Technology transfer in Europe: a case study of invertebrate neuroscience research.

Originally identified and defined as a concept in industrial and business communities, technology transfer is now being recognized as an important factor within the scientific research community. A recent study undertaken within the field of UK invertebrate neuroscience research generates several interesting conclusions. In this article, Huw A. Edwards and Elizabeth R.J. Bell discuss the study and its conclusions of a need for increased post-doctoral research mobility, the formation of consortia of research laboratories to apply for funding on an international scale, and the increased interest of the pharmaceutical industry in molecular and cellular techniques developed from fundamental invertebrate research.

An osmoregulatory syncytium and associated cells in a freshwater mosquito.

In embryological terms the anal papillae are the product of eversion of the hindgut tissues. The rectum and the anal papillae have the same origin and have a marked structural similarity. The insect hindgut is very labile being able to produce salt transporting or 'chloride cells' from any of the tissues of which it is composed. The hindgut consists of four distinct regions: the ileum and part of the anal canal have a mechanical function, the rectum and the posterior anal canal contain transporting cells. Two new types, 'interstitial' and 'tertiary' are reported in the rectum. The structure of the anal papillae changes with increased salinity. Changes in the plasma membranes alter the surface area for transport. Changes in the number of mitochondria are not accompanied by changes in oxygen consumption. If mitochondria are the site of oxidative metabolism then their number does not control the level of oxygen consumption. In Aedes aegypti the papillary epithelium appears to be a syncytium. Across the lumen of the papillae there are cellular sheets supporting the tracheoles. At the base of the papillae there is a cellular transition zone; circular muscles in this region may be used to occlude the papillae. The control of salt transport may be hormonal.