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"Friedrich Karl Christian Ludwig Büchner (29 March 1824 – 30 April 1899) was a German philosopher, physiologist and physician who became one of the exponents of 19th-century scientific materialism. Biography Büchner was born at Darmstadt on 29 March 1824. From 1842 to 1848 he studied physics, chemistry, botany, mineralogy, philosophy and medicine at the University of Giessen, where he graduated in 1848 with a dissertation entitled Beiträge zur Hall'schen Lehre von einem excitomotorischen Nervensystem (Contributions to the Hallerian Theory of an Excitomotor Nervous System). Afterwards, he continued his studies at the University of Strasbourg, the University of Würzburg (where he studied pathology with the great Rudolf Virchow) and the University of Vienna. In 1852 he became lecturer in medicine at the University of Tübingen, where he published his magnum opus Kraft und Stoff: Empirisch- naturphilosophische Studien (Force and Matter: Empiricophilosophical Studies, 1855).Available online at archive.org. In this work, the product, according to Friedrich Albert Lange (Geschichte des Materialismus, 1866), of a fanatical enthusiasm for humanity, he sought to demonstrate the indestructibility of matter, and the finality of physical force. The extreme scientific materialism of this work caused so much opposition that he was compelled to give up his post at Tübingen, and he retired to Darmstadt, where he practiced as a physician and contributed regularly to pathological and physiological magazines. He continued his philosophical work in defense of materialism, and published Natur und Geist (Nature and Spirit, 1857), Aus Natur und Wissenschaft (From Nature and Science, vol. I., 1862; vol. II., 1884), Der Fortschritt in Natur und Geschichte im Lichte der Darwinschen Theorie (Progress in Nature and History in the Light of the Darwinian Theory, 1884), Tatsachen und Theorien aus dem naturwissenschaftlichen Leben der Gegenwart (Facts and Theories in the Scientific Life of Present, 1887), Fremdes und Eigenes aus dem geistligen Leben der Gegenwart (Strangers and Selves in the Spiritual Life of the Present, 1890), Darwinismus und Socialismus (Darwinism and Socialism, 1894), Im Dienste der Wahrheit (In the Service of Truth, 1899). Ludwig Büchner's materialism was the founding ground for the freethinkers' movement in Germany. In 1881 he founded in Frankfurt the "German Freethinkers League" ("Deutsche Freidenkerbund"). He died at Darmstadt on 30 April 1899.This death announcement, in The Zoologist, 4th series, vol. 3 (1899), issue 696, p. 280, gives 30 April as the date of death. Philosophical work In estimating Büchner's philosophy it must be remembered that he was primarily a physiologist, not a metaphysician. Matter and force (or energy) are, he maintained, infinite; the conservation of force follows from the imperishability of matter, the ultimate basis of all science. Büchner is not always clear in his theory of the relation between matter and force. At one time he refuses to explain it, but generally he assumes that all natural and spiritual forces are indwelling in matter. Just as a steam engine, he says in Kraft und Stoff (7th ed., p. 130), produces motion, so the intricate organic complex of force-bearing substance in an animal organism produces a total sum of certain effects, which, when bound together in a unity, are called by us mind, soul, thought. Here he postulates force and mind as emanating from original matter, a materialistic monism. But in other parts of his works he suggests that mind and matter are two different aspects of that which is the basis of all things, a monism which is not necessarily materialistic. Büchner was much less concerned to establish a scientific metaphysics than to protest against the romantic idealism of his predecessors and the theological interpretations of the universe. Nature according to him is purely physical; it has no purpose, no will, no laws imposed by extraneous authority, no supernatural ethical sanction. Modern Christian apologists consider Büchner the father of atheistic evangelism in Germany, a counterpart to Thomas Huxley. Ludwig Büchner was the brother of Georg Büchner, a famous playwright, and Luise Büchner, a women's rights advocate; and the uncle of Ernst Büchner, inventor of the Büchner flask. NotesReferences *Fredrick