Biography:Randy Wayne (biologist)

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Randy Wayne
Dr. Randy O. Wayne Cornell plant biologist.jpg
Born (1955-05-08) May 8, 1955 (age 68)
Boston, Massachusetts United States
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst BS 1977
University of California at Los Angeles Masters 1979[1]
University of Massachusetts Amherst PhD 1985[1]
Scientific career
FieldsBiophysical Plant Cell Biology
InstitutionsCornell[2][3]
Doctoral advisorPeter K. Hepler
WebsiteRandy Wayne at Cornell

Randy O. Wayne is an associate professor of plant biology at Cornell University.[4] Along with his former colleague Peter K. Hepler, Wayne established the role of calcium in regulating plant growth.[5][6] Their 1985 article Calcium and Plant Development was awarded the "Citation Classic" award from Current Contents magazine.[7] They researched how plant cells sense gravity through pressure,[8][9][10] the water permeability of plant membranes,[11] light microscopy,[12] as well as the effects of calcium on plant development.[7][13] Wayne authored two textbooks, including Plant Cell Biology: From Astronomy to Zoology[14][15] and Light and Video Microscopy.[16]

Copy of Dedication page to Plant Cell Biology sent to Thomas Chargaff, son of Erwin Chargaff

Attempting to explain photosynthesis and gravitropism, Wayne has developed and promoted a fringe theory of light and gravity based on a concept of "binary photons".[17][18] This concept is inconsistent with relativity and modern physics as a whole.[19]

Education

Wayne completed his undergraduate studies in Botany at the University of Massachusetts. He earned an M.A. in Biology from the University of California at Los Angeles, and a Ph.D. in Plant Cell Biology from the University of Massachusetts in 1985 working under Peter K. Hepler. He was a post-doc at The University of Texas at Austin working with Stanley Roux, Guy Thompson, and H. Y. Lim Tung, and had a Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science Fellowship to work with Masashi Tazawa at the University of Tokyo. While in Japan, Wayne worked at the National Institute of Basic Biology in Okazaki with Akeo Kadota, Masakatsu Watanabe, and Masaki Furuya, Hitotsubashi University in Kunitachi with Eiji Kamitsubo, and the Himeji Institute of Technology with Tetsuro Mimura and Teruo Shimmen.[citation needed]

Career

Wayne joined the faculty at Cornell University in 1987. He is a member of the CALS School of Integrative Plant Science.[20] He has a deep interest in teaching science [21] and teaches Plant Cell Biology and Light and Video Microscopy. He has taught a course for nonmajors entitled, Biological Principles [22][23] and subsequently taught a course for nonmajors entitled, Light and Life.[24] Wayne also has strong views on the meaning of a college education.[25] Wayne is a member of the Biology and Society major,[26] which is designed for students who wish to combine training in biology with perspectives from the social sciences and humanities to understand the scientific, social, political, and ethical aspects of modern biology.

Fern spore germination

When it was generally assumed that fern spores contained all the ions necessary for germination,[27] Wayne, working with Peter K. Hepler, showed that external calcium ions were necessary for the red light-stimulated, phytochrome-mediated signal transduction chain that leads to the germination response of the spores of Onoclea sensibilis.[28][29][30]

Water permeability of plant cell membranes

It was generally considered that water moved in and out of the plant cell through the lipid bilayer. Wayne, working with Masashi Tazawa,[31] presented most of the now classical arguments favoring membrane water channels and clearly demonstrated their major contribution to osmotic water transport.[32] Wayne's work preceded the molecular identification of aquaporins in plant cells.[33][34][35]

Gravity sensing in plant cells

It is generally believed that the sedimentation of starch-containing plastids, known as amyloplasts, is responsible for gravity-sensing in plant cells.[36] However, based on the facts that plant cells that do not contain sedimenting amyloplasts still sense gravity[37][38][39][40] and that starchless mutants in higher plants are almost as sensitive to gravity as the wild-type plants,[41][42] Wayne, working with Mark P. Staves and A. Carl Leopold proposed that the amyloplasts do not act as gravity sensors, but as a ballast to enhance the gravitational pressure sensed by proteins at the plasma membraneextracellular matrix junction.[43][44][45]

