Conference: Travel Support for Junior and Underrepresented US Scientists to Present Research at the July 1-4, 2011 SEB Meetings in Glasgow, Scotland.

没有昆虫为植物和树木授粉，我们将它们用作食物和建筑，大多数陆地生命形式将会消失。昆虫也是地球上最成功的动物，不仅在生物量上，而且在物种数量上也估计高达3000万（相比之下，脊椎动物约有4.2万种）。另一方面，一些昆虫会对森林和农作物造成毁灭性的破坏，而以鸟类和哺乳动物的血液为食的昆虫已知会传播可怕的疾病，如疟疾、黄热病、登革热、脑炎、西尼罗河病、丝虫病、莱姆病、利什曼病、昏睡病、恰加斯病、斑疹伤寒和鼠疫。昆虫进化的成功部分源于它们功能的多样性。例如，昆虫已经发展出非常敏捷地处理水问题的非凡机制。生活在干旱环境中的昆虫长出了相当不渗水的盔甲，生活在咸水中的昆虫提高了血液中的盐分含量以防止水分流失，生活在淡水中的昆虫产生大量稀释的尿液，而吞食血液的蚊子有强大的机制来摆脱不需要的盐和水。在苏格兰格拉斯哥举行的2011年实验生物学学会会议上，昆虫的进化成功将从水平衡的角度进行检验。特别感兴趣的将是1)肠道（吸收水分的地方）和2)肾脏和唾液腺（排除水分的地方）的机制。水输送的核心是通过所谓的离子泵和离子依赖载体输送各种溶质。由于动物之间的差异随着研究的逐渐缩小而消失，第四次也是最后一次口头会议将介绍在脊椎动物组织中发现的新运输系统，目的是刺激在昆虫中发现相应的运输系统。因此，SEB会议的主要目的是加强我们的研究和教学。科学会议的第二个目标是让从本科生到助理教授的初级科学家在四个口头会议上发言，并允许高级科学家在两个海报会议上展示新工作。演讲者将反映女性科学家和未被充分代表的科学家人数的增加。其中一场科学会议将献给现年83岁的威廉·哈维（William Harvey），他可以回顾自己在昆虫运输现象研究方面卓有成效的职业生涯。在口头会议上发言的其他榜样是西尔维·布雷顿（哈佛医学院）和希琳·戴维斯（格拉斯哥大学）。

Without insects pollinating plants and trees, which we use for food and construction, most of the terrestrial life forms would disappear. Insects are also the most successful animals on planet Earth, not only in biomass but also in the number of species with estimates as high as 30 Million (compared to about 42,000 species of vertebrates). On the other hand, some insects can cause devastating destruction of forests and crops, and insects feeding on the blood of birds and mammals are known to transmit dreadful diseases such as malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever, encephalitis, West Nile disease, filariasis, lyme disease, leishmaniasis, sleeping sickness, Chagas disease, typhus fever, and the plague. The evolutionary success of insects stems in part from their functional diversity. For example, insects have developed extraordinary mechanisms for handling water problems with great alacrity. Insects inhabiting arid environments have developed rather water-impermeable armor, insects inhabiting saline waters raise the salt content of their blood to prevent water loss, insects inhabiting fresh water produce large quantities of dilute urine, and mosquitoes gorging on blood have powerful mechanisms for getting rid of unwanted salt and water. At the 2011 meeting of the Society of Experimental Biology in Glasgow, Scotland, the evolutionary success of insects will be examined from the perspective of water balance. Of particular interest will be mechanisms in 1) the intestine, where water is taken up, and 2) the kidneys and salivary glands, where water is eliminated. Central to water transport is the transport of diverse solutes by so-called ion pumps and ion-dependent carriers. Since differences between animals disappear as one proceeds to study progressively smaller parts, the fourth and final oral session will introduce new transport systems discovered in vertebrate tissues with the aim of stimulating the discovery of counterparts in insects. Thus, the primary purpose of the SEB meeting is to enhance our research and teaching. The second aim of the scientific sessions is to give junior scientists from undergraduate to assistant professor the floor in four oral sessions and to allow senior scientists to present new work in two poster sessions. Speakers will reflect the increasing presence of women scientists and underrepresented scientists. One scientific session will be dedicated to William Harvey, now 83, who can look back on a productive career in his study of transport phenomena in insects. Other role models to speak in oral sessions are Sylvie Breton (Harvard Medical School), and Shireen Davies (University of Glasgow).