This award will support a seminar, "Marine Bioinorganic Chemistry", organized jointly by Prof. Kenneth L. Raymond of the University of California, Berkeley, and Prof. Clifford Hawkins of the University of Queensland, Australia. Participants will meet on Heron Island, Australia in June 1989 to conduct joint field experiments and plan collaborative projects in this new field. Bioinorganic chemistry is the study of biological processes involving metal ions as key components. As yet, in this rapidly growing field, the bioinorganic chemistry of the sea has not been studied, although the discipline should be of great importance due to the concentration and transport of metal ions across concentration gradients, from seawater to organisms. The Heron Island Marine Research Station, the largest and best-equipped on an Australian island, is an ideal location for a seminar intended to stimulate research in this important field. This research could lead to new discoveries in the biology of terrestrial and marine inver- tebrates, and possibly eventually to the development of new therapeutic compounds for humans.