Books

  • Plant Cell Biology: From Astronomy to Zoology, 2009, Elsevier/Academic Press. (ISBN:9780123742339)
  • Plant Cell Biology: From Astronomy to Zoology, Second Edition, 2019, Elsevier/Academic Press. (ISBN:9780128143711)
  • Light and Video Microscopy, 2009, Elsevier/Academic Press. (ISBN:9780080921280)
  • Light and Video Microscopy, Second Edition, 2014, Elsevier/Academic Press. (ISBN:9780124114845)
  • Light and Video Microscopy, Third Edition, 2019, Elsevier/Academic Press. (ISBN:9780128165010)

Podcasts

  • Mann Library Book Talk Plant Cell Biology: From Astronomy to Zoology[46]
  • Mann Library Book Talk Light and Video Microscopy [47]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Randy O Wayne (faculty biography)". Cornell University Department of Plant Biology. 2012-06-28. http://plantbio.cornell.edu/cals/plbio/directory/faculty.cfm?netId=row1. "Bachelor's Degree Univ Massachusetts 1977 Master's Degree University of California Los Angeles 1979 Doctorate Univ Massachusetts 1985" 
  2. Sean T. Hammond and Karl J. Niklas (10 January 2012). "Computer simulations support a core prediction of a contentious plant model". American Journal of Botany. http://www.amjbot.org/content/99/3/508.abstract?related-urls=yes&legid=amjbot;99/3/508. 
  3. Randy O. Wayne, in Ithaca Journal on August 4, 2011, Cornell decision to ax courses steps on academic freedom — Ithaca Journal, Retrieved Aug. 26, 2014, "...we question Cornell’s commitment to the concept of academic freedom.."
  4. "Where is the Freedom to Question?". American Institute for Technology and Science Education. 2012. http://www.americaninstitutetechnologyscienceeducation.com/educational-resources/articles-video/education-and-academic-dishonesty/where-is-the-freedom-to-question/. 
  5. V. Raghavan (1989). "Developmental Biology of Fern Gametophytes". Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-33022-0. https://books.google.com/books?id=C2Zb6lhIeScC&q=%22Developmental+Biology+of+Fern+Gametophytes%22+%22Wayne+and+Hepler%22&pg=PA38. "Direct demonstration of an increased Ca2+ influx in the spore following exposure to a saturating dose of red light has been possible by atomic absorption spectroscopy (Wayne and Hepler, 1985a)." 
  6. "A Basic Distinction (in the Breakthroughs Section)". Discover Magazine. November 1992. "Volume 13, Number 11" 
  7. 7.0 7.1 "This Week's Citation Classic". Current Contents. July 26, 1993. http://garfield.library.upenn.edu/classics1993/A1993LL18900001.pdf. "The SCI® indicates that this paper has been cited in more than 405 publications -- Hepler P K & Wayne R O. Calcium and plant development. Annu. Rev. Plant Physiol. 36:397-439. 1985. -- Department of Botany, University of Massachusetts. Amherst. MA" 
  8. "SCIENCE WATCH; Telling Up From Down". The New York Times. 1992. https://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/09/science/science-watch-telling-up-from-down.html. 
  9. Boyce Rensberger (July 13, 1992). "Getting to the Root Of Plant Growth; How Seeds Sprout in the Proper Direction". Washington Post. 
  10. Elison B. Blancaflor and Patrick H. Masson (December 2003). "Update on Tropisms: Plant Gravitropism. Unraveling the Ups and Downs of a Complex Process". Plant Physiology: pp. 1677–1690. http://www.plantphysiol.org/content/133/4/1677.full.pdf+html. "Vol. 133 Citing this article: Staves MP, Wayne R, Leopold AC (1997) The effect of external medium on the gravitropic curvature of rice (Oryza sativa, Poaceae) roots. Am J Bot 84:1522–1529" 
  11. Christophe Maurel (June 1997). "Aquaporins and Water Permeability of Plant Membranes". Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology 48: 399–429. doi:10.1146/annurev.arplant.48.1.399. PMID 15012269. "Vol. 48: 399-429; DOI: 10.1146/annurev.arplant.48.1.399". 
  12. Randy Wayne (August 2008). "Light and Video Microscopy". Academic Press. ISBN 978-0-12-374234-6. http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/bookdescription.print/715490/description#description. 
