Appearance
🎉 your ETH🥳
"Elizabeth Helen Blackburn, (born 26 November 1948) is an Australian-American Nobel laureate who is the former President of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Previously she was a biological researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, who studied the telomere, a structure at the end of chromosomes that protects the chromosome. In 1984, Blackburn co- discovered telomerase, the enzyme that replenishes the telomere, with Carol W. Greider. For this work, she was awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, sharing it with Greider and Jack W. Szostak, becoming the first Australian woman Nobel laureate. She also worked in medical ethics, and was controversially dismissed from the Bush Administration's President's Council on Bioethics. Early life and education International Day of Women' and Girls in Science' Elizabeth Helen Blackburn, one of seven children, was born in Hobart, Tasmania, on 26 November 1948 to parents who were both family physicians. Her family moved to the city of Launceston when she was four, where she attended the Broadland House Church of England Girls' Grammar School (later amalgamated with Launceston Church Grammar School) until the age of sixteen. Upon her family's relocation to Melbourne, she attended University High School, and ultimately gained very high marks in the end-of-year final statewide matriculation exams. She went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in 1970 and Master of Science in 1972, both from the University of Melbourne in the field of biochemistry. Blackburn then went to receive her PhD in 1975 from the University of Cambridge, where she worked with Frederick Sanger developing methods to sequence DNA using RNA, as well as studying the bacteriophage Phi X 174. It was also here, the Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Molecular Biology at Cambridge University, where Blackburn met her husband John Sedat. Blackburn's soon to be husband had taken a position at Yale, where she then decided to finish her postdoctoral. “Thus it was that love brought me to a most fortunate and influential choice: Joe Gall’s lab at Yale.” Career and research During her postdoctoral work at Yale, Blackburn was doing research on the protozoan Tetrahymena thermophila and noticed a repeating codon at the end of the linear rDNA which varied in size. Blackburn then noticed that this hexanucleotide at the end of the chromosome contained a TTAGGG sequence that was tandemly repeated, and the terminal end of the chromosomes were palindromic. These characteristics allowed Blackburn and colleagues to conduct further research on the protozoan. Using the telomeric repeated end of Tetrahymena, Blackburn and colleague Jack Szostak showed the unstable replicating plasmids of yeast were protected from degradation, proving that these sequences contained characteristics of telomeres. This research also proved the telomeric repeats of Tetrahymena were conserved evolutionarily between the species. Through this research, Blackburn and collaborators noticed the replication system for chromosomes was not likely to add to the lengthening of the telomere, and that the addition of these hexanucleotides to the chromosomes was likely due to the activity of an enzyme that is able to transfer specific functional groups. The proposition of a possible transferase-like enzyme led Blackburn and PhD student Carol W. Greider to the discovery of an enzyme with reverse transcriptase activity that was able to fill in the terminal ends of telomeres without leaving the chromosome incomplete and unable to divide without loss of the end of the chromosome. This 1985 discovery led to the purification of this enzyme in lab, showing the transferase-like enzyme contained both RNA and protein components. The RNA portion of the enzyme served as a template for adding the telomeric repeats to the incomplete telomere, and the protein added enzymatic function for the addition of these repeats.Through this breakthrough, the term “telomerase” was given to the enzyme, solving the end-replication process that had troubled scientists at the time. = Telomerase = Telomerase works by adding base pairs to the overhang of DNA on the 3’ end, extending the strand until DNA polymerase and an RNA primer can complete the complementary strand and successfully synthesize the double stranded DNA. Since DNA polymerase only synthesizes DNA in the leading strand direction, the shortening of the telomere results. Through their research, Blackburn and collaborators were able to show that the telomere is effectively replenished by the enzyme telomerase, which conserves cellular division by preventing the rapid loss of genetic information internal to the telomere, leading to cellular aging. On January 1, 2016, Blackburn was interviewed about her studies, discovering telomerase, and her current research. When she was asked to recall the moment of telomerase discovery she stated: > Carol had done this experiment, and we stood, just in the lab, and I > remember sort of standing there, and she had this – we call it a gel. It's > an autoradiogram because there were trace amounts of radioactivity that were > used to develop an image of the separated DNA products of what turned out to > be the telomerase enzyme reaction. I remember looking at it and just > thinking, 'Ah! This could be very big. This looks just right.' It had a > pattern to it. There was a regularity to it. There was something that was > not just sort of garbage there, and that was really kind of coming through, > even though we look back at it now, we'd say, technically, there was this, > that and the other, but it was a pattern shining through, and it just had > this sort of sense, 'Ah! There's something real here.' But then, of course, > the good scientist has to be very sceptical and immediately say, 'Okay, > we're going to test this every way around here, and really nail this one way > or the other.' If it's going to be true, you have to make sure that it's > true, because you can get a lot of false leads, especially if you're wanting > something to work. > In 1978, Blackburn joined the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley, in the Department of Molecular Biology. In 1990, she moved across the San Francisco Bay to the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), where she served as the Department Chair from 1993 to 1999 and was the Morris Herzstein Professor of Biology and Physiology at UCSF. Blackburn became a Professor Emeritus at UCSF at the end of 2015. Blackburn, co-founded the company Telomere Health which offers telomere length testing to the public, but later severed ties with the company. In 2015, Elizabeth Blackburn was announced as the new President of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California. “Few scientists garner the kind of admiration and respect that Dr. Blackburn receives from her peers for her scientific accomplishments and her leadership, service and integrity,” says Irwin M. Jacobs, chairman of Salk's Board of Trustees, on Blackburn's appointment as President of the Institute. “Her deep insight as a scientist, her vision as a leader, and her warm personality will prove invaluable as she guides the Salk Institute on its continuing journey of discovery.” In 2017, she announced her plans to retire from the Salk Institute the following year. = Nobel Prize = For their research and contributions to the understanding of telomeres and the enzyme telomerase, Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol Greider, and Jack Szostaks were awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. The substantial research on the effects of chromosomal protection from telomerase, and the impact this has on cellular division has been a revolutionary catalyst in the field of molecular biology. For example, the addition of telomerase to cells that do not possess this enzyme has shown to bypass the limit of cellular aging in those cells, thereby linking this enzyme to reduced cellular aging. The addition of telomerase, and the presence of the enzyme in cancer cells has been shown to provide an immunity mechanism for the cell in proliferating, linking the transferase activity to increased cellular growth and reduced sensitivity for cellular signalling. The importance of discovering this enzyme has since sent led her continued research at the University of California San Francisco, where she studies the effect of telomeres and telomerase activity on cellular aging. =Bioethics= Blackburn was appointed a member of the President's Council on Bioethics in 2002. She supported human embryonic cell research, in opposition to the Bush Administration. Her Council terms were terminated by White House directive on 27 February 2004. Dr. Blackburn believes that she was dismissed from the Council due to her disapproval of the Bush administration's position against stem cell research. This was followed by expressions of outrage over her removal by many scientists, 170 of whom signed an open letter to the president maintaining that she was fired because of political opposition to her advice. Scientists and ethicists at the time even went as far to say that Blackburn's removal was in violation of Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972, which “requires balance on such advisory bodies” "There is a growing sense that scientific research—which, after all, is defined by the quest for truth—is being manipulated for political ends," wrote Blackburn. "There is evidence that such manipulation is being achieved through the stacking of the membership of advisory bodies and through the delay and misrepresentation of their reports."Bioethics and the Political Distortion of Biomedical Science Elizabeth Blackburn, N Engl J Med 350:1379–1380 (1 April 2004)A Nobel prize for a Bush critic By Andrew Leonard, Salon.com, 5 October 2009 Free text. Extensive quotation from Blackburn's article.She is an important scientist throughout the world. Blackburn serves on the Science Advisory Board of the Regenerative Medicine Foundation formerly known as the Genetics Policy Institute. = Publications = Blackburn's first book The Telomere Effect: A Revolutionary Approach to Living Younger, Healthier, Longer (2017) was co- authored with health psychologist Dr. Elissa Epel of Aging, Metabolism, and Emotions (AME) Center at the UCSF Center for Health and Community. Blackburn comments on aging reversal and care for one's telomeres through lifestyle: managing chronic stress, exercising, eating better and getting enough sleep; telomere testing, plus cautions and advice. While studying telomeres and the replenishing enzyme, telomerase, Blackburn discovered a vital role played by these protective caps that revolved around one central idea: aging of cells. The book hones in on many of the effects that poor health can have on telomeres and telomerase activity. Since telomeres shorten with every division of a cell, replenishing these caps is essential to long term cell growth. Through research and data, Blackburn explained that people that lead stressful lives exhibit less telomerase functioning in the body, which leads to a decrease in the dividing capabilities of the cell. Once telomeres shorten drastically, the cells can no longer divide, meaning the tissues they replenish with every division would therefore die out, highlighting the aging mechanism in humans. To increase telomerase activity in people with stress- filled lives, Blackburn suggests moderate exercise, even 15 minutes a day, which has been proven to stimulate telomerase activity and replenish the telomere. Blackburn also states that unhappiness in lives also has an effect on the shortening of telomeres. In a study done on divorced couples, their telomere length was "significantly shorter" compared to couples in healthy relationships, and Blackburn states, "There's an obvious stressor... we are intensely social beings." She suggests to include positivity into our daily lives to increase health as well. While increasing the amount of exercise, decreasing stress, tobacco use, and maintaining a balanced sleep schedule, Blackburn explains that our telomeres can be drastically maintained and prevented from rapid shortening, leading to a decrease in the aging process of our cells. Blackburn also tells the readers to be wary of clinical pills who proclaim to lengthen or telomeres and protect the body from aging. She says that these pills and creams have no scientific proof of being anti-aging supplements, and that the key to preserving our telomeres and stimulating telomerase activity comes from leading a healthy life. = Current research = In recent years Blackburn and her colleagues have been investigating the effect of stress on telomerase and telomeres with particular emphasis on mindfulness meditation. She is also one of several biologists (and one of two Nobel Prize laureates) in the 1995 science documentary Death by Design/The Life and Times of Life and Times. Studies suggest that chronic psychological stress may accelerate ageing at the cellular level. Intimate partner violence was found to shorten telomere length in formerly abused women versus never abused women, possibly causing poorer overall health and greater morbidity in abused women. At the University of California San Francisco, Blackburn currently researches telomeres and telomerase in many organisms, from yeast to human cells. The lab is focused on telomere maintenance, and how this has an impact on cellular aging. Many chronic diseases have been associated with the improper maintenance of these telomeres, thereby effecting cellular division, cycling, and impaired growth. At the cutting edge of telomere research, the Blackburn lab currently investigates the impact of limited maintenance of telomeres in cells through altering the enzyme telomerase. =Awards and honors= Blackburns awards and honors include: Elizabeth Blackburn (Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology 2009) in Stockholm, June 2016 *Eli Lilly Research Award for Microbiology and Immunology (1988) *National Academy of Sciences Award in Molecular Biology (1990) *Harvey Society Lecturer at the Harvey Society in New York (1990) *Honorary Doctorate of Science from Yale University (1991) *Fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1991) *Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1992 *Fellow of American Academy of Microbiology (1993) *Foreign Associate of National Academy of Sciences (1993) *Australia Prize (1998) *Gairdner Foundation International Award (1998) *Harvey Prize (1999) *Keio Medical Science Prize (1999) *California Scientist of the Year in 1999 *American Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award (2000) *American Association for Cancer Research – G.H.A. Clowes Memorial Award (2000) *American Cancer Society Medal of Honor (2000) *Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science (2000) *AACR- Pezcoller Foundation International Award for Cancer Research (2001) *General Motors Cancer Research Foundation Alfred P. Sloan Award (2001) *E.B.Wilson Award of the American Society for Cell Biology (2001) * Bristol-Myers Squibb Award (2003) *Robert J. and Claire Pasarow Foundation Medical Research Award (2003) *Dr A.H. Heineken Prize for Medicine (2004) *Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science of The Franklin Institute (2005) *Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research (2006) (shared with Carol W. Greider and Jack Szostak) *Genetics Prize from the Peter Gruber Foundation (2006) *Honorary Doctorate of Science from Harvard University (2006) *Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences from the Wiley Foundation (shared with Carol W. Greider) (2006) *Fellow of Australian Academy of Science (2007) *Corresponding Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (2007) *Recipient of the UCSF Women's Faculty Association Award *Honorary Doctorate of Science from Princeton University (2007) *Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize of Columbia University (2007) (shared with Carol W. Greider and Joseph G. Gall) *L'Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science (2008) *Albany Medical Center Prize (2008) *Pearl Meister Greengard Prize (2008) *Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women (2008) *Victorian Honour Roll of Women (2010) * Mike Hogg Award (2009) *Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize (2009) (shared with Carol W. Greider) *The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2009, shared with Carol W. Greider and Jack W. Szostak "for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase" *Companion of the Order of Australia (Australia Day Honours, 2010), for eminent service to science as a leader in the field of biomedical research, particularly through the discovery of telomerase and its role in the development of cancer and ageing of cells and through contributions as an international adviser in Bioethics. *Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales (FRSN) (2010) *California Hall of Fame (2011) *AIC Gold Medal (2012) *The Royal Medal of the Royal Society (2015). Blackburn was elected: *President of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies (2016-2017) *President of the American Association for Cancer Research for the year 2010 *President of the American Society for Cell Biology for the year 1998 *Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Sciences (1993) *Member of the Institute of Medicine (2000) *Board member of the Genetics Society of America (2000–2002) In 2007, Blackburn was listed among Time Magazine's The TIME 100 – The People Who Shape Our World. Personal life Blackburn splits her time living between La Jolla and San Francisco with her husband, scientist John W. Sedat, whom she met while at Cambridge, and has a son, Benjamin.UCSF's Elizabeth Blackburn Receives Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, By Jennifer O'Brien. Press release. In her personal life, Blackburn serves as a mentor and advocate for scientific research and policy, influencing generations to come to continue the research and work that she has initiated. References External links Video Lecture on Telomeres and Telomerase 1948 births Living people Alumni of Darwin College, Cambridge American Nobel laureates Australia Prize recipients Australian Nobel laureates Companions of the Order of Australia Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science Female Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Society of New South Wales Fellows of the Royal Society Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Members of the European Molecular Biology Organization Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine Women Nobel laureates Australian women biologists People educated at University High School, Melbourne Recipients of the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research University of California, San Francisco faculty University of Melbourne alumni Winners of the Heineken Prize L'Oréal- UNESCO Awards for Women in Science laureates Members of the National Academy of Medicine 20th-century American scientists 20th- century American biologists 20th-century American women scientists 21st-century American scientists 21st-century biologists 21st-century American women scientists 21st-century American biologists University of Melbourne women Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences "
"Hall of Mirrors, Palace of Versailles The Hall of Mirrors () is a grand Baroque style gallery and one of the most emblematic rooms in the royal Palace of Versailles near Paris, France. The grandiose ensemble of the Hall and its adjoining salons was intended to illustrate the power of the absolutist monarch Louis XIV. Located on the ground floor of the palace's central body, it faces west towards the Palace Gardens for a complete perspective. The Hall of Mirrors has been the scene of events of great historic significance, including the Proclamation of the German Empire and the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. Cultural and historical background = Construction = The royal apartments adjacent to the Hall of Mirrors In 1623 King Louis XIII ordered the construction of a modest two-story hunting lodge at Versailles, which he soon enlarged to a château from 1631 to 1634. His son Louis XIV declared the site his future permanent residence in 1661 and ordered the transformation into an extensive residence in several stages and on a grandiose scale. The palace was to provide ideal settings for rest and retreat but it also had to attain a new quality of representation as the future seat of Europe's greatest absolutist royal court and government of supreme authority, residence of choice for the aristocratic society and arena for elaborate state festivals and ceremonies, Europe's centre of culture, art and entertainment. During the early expansion phase Louis Le Vau added the Forecourt (1662) and the “Le Vau Envelope” (1668 to 1670), encased the old château and added two new wings in the north and south. The new wings towered over the original western building by the garden. The space in between was a terrace supported by arcades. The buildings of the “Le Vau Envelope” included the king's apartments in the north and the queen's apartments in the south. The Hall of Mirrors was built during the third building stage between 1678 and 1684 and was to replace the large terrace, that opened towards the garden. The terrace was originally situated directly outside of the King's and the Queen’s apartments. The terrace was considered to be a rather misplaced architectural element and exposed to the elements, reducing its utility. Eventually it was decided to demolish it and architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart was tasked with the design development and the construction of the Mirror Hall Gallery and artist Charles Le Brun received the honor to create the interior decorative apparatus. The garden facade of the Corps de logis was built in a straight front and essentially received its current appearance. The Hall of Mirrors is flanked at the far ends by the Salon of War (Salon de la guerre) in the north and the Salon of Peace (Salon de la paix) in the south, respectively. The Mirror Gallery connects to the two Salons, which were assigned to and incorporated into the king's apartments in the north and the queen's apartments in the south. Both Salons are accessible via the Mirror Gallery through wide opening passageways. The Hall and the two Salons were identically furnished and decorated and form a stylistic and functional unit. The exterior walls of the Salons date from the time of Le Vau's encasings of the old château and were given their current appearance after the installation of the Mirror Hall by Hardouin-Mansart. The Hall of Mirrors is besides the Palace Chapel, completed in the early 18th century, the Court Opera and the Galerie des Batailles one of the largest rooms in the palace. It is long and deep. With its height of it reaches to the Attic floor of the Corps de Logis. The square windows on the upper floor, which can be seen from the outside, only serve aesthetic purposes, as there are no rooms inside. The installation of any kind of fireplaces was never contemplated as the Hall of Mirrors was too large to effectively be heated. Arts and decoration Sculptured Guéridons replaced the 1689 melted down silver furniture. The Mirror Hall's 17 windows open in the direction of the park. On the opposite inside wall of the Hall are 17 equally large mirrors, that are composed of more than 350 individual mirror surfaces. On the one hand, the mirrors had an aesthetic function, as the mirror image of the garden depicted the exterior of the castle into the interior of the building and reflected the candlelight in the evening. On the other hand, the mirrors also conveyed the king's wealth and the efficiency of the French economy in a subtle way. Mirror glass was an expensive luxury product in the 17th century and could only be produced with great effort. The manufacture of the mirror surfaces was the first major order for the Manufacture royale de glaces de miroirs, a glass factory founded by Jean- Baptiste Colbert, the later Compagnie de Saint-Gobain, with which the Venetian monopoly on the manufacture of mirrors in Europe was broken. Much of the original solid silver furniture of the Hall of Mirrors, famous at the time, was soon lost, particularly the silver Guéridons (tables), which were melted down and coined by order of Louis XIV in 1689 to finance the War of the League of Augsburg. Today's furniture was manufactured during the 19th century after most of the original furnishings were lost during the French Revolution. = Ceiling paintings = The Hall's grandeur is besides the mirrors, best perceived through the majesty of its vault. Nine large and numerous smaller ceiling paintings are dedicated to the idolization of the Sun King and praise the successes of the first 20 years of his reign. Charles Le Brun, "the greatest French artist of all time" according to king Louis XIV, was, unsurprisingly, the artist of choice for the ceiling paintings. The most prestigious scenes were painted on strengthened canvas and glued to the vault by Le Brun himself, aged 60 at the start of the work. The painting The King Governs Himself highlights the claim to absolute power. Further topics include the Peace of Nijmegen and the Cconquest of the Franche-Comté. A contemporary anecdote: the mirror surface furnishings of such large areas as the seventeen arches has been the idea of architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart, who wanted to prevent Le Brun from having even more opportunities to impress Louis with his work. = Sculptures = The gilded bronze capitals of the Rouge de Rance marble pilasters are decorated with the Fleur-de-lis and Gallic roosters. The gilded bronze trophies, that adorn the green marble Pier glasses, were manufactured by goldsmith Pierre Ladoyreau. The marble and porphyry busts of eight Roman emperors are accompanied by sculptures of Greek and Roman deities and Muses, such as Bacchus, Venus (Venus of Arles), Modesty, Hermes, Urania, Nemesis and Diana (Diana of Versailles). The latter, moved to the Louvre in 1798, was replaced by a Diana sculpted by René Frémin for the gardens of the Château de Marly until the restoration of the Hall of Mirrors during 2004 to 2007, which in turn was replaced by a copy of the original Diana. Functions Louis XIV receiving the Doge of Genoa at Versailles on 15 May 1685 The signing of peace to end World War 1 in the Hall of Mirrors, 28th June 1919 During the 17th century, the Hall's main purpose was to serve as a kind of covered promenade for Louis XIV's visit to the chapel. He entered the gallery at least once a day and from 1701, the king's bedroom lay behind the middle wall of the gallery. Courtiers