Conference Meeting: International Symbiosis -July 22-28, 2012 in Krakow, Poland

共生，即自然界中不同生命形式之间的密切联系，越来越被认为是一种重要的生物现象，对生态系统和地球上生命的进化具有重要影响。例子包括生态上重要的共生关系，如与共生藻类有关的造礁珊瑚，以及与植物根有关的陆地植物和真菌之间的共生关系。人类在生产作物和渔业、昆虫控制、医药和生态系统维护方面严重依赖健康的共生系统。该奖项将支持杰出的美国共生研究人员，以及选定的美国大学预科教师和研究生参加由国际共生学会主办的一个独特的国际会议，该会议将于2012年7月22日至28日在波兰Kraków的雅盖隆大学举行。来自超过25个国家的共生研究人员将参加会议，会议将激发新的想法和新的研究合作，并包括对共生关联的经济、生态和社会影响的讨论。国际间的跨学科交流不仅将通过前沿研究的正式报告，而且还将通过大量非正式的面对面讨论的机会来促进。会议的波兰地点将进一步加强潜在的国际合作，使中欧和东欧科学家能够交流，这些科学家参加国际会议的机会相对较少。大会的重点主题包括：在进化过程中建立伙伴关系的重要性；如何将共生系统应用于气候变化适应；真菌-植物群落在有毒工业废物场地恢复中的作用；人体作为一个生态系统；以及教授共生关系的创新方法。特别全体会议讲座包括向著名的共生先驱和思想家林恩·马古利斯致敬；一位女共生生物学家的南极视觉之旅，她在那里进行了多年的研究；从一个医生的角度来看，病毒在生物圈中的关键作用。

Symbiosis, intimate associations among different life forms in nature - is increasingly appreciated as a central biological phenomenon, with important effects on ecosystems, and the evolution of life on earth. Examples include ecologically important symbioses such as reef-building corals associated with symbiotic algae, and symbioses between land plants and fungi associated with plant roots. Human beings depend heavily on healthy symbiotic systems for productive crops and fisheries, insect controls, medicines, and ecosystem maintenance. This award will support participation by prominent American symbiosis researchers, as well as selected American pre-college teachers and graduate students in a unique international conference sponsored by the International Symbiosis Society, to be held July 22-28, 2012 at Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland. Hosting symbiosis researchers from over twenty-five countries, the meeting will stimulate new ideas and new research collaborations, and include discussion of economic, ecological, and societal implications of symbiotic associations. International, interdisciplinary exchanges will be fostered not only through formal presentations of cutting-edge research, but also through numerous opportunities for informal person-to-person discussions. The Polish venue of the conference will further enhance potential international collaboration by enabling exchanges with central and eastern European scientists who have had relatively few opportunities to attend international conferences. Focused themes at the Congress include the significance of partnership-building in evolution; how symbiotic systems may be applied in climate change adaptation; the role of fungal-plant associations in restoring toxic industrial waste sites; the human body as an ecosystem; and innovative ways to teach about symbiosis. Special plenary lectures include a tribute to renowned symbiosis pioneer and thinker Lynn Margulis; a visual journey of Antarctica from a woman symbiologist who has based her research there over many years; and, the key roles of viruses in the biosphere from the perspective of a medical doctor.