  13. Roux, S. J.; Wayne, R. O.; Datta, N. (1986). "Role of calcium ions in phytochrome responses: an update". Physiologia Plantarum 66 (2): 344–348. doi:10.1111/j.1399-3054.1986.tb02430.x. PMID 11538657. 
  14. Plant cell biology. From astronomy to zoology, R Wayne, 2009, Elsevier/Academic Press. Reviewer: Nigel Chaffey, 2010, Plant cell biology. From astronomy to zoology (textbook review), Retrieved Aug. 26, 2014, "...Plant cell biology is an idiosyncratic text and permeated throughout with Wayne's own humour and take on the subject..."
  15. Nigel Chaffey (reviewer of Wayne's book) (August 4, 2010). "Plant cell biology. From astronomy to zoology". Annals of Botany. http://aob.oxfordjournals.org/content/106/4/vi.full. 
  16. Carol Bayles (April 2010). "Let There be Light (review of Randy Wayne's book Light and Video Microscopy)". BioScience. http://www.deepdyve.com/lp/university-of-california-press/let-there-be-light-2uibhpCEzL. "Volume 60 No. 4 BioScience ...excellent undergraduate level text on optical microscopy for biologists... also valuable to anyone using a light microscope ... An ability to elucidate difficult concepts is not the only thing that makes Wayne an excellent teacher. He is also a historian of science and has thoroughly researched the topic in order to bring historical information to the reader." 
  17. Wayne, Randy (2020). "The Binary Photon: A Heuristic Proposal to Address the Enigmatic Properties of Light". The African Review of Physics 15: 0010. http://labs.plantbio.cornell.edu/wayne/pdfs/binaryphoton2020.pdf. 
  18. Wayne, Randy (2017). "A Push to Understand Gravity: A Heuristic Model". The African Review of Physics 12: 2. http://aphysrev.ictp.it/index.php/aphysrev/article/view/1451/535. 
  19. Dan Veaner (October 15, 2010). "Cornell Scientist Challenges Einstein". Lansing Star. http://www.lansingstar.com/around-town-archive/6638-cornell-scientist-challenges-einstein. 
  20. "School of Integrative Plant Science". https://sips.cals.cornell.edu/. 
  21. Mazhar, Tajwar (November 4, 2009). "Prof's Book Blurs Boundaries between Sciences". Cornell Daily Sun. http://cornellsun.com/node/39403. 
  22. Wayne, Randy. "Biological Principles". http://labs.plantbio.cornell.edu/wayne/teaching.html. 
  23. Newkirk, Zach (2011). "Freedom to Teach at Cornell.". Cornell Progressive 11 (4): 1, 5. http://cuprogressive.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/progressive_nov_19.pdf. 
  24. Wayne, Randy. "Complete Set of Notes 2022". http://labs.plantbio.cornell.edu/wayne/pdfs/CompleteLightandLifeNotes2022.pdf. 
  25. Wayne, Randy (March 1, 2019). "Putting the Measurable over the Meaningful. Letter to the Editor". Boston Globe Magazine. https://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2019/03/01/letters/T0RTlAFtpSxVv6xEfdHbnO/story.html. 
  26. "Biology & Society Major at Cornell University". Department of Science & Technology Studies at Cornell University. http://sts.cornell.edu/bio-society. 
  27. Raghavan, V (1980). "Cytology, Physiology, and Biochemistry of Germination of Fern Spores". International Review of Cytology 62: 69–118. doi:10.1016/S0074-7696(08)61899-9. ISBN 9780123644626. 
  28. Wayne, Randy and Hepler, Peter, K. (1984). "The Role of Calcium Ions in Phytochrome-mediated germination of spores of Onoclea sensibilis L.". Planta 160 (1): 12–20. doi:10.1007/BF00392460. PMID 24258366. 
  29. Wayne, Randy and Hepler, Peter K. (1985). "Red Light Stimulates and Increase in Intracellular Calcium in the Spores of Onoclea sensibilis.". Plant Physiology 77 (1): 8–11. doi:10.1104/pp.77.1.8. PMID 16664033. PMC 1064446. http://www.plantphysiol.org/content/77/1/8.full.pdf/. 
  30. Wayne, Randy and Hepler, Peter K. (1985). "The Atomic Composition of Onoclea sensibilis Spores.". American Fern Journal 75 (1): 12–18. doi:10.2307/1546574. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/230521. 
