pasteur, Paris: "Revisiting the Hartree-Fock method for atoms and molecules;" A.C. Albrecht, Cornell University, USA: "On the mechanism of ionization in molecular liquids;" J. Bornman, Lund University, Sweden: "Plant response to an increasing UV-B radiation environment;" Y.L. Chow, Simon Fraser University, Canada: "The role of acids in excited-state reactions;" N. Davidenko, University of Havana: "Radical photopolymerization of biopolymeric materials and compounds;" V.B. Henríquez Pérez, Cubasolar: "Renewable energy sources and social impact;" F. Lenci, Institute of Biophysics, CNR, Italy: "Photomovements in ciliates: photoreceptors and photosensory transduction;" D. Meissner, Applied Quantum Solar Energy Research, Germany: "Organic solar cells;" L. Montero, University of Havana: "Theoretical models for photophysical and photochemical behavior of a-diketones;" A. Moore, Arizona State University, USA: "Construction of artificial photosynthetic membranes for the study of solar-energy-conversion processes;" C.R. Castellanos, University of Havana: "Nanostructures under the action of intense laser radiation;" R. Rodés, University of Havana: "Biogenesis of the photosynthetic apparatus in sugar cane;" M. Velázquez and H. Méndez, Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas, Venezuela: "Photolability and phototoxicity studies of diuretic drugs. Photosensitizing properties of Triamterene, Hydrochlorothiazide, Furosemide, Acetazolamide, and Chlorthalidone;" S.E. Braslavsky: "Photothermal methods applied to the study of photoinduced reactions in solution."
F. Lenci met with a group of faculty members and students of physics to discuss possible cooperation projects in the area of biophysics. Closing the meeting, the President of the Cuban Academy of Sciences spoke to the participants, and a round-table discussion served to make a balance of the meeting and to outline the possibilities of cooperation with laboratories in industrialized countries. F. Lenci also transmitted the readiness of the Association Internationale de Photobiologie (AIP) as expressed by its President, Pill-Soon Song, to help scientists in Cuba develop a broad research capability in photobiology. AIP was one of the sponsors of the workshop.
A program of visits to various laboratories and institutes was organized for the foreign participants. During those visits we had the opportunity to talk with young group leaders and to learn about the creative initiatives of our Cuban colleagues to counteract the great difficulties confronted by Cuban industry and the society at large. Some of us visited Cubasolar, a non-governmental organization that aims to expand the use of renewable energy sources in order to replace fossil fuels, among several objectives. Cubasolar also intends to educate people through the training of teachers in better use of renewable-energy sources. I was personally impressed by the activities of this organization, which also publishes a journal for the general public. One of the main activities of Cubasolar at the moment is the implementation of a large number of fully self-supported (in terms of energy and food) schools in the country side, as well as solar-energy-supported medical offices in the far corners of the mountains.
By talking with our Cuban colleagues as well as with Cubans in the streets, shops, and bars, we learned a great deal about the difficulties brought by the embargo and by the sudden changes in the world political conditions in the '90s. But learning about the inventions and creations of our Cuban colleagues in order to develop their society in spite of those difficulties was an extraordinary experience, especially having in mind the difficulties of all Latin American countries in developing independent and autonomous economic and research activities. In the midst of those difficulties, the Cubans managed to organize a wonderful meeting that, most of all, served to create a sort of Cuban photosciences community that should help expand the research in this so important (as we know) area of scientific and technological activity.
Needless to say, we (the non-Cubans) used every free minute to enjoy the corners of old Havana, the cafes and libraries, to get a ride in a Chevy or Oldsmobile from the '50s, to listen to the rumbas and boleros, and to drink a mojito and a daiquiri in the bars Hemingway used to visit. Old Havana is a wonderful city, and our Cuban colleagues really made us feel at home.
Silvia E. Braslavsky
Max-Planck-Institut für Strahlenchemie
Postfach 10 13 65
45413 Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany
27TH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PHOTOBIOLOGY
July 10-15, 1999
Grand Hyatt Hotel
Washington, D.C.
