Let's rise up to unite taxonomy and technology.

PLoS Biol

Department of Nematology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, California, United States of America.

Published: August 2017

What do you think of when you think of taxonomy? An 18th century gentlemen in breeches? Or perhaps botany drawings hung on the walls of a boutique hotel? Such old-fashioned conceptions to the contrary, taxonomy is alive today although constantly struggling for survival and recognition. The scientific community is losing valuable resources as taxonomy experts age and retire, and funding for morphological studies and species descriptions remains stagnant. At the same time, organismal knowledge (morphology, ecology, physiology) has never been more important: genomic studies are becoming more taxon focused, the scientific community is recognizing the limitations of traditional "model" organisms, and taxonomic expertise is desperately needed to fight against global biodiversity declines resulting from human impacts. There has never been a better time for a taxonomic renaissance.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5562296PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.2002231DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

scientific community
8
let's rise
4
rise unite
4
unite taxonomy
4
taxonomy technology
4
technology taxonomy?
4
taxonomy? 18th
4
18th century
4
century gentlemen
4
gentlemen breeches?
4

Similar Publications

The human skin and oral cavity harbor complex microbial communities, which exist in dynamic equilibrium with the host's physiological state and the external environment. This study investigates the microbial atlas of human skin and oral cavities using samples collected over a 10-month period, aiming to assess how both internal and external factors influence the human microbiome. We examined bacterial community diversity and stability across various body sites, including palm and nasal skin, saliva, and oral epithelial cells, during environmental changes and a COVID-19 pandemic.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The aim of this study is to show the relationship between spirituality and the development of modern typhlology focused on supporting people with visual impairments. The text presents the silhouette of Mother Rose Czacka, the sources of her Catholic spirituality and the development of typhlological thought related to her, as well as Dzieło Lasek, which is an emanation of these relationships. The aim of this study is to show the relationship between spirituality and the development of modern typhlology focused on supporting people with visual impairments.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Sebaceous free fatty acids are metabolized by multiple skin microbes into bioactive lipid mediators termed oxylipins. This study investigated correlations between skin oxylipins and microbes on the superficial skin of pre-pubescent children (N = 36) and adults (N = 100), including pre- (N = 25) and post-menopausal females (N = 25). Lipidomics and metagenomics revealed that Malassezia restricta positively correlated with the oxylipin 9,10-DiHOME on adult skin and negatively correlated with its precursor, 9,10-EpOME, on pre-pubescent skin.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Cheek swabs, heterogeneous samples consisting primarily of buccal epithelial cells, are widely used in pediatric DNA methylation studies and biomarker creation. However, the decrease in buccal proportion with age in adults remains unexamined in childhood. We analyzed cheek swabs from 4626 typically developing children 2-months to 20-years-old.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Assessment and application of tropical cyclone clustering in the South China Sea.

Sci Rep

January 2025

College of Ocean and Meteorology & South China Sea Institute of Marine Meteorology, Guangdong Ocean University, 524088, Zhanjiang, Guangdong, China.

Accurate classification of tropical cyclone (TC) tracks is essential for evaluating and mitigating the potential disaster risks associated with TCs. In this study, three commonly used methods (K-means, Fuzzy C-Means, and Self-Organizing Maps) are assessed for clustering historical TC tracks that originated in the South China Sea from 1949 to 2023. The results show that the K-means method performs the best, while the Fuzzy C-Means and Self-Organizing Maps methods are also viable alternatives.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!