  31. Wayne, Randy and Tazawa, Masashi (1990). "Nature of the Water Channels in the Internodal Cells of Nitellopsis.". Journal of Membrane Biology 116 (1): 31–39. doi:10.1007/bf01871669. PMID 2165174. 
  32. Maurel, Christophe (1997). "Aquaporins and Water Permeability of Plant Membranes". Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology 48: 399–429. doi:10.1146/annurev.arplant.48.1.399. PMID 15012269. 
  33. Kaldenhoff, R., Bertl, A., Otto, B., Moshelion, M. and Uehlein, N. (2007). "Characterization of Plant Aquaporins". Osmosensing and Osmosignaling. Methods in Enzymology. 428. pp. 505–31. doi:10.1016/S0076-6879(07)28028-0. ISBN 9780123739216. 
  34. Kammerloher, W., Fischer, U., Piechottka, G.P. and Schäffner, A.R. (1994). "Water Channels in the Plant Plasma Membrane Cloned by Immunoselection from a Mammalian Expression System". Plant J. 6 (2): 187–99. doi:10.1046/j.1365-313X.1994.6020187.x. PMID 7920711. 
  35. Maeshima, M. (2001). "Tonoplast Transporters: Organization and Function". Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology 52 (1): 469–497. doi:10.1146/annurev.arplant.52.1.469. PMID 11337406. 
  36. Morita, Miyo T. (2010). "Directional Gravity Sensing in Gravitropism.". Annual Review of Plant Biology 61: 705–720. doi:10.1146/annurev.arplant.043008.092042. PMID 19152486. http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/17623528/1674519244/name/Morita+2010+gravitropism.pdf. 
  37. Wayne, Randy, Staves, Mark P. and Leopold, A. Carl (1995). "Detection of Gravity-Induced Polarity of Cytoplasmic Streaming in Chara.". Protoplasma 188 (1–2): 38–48. doi:10.1007/BF01276794. PMID 11539183. 
  38. Wayne, Randy and Staves, Mark P. (1996). "A Down-to-Earth Model of Gravisensing or Newton's Law of Gravitation from the Apple's Perspective.". Physiologia Plantarum 98 (4): 917–921. doi:10.1111/j.1399-3054.1996.tb06703.x. PMID 11539338. 
  39. Wayne, Randy, Staves, Mark P. and Leopold, A. Carl (1992). "The Contribution of the Extracellular Matrix to Gravisensing in Characean Cells.". Journal of Cell Science 101 (3): 611–623. doi:10.1242/jcs.101.3.611. PMID 1522145. http://jcs.biologists.org/content/101/3/611.full.pdf. 
  40. Wayne, Randy, Staves, Mark P. and Leopold, A. Carl (1997). "The Effect of the External Medium on the Gravity-Induced Polarity of Cytoplasmic Streaming in Chara corallina (Characeae).". American Journal of Botany 84 (11): 1516–1521. doi:10.2307/2446612. PMID 11541058. 
  41. Casper, Timothy and Pickard, Barbara G. (1989). "Gravitropism in a Starchless Mutant of Arabidopsis: Implications for the Starch-Statolith Theory of Gravity Sensing.". Planta 177 (2): 185–197. doi:10.1007/BF00392807. PMID 24212341. 
  42. Weise, Sean E. and Kiss, John H. (1999). "Gravitropism of Influorescence Stems in Starch-Deficient Mutants of Arabidopsis.". International Journal of Plant Sciences 160 (3): 521–527. doi:10.1086/314142. PMID 11542271. 
  43. "Telling Up from Down". New York Times. June 9, 1992. https://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/09/science/science-watch-telling-up-from-down.html. 
  44. Rensberger, Boyce (July 13, 1992). "Getting to the Root of Plant Growth; How Seeds Sprout in the Proper Direction". The Washington Post. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1015080.html. 
  45. Wayne, Randy, Staves, Mark P. and Leopold, A. Carl (1997). "The Effect of the External Medium on the Gravitropic Curvature of Rice (ORYZA SATIVA, POACEAE) Roots.". American Journal of Botany 84 (11): 1522–1529. doi:10.2307/2446613. PMID 11541059. 
  46. Wayne, Randy. "Plant Cell Biology: From Astronomy to Zoology". Albert R. Mann Library, Cornell University. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siBMDMasw40. 
  47. Wayne, Randy. "Light and Video Microscopy". Albert R. Mann Library, Cornell University. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAsW-BPnb2k. 

External links

  • Botanist from Boston whimsical parody based on Okie from Muskogee expressing Wayne's views on physics