Effects of climate changeClimate change affects the physical environment, ecosystems and human societies. Changes in the climate system include an overall warming trend, more extreme weather and rising sea levels. These in turn impact nature and wildlife, as well as human settlements and societies. The effects of human-caused climate change are broad and far-reaching, especially if significant climate action is not taken. The projected and observed negative impacts of climate change are sometimes referred to as the climate crisis.
Optical brightenerOptical brighteners, optical brightening agents (OBAs), fluorescent brightening agents (FBAs), or fluorescent whitening agents (FWAs), are chemical compounds that absorb light in the ultraviolet and violet region (usually 340-370 nm) of the electromagnetic spectrum, and re-emit light in the blue region (typically 420-470 nm) through the phenomenon of fluorescence.
MicrofluorimetryMicrofluorimetry is an adaption of fluorimetry for studying the biochemical and biophysical properties of cells by using microscopy to image cell components tagged with fluorescent molecules. It is a type of microphotometry that gives a quantitative measure of the qualitative nature of fluorescent measurement and therefore, allows for definitive results that would have been previously indiscernible to the naked eye. Microfluorimetry has uses for many different fields including cell biology, microbiology, immunology, cell cycle analysis and "flow karyotyping" of cells.
Antifreeze proteinAntifreeze proteins (AFPs) or ice structuring proteins refer to a class of polypeptides produced by certain animals, plants, fungi and bacteria that permit their survival in temperatures below the freezing point of water. AFPs bind to small ice crystals to inhibit the growth and recrystallization of ice that would otherwise be fatal. There is also increasing evidence that AFPs interact with mammalian cell membranes to protect them from cold damage. This work suggests the involvement of AFPs in cold acclimatization.