Gregory: Scientific Materialism in Nineteenth Century Germany, Springer, Berlin u.a. 1977, Attribution * External links Biography and bibliography in the Virtual Laboratory of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science *Complete scanned text of Büchner's Force and Matter 1824 births 1899 deaths 19th-century atheists 19th-century German non-fiction writers 19th-century German philosophers 19th-century philosophers Atheist philosophers Consciousness researchers and theorists Critics of religions Freethought writers German atheists German humanists German male non-fiction writers German male writers German neuroscientists German philosophers German physicians German physiologists Materialists Members of the Second Chamber of the Estates of the Grand Duchy of Hesse Ontologists People from Darmstadt Philosophers of science Philosophers of technology "
"Purple bacteria grown in Winogradsky column Purple bacteria or purple photosynthetic bacteria are proteobacteria that are phototrophic, that is, capable of producing their own food via photosynthesis. They are pigmented with bacteriochlorophyll a or b, together with various carotenoids, which give them colours ranging between purple, red, brown, and orange. They may be divided into two groups - purple sulfur bacteria (Chromatiales, in part) and purple non-sulfur bacteria (Rhodospirillaceae). Metabolism Purple bacteria are mainly photoautotrophic, but are also known to be chemoautotrophic and photoheterotrophic. They can be mixotrophs, capable of aerobic respiration and fermentation. Location Photosynthesis occurs at reaction centers on the cell membrane, where the photosynthetic pigments (i.e. bacteriochlorophyll, carotenoids) and pigment-binding proteins are invaginated to form vesicle sacs, tubules, or single-paired or stacked lamellar sheets. This is called the intracytoplasmic membrane (ICM), which has increased surface area to maximize light absorption. The purple non-sulfur bacterium Rhodospirillum Mechanism Purple bacteria use cyclic electron transport driven by a series of redox reactions. Light-harvesting complexes surrounding a reaction centre (RC) harvest photons in the form of resonance energy, exciting chlorophyll pigments P870 or P960 located in the RC. Excited electrons are cycled from P870 to quinones QA and QB, then passed to cytochrome bc1, cytochrome c2, and back to P870. The reduced quinone QB attracts two cytoplasmic protons and becomes QH2, eventually being oxidized and releasing the protons to be pumped into the periplasm by the cytochrome bc1 complex. The resulting charge separation between the cytoplasm and periplasm generates a proton motive force used by ATP synthase to produce ATP energy. Electron donors for anabolism Purple bacteria also transfer electrons from external electron donors directly to cytochrome bc1 to generate NADH or NADPH used for anabolism. They are anoxygenic because they do not use water as an electron donor to produce oxygen. One type of purple bacteria, called purple sulfur bacteria (PSB), use sulfide or sulfur as electron donors. Another type, called purple non-sulfur bacteria, typically use hydrogen as an electron donor, but can also use sulfide or organic compounds at lower concentrations compared to PSB. Purple bacteria lack external electron carriers to spontaneously reduce NAD(P)+ to NAD(P)H, so they must use their reduced quinones to endergonically reduce NAD(P)+. This process is driven by the proton motive force and is called reverse electron flow. History Purple bacteria were the first bacteria discovered to photosynthesize without having an oxygen byproduct. Instead, their byproduct is sulfur. This was demonstrated by first establishing the bacteria's reactions to different concentrations of oxygen. It was found that the bacteria moved quickly away from even the slightest trace of oxygen. Then a dish of the bacteria was taken, and a light was focused on one part of the dish, leaving the rest dark. As the bacteria cannot survive without light, all the bacteria moved into the circle of light, becoming very crowded. If the bacteria's byproduct was oxygen, the distances between individuals would become larger and larger as more oxygen was produced. But because of the bacteria's behavior in the focused light, it was concluded that the bacteria's photosynthetic byproduct could not be oxygen. In a 