"FOCUS ON THE ENVIRONMENT"
SATURDAY, JULY 10
12:00 - 1:00 p.m. Executive Committee Meeting
1:00 - 4:00 p.m. (StPM-A) WORKSHOP I: Education Workshop, R.
Crouch
1:00 - 5:00 p.m. Council Meeting
7:00 - 8:00 p.m. Welcome Reception
SUNDAY, JULY 11
7:00 - 8:00 a.m. Poster Viewing/Continental Breakfast
8:00 - 9:00 a.m. (SAM-A) PHOTOBIOLOGY SCHOOL 1: DNA Repair Mechanisms,
A. Sancar
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. PARALLEL SESSIONS
(SAM-B) SYMPOSIUM I: New Models for Photocarcinogenesis, F. DeGruijl and
H. Ananthaswamy
(SAM-C) SYMPOSIUM II: Photoreception and Entrainment in Circadian Clocks,
J. W. Hastings and C. Johnson
(SAM-D) PLATFORM SESSION 1: Photodynamic Therapy (Division 4)
(SAM-E) PPS99 Symposium II: ICH Guidelines: Attributes and Status - 18 Months
of Experience Since Adoption
12:00 - 1:30 p.m. Lunch Break
12:00 - 1:30 p.m. Young Investigators-Senior Investigators Lunch
(Mentoring)
1:30 - 2:30 p.m. (SPM-A) LECTURE I: President's Lecture: PDT-Induced
Cell Responses: Shining Light on Mechanisms,
N. Oleinick
2:30 - 5:30 p.m. PARALLEL SESSIONS
(SPM-B) SYMPOSIUM III: Spectroscopic Methods in Photobiology, E. Gaillard
and L. Kelly
(SPM-C) WORKSHOP II: Long-term Health and Environmental Effects of Exposure
to UVA and Visible Light,
J. Sutherland and B. Sutherland
(SPM-D) PPS99 Symposium II: Testing Sources, Chambers and Facilities
5:30 - 6:30 p.m. POSTER SESSION A (SPM-E) Poster Discussion -
Photoimmunology, E. DeFabo and F. Noonan
(SPM-F) PPS99 POSTER SESSION
6:30 p.m. Photochemistry and Photobiology, Editorial Board
Dinner
7:00 - 9:00 p.m. PPS99 Equipment Demonstrations (hosted by Instrument
Vendors) (SPM-G)
MONDAY, JULY 12
7:00 - 8:00 a.m. Poster Viewing/Continental Breakfast
8:00 - 9:00 a.m. (MAM-A) PHOTOBIOLOGY SCHOOL 2: Across the Spectrum,
D. Yarosh
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (MAM-B) PLENARY SESSION: Ozone Depletion, M.
Kripke and J. van der Leun
12:00 - 2:30 p.m. Lunch Break
2:30 - 5:30 p.m. PARALLEL SESSIONS
(MPM-A) SYMPOSIUM IV: Science of Photoprotection, J. Cadet and F.
Gasparro
(MPM-B) SYMPOSIUM V: New Photosensory Receptors, F. Lenci
(MPM-C) PLATFORM SESSION 2: Photocarcinogenesis (Division 3)
(MPM-D) PPS99 Symposium III: Exposure Measurements: Actinometry, Electronic
Instrumentation (radiometry, photometry, spectroradiometry); Monitoring/Reporting
Program as of January 1998
5:30 - 7:00 p.m. (MPM-E) POSTER SESSION B, Photomedicine
7:00 - 8:00 p.m. (MPM-F) ASP Policy Statement Discussion, D.
Yarosh
TUESDAY, JULY 13
8:00 - 9:00 a.m. Poster Viewing/Continental Breakfast
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. PARALLEL SESSIONS
(TAM-A) SYMPOSIUM VI: UV-Induced Signal Transduction and Gene Regulation,
T. Schwarz
(TAM-B) SYMPOSIUM VII: Rhodopsins, J. Spudich
(TAM-C) PPS99 Symposium IV: Real World Applications: Sunscreen Methods
Development; Case Studies; Workshop and Conclusion
12:00 - 1:30 p.m. Lunch Break/Past-Presidents' Lunch
1:30 - 2:30 p.m. (TPM-A) LECTURE II: ASP New Investigator Award: The
Good (Aloe Barbadensis), the Bad (UV Radiation), the Ugly (Melanoma). The
Role of Plant-Derived Compounds in the Prevention and Induction of Skin Cancer,
F. Strickland
2:30 - 5:30 p.m. PARALLEL SESSIONS
(TPM-B) SYMPOSIUM VIII: Advances in Photomedicine, S. Wagner and A.
Oseroff
(TPM-C) WORKSHOP III: Sunscreen Effectiveness and Safety, R. Mascotto
and C. Cole
(TPM-D) PLATFORM SESSION 3: UV Radiation Effects
5:30 - 6:30 p.m. Business Meeting
6:30 - 10:30 p.m. Reception/Banquet
WEDNESDAY, JULY 14
7:00 - 8:00 a.m. Poster Viewing/Continental Breakfast
8:00 - 9:00 a.m. (WAM-A) PHOTOBIOLOGY SCHOOL 3: Photosensory Biology,
J. Spudich
9:00 - 12:00 p.m. CONCURRENT SESSIONS
(WAM-B) SYMPOSIUM IX: Pathways of UV-Induced Immune Suppression, S. Ullrich
and P. Hart
(WAM-C) SYMPOSIUM X: UVB Effects in Plants and Ecosystems, M. Tevini
(WAM-D) PLATFORM SESSION 4: Photochemistry (Division 1)
(WAM-E) PPS99* SPECIAL COURSE: Pharmaceutical Photostability - Part 1
12:00 - 1:30 p.m. Lunch Break
1:30 - 2:30 p.m. (WPM-A) LECTURE III: ASP Research Award Lecture:
The Role of P53 Mutations in UV Carcinogenesis and Immune Suppression, M.
Kripke
2:30 - 5:30 p.m. CONCURRENT SESSIONS
(WPM-B) SYMPOSIUM XI: Biomedical Optics: Spectroscopy and Imaging for Diagnosis
and Therapy, M. Mycek and N. Kollias
(WPM-C) SYMPOSIUM XII: Molecular Biology of Reactions Centers and Antenna
Complexes, W. Vermaas
(WPM-D) ROUNDTABLE: How Effective are Sunscreens in Preventing Photoimmune
Suppression? A. Young
(WPM-E) PLATFORM SESSION 5: Photosensory Biology (Division 2)
(WPM-F) PPS99* SPECIAL COURSE: Pharmaceutical Photostability - Part 2
5:30 - 6:30 p.m. POSTER SESSION C
(WPM-G) U.S. Interagency UV Monitoring Network. Program Update, Photochemistry
and Photobiology and Working Program
6:30 p.m. Council Meeting and Dinner
7:00 - 9:00 p.m. SPECIAL SESSION
(WPM-H) Grant Writing Workshop, P. Strudler
THURSDAY, JULY 15
8:00 - 9:00 a.m. Continental Breakfast
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. CONCURRENT SESSIONS
(ThAM-A) SYMPOSIUM XIII: UVB Effects on Aquatic Organisms, L. Hansen and
J. Hoffman
(ThAM-B) SYMPOSIUM XIV: Cellular Responses to Radiation Damage, (Joint Symposium
with the Radiation Research Society), V. Maher and J. Redpath
(ThAM-C) SYMPOSIUM XV: Photodynamic Cell Killing: Aspects of Relevant
Photochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology, D. Valenzeno
(ThAM-D) PLATFORM SESSION 6 - Photoimmunology
* Special Course on Pharmaceutical Photostability requires separate registration
CIRCADIAN STUDIES SHOW PLANT, ANIMAL SIMILARITIES
Focus on photoreceptors hints at how light is processed
Plant and animal circadian rhythms, 24-hour cycles that regulate many physiological and metabolic functions, are ultimately influenced by the same thing: light. Scientists are now beginning to realize that plants and animals may also share some of the mechanisms for receiving and processing that light so that the day/night cycles in both organisms are optimized. Two reports in the Nov. 20, 1998 issue of Science—one by researchers from The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif. (D.E. Somers, et al., Science, 282:1488-90, 1998), and one by University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and Northwestern University researchers (R.J. Thresher, et al., Science, 282:1491-4, 1998)—identify light-sensitive molecules called photoreceptors that act as intermediaries between environmental cues and the machinery of the circadian clock.
