The biological roots of morality

The question whether ethical behavior is biologically determined may refer either to thecapacity for ethics (e.i., the proclivity to judge human actions as either right or wrong), or to the moralnorms accepted by human beings for guiding their actions. My theses are: (1) that the capacity for ethics is a necessary attribute of human nature; and (2) that moral norms are products of cultural evolution, not of biological evolution.Humans exhibits ethical behavior by nature because their biological makeup determines the presence of the three necessary, and jointly sufficient, conditions for ethical behavior: (i) the ability to anticipate the consequences of one's own actions; (ii) the ability to make value judgements; and (iii) the ability to choose between alternative courses of action. Ethical behavior came about in evolution not because it is adaptive in itself, but as a necessary consequece of man's eminent intellectual abilities, which are an attribute directly promoted by natural selection.Since Darwin's time there have been evolutionists proposing that the norms of morality are derived from biological evolution. Sociobiologists represent the most recent and most subtle version of that proposal. The sociobiologists' argument is that human ethical norms are sociocultural correlates of behaviors fostered by biological evolution. I argue that such proposals are misguided and do not escape the naturalistic fallacy. The isomorphism between the behaviors promoted by natural selection and those sanctioned by moral norms exist only with respect to the consequences of the behaviors; the underlying causations are completely disparate.This article is based on a paper presented at the International Symposium onBiological Models of Human Action, Palma de Mallorca, Spain, 16–18 December 1985.     

Potential long-acting contraceptive agents: esters of testosterone with alkoxy- and halogeno-substituted carboxylic acids

The chemical synthesis and physical data of several new esters of testosterone (17 beta-hydroxyandrost-4-en-3-one), which contain either a halogeno or an alkoxy substituent in the acid chain, are reported.     

Immediate induction of a 45 K secreted glycoprotein by serum and growth factors in quiescent mouse 3T3 cells : Two-dimensional gel analysis

Stimulation of quiescent 3T3 cells by serum dramatically induces the synthesis of a group of secreted polypeptides with a molecular weight (MW) of 45 K (p45 A, B, C, D). The synthesis of these polypeptides increases 10-fold during the first 2 h. Cycloheximide superinduces the 45 K polypeptides and actinomycin D (actD) blocks completely their induction by serum. Peptide mapping analysis and pulse-chase experiments revealed that p45 A is a precursor of polypeptides p45 B, C, D. Tunicamycin treatment inhibits the synthesis of all four polypeptides but a new related protein appears, p-p45, the unglycosylated precursor. In the presence of tunicamycin, p-p45 is also found in the medium, demonstrating that glycosylation is not essential for the secretion. In vitro translation experiments show that the levels of p45 mRNA present in stimulated cells are severalfold higher than that of non-stimulated cells. Purified growth factors, such as platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), fibroblast growth factor (FGF) and epidermal growth factor (EGF) induce the synthesis of p45 in quiescent cells.     

Studies on evolutionary and selective properties of hypercycles using a Monte Carlo method

Summary The most relevant properties of hypercycles were previously studied mainly from a theoretical point of view. We have developed a Monte Carlo method simulating hypercyclic organization to obtain information about the dynamics of this prebiotic organization. Nucleation, growth, and selective properties have been tested and the results obtained are in good agreement with those of the theoretical predictions. The influence of hypercyclic organization of the error threshold has also been studied. As a consequence of the emergence of a hypercycle, the value of this threshold decreases. The amount of this decrease depends on the population size. Moreover, for some interval of quality factor values, either the hypercycle organization or an error catastrophe can be produced, depending on the initial conditions. The influence of these phenomena on both the dynamic behavior and evolutionary advantages of the hypercycle, as well as their decisive roles on genome size, are discussed.Presented at the FEBS Symposium on Genome Organization and Evolution, held in Crete, Greece, September 1–5, 1986     

Zinc accumulation in the telencephalon of lizards

Summary The zinc concentration in the brains of two species of lizard was determined by atomic-absorption spectrophotometry. The zinc concentration was found to be highest in the telencephalon of Lacerta galloti (21.1 g/g fresh weight) and Podarcis hispanica (16.77±0.8 g/g) while the mesencephalon and brain stem exhibited lower zinc concentrations, i.e., 7.0 g/g in Lacerta galloti and 6.08±0.4 g/g in Podarcis hispanica. This high telencephalic concentration of zinc is paralleled by intense and well-defined Timm reactivity used for demonstrating the presence of zinc-containing boutons at the light-microscope level. Volumetricdensitometric studies of these Timm-reactive zones were performed using serial transverse sections of the same lizard brains.     

