IUBio

Cryptobiosis research?

George Hammond ghammond at mediaone.net
Thu Dec 7 10:28:59 EST 2000


Richard Norman wrote:
> 
> A search of PubMed (National Library of Medicine
>      http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed
> gave  only 18 hits.  However it turns out that there is a protist
> parasite of fish called Cryptobia that causes a disease named
> cryptobiosis so many of the citations are inappropriate.

[Hammond]
.... is that what that is?!  Using the Google-search engine
one obtains hundreds of websites concerning cryptbiosis
(aka anhydrobiosis) in microscopic animals... however I kept
running across some obscure ichthyology syndrome with the
same name... huh!

> Try
>    Gutierrez JC, Martin-Gonzalez A, Matsusaka T.
>    Towards a generalized model of encystment (cryptobiosis)
>    in ciliates: a review and a hypothesis.
>    Biosystems. 1990;24(1):17-24.

GH:  This may be an investigation of cryptobiosis in "spores".

> 
> My favorite search service, www.google.com,
> gave surprisingly little of use except a lot of tardigrade sites.
>

GH:  hmmmm...  so you tried that also;..... yes
      I've read most of that.

 
> There must be a better search descriptor.  Or else it is simply
> not that active an area of research.

GH:  I found one Google site in which a contemporary researcher
     claims his lab is investigating it... and he says that
     comparatively little high-tech modern research has been done
     on the subject.
> 
> "George Hammond" <ghammond at mediaone.net> wrote in message
> news:3A2F4FD6.F343A16 at mediaone.net...
> > [Hammond]
> > Cryptobiosis created quite a sensation in the 19th century
> > when it was first discovered... even such luminaries as
> > Paul Broca studied it.
> >   Turns out the mechanism is still not well understood
> > in the 21st century.
> >   Small animals, less than 1-mm in size, composed typically
> > of 1,000 cells, but having a brain, nervecords, digestive
> > system, feet etc. (nematodes, tardigrades, brine shrimp,
> > rotifers etc.) can actually be (naturally or artificially)
> > decissitated, frozen, vacuumized, heated etc.. and are
> > virtually ruled "dead", sometimes for years, decades or
> > centuries... can then be revived by simply  putting them
> > in a drop of water!  These are animals, not plants, mind
> > you.
> >   In the 19th century this was considered proof of the
> > "Resurrection" and caused quite a controversy.
> >   I am curious as to what present day thinking about
> > this phenomena is.... e.g., are these animals actually
> > "dead" during cryptobiosis?  I mean, what is the
> > definition of "dead"?  Are spores dead?
> >   On the technical side, has any in depth research been
> > done on the solid state structure of the cells?  for
> > instance, is their microtubulin activity during this
> > phase?  Any activity at all?
> >   does anybody know who the world's leading expert on this
> > subject is?  Any recent hi-grade research publications
> > on the subject?  Journals dedicated to the subject?

-- 
BE SURE TO VISIT MY WEBSITE, BELOW:
-----------------------------------------------------------
George Hammond, M.S. Physics
Email:    ghammond at mediaone.net
Website:  http://people.ne.mediaone.net/ghammond/index.html
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