The first paper outlines the roles of plant photoreceptors in Arabidopsis thaliana that detect blue and red light, the two wavelength regions plants primarily absorb; the second investigates the role of one particular photoreceptor in mice, cryptochrome 2, one of a type of blue-light photoreceptors identified first in Arabidopsis (M. Ahmad, A.R. Cashmore, Nature, 366:162-6, 1993). These studies, in conjunction with past studies in Arabidopsis and as-yet-unpublished studies in Drosophila, which scientists know also has cryptochromes, suggest that circadian-input pathways have, at least in part, been conserved throughout evolution among several species.
The Scripps researchers examined the roles of plants' red- light photoreceptors, phytochromes A (phyA) and B (phyB), and blue-light photoreceptors, cryptochromes 1 (cry1) and 2 (cry2), by using mutant plants missing the genes for each. To measure the period length of the mutant photoreceptors' biological clocks, the investigators genetically engineered each to contain the clock-regulating genes fused with the firefly luciferase gene (luc) so that the plants glowed on and off rhythmically in the course of their 24-hour cycles. Special cameras and video equipment measured the bioluminescence, and computers traced the bioluminescent patterns.
They found that phyA was important for signaling to the clock in dim light, an observation that made biological sense since scientists know that phyA builds up to high levels in young, light-deprived seedlings just after germination. PhyB transmitted the high-intensity red light, which is plentiful in full sunlight, to the clock.
"What this result says is that there's plasticity here," explains senior author Steven Kay, an Associate Professor of cell biology at Scripps. "That is, the plants recruit different photoreceptors to cope with different kinds of light conditions."
Kay called the results from the blue-light photoreceptors "a bit more interesting." While they couldn't find much of an effect from cry2, cry1 appeared to be responsible for detecting both dim and bright blue light. Somewhat surprisingly, they found that phyA was also necessary for dim blue-light signaling. Apparently, in order for plants to send light signals to the clock under dim blue light, these two photoreceptors must act together.
Interestingly, this result matches that of a paper published [a year ago] by Anthony Cashmore, the University of Pennsylvania plant biologist who discovered cryptochromes. This past June, Cashmore demonstrated (M. Ahmad, et al., Molecular Cell, 1:939-48, 1998) that phyA and cry1 in Arabidopsis actually engage in direct proteinprotein interactions; the former phosphorylates the latter.
"Finally in plants now we're beginning to get the picture," says Kay. "Prior to [our Nov. 20 Science] study we had no idea how any of these photoreceptors were hooked up to the clock in any organism."
More evidence of conservation between species: cry2 also plays a role in the regulation of animals' circadian rhythms. According to the Science paper by the UNC and Northwestern researchers, cry2-deficient mice ran on their treadmills out of sync with their daily cycle, and they had reduced light-mediated induction of PERIOD (PER), a gene thought to be important for clock "resetting" and one of several genes known to be involved in the molecular cascade that controls animals' circadian rhythms. Similar results were first reported in May of [last] year by the UNC group (Y. Miyamoto, A. Sancar, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA, 95:6097-102, 1998); less conclusive data—based on in situ hybridization—led the researchers to back up their results with the more recent knockout experiment in mice.
"This is really the first time anyone has identified a pigment [in animals] unambiguously… that's involved in regulating the circadian clock," says senior author Aziz Sancar, a professor of biochemistry and biophysics at UNC. Sancar and his colleagues now hope to clarify the process of phototransduction, a kind of signal transduction in which photoreceptors such as cryptochromes transmit light signals to activate transcription factors that start protein production.
"One is struck by the fact that indeed there are cryptochrome sequences… in both animals and plants," remarks Cashmore. "It remains to be seen mechanistically how similar these two sequences are."
Kay, Cashmore, and others continue to investigate the extent to which plants have molecular homologues to the known animal-circadian machinery that includes, for example, the PERIOD (PER) protein (E. Russo, The Scientist, 12[16]:13, 1998), a protein that is somehow produced as a result of lightphotoreceptor interactions that set phototransduction in motion. Either such a homology in plants has not yet been identified at all, has not been recognized because plants have diverged from animals too much, or is simply nonexistent because plants have a different set of regulatory components.
[Another recent] study (M. Ishiura, et al., Science, 281: 1519-23, 1998) suggests that the latter option may be the most likely. Using a bioluminescent trick similar to the one employed by Kay, researchers at Vanderbilt and Texas A&M Universities discovered a cluster of three genes, dubbed kaiABC, which makes the proteins (KaiA, B, and C) that regulate the circadian clock in cyanobacteria. Those genes and proteins are, in all likelihood, not homologous to anything found in animals.
"The photoreceptors [in plants and animals] are clearly similar," says Cashmore. "It remains to be seen how similar the signaling systems are."
Eugene Russo
The Scientist, 12 [24], December 7, 1998
ANNOUNCING THE SECOND SOUTH-EAST ASIAN WORKSHOP ON PHOTOBIOLOGY IN THE TROPICS
SEAWPIT 2000
Research, Applications, and Advances in Photobiology, Photochemistry,
and Photomedicine
September 3-8, 2000
Denpasar Bali, Indonesia
| Co-organized by: | Association Internationale de Photobiologie (AIP) Indonesian Association of Dermato-Venerologists (PERDOSKI) |
| Conference Chairs: | To be announced in the final call for papers |
| International Organization and Advisory Boards: | |
| Coordinators: | Klaus D. Winckler (Germany) Lucia Fidhiany (Indonesia/Germany) |
| Scientific Advisors: | Werner Backhaus (Germany), H.-P. Berlien (Germany), Fritz Boehm (Germany), Janet F. Bornman (Sweden), Tom Dubbelman (The Netherlands), Giulio Jori (Italy), Charles Meulemans (The Netherlands), Joan Roberts (USA), Tadeusz Sarna (Poland), Ramesh P. Sharma (India), Pill-Soon Song (USA/South Korea), Jan van der Leun (The Netherlands), Antony R. Young (United Kingdom) |
| Local organizing committee (Pascasarjana UNHAS and Ujung Pandang, Indonesia): | |
| Chairman: | Husni A.Tanra (Ujung Pandang) |
| Vice Chairmen: | Klaus D. Winckler (Germany), Untung Surapati (Ujung Pandang), Wayan Sukre (Bali) |
| Secretary: | Ilham Makhmud (Ujung Pandang) |
| Vice Secretaries: | Gede Mangku (Bali), Muh. Ikhlas Atike (Ujung Pandang), Muh. Danial Rahim (Ujung Pandang) |
| Scientific Committee: | Ade Rosmana (Ujung Pandang), I. Made Suastika (Bali), La Daha (Ujung Pandang), Lucia Fidhiany (Ujung Pandang/Germany) |
| Finance Committee: | Muh. Dali Amiruddin, (Ujung Pandang), Elly Wahyudin (Ujung Pandang), Klaus D. Winckler (Germany) |
| Accommodations/Transport: | Gede Mangku (Bali), Ambo Tuwo (Ujung Pandang), Alwi Mappeasse (Ujung Pandang) |
| Tentative Schedule: | |
| Sunday, September 3 | Arrival, registration, and informal welcoming reception |
| Monday, September 4 | Opening ceremony General Aspects of Photobiology: Basic photochemistry; atmospheric influences; dosimetry; pollutants; bio-imaging; fluorescent markers in biomedicine (non-radioactive labeling); resources of active compounds, especially in tropical countries; technical applications |
| Tuesday, September 5 | Plant Physiology, Agriculture, and Aquaculture: Interactions of light and other environmental factors with plants and livestock; chronobiology and light receptors; stress induction and resistance; strategies and advances toward resistant species; techniques for high-yield, low- environmental impact food production |
| Wednesday, September 6 | Environment and Human Health: Natural habitats; waste and water treatment; pest and vector control; photoimmunology; chronobiology; light receptors; environment-related specific photochemistry ("photopollution"); phototoxicity to the eye |
