Anatomy of a media event: how arguments clashed in the 2001 human cloning debate

This paper studies the distinctive role that staged media events play in the public understanding of genetics: they can focus the attention of the media, scientists and the public on the risks and benefits of genetic advances, in our case, cloning; they can accelerate policy changes by exposing scientific, legal and ethical uncertainties; the use of images, metaphors, cliches, and cultural narratives by scientists and the media engaged in this event can reinforce stereotypical representations of cloning, but can also expose fundamental clashes in arguments about cloning. The media event staged by two fertility experts in 2001 is here analysed as a case study.     

The role of scientists in the beginning-of-life debate: a 25-year retrospective

This article examines scientific testimony given during the past 25 years surrounding the issue of when life begins. Although the biological facts were presented clearly, the moral and philosophical issues proved to be problematic. Often those in government tried to use science to substantiate their own philosophical beliefs. Scientists need to present facts to society and to political leaders as clearly and as dispassionately as possible in order to continue to help the public understand complicated biological processes. Scientists also need to help ensure that science is not misused or misinterpreted to justify moral, theological, or philosophical beliefs.     

The pros and cons of human therapeutic cloning in the public debate

Few issues linked to genetic research have raised as much controversial debate as the use of somatic cell nuclear transfer technology to create embryos specifically for stem cell research. Whereas European countries unanimously agree that reproductive cloning should be prohibited there is no agreement to be found on whether or not research into therapeutic cloning should be permitted. Since the UK took the lead and voted in favour of regulations allowing therapeutic cloning the public debate has intensified on the Continent. This debate reflects the wide spectrum of diverse religious and secular moralities that are prevalent in modern multicultural European democratic societies. Arguments range from putting forward strictly utilitarian views that weight the moral issues involved against the potential benefits that embryonic stem cell research may harbour to considering the embryo as a human being, endowed with human dignity and human rights from the moment of its creation, concluding that its use for research is unethical and should be strictly prohibited. Given the current state of dissension among the various European states, it is difficult to predict whether 'non-harmonisation' will prevail or whether in the long run 'harmonisation' of legislation that will allow stem cell research will evolve in the EU.     

Modelers' perception of mathematical modeling in epidemiology: a web-based survey

Background

Mathematical modeling in epidemiology (MME) is being used increasingly. However, there are many uncertainties in terms of definitions, uses and quality features of MME.

Methodology/Principal Findings

To delineate the current status of these models, a 10-item questionnaire on MME was devised. Proposed via an anonymous internet-based survey, the questionnaire was completed by 189 scientists who had published in the domain of MME. A small minority (18%) of respondents claimed to have in mind a concise definition of MME. Some techniques were identified by the researchers as characterizing MME (e.g. Markov models), while others–at the same level of sophistication in terms of mathematics–were not (e.g. Cox regression). The researchers'' opinions were also contrasted about the potential applications of MME, perceived as higly relevant for providing insight into complex mechanisms and less relevant for identifying causal factors. The quality criteria were those of good science and were not related to the size and the nature of the public health problems addressed.

Conclusions/Significance

This study shows that perceptions on the nature, uses and quality criteria of MME are contrasted, even among the very community of published authors in this domain. Nevertheless, MME is an emerging discipline in epidemiology and this study underlines that it is associated with specific areas of application and methods. The development of this discipline is likely to deserve a framework providing recommendations and guidance at various steps of the studies, from design to report.     

The prescriber as moralist: values in the antidepressant debate

The past decade has seen a growing debate about the expanding use of psychotropic medications. Of particular concern are current antidepressants, as well as hypothetical "mood brighteners" that could modify affect and behavior in people heretofore classified as being within the normal range. This paper argues that objections to such pharmacologic applications are based on appeals to cultural values--authenticity, diversity, inwardness, and stoicism among others--that are viewed as being under increasing threat in contemporary American culture. Critiques of mood brighteners, like critiques of technological, consumer-driven culture, repudiate the ideals of shallow satisfaction and of the self as commodity. The decision to prescribe or not to prescribe a psychotropic medication in any given case is based on cultural values as well as clinical judgment.     

Molecular cloning of eukaryotic glycoprotein and glycolipid glycosyltransferases: a survey

The rapidity with which molecular sequence data are gatheredcontinues to grow. The result is that, for many workers, itis increasingly difficult to keep abreast of the current stateof play of molecular cloning, even for those genes that encodeproteins of special interest The clear success of the variousworldwide genome projects has made this even more apparent,and by the end of 1996 the complete determination of the nucleotidesequences of the genomes of two eukaryotes, Saccharomyces cerevisiaeand Caenorhabditis elegans, will have either been completedor will be nearing completion. This article is an attempt toprovide, in an easily accessible format, a compilation of genesand cDNAs that have been sequenced and deposited in GenBankthat encode transferase enzymes involved in eukaryotic glycoproteinor glycolipid biosynthesis. The full sequence information canbe easily retrieved from a databank, e.g. GenBank, using therelevant accession number(s). database glycosylation glycosyltransferase molecular cloning protein processing     

SCYPPred: a web-based predictor of SNPs for human cytochrome P450

Human cytochrome P450(CYP 450) enzymes mediate over 60% of the phase I-dependent metabolism of clinical drugs. They are also known for the polymorphism functions that have significant impacts on the enzyme activities. In this study, a web-server called SCYPPred was developed for predicting human cytochrome P450 SNPs (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms) based on the SVM flanking sequence method; SCYPPred can rapidly yield the desired results by using the amino acid sequences information alone. The web-server is accessible to the public at http://snppred.sjtu.edu.cn. Hopefully SCYPPred could be a useful bioinformatics tool for elucidating the mutation probability of a specific CYP450 enzyme.     

