[Biomedical-cybernetics] Chaos in Cincinnati! Dr. Warren Bruggren, guest speaker for SCTPLS 2017

[Guastello, Stephen]

We are pleased to announce the first of three guest speakers for the 27th Annual International SCTPLS Conference, Dr. Warren Burggren, from the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of North Texas. The conference will be held in  Cincinnati, Ohio, August 11-13, 2017.
 
Keynote Title: Developmental Plasticity, Epigenetics and Evolution: Nonlinear Thinking in Traditionally Linear Biological Fields
 
 Abstract: Oft quoted is Theodosius Dobzhansky’s 1973 statement that “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.” While that statement continues to be timeless and ever-relevant, what is changing is our understanding of the mechanisms that underlie evolution and the evolutionary process. Long-viewed as a constant, inexorable process (phyletic gradualism), Stephen Gould and others since have promoted the idea of evolution as a saltatory or punctuated equilibrium process, in which long periods of stability in a species are suddenly interrupted by rapid changes that lead to the formation of new species. Against this backdrop, the “new kid on the evolutionary block” is the burgeoning field of epigenetics.  A major sub-component of this field is epigenetic inheritance, in which traits of the parents are passed on to offspring – that is, inherited - without changes in gene sequence.  Importantly, epigenetic inheritance can occur suddenly in response to an environmental stressor (temperature, low oxygen, oil pollution), can affect large proportions of a population.  Yet, to paraphrase Dobzhansky, nothing in epigenetic inheritance makes sense except in the light of phenotypic plasticity. Long recognized but not well understood, phenotypic plasticity describes how multiple phenotypes (physical forms) can derive from a single genotype (DNA template). These phenotypes are sometimes unpredictable and are especially plastic during development, which can be driven by environment stressors along one of a multitude of non-linear pathways.  Using both theoretical and actual examples from developmental, environmental, and evolutionary biology, this presentation will describe how very small changes in environment can potentially lead to large, nonlinear changes in an organism’s phenotype, which may then persist across generations and ultimately lead to speciation.
 
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 Please don't forget ...
 
The Call for Papers (Abstracts) is open! http://www.societyforchaostheory.org/conf/2017/cfp

 Submission deadline is May 15, 2017
 
PUBLICATION OPPORTUNITY -- Authors presenting their papers at SCTPLS 2017 are invited to send manuscripts for publication in Nonlinear Dynamics, Psychology, and Life Sciences. Visithttp://www.societyforchaostheory.org/ndpls  for info about NDPLS, manuscript preparation, etc.
 
Kind Regards,
 
Adam
Society for Chaos Theory in Psychology and Life Sciences
 
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Adam Kiefer, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
Secretary, Society for Chaos Theory in Psychology and Life Sciences
adam.kiefer at cchmc.org
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