| Thursday, September 7 | Photomedicine: Advances in dermatology, tumor diagnostics and therapy; fields of applications (lasers and laser safety); role of melanin; skin typing, nutrition and photoprotection; geographical differences in DNA-repair capacity; phototoxicity and photostability of drugs and common chemicals |
| Friday, September 8 | Final sessions and closing ceremony: Founding session of the Indonesian Society for Photobiology |
July 10-15, 1999: 27th ASP Annual Meeting; Washington, D.C. (see pages 4-5)
July 16-Sept. 7, 1999: Second Internet Conference on Photochemistry and Photobiology (see below)
July 17 (Sat.)-July 22 (Thurs.): 1999 Organic Photochemistry Gordon Research Conference, Connecticut College, New London, Connecticut, http://www.public.asu.edu/~iangould/grc/grc99.html
August 1-6, 1999: XIXth International Conference on Photochemistry, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina (see Spring 1999 issue of ASP News)
September 3-8, 1999: ESP Congress; Granada, Spain, http://www.pol-us.net/ESP_Home/esp99.html
September 12-16, 1999: 6th Latin American Encounter for Photochemistry and Photobiology (ELAFOT-6), Rio de Janeiro (IRABRINN@IQ.UFRJ.BR)
July 1-6, 2000: Photobiology 2000: Joint International Congress (AIP, ASP and ESP); San Francisco
July 22-27, 2000: XVIIIth IUPAC Symposium on Photochemistry, Dresden, Germany, http://www.chm.tu-dresden.de/photoiupac2000 (hyphen required)
Sept. 3-8, 2000: SEAWPIT 2000, Bali, Indonesia, http://www.userpage.fu-berlin.de/~xbiokw/seawpit2 (see page 7)
tbd 2001: 9th ESP Congress; Lillehammer, Norway (tent)
SECOND INTERNET CONFERENCE ON PHOTOCHEMISTRY AND PHOTOBIOLOGY
ASP members are invited to register for the second virtual meeting on photochemistry and photobiology. The conference dates are July 16 to September 7, 1999.
If you are interested in submitting a paper or a poster, you can register (free) online at http://www.photobiology.com/photo99register.htm or send me an e-mail message at the address below with the following details: paper or poster title, your name, and e-mail address.
Papers will be treated as submissions to J. Photochem. Photobiol. B and will be published in print after the normal refereeing process. Posters will be displayed for the conference duration, following which only the abstracts will be retained; authors are free to publish elsewhere.
The deadline for guaranteed inclusion in the conference was prior to press date. Post-deadline papers and posters will be included subject to available space.
Check out the latest details at http://www.photobiology.com/photo99/.
Paul Heelis
paul@infochem.co.uk
POSITIONS WANTED AND AVAILABLE
It's hard to believe that it was more than three years ago when I last reviewed the Positions section of Photobiology Online (http://www.POL-US.net or http://www.POL-EUROPE.net). In that time, we've received some very positive feedback. For example, a recent user wrote the following:
"Thanks for your assistance. We were able to engage a highly qualified expert to assist us. He in fact has done some closely related work. Having started without knowing of any resources, your web information has proven invaluable. We certainly could have made 27 phone calls and probably found someone quite qualified, but without your Web-site I am sure I would not have located our expert overseas."
The Positions Wanted and Positions Available sections provide a means for employers to advertise positions and for candidates to present their credentials. There are no charges for any of these services, nor are there charges for any part of POL.
The Positions Wanted section gives a brief listing of individuals seeking positions in photobiology. Each name is linked to a brief CV along with contact information.
The Positions Available section gives a brief listing of positions available in photobiology. Each listing is linked to additional information about the position, along with contact information. Positions Available also provides a link to the Biotech Online Career Center, a useful resource for job-seekers in biotechnology-related fields.
Anyone who wishes to list an available position or to post a CV can send me an e-mail message.
Dennis Valenzeno
dvalenze@kumc.edu
| American Society for Photobiology | Photobiology Online |