Bird origins and evolution: data accumulates, scientists integrate, and yet the "debate" still rages

book reviewed in this article
New Perspectives on the Origin and Early Evolution of Birds:Proceedings of the International Symposium in Honor of John H.Ostrom.Edited by Jacques Gauthier and Lawrence F.Gall.     

A survey of biomedical scientists and consultant pathologists involved in the cervical screening programme

The past decade has seen a transformation in the National Health Service Cervical Screening Programme (NHSCSP) largely driven by responses to various screening scandals. Independent inquiries into these laboratory failures have identified a number of contributing factors. The aim of this postal survey was to determine how widespread these factors are throughout screening laboratories in England. The results indicate that issues around recruitment and retention of staff, the training of pathologists and low morale appear to be widespread. However, the results do not indicate a widespread breakdown in working relationships between consultants and biomedical scientists, although there is room for improvement in their relationships with hospital management. Finally, there seem to be mixed messages about the commitment of consultants to the screening programme.     

Assessing the search for information on Three Rs methods, and their subsequent implementation: a national survey among scientists in the Netherlands

A local survey conducted among scientists into the current practice of searching for information on Three Rs (i.e. Replacement, Reduction and Refinement) methods has highlighted the gap between the statutory requirement to apply Three Rs methods and the lack of criteria to search for them. To verify these findings on a national level, we conducted a survey among scientists throughout The Netherlands. Due to the low response rate, the results give an impression of opinions, rather than being representative of The Netherlands as a whole. The findings of both surveys complement each other, and indicate that there is room for improvement. Scientists perceive searching the literature for information on Three Rs methods to be a difficult task, and specific Three Rs search skills and knowledge of Three Rs databases are limited. Rather than using a literature search, many researchers obtain information on these methods through personal communication, which means that published information on possible Three Rs methods often remains unfound and unused. A solution might be to move beyond the direct search for information on Three Rs methods and choose another approach. One approach that seems rather appropriate is that of systematic review. This provides insight into the necessity for any new animal studies, as well as optimal implementation of available data and the prevention of unnecessary animal use in the future.     

Hemoglobin values: comparative survey of the 1976 Canadian Olympic team.

In view of the role of hemoglobin in oxygen transport, the hemoglobin concentration in whole blood may indicate readiness for maximal physical performance. Hemoglobin concentrations were determined in members of the 1976 Canadian Olympic team and compared with those of the 1975 Canadian general population and with published data for the 1968 Australian and Dutch Olympic teams. The mean hemoglobin concentrations of the 123 male and 64 female Canadian Olympic athletes were 14.7 +/- 1.0 and 12.9 +/- 0.7 g/dL, respectively. Both male and female Canadian Olympic athletes had significantly lower (P less than 0.01) values than the other three groups. The suboptimal hemoglobin concentrations may be related to inadequate dietary intake of protein and iron.     

Synthesis and cloning of a human beta-casomorphin-5 gene

As so far a singularity among opioid peptides, bovine beta-casomorphin-5 has been shown to display pronounced cardiatic activities. The gene sequence of a human beta-casomorphin-5, including plasmid insertion and fusion protein expression and cleavage instrumentary, has been synthesized by a manual phosphoramidite procedure and cloned in a bacterial system.     

Molecular cloning and characterization of a human mitochondrial ceramidase

We have recently purified a rat brain membrane-bound nonlysosomal ceramidase (El Bawab, S., Bielawska, A., and Y. A. Hannun (1999) J. Biol. Chem. 274, 27948-27955). Using peptide sequences obtained from the purified rat brain enzyme, we report here the cloning of the human isoform. The deduced amino acid sequence of the protein did not show any similarity with proteins of known function but was homologous to three putative proteins from Arabidospis thaliana, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and Dictyostelium discoideum. Several blocks of amino acids were highly conserved in all of these proteins. Analysis of the protein sequence revealed the presence at the N terminus of a signal peptide followed by a putative myristoylation site and a putative mitochondrial targeting sequence. The predicted molecular mass was 84 kDa, and the isoelectric point was 6.69, in agreement with rat brain purified enzyme. Northern blot analysis of multiple human tissues showed the presence of a major band corresponding to a size of 3.5 kilobase. Analysis of this major band on the blot indicated that the enzyme is ubiquitously expressed with higher levels in kidney, skeletal muscle, and heart. The enzyme was then overexpressed in HEK 293 and MCF7 cells using the pcDNA3. 1/His-ceramidase construct, and ceramidase activity (at pH 9.5) increased by 50- and 12-fold, respectively. Next, the enzyme was characterized using lysate of overexpressing cells. The results confirmed that the enzyme catalyzes the hydrolysis of ceramide in the neutral alkaline range and is independent of cations. Finally, a green fluorescent protein-ceramidase fusion protein was constructed to investigate the localization of this enzyme. The results showed that the green fluorescent protein-ceramidase fusion protein presented a mitochondrial localization pattern and colocalized with mitochondrial specific probes. These results demonstrate that this novel ceramidase is a mitochondrial enzyme, and they suggest the existence of a topologically restricted pathways of sphingolipid metabolism.