Glutathione status and sensitivity to GSH-reacting compounds of Escherichia coli strains deficient in glutathione metabolism and/or catalase activity

The intracellular concentrations of total glutathione, GSSG and protein · S-SG, the total excreted glutathione concentration, and the susceptibility towards GSH-reacting compounds were assayed in strains of Escherichia coli deficient in biosynthesis and/or reduction of glutathione. A deficiency in glutathione reductase displaced the glutathione status towards the oxidized forms. This displacement was more clearly appreciated in strains additionally deficient in glutathione biosynthesis. A deficiency in catalase activity also produced an increase in the oxidation of glutathione. The most severe changes were observed in the concentrations of protein-glutathione mixed disulfides and in the amount of glutathione excreted to the medium. Increased sensitivities towards compounds known to interact with cellular GSH were observed in glutathione reductase deficient strains, although these effects were enhanced in strains additionally deficient in GSH biosynthesis     

Search for Drosophila genes encoding a conserved domain present in the achaete-scute complex and myc proteins

Summary Several genes of the achaete-scute complex (ASC) of Drosophila melanogaster encode a 60 amino acids long conserved domain which shares a significant homology with a region of the vertebrate myc proteins. Based on these results, the existence of a family of Drosophila genes that would share both this conserved domain and the neurogenic function of the AS-C has been postulated. To test this proposal, we have searched a D. melanogaster genomic library with a probe that encodes the conserved domain. Only under very low stringency hybridization conditions, clones not belonging to the AS-C cross-hybridized with the probe. Those that gave the strongest signals were characterized. Sequencing of the cross-hybridizing regions showed that they had no significant homology with the conserved domain, the sequence similarity extending at the most for 37 nucleotides. Although our results do not conclusively disprove the existence of a family of AS-C-like genes, they indicate that the conservation of the domain would be lower than that found for shared motifs in other families of Drosophila developmental genes.     

The gene for trypsin inhibitor CMe is regulated in trans by the lys 3a locus in the endosperm of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.)

Summary A cDNA encoding trypsin inhibitor CMe from barley endosperm has been cloned and characterized. The longest open reading frame of the cloned cDNA codes for a typical signal peptide of 24 residues followed by a sequence which is identical to the known amino acid sequence of the inhibitor, except for an Ile/Leu substitution at position 59. Southern blot analysis of wheat-barley addition lines has shown that chromosome 3H of barley carries the gene for CMe. This protein is present at less than 2%–3% of the wild-type amount in the mature endosperm of the mutant Risø 1508 with respect to Bomi barley, from which it has been derived, and the corresponding steady state levels of the CMe mRNA are about I%. One or two copies of the CMe gene (synonym Itc1) per haploid genome have been estimated both in the wild type and in the mutant, and DNA restriction patterns are identical in both stocks, so neither a change in copy number nor a major rearrangement of the structural gene account for the markedly decreased expression. The mutation at the lys 3a locus in Risø 1508 has been previously mapped in chromosome 7 (synonym 5H). A single dose of the wild-type allele at this locus (Lys 3a) restores the expression of gene CMe (allele CMe-1) in chromosome 3H to normal levels.     

Intracellular free [Ca2+] in human skeletal muscle with myopathic carnitine deficiency

Carnitine is required for the transport of activated long chain fatty acids through the mitochondrial inner membrane. We measured the intracellular free calcium concentration [( Ca2+]i) by means of a calcium selective microelectrode in skeletal muscle biopsies obtained from nine patients in which myopathic carnitine deficiency (MCD) was diagnosed, and from six subjects with no evidence of neuromuscular disease. Intact intercostal muscle bundles were dissected and then split for electron microscopic studies and electrophysiological measurements. The [Ca2+]i in muscle fibers from MCD patients was 0.46 +/- 0.02 mumol.l-1 (mean +/- SEM) and 0.10 +/- 0.01 mumol.l-1 in control subjects. At the electron microscopic level, the predominant abnormality was the presence of lipid vacuoles between the myofibrils. These results show that in patients with myopathic carnitine deficiency there is a significant increase in the resting myoplasmic calcium concentration which might be related to a malfunction of some mechanisms responsible for the homeostasis of intracellular calcium.