2018 article, it has been suggested that purple bacteria can be used as a biorefinery. Evolution Researchers have theorized that some purple bacteria are related to the mitochondria, symbiotic bacteria in plant and animal cells today that act as organelles. Comparisons of their protein structure suggests that there is a common ancestor. Taxonomy Purple non-sulfur bacteria are found among the alpha and beta subgroups, including: * Rhodospirillales ** Rhodospirillaceae, e.g. Rhodospirillum rubrum ** Acetobacteraceae, e.g. Rhodopila globiformis * Rhizobiales ** Bradyrhizobiaceae, e.g. Rhodopseudomonas palustris ** Hyphomicrobiaceae, e.g. Rhodomicrobium ** Rhodobiaceae, e.g. Rhodobium * Other families ** Rhodobacteraceae, e.g. Rhodobacter ** Rhodocyclaceae, e.g. Rhodocyclus ** Comamonadaceae, e.g. Rhodoferax Purple sulfur bacteria are included among the gamma subgroup and make up the order Chromatiales. The similarity between the photosynthetic machinery in these different lines indicates that it had a common origin, either from some common ancestor or passed by lateral transfer. References Proteobacteria Phototrophic bacteria "
"Lieutenant Colonel Richard Francis Strawbridge, MBE (born 3 September 1959) is a British engineer, television presenter, environmentalist and former army officer. He is often referred to as "Colonel Dick". Early life The third of seven children of Jennifer and George Strawbridge, a worker in the oil industry in the Middle East and Far East,Dick Strawbridge on how his dad's Ulster fry gave him a taste for cooking Belfast Telegraph 8 October 2013 'Dick' Strawbridge was born in Burma, then raised and educated in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. He attended Ballyclare High School from 1971 to 1976. To achieve his ambition of becoming an army officer after taking his O levels, Strawbridge enrolled at a sixth form college in Nottinghamshire before going on to Sandhurst. Army career Strawbridge received a commission in the British Army in 1979, after attending Welbeck DSFC (becoming head of college) and Sandhurst. He joined the Royal Corps of Signals in January 1980. Promoted to Lieutenant in April 1981, and Captain in October 1985, he became a Major in September 1991. He was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1993 for his distinguished service in Northern Ireland, promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in June 1999, and left the army in November 2001. Television career Strawbridge has appeared as an engineering and environmental expert on various television programmes, including Scrapheap Challenge. He first appeared as a contestant on the team Brothers in Arms who became series champions and later, he became the main presenter replacing Robert Llewellyn. He has also appeared on three series of It's Not Easy Being Green for BBC Two, the six-part BBC Two series Crafty Tricks of War of which he was the main presenter, Planet Mechanics, and as a regular guest presenter on Coast. Following his switch of career to television, Strawbridge often refers to himself as a "telly tart". Scrapheap Challenge Strawbridge began his career in television as the 'Yellow Team Leader' for six episodes in the first series of 'Scrapheap'. He has to date appeared in over 30 programmes of Scrapheap Challenge and Junkyard Wars, winning the Scrapheap Challenge trophy in series 3 with his two younger brothers David and Bobby as 'Brothers in Arms', and the Junkyard Megawars trophy in 2003. On 5 June 2008, it was announced that he would be returning to Scrapheap Challenge for its 11th series. Strawbridge took over from Robert Llewellyn as the main presenter. The series was shown on Channel 4 in 2009. It's Not Easy Being Green Strawbridge, along with his family, filmed three series of It's Not Easy Being Green for BBC Two. In series one, which was shown on 28 March 2006, the family moved to a new home in Tywardreath near St Austell, Cornwall and attempted to live as green a life as possible, using renewable energy and environmentally friendly resources. The second series started in Spring 2007 with a different format: Strawbridge and his son James aided several members of the public in larger and smaller ecology projects around the country. Coast Also in 2006, Strawbridge appeared as a one-off presenter on the BBC2 series Coast, examining the workings of the Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge, a role he revived in the 2007 version of Coast, presenting a short part of the programme on the failure of Exercise Tiger. In Series 4 of Coast, July 2009, Strawbridge examined the terrain of the Normandy landing beaches. The Hungry Sailors and Saturday Farm In 2011, Strawbridge and his son James filmed a 20 part series, The Hungry Sailors, which was broadcast by ITV in which they sailed around Britain's coastline buying local food and then cooking it. In 2012, filming began on a second series of The Hungry Sailors around the Cornish coast, taking in the Channel Islands and the Isles of Scilly. The series was broadcast from 1 July 2013. In 2013, Strawbridge and his son James presented ITV Food series Saturday Farm. Escape to the Château This programme followed Strawbridge and his partner (now wife), Angel Adoree, through their purchase in 2015 and subsequent renovation of Château de la Motte-Husson in Martigné-sur-Mayenne, France. Dirty Rotten Survival Filmed in America from March to July 2015, this TV series for National Geographic involved a 25-mile hike through the Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts, with Dave Canterbury and Johnny Littlefield. Other television appearances Strawbridge also had a major role in the BBC's commemoration of the 60th anniversary of D-Day, and he was the co-host and resident "boffin" on the 2005 game show, Geronimo!. He also appeared as a regular team captain in the US series, Junkyard Mega-Wars. Strawbridge also starred in The Big Idea, in which he tested out amateur inventions, and he featured in the short series The Re- Inventors, a series of five, hour-long programmes commissioned by the UK digital channel UKTV History and first broadcast through the week of 11 December 2006. Each episode featured Strawbridge and his son James reconstructing an invention of historic significance, with a budget of £500 and their mobile workshop. They then try it out against the real thing. UKTV History also shows "Crafty Tricks Of War" from time to time. On the 21 February 2008 edition of Ready Steady Cook on BBC2, Strawbridge cooked spotted dick. Strawbridge currently presents Planet Mechanics on the National Geographic Channel. On 13 November 2009, Strawbridge was a guest on Robert Llewellyn's CarPool. In summer 2010, he appeared in Celebrity Masterchef, reaching the final alongside Christine Hamilton and eventual winner Lisa Faulkner. On 20 November 2010, Strawbridge appeared on the Children in Need Special of Bargain Hunt. In 2012, Strawbridge was announced as presenter of new Channel 5 series Beat the Ancestors, which commenced broadcast in February 2013. In 2016, he was announced as a co-host of the three-part BBC Four series Trainspotting Live, which was broadcast in July 2016. In 2017, Strawbridge presented Cabins in the Wild with Will Hardie, a show following a competition set up by the Welsh Tourist Board. Eight competitors were selected based on their designs to build cabins, intended to be combined as a hotel in the countryside, before one ultimate winner was selected. The two presenters also constructed their own cabin. In 2018, Channel 4 broadcast a programme called The Biggest Little Railway in the World, which documented an attempt to get a model train to traverse the Great Glen Way between Fort William and Inverness. Strawbridge was the main presenter and lead engineer on the project. Personal life Strawbridge married Brigit A. Weiner in 1982,Richard Francis Strawbridge in the England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005 with whom he has two children, James George (b. 1984) and Charlotte Elizabeth (b. 1986). The couple separated in 2010. He has two additional children, Arthur Donald (b. 2013) and Dorothy Francis (b. 2014), with Angela Newman (born 7 April 1978; known as Angel Adoree), founder of The Vintage Patisserie, whom he married in November 2015. Strawbridge was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Science from Plymouth University in 2010. ReferencesExternal links *Official website 1959 births Royal Corps of Signals officers British television presenters Members of the Order of the British Empire People from County Antrim British environmentalists Living people People educated at Ballyclare High School Scrapheap Challenge Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst "