HUMAN DIGNITY IN INTERNATIONAL POLICY DOCUMENTS: A USEFUL CRITERION FOR PUBLIC POLICY?

Current developments in biomedicine are presenting us with difficult ethical decisions and raising complex policy questions about how to regulate these new developments. Particularly vexing for governments have been issues related to human embryo experimentation. Because some of the most promising biomedical developments, such as stem cell research and nuclear somatic transfer, involve such experimentation, several international bodies have drafted documents aimed to provide guidance to governments when developing biomedical science policy. Here I focus on two such documents: the Council of Europe's Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity of the Human Being and the Additional Protocol to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity of the Human Being. I argue that by using human dignity as a criterion to determine the permissibility of particular human embryo research practices, these documents cannot aid in identifying research that would be contrary to human dignity. Thus, they fail to guide public policy on embryo experimentation. Their use of human dignity as a criterion makes their task of offering guidance unfeasible because the concept as used in these documents is too vague and is applied in contradictory ways. I discuss the main goals of these documents and their claims in relation to human embryo research. I then discuss how they have influenced public policy in several countries. Finally, I show that although these Council of Europe treaties attempt to serve as public policy guides in the area of embryo research, they fail to do so.     

Randomized controlled experiments in health and social sciences: Some conceptual issues

This brief article outlines some difficulties as well as benefits in conducting randomized controlled trials in social science settings especially in developing countries. Some of the historical developments are summarized and certain applications in health sciences are discussed from methodological and policy standpoints.     

Pan-European Ecological Networks

Pan-European Ecological Networks make a major contribution to the overall effort to protect, maintain and enhance biodiversity; the concept has gained significant political support over the last decade and a half. A platform now exists for: increased integration of ecological networks into the cross-sectoral policy agenda; research into their contribution to ecosystem services and mitigation and adaption for climate change; and an increase in the availability of information about practical delivery. This paper provides an overview of recent policy and research developments in Europe.     

Biosensors for marine applications. We all need the sea, but does the sea need biosensors?

The aim of the paper is to explain the rationale behind marine biosensor applications, give an overview of measurement strategies currently employed, summarise some of the relevant available biosensor technology as well as instrumentation requirements for marine sensors and attempt a forward look at what the future might hold in terms of needs and developments. Application areas considered are eutrophication, organism detection, food safety, pollutants, trace metals and ecotoxicology. The drivers for many of these studies are discussed and the policy environment for current and future measurements is outlined.     

Mobilizing and integrating big data in studies of spatial and phylogenetic patterns of biodiversity

The current global challenges that threaten biodiversity are immense and rapidly growing. These biodiversity challenges demand approaches that meld bioinformatics, large-scale phylogeny reconstruction, use of digitized specimen data, and complex post-tree analyses (e.g. niche modeling, niche diversification, and other ecological analyses). Recent developments in phylogenetics coupled with emerging cyberinfrastructure and new data sources provide unparalleled opportunities for mobilizing and integrating massive amounts of biological data, driving the discovery of complex patterns and new hypotheses for further study. These developments are not trivial in that biodiversity data on the global scale now being collected and analyzed are inherently complex. The ongoing integration and maturation of biodiversity tools discussed here is transforming biodiversity science, enabling what we broadly term “next-generation” investigations in systematics, ecology, and evolution (i.e., “biodiversity science”). New training that integrates domain knowledge in biodiversity and data science skills is also needed to accelerate research in these areas. Integrative biodiversity science is crucial to the future of global biodiversity. We cannot simply react to continued threats to biodiversity, but via the use of an integrative, multifaceted, big data approach, researchers can now make biodiversity projections to provide crucial data not only for scientists, but also for the public, land managers, policy makers, urban planners, and agriculture.     

European Policy Review: Biodiversity and climate change

Climate change and its impacts on biodiversity have gained much political and scientific interest over the past decade. In order for the right policy measures to be taken on adaptation and mitigation, research and stakeholder involvement has a strong role to play to support decision makers. This paper provides an overview of recent developments and research needs in Europe.     

Engaging the broader community in biodiversity research: the concept of the COMBER pilot project for divers in ViBRANT

This paper discusses the design and implementation of a citizen science pilot project, COMBER (Citizens' Network for the Observation of Marine BiodivERsity, http://www.comber.hcmr.gr), which has been initiated under the ViBRANT EU e-infrastructure. It is designed and implemented for divers and snorkelers who are interested in participating in marine biodiversity citizen science projects. It shows the necessity of engaging the broader community in the marine biodiversity monitoring and research projects, networks and initiatives. It analyses the stakeholders, the industry and the relevant markets involved in diving activities and their potential to sustain these activities. The principles, including data policy and rewards for the participating divers through their own data, upon which this project is based are thoroughly discussed. The results of the users analysis and lessons learned so far are presented. Future plans include promotion, links with citizen science web developments, data publishing tools, and development of new scientific hypotheses to be tested by the data collected so far.     

The Future of the Oceans Past: Towards a Global Marine Historical Research Initiative

Historical research is playing an increasingly important role in marine sciences. Historical data are also used in policy making and marine resource management, and have helped to address the issue of shifting baselines for numerous species and ecosystems. Although many important research questions still remain unanswered, tremendous developments in conceptual and methodological approaches are expected to contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the global history of human interactions with life in the seas. Based on our experiences and knowledge from the “History of Marine Animal Populations” project, this paper identifies the emerging research topics for future historical marine research. It elaborates on concepts and tools which are expected to play a major role in answering these questions, and identifies geographical regions which deserve future attention from marine environmental historians and historical ecologists.     

白蚁信息素研究进展

采用信息素防治白蚁这种世界性害虫是当前白蚁研究的一大热点。本文从化学和生物两个方面总结了几十年来国内外白蚁信息素及其类似物研究进展。讨论了影响信息素活性的几个因素。并根据最新的研究情况,对今后的信息素及其类似物的理论研究和应用情况进行了展望。     

Applying evolutionary anthropology

Evolutionary anthropology provides a powerful theoretical framework for understanding how both current environments and legacies of past selection shape human behavioral diversity. This integrative and pluralistic field, combining ethnographic, demographic, and sociological methods, has provided new insights into the ultimate forces and proximate pathways that guide human adaptation and variation. Here, we present the argument that evolutionary anthropological studies of human behavior also hold great, largely untapped, potential to guide the design, implementation, and evaluation of social and public health policy. Focusing on the key anthropological themes of reproduction, production, and distribution we highlight classic and recent research demonstrating the value of an evolutionary perspective to improving human well‐being. The challenge now comes in transforming relevance into action and, for that, evolutionary behavioral anthropologists will need to forge deeper connections with other applied social scientists and policy‐makers. We are hopeful that these developments are underway and that, with the current tide of enthusiasm for evidence‐based approaches to policy, evolutionary anthropology is well positioned to make a strong contribution.     

Advances in purine and pyrimidine metabolism in health and diseases

ABSTRACT

In June, 2015, the Purine and Pyrimidine Society organized the 16th biennial symposium on Purine and Pyrimidine metabolism at the Faculty House of Columbia University, New York City. This exciting meeting focused on these important molecules, new developments in inborn errors of metabolism; therapeutic analogs. In addition, the biochemistry of mammalian and non-mammalian systems were discussed. Due to significant advances in molecular medicine, the boundaries between clinical and basic sciences have merged into exciting translational research, of which a small portion was highlighted in the presymposium.     

Regulation of food enzymes

In this review the development of federal policy for the regulation of enzymes is summarized. Defining enzymes as food additives and considerations of the health and safety aspects of employing enzymes in food processing are described. A review of the status of GRAS petitions dealing with enzymes by the governmental review branch is discussed, along with recent developments recommending major changes in the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act, which is the basic law covering food safety.     

The enemy within: keeping self-reactive T cells at bay in the periphery

The remarkable capacity of the mammalian immune system to coordinate deadly attacks against numerous invading pathogens, yet turn a blind eye to self-tissues continues to fascinate immunologists. It has been clear for some time that immune cells capable of recognizing self-proteins exist in normal individuals without seemingly causing harm. The 'peripheral tolerance' mechanisms that keep these cells in check are the focus of intense research, not least because defects in these pathways might cause autoimmune diseases. In this review, new developments in our understanding of peripheral tolerance are discussed.     

Improve your Frames with Inserts

The field of education in the United States is in a period of unprecedented change. Educators in all disciplines are challenged to understand and respond to the waves of reform sweeping over the national education landscape. Linking these reforms to meaningful outcomes that will produce more rigorous and effective measures of quality and performance in our schools is an ongoing goal for all educators as they work to respond to calls for educational reform. Changes in the general field of education have direct implications for arts education policy and practice. Arts educators find themselves in the position of making sense of these landmark reforms and changes in the context of arts education and determining what courses of action and responses they should pursue on the road to meaningful reform. This report provides an overview of a selected number of contemporary developments in the general field of education, brief summaries of consequential studies and education-related reports, and an examination of some policy issues these developments and reports raise for arts educators as they work to shape the future landscape of arts education.     

Aquatic Behavioral Ecotoxicology—Prospects and Limitations

This Perspective gives an overview of the definitions, advantages, and the importance of behavioral studies in ecotoxicology. Recent developments in automated quantitative recording technology as well as in mathematical data analysis and statistical data treatment have given rise to increased research in behavioral ecotoxicology. As an example, several studies performed with different invertebrate and vertebrate species using the non-optical impedance recorder, the Multispecies Freshwater Biomonitor?, are mentioned and discussed under the aspect of recent developments. However, some problems have still to be solved, such as (1) linking behavior to other biological test parameters on the suborganismal as well as the population level, (2) standardization of test designs and methods, and (3) creating more acceptance of these methods in the legislative framework of biomonitoring.     

PAMAM dendrimers — diverse biomedical applications. Facts and unresolved questions

In this mini-review a number of novel outcomes, originating from studies in the field of PAMAM dendrimers, are presented and discussed. Owing to the multi-disciplinary nature of dendrimer chemistry it seems important to focus on the relevant topical research of PAMAM dendrimers, including their function, toxicity, surface modifications, and also possible new applications of these spherical polymers. We also consider the possibilities of specific functionalisation of PAMAM dendrimers — both novel ideas and those that have already been reported; as well as their cell-mediated effects (toxic and non-toxic). Then the reactivity of dendrimers’ terminal groups, and their anticipated protective role against modifications of biomacromolecules, are discussed with regard to future developments in biomedical research.     

蛋白质与抗体微阵列及其在生物医学研究中的应用

随着人类基因组测序的顺利完成及其他相关领域如机械制造、微电子加工技术及生物信息学方面所取得的进展,以蛋白质为研究对象的蛋白质组学愈显重要,高通量的蛋白质与抗体阵列芯片分析技术正日益为人们关注.对蛋白质分析策略及以阵列为基础的蛋白质芯片分析原理、相关的制备方法与检测技术及其在生物学研究、医学与实验诊断应用方面进行了阐述,并对现阶段该技术存在的不足与发展前景进行了讨论.     

Insect-parasitic nematodes: from lab curiosities to model organisms

Interest in studying insect-parasitic nematodes was originally focused on their potential as biological control agents of insects and other arthropod pests. Now, after 30 years of intense basic and applied research, realization of the practical use of insect-parasitic nematodes, particularly of entomopathogenic nematodes and their symbiotic bacteria, has spurred developments across a far broader scientific front. We are now entering a new era of discovery in which tools of molecular genetics are being increasingly used to address a range of biological questions. The knowledge gained from these efforts will directly benefit the practical application of insect-parasitic nematodes as more effective biopesticides. Moreover, these studies will advance these nematodes as unique and intrinsically interesting biological model systems not only for basic research but also in applied fields such as plant health, human medicine, pharmaceutical bioprospecting, and genetic engineering. In this review, the past and current state of insect-parasitic nematode research is summarized. Future research priorities and goals are identified and discussed.