Holotype

A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype. Under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), a holotype is one of several kinds of name-bearing types. An isotype is a duplicate of the holotype.

For example, the holotype for the butterfly Lycaeides idas longinus is a preserved specimen of that species, held by the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University.

A holotype is not necessarily 'typical' of that taxon, although ideally it should be. Sometimes just a fragment of an organism is the holotype, particularly in the case of a fossil. For example, the holotype of Pelorosaurus (=Duriatitan) humerocristatus, a large herbivorous dinosaur from the early Jurassic period, is a fossil leg bone stored at the Natural History Museum in London. Even if a better specimen is subsequently found, the holotype is not superseded.

Isotype

Isotype can refer to:

Isotype (picture language)

Isotype (International System of TYpographic Picture Education) is a method of showing social, technological, biological and historical connections in pictorial form. It was first known as the Vienna Method of Pictorial Statistics (Wiener Methode der Bildstatistik), due to its having been developed at the Gesellschafts- und Wirtschaftsmuseum in Wien (Social and economic museum of Vienna) between 1925 and 1934. The founding director of this museum, Otto Neurath, was the initiator and chief theorist of the Vienna Method. The term Isotype was applied to the method around 1935, after its key practitioners were forced to leave Vienna by the rise of Austrian fascism.

Origin and development

The Gesellschafts- und Wirtschaftsmuseum was principally financed by the social democratic municipality of Vienna, which was effectively a separate state (known as Red Vienna) within the new republic of Austria. An essential task of the museum was to inform the Viennese about their city. Neurath stated that the museum was not a treasure chest of rare objects, but a teaching museum. The aim was to “represent social facts pictorially” and to bring “dead statistics” to life by making them visually attractive and memorable. One of the museum’s catch-phrases was: “To remember simplified pictures is better than to forget accurate figures”. The principal instruments of the Vienna Method were pictorial charts, which could be produced in multiple copies and serve both permanent and travelling exhibitions. The museum also innovated with interactive models and other attention-grabbing devices, and there were even some early experiments with animated films.

Isotype (immunology)

An isotype refers to any related proteins from a particular gene family. In immunology, the "immunoglobulin isotype" refers to the phenotypic variations in the constant regions of antibody heavy and light chains. In humans, there are five heavy chain isotypes and two light chain isotypes:

Immunoglobulin class switching can be used to change the class of the heavy chain, but not of the light chain.

Isotypes are distinct forms of light or heavy chains which are present in all members of a species, encoded at distinct genetic loci. All isotypes can be readily found in normal sera. However, the particular isotype changes the function of the antibody.

See also

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Biology

Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Modern biology is a vast and eclectic field, composed of many branches and subdisciplines. However, despite the broad scope of biology, there are certain general and unifying concepts within it that govern all study and research, consolidating it into single, coherent fields. In general, biology recognizes the cell as the basic unit of life, genes as the basic unit of heredity, and evolution as the engine that propels the synthesis and creation of new species. It is also understood today that all organisms survive by consuming and transforming energy and by regulating their internal environment to maintain a stable and vital condition.

Subdisciplines of biology are defined by the scale at which organisms are studied, the kinds of organisms studied, and the methods used to study them: biochemistry examines the rudimentary chemistry of life; molecular biology studies the complex interactions among biological molecules; botany studies the biology of plants; cellular biology examines the basic building-block of all life, the cell; physiology examines the physical and chemical functions of tissues, organs, and organ systems of an organism; evolutionary biology examines the processes that produced the diversity of life; and ecology examines how organisms interact in their environment.

Biology (journal)

Biology is a quarterly, peer-reviewed, open access, scientific journal covering research on all aspects of biology. It was established in 2012 and is published by MDPI. The editor-in-chief is Chris O'Callaghan (University of Oxford). The journal publishes reviews, research papers, and communications.

Subject Areas

This journal covers all topics related to biology. More detail about the journal and its scope is available in the first editorial. Research fields of interest include, but are not limited to:

Biology: The Unity and Diversity of Life

Biology: The Unity and Diversity of Life is a college-level introductory biology textbook that covers basic biochemistry, anatomy, taxonomy, evolution, biotechnology and ecology. The book is designed to create in students a broad foundation of knowledge in biology and is frequently used in AP Biology classes in American high schools. Each book includes an interactive CD-ROM with links to additional instructional material. Like many textbooks new versions are printed every few years and reflect new gains in scientific knowledge. The book is published by Brooks/Cole and is currently in its twelfth edition. It was primarily compiled by Cecie Starr and Ralph Taggart with pictures and illustrations by Lisa Starr.

The book was translated into few languages, among others into Hebrew, published by the Open University of Israel.

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