International legal regulation of the circulation of dual-use biotechnologies

The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the vulnerability of each country, regardless of the economic well-being and health system development, highlighting the need for further rethinking of the global security and human security concepts. The need to sustain the spread of infectious diseases, as well as the treatment of life-threatening diseases, determine the relevance of scientific research on all key aspects related to the development of technologies, both by states and non-state actors. In view of the efforts made over the past decades, significant advances have been made in the field of biotechnology, which allows to detect the vulnerability of viruses, as well as to influence the genes responsible for the development of diseases. Such trends not only contribute to ensuring the human right to health and the right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress, but also bring humanity closer to executing Sustainable Development Goals. The reverse side of the scientific research increase is the expansion of the availability of scientific data, as well as the simplification of the reproduction of various technological solutions, which leads to the risk of their use for military and terrorist purposes. The development of technologies, the use of which can not only counteract life-threatening diseases, but also create new threats to human security, has influenced the formation of the term “dual-use technologies” in the scientific literature and documents of international organizations. The article presents a systematic analysis of biotechnologies impact on the formation of “human security” concept, as well as the definition of “biological security” concept. The authors consistently consider international treaties, as well as documents of international intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations in the field of regulating the circulation of technologies that pose a threat to state security. Special attention is paid to the consideration of the features of control over the spread of biological agents in the context of the activities of the European Union, as well as ensuring the implementation of the national security strategy of the Russian Federation

Unlocking the Doors Feminist Insights for Inclusion in Governance, Peace and Security

This is the third primer in the series. It analyses the successes and gaps in women's movements' approaches to the intersections between governance and the security complex. These insights are based on AWDF's analysis of some of the major challenges confronting movement building in the areas of governance, peace and security. With these primers, our objective is to re position feminist politics as a fundamental expression of accountability to our cause and constituencies, and to provide an opportunity for advancing individual and collective learning

From the Incinerator to the Bank: A Feminist Qualitative Study of Private Cord Blood Banking in Canada

This is a feminist, qualitative study of private umbilical cord blood banking in Canada. Drawing on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 12 women who banked cord blood, 6 key informants from 4 different private cord blood banks, and 3 healthcare professionals, I consider what private cord blood banking can tell us about contemporary biopolitics, the production of biovalue in corporeal materials, the promise of “biological insurance,” and the social actor of neoliberalism. My research makes several key contributions to sociological literature on stem cell science, health and contemporary biopolitics. First, I make a feminist, empirical contribution to social science scholarship on private cord blood banking specifically. Second, I expand on the biovalue literature by demonstrating the social production of biovalue in a specific cord blood unit. I show that the production of biovalue in cord blood units is a social process that involves tensions and negotiations between women, private banks and clinicians across different expert discourses and profane knowledges. Third, I critically examine the metaphor of private cord blood banking as “biological insurance.” Private cord blood banks emphasize the future, speculative promises of regenerative stem cell therapies and market their services as a form of insurance. Contrary to this position, I show how in some cases cord blood fails to provide the protection it promises. Fourth, this study challenges contemporary literature on the active subject in health. I argue that women’s experiences of cord blood banking show that the conventional interpretation of the active subject as a rational, calculating subject that engages in contemporary health strategies in a hopeful manner requires revision. I show that women act as precautionary actors who bank in a context of uncertainty and fear. By providing an in-depth, empirical examination of women’s experiences of private cord blood banking, I offer a feminist, critical account of a contemporary biopolitical strategy in the Global North: health optimization through private tissue storage. I challenge biopolitics scholarship that presents an over-generalized, acritical account of contemporary biopolitics and argue for greater analytic and empirical attention to the everyday experiences of people who engage in health optimizing practices

Biological niches within human calcified aortic valves. Towards understanding of the pathological biomineralization process

Despite recent advances, mineralization site, its microarchitecture, and composition in calcific heart valve remain poorly understood. A multiscale investigation, using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS), from micrometre up to nanometre, was conducted on human severely calcified aortic and mitral valves, to provide new insights into calcificationp rocess. Our aim was to evaluate the spatial relationship existing between bioapatite crystals, their local growing microenvironment, and the presence of a hierarchical architecture. Here we detected the presence of bioapatite crystals in two different mineralization sites that suggest the action of two different growth processes:a pathological crystallization process that occurs in biological niches and is ascribed to a purely physicochemical process and a matrix- mediated mineralized process in which the extracellular matrix acts as the template for a site-directed nanocrystals nucleation. Different shapes of bioapatite crystallization were observed at micrometer scale in each microenvironment but at the nanoscale level crystals appear to be made up by the same subunit

The development of blockchain technology in Russia : outlook and trends

Purpose: The article addresses the issue of new scientific decisions shaping with respect to the study of problems, current trends and perspectives of blockchain technology usage in the Russian Federation. Design/methodology/approach: To achieve the objectives of this study the increasing interest to blockchain technology in Russia was discussed. Findings: The article determined main problems in blockchain technology which includes gaps in legislative regulation; the existence of a considerable number of projects that are undergoing the development stage and that have not proved own economic feasibility yet; incomplete understanding of the blockchain spheres’ implementation by state officials, society and business representatives as well as expected outcomes according to the amount and time of their receiving; disputes on cryptocurrencies turnover in the country’s territory and their influence in the national economy. Practical implications: The study has demonstrated the interest growth mainly by businesses to the usage of blockchain technology in order to improve own competitiveness and to obtain additional benefits, including the form of their profits. Originality/value: The research has also determined the area of further key studies in blockchain technology usage in Russia and the world.peer-reviewe

The phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitor sildenafil decreases the proinflammatory chemokine IL-8 in diabetic cardiomyopathy: in vivo and in vitro evidence

Purpose: Interleukin (IL)-8 is a proinflammatory C-X-C chemokine involved in inflammation underling cardiac diseases, primary or in comorbid condition, such diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM). The phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor sildenafil can ameliorate cardiac conditions by counteracting inflammation. The study aim is to evaluate the effect of sildenafil on serum IL-8 in DCM subjects vs. placebo, and on IL-8 release in human endothelial cells (Hfaec) and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) under inflammatory stimuli. Methods: IL-8 was quantified: in sera of (30) DCM subjects before (baseline) and after sildenafil (100 mg/day, 3-months) vs. (16) placebo and (15) healthy subjects, by multiplatform array; in supernatants from inflammation-challenged cells after sildenafil (1 µM), by ELISA. Results: Baseline IL-8 was higher in DCM vs. healthy subjects (149.14 ± 46.89 vs. 16.17 ± 5.38 pg/ml, p < 0.01). Sildenafil, not placebo, significantly reduced serum IL-8 (23.7 ± 5.9 pg/ml, p < 0.05 vs. baseline). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for IL-8 was 0.945 (95% confidence interval of 0.772 to 1.0, p < 0.01), showing good capacity of discriminating the response in terms of drug-induced IL-8 decrease (sensitivity of 0.93, specificity of 0.90). Sildenafil significantly decreased IL-8 protein release by inflammation-induced Hfaec and PBMC and downregulated IL-8 mRNA in PBMC, without affecting cell number or PDE5 expression. Conclusion: Sildenafil might be suggested as potential novel pharmacological tool to control DCM progression through IL-8 targeting at systemic and cellular level

Hybrid practices in cord blood banking: rethinking the commodification of human tissues in the bioeconomy

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Taylor & Francis via the DOI in this record.The STS and bioethical literature on umbilical cord blood (UCB) banking nowadays discusses the field as divided into opposite institutional arrangements, public versus private banking. Public banks represent a model sharing economy, private banks a market economy that capitalizes hopes and tissues, and new hybrid forms that are emerging. We challenge that this distinction is analytically valuable for understanding the various forms of marketization, commodification and biovalue production that mark the UCB economy. Our analysis of current UCB banking practices, especially hybrid one’s, and their inherent visions of the future, shows that hybrid UCB banking criss-crosses the different economic models and concepts of commodification. The private, public, hybrid distinction is thus inadequate for a critically analysis of the complex UCB bioeconomies. Drawing on the perspective of social welfare systems analysis, however, the tripartite distinction emphasises an important ethical and biopolitical commitment to equality in current and future health care

Emerging Threats of Synthetic Biology and Biotechnology

Synthetic biology is a field of biotechnology that is rapidly growing in various applications, such as in medicine, environmental sustainability, and energy production. However these technologies also have unforeseen risks and applications to humans and the environment. This open access book presents discussions on risks and mitigation strategies for these technologies including biosecurity, or the potential of synthetic biology technologies and processes to be deliberately misused for nefarious purposes. The book presents strategies to prevent, mitigate, and recover from ‘dual-use concern’ biosecurity challenges that may be raised by individuals, rogue states, or non-state actors. Several key topics are explored including opportunities to develop more coherent and scalable approaches to govern biosecurity from a laboratory perspective up to the international scale and strategies to prevent potential health and environmental hazards posed by deliberate misuse of synthetic biology without stifling innovation. The book brings together the expertise of top scholars in synthetic biology and biotechnology risk assessment, management, and communication to discuss potential biosecurity governing strategies and offer perspectives for collaboration in oversight and future regulatory guidance

Science and Technology Studies in Policy: the UK Synthetic Biology Roadmap

In this paper, we reflect on our experience as Science and Technology Studies (STS) researchers who were members of the working group that produced A Synthetic Biology Roadmap for the UK in 2012. We explore how this initiative sought to govern an uncertain future, and describe how it was successfully used to mobilize public funds for synthetic biology from the UK government. We discuss our attempts to incorporate the insights and sensibilities of STS into the policy process, and why we chose to use the concept of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) to do so. We analyze how the roadmapping process, and the final report, narrowed and transformed our contributions to the Roadmap. We show how difficult it is for STS researchers to influence policy when our ideas challenge deeply entrenched pervasive assumptions, framings and narratives about how technological innovation necessarily leads to economic progress, about public reticence as a roadblock to that progress, and about the supposed separation between science and society. We end by reflecting on the constraints under which we were operating from the outset, and on the challenges for STS in policy