assembled to meet the king and members of the royal family and might make a particular request by intoning: "Sire, Marly?". This was the manner in which nobles were able to obtain a much sought-after invitation to one of the king's house parties at Marly-le-Roi, a villa Louis XIV had built north of Versailles on the route to Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Its central location and size predestined the Hall of Mirrors as a place for court festivities such as the wedding of the Duke of Burgundy with Marie Adélaïde of Savoy, the wedding of Louis Ferdinand and Maria Theresa of Spain in 1645 and the wedding of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette in 1770. In the successive reigns of Louis XV and Louis XVI, the Hall of Mirrors continued to serve for family and court functions. Embassies, births, and marriages were held in this room. The most celebrated event of the 18th century on 25 February 1745 was the celebrated Yew Tree Ball. It was during this costume ball that Louis XV, who was dressed as a yew tree, met Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson d'Étiolles, who was costumed as Diana, goddess of the hunt. Jeanne-Antoinette, who became Louis XV's mistress, is better known to history as the Marquise de Pompadour. Foreign audiences were granted, including that of the Doge of Genoa in 1685 and the embassy of King Mahmud I of Turkey in 1742. However, of all the events that transpired in this room during the reign of Louis XIV, the Siamese Embassy of 1685 to 1686 has been cited as the most opulent. At this time, the Hall of Mirrors and the grand appartements were still decorated with the original silver furniture. In its heyday, over 3,000 candles were used to light the Hall of Mirrors. In February 1715, Louis XIV held his last embassy in the Hall when he received Mehemet Reza Bey, ambassador of the Shah of Persia. On 18 January 1871 during the siege of Paris at the conclusion of the Franco-Prussian War, the Prussian king, William I, was, led by Otto von Bismarck, declared German emperor — thus establishing the German Empire — in the Hall of Mirrors by the assembled German princes and lords. The choice fell among other things like Versailles being the headquarters of the united German armies, on the Hall of Mirrors because its ceiling paintings glorified the conquest of German territories by France. The French nation regarded this ceremony as deeply humiliating. The event greatly contributed to the further accretion of the Franco-German enmity. A few decades later French Prime Minister Clemenceau consciously chose the Hall of Mirrors as the site to sign the Treaty of Versailles on 28 June 1919, that officially ended World War I, to dismantle the German Empire in the room where it had been proclaimed. The Hall of Mirrors remains reserved for official ceremonies of the French Republic. Notable events during the 20th century were the reception of US- President John Fitzgerald Kennedy and his wife by Charles De Gaulle, the reception of the Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi by Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in 1974 or the invitation of representatives of the Group of Seven summit by President François Mitterrand from June 4 to 6, 1982. Gallery References Further reading =Books= * =Journals= External links * Fullscreen interactive panoramic image of Hall of Mirrors Baroque architecture at Versailles Buildings and structures completed in 1682 1682 establishments in France Individual rooms Palace of Versailles ca:Palau de Versalles#Galeria dels Miralls "
"The Congridae are the family of conger and garden eels. Congers are valuable and often large food fishes, while garden eels live in colonies, all protruding from the sea floor after the manner of plants in a garden (thus the name). The family includes over 180 species in 32 genera. The European conger, Conger conger, is the largest of the family and of the Anguilliformes order that includes it; it has been recorded at up to in length and weighing .British Conger Club Congrids are found in tropical, subtropical and temperate seas across the world. Clear distinguishing features among congrids are few; they all lack scales, and most possess pectoral fins. They feed on crustaceans and small fish, and unlike some other eels, do not migrate to breed. Genera Family Congridae * Subfamily Bathymyrinae ** Ariosoma (27 species) ** Bathymyrus (three species) ** Chiloconger (two species) ** Kenyaconger (one species) ** Parabathymyrus (five species) ** Paraconger (seven species) * Subfamily Congrinae ** Acromycter (five species) ** Bassanago (four species) ** Bathycongrus (22 species) ** Bathyuroconger (two species) ** Blachea (two species) ** Castleichthys (one species) ** Conger (14 species) ** Congrhynchus (one species) ** Congriscus (three species) ** Congrosoma (one species) ** Diploconger (one species) ** Gnathophis (27 species) ** Japonoconger (three species) ** Lumiconger (one species) ** Macrocephenchelys (two species) ** Poeciloconger (one species) ** Promyllantor (three species) ** Pseudophichthys (one species) ** Rhynchoconger (seven species) ** Scalanago (one species) ** Uroconger (four species) ** Xenomystax (five species) * Subfamily Heterocongrinae (garden eels) ** Gorgasia (14 species) ** Heteroconger (21 species) See also *List of fish families References Marine fish families Eels "